Shorter Ted Rall
If Red Staters are so damn smart, why is the brain drain red-blue? Cause they’re dumb in the sticks. So says Ted Rall:
Every day in America, hundreds of our most talented young men and women flee the suburbs and rural communities for big cities, especially those on the West and East Coasts. Their youthful vigor fuels these metropolises–the cultural capitals of the blue states. These oases of liberal thinking–New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, Boston–are homes to our best-educated people, most vibrant popular culture and most innovative and productive businesses. There are exceptions–some smart people move from cities to the countryside–but the best and brightest gravitate to places where liberalism rules….
Educational achievement doesn’t necessarily equal intelligence. After all, Bush holds a Harvard MBA. Still, it bears noting that Democrats are better educated than Republicans. You are 25 percent more likely to hold a college degree if you live in the Democratic northeast than in the red state south. Blue state voters are 25 percent more likely, therefore, to understand the historical and cultural ramifications of Bush’s brand of bull-in-a-china-shop foreign policy….
So our guy lost the election. Why shouldn’t those of us on the coasts feel superior? We eat better, travel more, dress better, watch cooler movies, earn better salaries, meet more interesting people, listen to better music and know more about what’s going on in the world. If you voted for Bush, we accept that we have to share the country with you. We’re adjusting to the possibility that there may be more of you than there are of us. But don’t demand our respect. You lost it on November 2.
I know, I know, it’s horrible politics and of course, the American Street neither condones nor agrees with this kind of heartland-bashing. Still….
November 10th, 2004 at 4:53 pm
i, on the other hand, heartily agree with that kind of heartland-bashing.
November 10th, 2004 at 5:34 pm
And, not being American, I’m all for it, too. It allows me to both express my admiration for Americans and the fact that I despise them, all in one.
BTW, I prefer “liverland” to “heartland” for the Red States - full of bile, only half working, and likely to poison you given half a chance.
November 10th, 2004 at 7:53 pm
HAWH?
November 10th, 2004 at 8:27 pm
One might make this case a little less divisively by pointing out that pre-election polls showed that Bush supporters had many more nonfactual opinions about current events than Kerry supporters did.
November 10th, 2004 at 9:34 pm
Anything over two syllables would confuse them. “Stupid”, “moron” or “idjit” would do it.
November 11th, 2004 at 5:25 am
No wonder Kerry & the dems can’t make hay in the heartland. With morons like you guys out there, they have no chance. I live in Russell, KS, smack dab in the middle of the heartland. Our little town of worthless (& worse!) people are huge supporters of the arts. I work at a city owned art gallery, the envy of towns and cities all over Kansas and the plains. When the town needed a new playground, the townfolk had bake sales and art sales and drives and raised the money for the playground equipment and then 240 (that’s TWO HUNDRED-FORTY) people constructed it in city park in 6 days. When the theatre closed, the Russell Arts Council re-opened it with all volunteer staff, and an energy break from the city. When local women tired of having to travel 30-40-60 miles to shop for clothing, they sold shares in a woman’s clothing store, and they’ve just expanded.
I’m an unreconstructed hippie from the 60’s, more radicalized than then, more afraid of the opposition now than then, and generally as anti-all-the-stuff-as a-man-can-get! I think writing off half the country because you’re so ALL THAT, and we are SO NOT, sucks.
November 11th, 2004 at 7:56 am
You may not condone it, but it doesn’t help matters by posting it without critique. I’m a lefty Democratic with a PhD living in a (marginally) red state, and I find that kind of thinking offensive and demeaning, not to mention despiriting. You may have noticed (sarcasm) that there are some significantly blue areas within red states… and many blue voters even within red counties. We worked like hell this past election for the Dems… and by “we” here I mean not just the highly educated art-loving uber-hip (as you appear to pronounce yourselves) but blue collar factory workers, little old lady Heartland grandmas, and Hispanic college students whose parents work in meat packing plants. But why work if the Dems don’t appreciate the effort? I am not speaking for all of us who have careers and families that keep us here, but I am speaking for me: I’m sorry that you see us that way, as one god-loving, gun-toting mass of ignorance.
November 11th, 2004 at 9:59 am
One of the difficulties with blogs is that people never have a chance to see all of your posts. In the spirit of full disclosure, I’ll say that I agree with Maggie and Bruce wholeheartedly. Rall obviously is making a rhetorical point, and it’s totally impolitic. After the election, I posted lyrics from Woody Guthrie, whom I still regard as the model lefty Dems should be looking to. He’s as popular in the heartland as he is in Portland (my home). This land–all of it–is our land.
I posted the article because despite its boorish quality, he strikes the first actual note of disdain I’ve heard, and his points are rather well-supported. Blue staters have had to put up with a deep load of BS from Fox news et. al. about how we so despise red staters. We don’t. It’s vile propaganda. I thought the article was thought-provoking because it actually made the argument that the right always blames us for secretly believing in.
November 11th, 2004 at 10:03 am
And also, I guess, because although I feel it’s time for the Dems to become a national party again, I don’t think it should be in that false, Orwellian faux-values way the GOP has used to “reach out.” Truth needs to be our guiding light, and although Rall’s diatribe is ugly, it’s got more than a little truth in it. Sure, it’s uncomfortable. But why? What should we do about this? Hide it under a purty rendition of God Bless America? Wave a flag? The Dems need to do better and do more.
November 11th, 2004 at 7:41 pm
All I can say is PLEASE keep this up! Here is a question for ya: Who is more stupid, the inbred sister breeding trailer trash hick you assume comprises the majority of red state voters, or the dumb fucks who KNOW that they alienate themselves to perpetual political obscurity by these neurally vacant “observations” …., but just can’t stop themselves from doing it anyway?
November 14th, 2004 at 2:24 pm
Well, I guess we (as Democrats) are supposed to now be pro-life, anti-gay, and anti-intellectual so that we can attract the “red areas” of the country.
I would like to hear some suggestions from moderates or “swing-voters” as to how the Dems can earn their vote the next time around.
November 27th, 2006 at 6:32 am
Markus…
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November 27th, 2006 at 7:45 pm
Markus…
It was quite useful reading, found some interesting details about this topic. Thanks….