All Politics Are "Yokel"

Rural Johnson County Road Sign via Flicker

 The title of this is intentionally facetious and is from the late long-time leader of the House of Representatives, Tip O'Neill who famously said "all politics are local." Iowa is swept up in a sea of red at the statewide level. As a rural state with a handful of urban outposts, the prospects for Iowa to bask in a blue wave are somewhat limited. Part of the reason is messaging and the other is authenticity in the redder parts of our state. 

Rural Iowa currently does not love Democrats, and why should they? Look at the signs along the farm fields, in the small towns and you will see how effective Republican, Christian right, pro-life and business issue-pushers have been to date. Let's face it, it is a tough row to hoe to change the minds of people whose own politics embrace keeping things the same (or turning back the clock to the "better days").

Nonetheless, there are truly independent and more center-leaning voters in these red counties who are not walking lock-step with their neighbors and Democrats will need to cultivate them, as they are likely to stay at home otherwise. But to get out this group of voters, Democrats need to meet them where they are and tell them why their vote matters. Also, as these voters may not be as progressive as their city cousins, the message has to be genuine and to the heart of the matter. Democrats cannot plow these Iowans, they have to be willing to go slower and easier to build trust with these voters. No small task for a party whose left flank is pushing hard for decisive change which centrists have to warm to.

It would be a good start to post signs that challenge the notions, such as the one pictured here. As we know, Republicans have down a fair share of taxing the poor more and spending on subsidies for the wealthy and connected. Why don't the Democrats invest in better messages for the less indoctrinated? 

Also, as we have seen in my county, it is possible to be both a rural Iowan and progressive. Jon Green, the County Supervisor and the former mayor from Lone Tree, and Seth Zimmermann, a candidate from Solon, are competing for a couple of seats this June and neither of them is Iowa Farm Bureau supported. But both want to make sure rural land is conserved, the water supply is clean, and pesticides are limited.  And neither of them might otherwise stand a chance in a county that is highly non-rural except that this is an area of rapid growth and they have a vested interest in how that growth goes, as do their neighbors and those who recreate away from the towns. Their knowledge of the rural area gives them both credibility and authenticity and sways some of the more right-leaning folks to vote for them. I am aware of other candidates, such as Kevin Kinney who is a state senator and farmer who also represents a more rural district and is up for re-election. He refers to himself as a "Dirt Road Democrat" and he walks that walk authentically by growing corn and soybeans, raising cattle, as well as fighting for better pay for Iowa's teachers.

Iowans deserve better than laws and policies that harm the very fabric that the state is created from. Democrats can be fuller-throated in supporting policies that preserve the land and water, help teachers to teach, and take care of the family farm. If Iowa is to ever have a Harold Hughes or a Tom Vilsack acolyte as governor, Democrats are going to have to convince rural Iowans that they also have their backs.