Wed, Jan 13, 2021 4:45 p.m.
"Leftists are Colonizing Red Towns Like Mine, and Local Republicans are Clueless"
AOF: The point's been made that for conservatives, government is largely a somewhat-necessary nuisance. But for the Left, it's like oxygen.
Complacency is a problem for east Tennesseans. They are so used to Republicans winning elections that they falsely assume victory is automatic. It is not.Leftists are Colonizing Red Towns Like Mine, and Local Republicans are Clueless
By Mark Pulliam
January 13, 2021
The Federalist
As 2020 wound to a close, pundits noted the growing toll of leftist policies on residents of blue states, prompting migration from California, New York, New Jersey, and Illinois to Republican-run states such as Texas and Florida, which offer lower taxes and a better business climate. In addition to losing Oracle, Charles Schwab, Hewlett Packard, and Elon Musk, for the first time in its history California is expected to lose a congressional seat in the upcoming decennial census allocation, due to stagnating population. Texas is expected to gain three seats, and Florida is expected to pick up two.
Blue states tend to be dominated by [black and Hispanic] urban voters, large numbers of unionized government employees, and—in California—a technology-based economy that relies on large numbers of young, college-educated (and in many cases foreign-born) employees. Even historically red states such as Texas exhibit symptoms of dysfunctional leftist governance in their burgeoning urban areas. Austin is rapidly becoming a clone of San Francisco and Portland.
We have come to expect blue states to be "woke," displaying fealty to the latest academic fads, such as critical race theory and other forms of [anti-White] identity politics. Rural America, the "flyover country" populated by Donald Trump-voting deplorables, is supposed to be immune from this trend.
As a resident of a small town in east Tennessee, I regret to report that wokeness is everywhere, even in the brightest-red areas of Republican-majority states. My town is home to a small, 200-year-old, Presbyterian-affiliated liberal arts college that appears to be an island of sanity in higher education. But it's not, and neither is the rest of the town.
When we relocated here from Austin, my wife and I imagined the school was comparable to Hillsdale College, except nestled in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. My wife and I quickly learned the reality is otherwise when a supposedly faith-based lecture we attended on campus was devoted to the teachings of Karl Marx rather than Jesus Christ. The lecturer, who teaches "religious studies" at Skidmore College, is the daughter of the host school's equally-leftist campus minister.
We were also chagrined to learn that the local public library—in a county that voted for President Trump in 2020 by a margin of 71-27 percent—maintains a curated "antiracism" reading list that includes controversial fare such as Ibram Kendi's "How to Be an Antiracist," Robin DiAngelo's "White Fragility," and Ta-Nehisi Coates' "Between the World and Me."
Ignoring the blight homeless people inflict on library users across America, the local library also provides office space to a newly formed organization serving the homeless, with which the library works as a partner, even engaging in "street outreach." The library staffer leading this initiative is—predictably—a graduate of the local leftist college. Indoctrination works.
Even though the area is overwhelmingly Republican, the local paper (owned by a national chain headquartered out of state) is unfailingly and obnoxiously left. The editor admits that one of his "life's greatest disappointments" was being interviewed by The Washington Post and getting turned down for the job. The local paper is a WaPo wannabe, albeit relying heavily on Associated Press reportage. It consistently boosts leftist ideas, locally and nationally.
Due in part to the paper's favorable coverage, a leftist activist who chaired the local Democratic Party and founded the radical organization Indivisible East Tennessee was recently elected to the ostensibly nonpartisan city council. The local Republican Party belatedly—and reluctantly—supported the center-right candidates in a four-person race for two seats. Supported by Soros-funded organizations from outside the state, the Democrat eked out a second-place finish by a few hundred votes, establishing a leftist toe-hold in an otherwise solidly conservative county.
Complacency is a problem for east Tennesseans. They are so used to Republicans winning elections that they falsely assume victory is automatic. It is not.
The first step in electing sound candidates to local office is to make sure that someone representing your values is running. "Nonpartisan" offices such as the local school board are hugely important, but often conservative parents and taxpayers lose by default.
In 2020, a leftist educator and "diversity consultant" who formerly served as dean of students at the local "woke" college was elected to the county board of education without any opposition. Public education desperately needs responsible oversight, but frequently is captured by letists aligned with teachers' unions.
In my local school district, for example, the unelected school superintendent (or "director," as the position is called here) appointed a "diversity task force" that included an activist college student who told a group of protesters organized by the local NAACP chapter in the wake of the George Floyd incident that "We need radical change, and we need it now"; the district's paid "diversity trainer," who instructs on the topics of "systemic racism," "racial equity," "inclusive leadership," and "unconscious biases," among other dubious topics; and an officer of a community organization that describes its mission as "working for racial justice." The stated goals of the 12-person diversity task force include acknowledging that "racism…exist[s] in our schools and community."
Cowardly administrators wishing to avoid responsibility for making unpopular decisions often resort to commissions, committees, and task forces. Ironically, the diversity task force, supposedly formed to collect community input, has been meeting behind closed doors, claiming to be exempt from the state's open meetings law.
"It's not our intent for the work of the diversity task force to be aired in the public," the director told a reporter. "It wouldn't be fair to them to have those conversations in public."
Why do voters tolerate such high-handed actions by their public servants? Many are uninformed [Lazy]; few people read the local newspaper [Lazy]. Most ordinary people in small towns are busy working, taking care of their families, and living their lives [Lazy]. They do not spend their time on social media or the internet, putting them at a disadvantage compared to better-organized, tech-savvy activists on the left.
Most residents of small towns are trusting, good-natured people [Then they're fools!] who naively believe that civic leaders will "do the right thing." East Tennesseans are nice, and they assume that their niceness will be reciprocated. Sadly, all too often local elected officials betray this trust, in order to dole out political favors or do the bidding of business cronies.
For example, our Republican county mayor, the most powerful local elected official, supported the opening of a methadone clinic located near a daycare center. Astonishingly, the owner of the methadone clinic is one of the biggest supporters of the Democratic activist who was recently elected to the city council.
In short, weak leadership, public inattention, lack of organization, and general complacency make small towns vulnerable to aggression by liberal activists. Wokeness can be resisted successfully when the majority of voters actively oppose it. But in the absence of political resistance, the left's agenda will take over, as inexorably as the rising tide.
Unless rural voters in states like Tennessee wake up, they may find that their communities have become knock-offs of Portland, Minneapolis, Austin, or Nashville. Like it or not, small towns are embroiled in the national culture war. They must fight back or they will lose.
Mark Pulliam is a contributing editor to Law and Liberty who blogs at Misrule of Law. He lives in Blount County, Tennessee.
1 comment:
That is exasperatingly true.In Grand Rapids,we were the most conservative city one could think of,but even then--in the early 70s,we elected a black mayor named Lyman Parks--a preacher!
Wikipedia explains,because I was dumbfounded as to the circumstances of how such an event possibly could have occurred.
"In June 1971, he(Parks) was selected by his fellow commissioners to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of mayor Robert Boelens. In 1973, he ran for the office. Grand Rapids mayoral elections are non-partisan, but Republican U.S. Representative Gerald R. Ford (who would shortly be appointed Vice President and then become President) encouraged businessman and Republican activist Peter Secchia to support Parks' campaign. Parks was elected, defeating 10 other candidates. With his election, Parks became the first African-American mayor of Grand Rapids.Parks lost his re-election bid in 1975."
All I can assume,is that Secchia was a closet liberal--maybe Ford was too.Secchia was also a powerbroker of the highest order and--I assume--pushed Parks through to victory for some racially motivated feeling of White guilt.
Still,Grand Rapids was mostly(95%)White in the 70s,80s and 90s--except for the original ghetto area that ran from Division street and Wealthy south to about Burton--a stretch of 5 blocks and maybe two miles.This was where the riots of 1967-68 took place.
The turning point here was in 2004,when a White reverend named George Heartwell began a 12 year run-- with a liberal,pro-black agenda--pushing for Grand Rapids to be sympathetic to minorities and welcome blacks(from Detroit,Flint and Benton Harbor)plus the first of the Mexicans into our city.
Churches such as Bethany began programs to place immigrant Mexicans in formerly White areas.By the time Heartwell maxed out his term limitation,Grand Rapids had become a diverse ghetto.
When church leaders or religious people are elected to local office,liberalism is multiplied exponentially.Heartwell ruined the city,but Secchia was STILL a big influence during those years around here--and no doubt,pushed for the ghetto-ization of Grand Rapids--for a combination of business and social justice reasons.
He died last year and was praised as "a colorblind community leader"(which is VERY important to the media).
The point is,there are people behind the scenes--like Secchia--in every town,attempting to artificially level the playing field for blacks with Whites--and it's all done secretly.Who would have thought Gerald Ford would have stabbed his own city in the back all those years ago?I had no idea.
But he did--and it set the stage for what's happening everywhere today.When these "community leaders" get done "fixing" a city that was deemed "too White"--they fly off to their giant beach houses--leaving behind a city in ruins.
Then it's on to YOUR town.
--GRA
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