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eridani

(51,907 posts)
Sat Oct 10, 2015, 12:53 AM Oct 2015

West Virginia Rejected Obama: Embraces Bernie Sanders: Ring of Fire Explains Why

http://ringoffireradio.com/2015/10/07/west-virginia-rejected-obama-embraces-bernie-sanders-rof-explains-wh/

Why would a staunchly conservative, largely rural Republican state suddenly support the most left-wing candidate to run since Eugene V. Debs, a self-proclaimed Socialist from Brooklyn, New York?

In short: economic justice and respect for labor. Bernie Sanders “knows what the union is, and he respects it.” That statement, printed in a recent Washington Post article, comes from Shelly Brannon, a 62-year-old member of the United Mine Workers of America. Since 2008, West Virginia’s coal-mining region has switched from a Democratic stronghold to a bastion of the GOP. Now, it’s switching back – with a vengeance.

The people of West Virginia, like those across the country, are waking up. The blinders are off; they know who has been screwing them as well as how and why. Sanders is the only candidate who has the guts to stand up and point it out – and he’s the only candidate who has offered any real plans for dealing with the problem.

Those social “wedge issues” may have worked for a generation – but the oligarchy finally appears to have overreached itself. Social conservatives may not accept the idea of two men or two women marrying – but they can no longer stomach the fact that monsters like Don Blankenship can get away with murder and global corporations can steal the food out of their mouths.
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West Virginia Rejected Obama: Embraces Bernie Sanders: Ring of Fire Explains Why (Original Post) eridani Oct 2015 OP
This makes me very happy Samantha Oct 2015 #1
A few reasons... toddwv Oct 2015 #2
kick & rec kristopher Oct 2015 #3
K&R Lunabell Oct 2015 #4
I love ROF and listen to the podcast. I also prefer Bernie's politics to Obama's by a long shot. Chakab Oct 2015 #5
I don't know anything specifically about West Virginia dreamnightwind Oct 2015 #6

Samantha

(9,314 posts)
1. This makes me very happy
Sat Oct 10, 2015, 01:36 AM
Oct 2015

I have wondered for years why the people of West Virginia voted against their own best interests by supporting Republicans. I am glad the blinders finally fell off.

Sam

toddwv

(2,830 posts)
2. A few reasons...
Sat Oct 10, 2015, 01:41 AM
Oct 2015

1) The perceived war against coal.
2) The propaganda by the coal companies.
3) More than a bit of racism.

 

Chakab

(1,727 posts)
5. I love ROF and listen to the podcast. I also prefer Bernie's politics to Obama's by a long shot.
Sat Oct 10, 2015, 04:01 AM
Oct 2015

However, any analysis on this topic that doesn't mention race is just totally fucking dishonest.



dreamnightwind

(4,775 posts)
6. I don't know anything specifically about West Virginia
Sat Oct 10, 2015, 05:03 AM
Oct 2015

but this is good news for sure.

My feeling, in general, and it has been validated by the Sanders campaign, is that, as soon as we quit running candidates who are just the lessor of two evils, as soon as we unilaterally swear off corporate donations and run on small donations and TRUTH to power, honest and sincere campaigns, we'll be shocked at how many people suddenly come around.

At least half the voters in this country see all politicians as crooks, of either party, and for the most part they're right. There's a huge untapped pool of disaffected voters who know damn well that they're voting against their own interests, but don't see the other side as any less against their own interests. Fix that, and everything changes. It transcends left and right, it's about removing corrupting money from the equation and suddenly we have real politicians representing the interests of ordinary human beings rather than multinational corporate interests.

The challenge we all face is to recognize this, stop participating in the corporate deceptions, and learn how to leverage our numbers and social media skills to defeat the massive ad buys and corporate media propaganda that prop up the phonies. It's the only game worth playing at this point, learn to defeat corporate-funded phonies with authentic candidates who will represent people rather than corporations.

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