Bill's Focus

A Confession and a Plan

Part 1 – A reflection
I live in New England. When I hear a Southern accent, a stereotype jumps into my head. I didn’t ask for it. I don’t like it. It is just embedded. I often hear my fellow Northern residents make wiseass remarks about Southern accents. There is some form of an ingrained bigotry that I think is shared to some degree by most of us. I am also sure when some folks in the South hear a Boston or NYC accent, they have a similar reaction. It’s an automatic “othering”. What is your first reaction when you hear an Irish, British or Australian accent? Indian or Chinese? I think most of us have an image or a sweeping generalization pop into our heads based on age old stereotypes and tropes.

We KNOW that we shouldn’t judge people simply by their regional accent. But I think it is rare person who doesn’t feel that occasionally.

We must discipline ourselves to shut that down and listen. Bigotry is not our friend. Its a product of political propaganda. It’s historical sources are multiple. But that’s not a good excuse.

I am encountering wonderful and bright people with rich Southern accents. The short video that follows is an example. This Southern Guy has ethics, standards and a wonderful way with words. And guts.

Part Two – Wrecking a Region
One of the great tragedies of our time is polarization. We are hardening our positions every day. The President of the United States is hammering us with Red vs Blue scenarios and sweeping generalizations about one state or another. And now we think the MAGA Oligarchs have a lock on certain states. Not true.

West Virginia is thought of as a “solid red state”. But that has only been true in the last 25 years. Until George W. Bush won the state in 2000, West Virginia had been in the hands of Democrats for generations. The West Virginia switch from Democrat to Republican was one of the most dramatic political shifts in the country. Trump won the state by a margin of 40 points.

Why? Because Democrats abandoned the state. We championed environmental regulations that decimated the coal industry and destroyed employment. Many people in the state either worked at the mines, had jobs associated with mines or served the people who were on the mine payrolls. So it wasn’t just the just miners we ignored. It was the coffee shops, the hairdressers, the auto dealers and repair shops, the insurance agencies, the small banks…getting the picture? The ripple effect of destroying an industry was more like an economic tsunami. It was the decimation of a culture and a region. It was a massive disemployment project.

Should coal mining be shut down. Yes! The environmental impact on the region and the world’s climate has to be the top priority. The damage done to the countryside of states like West Virginia is despicable and sometimes straight up deadly. Coal needs to stay in the ground. It has no future as a fuel. All other sources of electricity generation are cheaper and less harmful.

But we walked away from a lot of people who had built their lives around this industry – for several generations. The term “redneck” goes back to the early days of the The United Mine Workers fighting for their rights to safer conditions, weekends off and all manner of what we would consider basic humane employment. Union people who were Democrats. Rednecks because they wore red scarves as a sign of solidarity. Democrats!

Part 3 – More Betrayal
Bill Clinton won states like West Virginia twice. A president of relatively humble beginnings with a southern accent. Did this Democrat stand up for this region and the workers that modern science and industry were about to disenfranchise? Nope. In fact, he doubled down on policies that ruined the lives of working class Americans – Democrats! He signed on to the NAFTA agreement that would encourage companies to offshore manufacturing. He helped destroy small cities and rural towns all across the country by assisting the oligarchs in moving manufacturing overseas.

I think that the people in less developed nations deserve a good life too. I am a globalist. The jobs we sent overseas pulled millions of people out of abject poverty. All humans have equal value and rights. This agnostic reminds the faithful that this concept is at the core of every major religion on the planet. Jesus didn’t care about our nationality, language, or accent…

So we could see how NAFTA and a vigorous Environmental Protection Agency is good for the greatest number of Earthlings. More jobs for the world’s poverty stricken and less damage to the planet. Great.

But what about our towns that existed only because of those industries that would be shuttered or shipped overseas? Oops. Democrats left them in the dust and created a political vacuum. And you know who filled it. As Clinton helped companies ship out jobs (while getting blow jobs), Rush Limbaugh verbalized the pain. The radical right wingers were given a gift. The tragedy of all this is Shakespearean and was so sadly quite preventable.

Democrats could have championed workers rights by demanding that the companies leaving small town America provide more in support. Money for mortgages while retraining for new work. Money for relocation to where those new jobs existed. Company money that could have been matched by Federal dollars. Seed money for new small businesses that could serve the world using the internet to market their goods or services. Money to jump start new factories, farms or other enterprises.

Instead, the companies used their escalating profits to reward their stockholders and top executives. Bigger dividends for the affluent and stock buybacks to boost the value of stocks as enormous gifts of stock options were exercised.

The abandoned workers found what work they could at dramatically lower wages or simple survived on unemployment, welfare and SNAP food assistance. The drug epidemic exploded as oligarchs flooded the towns with narcotics. A desperate and discouraged generation found solace in getting high – often dying in the process.

We spend billions helping oil companies with subsidies for drilling and billions for giant agribusinesses to not grow crops. We give billions for drug researchers so pharmaceutical companies can make many billions more – for their owners and shareholders. How about a few bucks for the people!?

Another Democrat. I admire Barack Obama for many, many reasons. But he did the same damn thing. The Great Recession of 2008 is STILL being felt by Americans who were swindled with mortgages from Hell. Who got bailed out? Was it the steel worker or the Amazon warehouse worker or the auto mechanic…? Nope. It was the giant banks and insurance companies. Remind me again why they would vote for a Democrat.

Part 3 – Hope

There IS a path for Democrats – a path to regaining the support and votes of the working class. The path has been lit by a psychopathic and demented president. Virtually every policy, executive order, piece of legislation, international position (tariffs) and pompous public statement by “47” has been a negative for Americans. The cost of housing is beyond belief. Hospitals are closing. People are about to lose health insurance or watch their premiums go up. The price of food is out of control. Inflation is GROWING.

Utility bills will escalate as sustainable methods of electricity generation are shut down. AI and Crypto mining are sucking up enormous amounts of electricity – and the supply of electricity is being restrained by the demented one. An almost complete wind energy project that would have served 350,000 homes was shut down because one ignorant idiot doesn’t like looking at wind turbines. People’s lives are getting WORSE.

But we can’t rely on the Extremist Cult of Project 2025 and an addled angry president to defeat themselves. Their Propaganda Plan of Othering is very effective.

How can we reconnect with the people we abandoned – the hard working, poverty stricken – yet proud people of the region decimated by national policies?

Watch how it should be done:

Now let’s ask ourselves:
Why is it an Independent Senator who is touring the country supporting “Working Class Rights” and “Economic Justice” and not these guys?

Democratic Voter to Schumer and Jeffries. Get out of your DC Bubble as soon as you can. Hit the trail or step aside. Bernie has written your script. Time for you to find the people where they are living and suffering. Even Red States can now be won with some down to Earth conversations and practical policies.