The political divide between rural and urban America is more cultural than it is economic, rooted in rural residents’ deep misgivings about the nation’s rapidly changing demographics, their sense that Christianity is under siege and their perception that the federal government caters most to the needs of people in big […] Read more »
Democrats argue way back to power is through small towns won by Trump
… Throughout the last decade, Democrats pursued what was considered to be the most efficient strategy of winning in presidential and Senate contests — turning to technocrats who knew how to find their most loyal voters in cities and suburbs and drive up turnout from their base. It helped Barack […] Read more »
The Role of Medicaid in Rural America
People in rural areas face unique challenges in health care coverage and access, including low density of providers and longer travel times to care, limited access to employer-sponsored coverage, and greater health care needs due to older age and lower income. Medicaid plays an important role in helping to address […] Read more »
Reaching Out to the Voters the Left Left Behind
The devastating recession that began at the end of 2007 and officially ended in June 2009 was the most severe downturn since World War II. The political, social and even medical consequences of this recession have been duly noted, but even so the depths of its effects are only now […] Read more »
Democrats burned by polling blind spot
As they investigate the forces behind the party’s stunning losses in November, Democrats are coming to a troubling conclusion. The party didn’t just lose among rural white voters on Election Day, it may have failed to capture them in its pre-election polling as well. Many pollsters and strategists believe that […] Read more »
Health Care Plan Championed By Trump Hurts Counties That Voted For Him
The Affordable Care Act replacement plan championed by President Trump would hurt low-income people in rural areas that voted heavily for the Republican last fall, according to an NPR analysis of data on proposed subsidy changes from the Kaiser Family Foundation. CONT. NPR Read more »