Exactly this. As someone who grew up in a rural Missouri town that, in 2020, brought out Confederate flags and mimed lynchings at a 15-person Black Lives Matter protest, I know very well that there are a lot of people in this country that want this kind of stuff. Their entire conception of politics is the wielding of power to hurt those that they think deserve it.
Liberals that grew up in Blue suburbs of coastal cities often are comically unaware of just how unfamiliar they are with huge swaths of the country. While there aren’t a crazy huge amount of truly fanatical conservatives, those that do exist are extremely loud and extremely politically active. If they’re not opposed, they win.
I am from New Jersey and have lived in PA for almost twenty years. I also spent three years in STL County for school. These people you described from your hometown are here as well. They’re in abundance everywhere.
Anywhere outside of a city - really any city, even in blue states - is incredibly conservative. And because land gets votes and not people, this gives conservatives an overwhelming amount of power. Only once in the last thirty years has a Republican won the majority of votes, but thanks to the electoral college they’ve held the office for almost half the time.
Exactly this. As someone who grew up in a rural Missouri town that, in 2020, brought out Confederate flags and mimed lynchings at a 15-person Black Lives Matter protest, I know very well that there are a lot of people in this country that want this kind of stuff. Their entire conception of politics is the wielding of power to hurt those that they think deserve it.
Liberals that grew up in Blue suburbs of coastal cities often are comically unaware of just how unfamiliar they are with huge swaths of the country. While there aren’t a crazy huge amount of truly fanatical conservatives, those that do exist are extremely loud and extremely politically active. If they’re not opposed, they win.
I am from New Jersey and have lived in PA for almost twenty years. I also spent three years in STL County for school. These people you described from your hometown are here as well. They’re in abundance everywhere.
Anywhere outside of a city - really any city, even in blue states - is incredibly conservative. And because land gets votes and not people, this gives conservatives an overwhelming amount of power. Only once in the last thirty years has a Republican won the majority of votes, but thanks to the electoral college they’ve held the office for almost half the time.