by Pa Rock
Democratic Voter
I live in rural south-central Missouri not too far from the Arkansas line. My residence lies at the edge of a hilly geographical area commonly referred to as "the Ozarks."
Missouri is a basically conservative Republican state that will occasionally relapse into sanity and elect a Democratic candidate to a statewide post, but southern Missouri never wavers in its commitment to ignorance. Down in this neck of the woods candidates for office - if they are serious - had best support God, guns, and anything that promotes the dominance of white men in society, and they best not appear to be too well educated.
National politicians traditionally do not spend time or money in the Ozarks. Republicans see campaigning here as unnecessary, and Democrats regard it as a waste of resources. That is why I was surprised, perhaps even shocked, when I received four separate pieces of mail (actual mail!) from Democratic presidential hopefuls over the past two weeks.
Last week Cory Booker sent a nice form-letter thanking me for having been a contributor to his now-defunct presidential campaign, and on the same day I received a slick four-page color brochure from Mike Bloomberg listing reasons why I should support his campaign. Interestingly, neither of the candidates asked for any money - probably because Booker is a nice guy who is no longer running, and Bloomberg, the billionaire, just doesn't need my pocket change screwing up his nice even piles of personal cash.
On Friday of this week I received a letter from a woman named Margaret Brick in New York City telling me what a fine mayor Mike Bloomberg had been and sharing a story about her son, a NYC fireman who had died in a fire just after 9/11. She said the mayor had told her that the Fire Department would take care of her son's children, and he said that if it failed in that responsibility he would step in and do it himself. She also said that Bloomberg calls her around the time of her son's death each year just to check in and see how she is doing. Mrs. Brick's letter contained a statement that it had been paid for by Mike Bloomberg 2020.
The following day - yesterday - I received yet another letter from Mike Bloomberg, a letter which was highly critical of Donald Trump and promised that a Bloomberg administration would bring stability back to our government. The candidate ended by saying that he was trying to "earn" my vote.
Missouri will hold its presidential primaries on March 10th, one week after Super Tuesday. Right now my plan is to vote for Senator Elizabeth Warren in that election, but I will admit to having a bit of a warm fuzzy feeling for Bloomberg's candidacy. I enjoy reading campaign materials which are not peppered with requests for donations, and I thoroughly relish the way he fearlessly attacks Trump.
And, living on a rural route and being dependent on the U.S. Postal Service to bring my mail, I also like the fact that Mike Bloomberg is pumping so much of his personal wealth into keeping the Postal Service afloat!
(One more local note: I received an email from Elizabeth Warren's campaign last night asking for help with knocking on doors in Springfield this weekend. I can't - but it feels really good to finally see some presidential campaign activity in the Ozarks!)
Democratic Voter
I live in rural south-central Missouri not too far from the Arkansas line. My residence lies at the edge of a hilly geographical area commonly referred to as "the Ozarks."
Missouri is a basically conservative Republican state that will occasionally relapse into sanity and elect a Democratic candidate to a statewide post, but southern Missouri never wavers in its commitment to ignorance. Down in this neck of the woods candidates for office - if they are serious - had best support God, guns, and anything that promotes the dominance of white men in society, and they best not appear to be too well educated.
National politicians traditionally do not spend time or money in the Ozarks. Republicans see campaigning here as unnecessary, and Democrats regard it as a waste of resources. That is why I was surprised, perhaps even shocked, when I received four separate pieces of mail (actual mail!) from Democratic presidential hopefuls over the past two weeks.
Last week Cory Booker sent a nice form-letter thanking me for having been a contributor to his now-defunct presidential campaign, and on the same day I received a slick four-page color brochure from Mike Bloomberg listing reasons why I should support his campaign. Interestingly, neither of the candidates asked for any money - probably because Booker is a nice guy who is no longer running, and Bloomberg, the billionaire, just doesn't need my pocket change screwing up his nice even piles of personal cash.
On Friday of this week I received a letter from a woman named Margaret Brick in New York City telling me what a fine mayor Mike Bloomberg had been and sharing a story about her son, a NYC fireman who had died in a fire just after 9/11. She said the mayor had told her that the Fire Department would take care of her son's children, and he said that if it failed in that responsibility he would step in and do it himself. She also said that Bloomberg calls her around the time of her son's death each year just to check in and see how she is doing. Mrs. Brick's letter contained a statement that it had been paid for by Mike Bloomberg 2020.
The following day - yesterday - I received yet another letter from Mike Bloomberg, a letter which was highly critical of Donald Trump and promised that a Bloomberg administration would bring stability back to our government. The candidate ended by saying that he was trying to "earn" my vote.
Missouri will hold its presidential primaries on March 10th, one week after Super Tuesday. Right now my plan is to vote for Senator Elizabeth Warren in that election, but I will admit to having a bit of a warm fuzzy feeling for Bloomberg's candidacy. I enjoy reading campaign materials which are not peppered with requests for donations, and I thoroughly relish the way he fearlessly attacks Trump.
And, living on a rural route and being dependent on the U.S. Postal Service to bring my mail, I also like the fact that Mike Bloomberg is pumping so much of his personal wealth into keeping the Postal Service afloat!
(One more local note: I received an email from Elizabeth Warren's campaign last night asking for help with knocking on doors in Springfield this weekend. I can't - but it feels really good to finally see some presidential campaign activity in the Ozarks!)
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