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Posted on 04/11/2008 6:22:14 PM PDT by Congressman Billybob
In San Francisco last week, Senator Barack Obama, Democrat candidate for President, made a certain statement about people who live in small towns in Pennsylvania. He is about to undergo a primary in that state against Senator Hillary Clinton, the other remaining Democrat candidate for President.
Why should a comment made by a candidate in San Francisco about people who live in Pennsylvania be of the slightest interest to the people who live in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina? Simple. Almost half of the people here, in the 11th Congressional District of North Carolina, also live in small towns, and have experienced some of the same losses as the folks in the small towns of Pennsylvania.
Depending on the outcomes in Pennsylvania and then in North Carolina, the Democrat primary for President may shortly be over, not mathematically over, but over for all intents and purposes, as my sainted mother used to say. So, these remarks should be considered here, in the mountains of North Carolina.
These are Senator Obama’s words, as posted on Jonathan Martin’s popular blog on politics, Politico on 11 April:
“You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.”
SOME of the jobs have gone from these communities. At worst, factories have been closed, the equipment has been shipped overseas, and the final indignity was to pay old employees to train their replacements, before firing them. But the people hereabout are smarter than to sit and wait for the government to bail them out. Communities have banded together to seek different opportunities in different fields.
The greatest errors in this high-fallutin dismissal of small town folks is in the rest of this arrogant quote. Most people here are not bitter. Bitter is for people who have given up. We have not given up.
No one here “clings” to his religion. Those who hold religion important, believe in their religion and try to live by it. I pity Obama if all he has is a religion he can “cling” to. No one here “clings” to his guns. Most of us grew up with guns. We respect them, know how to use them, and most households and more than a few vehicles contain guns.
Shootings of people are very uncommon in these parts. Perhaps Obama hasn’t read his Robert Heinlein. “An armed society is a polite society.” He probably hasn’t read his Constitution carefully, either. The Supreme Court will shortly issue a decision that will educate him, tell him that the Second Amendment provides a personal right “to keep and bear arms.”
Obama thinks we have antipathy to those who are not like us. There are few greater differences than between the Scots-Irish who came to these mountains and the Cherokee who were here when they arrived. It’s taken some centuries, but we got it sorted out.
We are not “anti-immigrant.” Most of us are immigrants, both recent and centuries ago. We do think, however, that everyone should play by the rules. So, we are against “illegal immigrants.” And we are careful with our words. These are no more “undocumented workers” than a bank robber is an “undocumented borrower.”
Far from being “anti-trade,” we have been in favor of international trade since we produced goods and products that were sold in Europe from these colonies. But we are in favor of fair trade, where the benefits flow both ways. We don’t like to get ripped off in an unfair deal.
We can reach one conclusion from Senator Obama’s remarks. Whatever else he is, or knows in different contexts, when it comes to understanding the people who live in America’s small towns, he is dumb as a box of rocks. But then, what do I know? I just fell off the turnip truck in a small town in North Carolina.
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About the Author: John Armor practiced in the US Supreme Court for 33 years. John_Armor@aya.yale.edu He is running for the 11th Congressional District of North Carolina.
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Man, you have nailed it. With a Big Hammer.
The rocks of the small towns in America represent the foundation that America is built upon. OB wants to change that foundation. Perhaps to quicksand or clay or maybe just manure. He certainly has been spewing a lot of it lately.
A lot of that depends on where you stand at the moment. LOL
I used to date a gal that took me out to Los Angeles to meet her parents who eventually got around to asking me what it was like to use an outhouse. I had to sheepishly admit that as soon as I saw my first one I'd give it a try and let them know....
I grew up in Detroit and now live in suburban Detroit. I did spend eight years in the UP though and loved small town life. I was amazed at the work ethic and resourcefulness of the people there. Someone we knew up there built his own house. He cut down and skidded the trees and had them milled into lumber. From that, he framed his own house with the help of his dad. I think he made his own cabinets and a nice big bunk bed for his young boys too. This was after putting in a full day at work. If there is ever a catastrophe in this country, these are the type people who will be able to survive.
“I knew if Obama got enough rope he would eventually wind up hanging himself with it”.
Oops! Be careful! They’ll acuse him of a hate crime.
Forget McCain. The haloed one is going to have to face that psycho Webb, who might actually try to punch him out, fellow Dem or not.
Freepmail or ping me on the thread to be added to the John Armor for Congress ping list.
And an alert to folks on this thread that John will be
in a live radio debate next Tuesday, streaming on-line.
For details, see this thread.
To these elitists, “small town” = 25,000-100,000.
U.S. Senseless Bureau calls anything over 25,000 a ‘city’. Anything 2,500-25,000 is “a place”.
Most of the “places” I lived aren’t nearly big enough to even be “places” at all.
One of my grammer schools had a high of 72 students one year, in 8 grades; two rooms/teachers. The next year, at high school we had just over 300 in 9-12th, and the district extended 35 miles N-S & was about 40 miles E-W!
For me, the smaller the better...as long as I can get broadband. LOL
“Pennsyltucky”.
I always called it “Pennsylvakia”—
Well, I've been a Cali native for 50 years, and I can assure that, except for a very small section of west LA, LA isn't a "real" city in the sense that it has a cohesive identity or common culture. Even west LA is just strip retail along a few major boulevards; there isn't any "city" influence at all. BTW, since all retail went big-box, let me assure you, we (or have an illegal) all carry our crap to the car.
BHO's lame commentary probably didn't even resonate with the Pacific Heights crew he was mingling with. Emphasis on 'with'; he's definitely not one of them.
Sounds like a rather perfect discription of the type of nimrods who go to Obama's church.
Already done:
Hank Williams Jr. - A Country Boy Can Survive
The preacher man says its the end of time and the Mississippi River she's a going dry. The interest is up and the stock markets down and you only get mugged if you go downtown. I live back in the woods you see, my woman,and the kids and the dogs and me. I got a shotgun and a rifle and a four wheel drive and a countryboy can survive. Country folks can survive.
I can plow a field all day long, I can catch catfish from dusk til dawn. Make our own whiskey and our own smoke too aint to many things these boys can't do. We grow good old tomatoes and homemade wine and countryboy can survive, country folk can survive.
Because you can't stomp us out and you can't make us run, cause we're them ole boys raised on shotguns. We say grace and we say mam amd if you aint into that we don't give a damn. We came from the West Virginia coal mine's and the Rocky Mountains and the Western skies and we can skin a buck, we can run a trout line and a countryboy can survive, country folks can survive.
I had a good friend in New York City he never called me by my name just hillbilly. My Grandpa taught me how to live off the land and his taught him to be a business man He used to send me pictures of the Broadway Nights and i would send him some homemade wine but he was killed by a man with a switchblade knife, for forty three dollars my friend lost his life. I'd love to spit some beechnut in that dudes eyes and shoot him with my ole forty-five cause a countryboy can survive, country folks can survive.
'Cause you can't stomp us out and you can't make us run, and we're them ole boys raised on shotgun. We say grace, we say mam, if you aint into that we don't give a damn. We're from North California and South Alabam' and little towns all around this land. We can skin a buck, and run a trout line and a countryboy can survive, country folks can survive, countryboy can survive, country folks can survive.
Well I was born in a small town
And I live in a small town
Probly die in a small town
Oh, those small communities
All my friends are so small town
My parents live in the same small town
My job is so small town
Provides little opportunity
Educated in a small town
Taught the fear of jesus in a small town
Used to daydream in that small town
Another boring romantic thats me
But Ive seen it all in a small town
Had myself a ball in a small town
Married an l.a. doll and brought her to this small town
Now shes small town just like me
No I cannot forget where it is that I come from
I cannot forget the people who love me
Yeah, I can be myself here in this small town
And people let me be just what I want to be
Got nothing against a big town
Still hayseed enough to say
Look whos in the big town
But my bed is in a small town
Oh, and thats good enough for me
Well I was born in a small town
And I can breathe in a small town
Gonna die in this small town
And thats probly where they'll bury me.
LOL!
[Hat tip: Just One Minute blog]
Hey Obama Baby, I don’t “cling” to my guns but I damned sure know how to use them. I’m not bitter either, I love my small town and it’s people (1,500 folks), we’re unincorporated so we don’t have a city limits in order to have an official census. Our small town cafes, post office and hardware store are where we see each other and find out about folks. Our small town still posts obituary notices ASAP in all our businesses and post office. We stop and remove our hats and caps for funeral processions too.
Our three kids grew up and graduated from our small town HS too, went on to earn degrees, one serves his country proudly as a combat infantryman, have you ever served your country Obama? My infantryman also volunteered in our VFD since HS too, did you ever volunteer to serve your community Obama?
We don’t “cling” to our religion either, our family lives our FAITH as much as possible although fall short of the mark many times. Our faith is a RELATIONSHIP with our Lord, strange, when all that clap trap broke lose about you and Rev. Wright, we then knew what you were all about.
Stay away from our small town B. Hussein Obama, we’re doin’ fine thank you very much. You have greatly underestimated small town people, I assure you.
” it’s not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to...antipathy to people who aren’t like them “
But enough about your church, Senator.
---------------------------------
Obama To Rural Pennsylvanians:
Vote For Me, You Corncob-Smokin', Banjo-Strokin', Chicken-Chokin', Cousin-Pokin', Inbred Hillbilly Racist Morons
Right on! My family emigrated with the Boone family (Scots-Irish) from Bucks County, Pennsylvannia to the Forks of the Yadkin in North Carolina in 1750.
I leave my keys in my cars and don’t even have a key for my house. How about you?
I’m sure you’ve got the market cornered on understanding. Why else would you say such a foolish thing?
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