Yesterday, I followed a link from the Instapundit to this commentary,The Red Sea, by David Von Drehle. Instapundit linked to Tim Blair's discussion of it, as well as Patrick Ruffini's (the Instapundit also has an e-mail from a reader that's good to read). Mr. Blair doesn't appear to care for the article at all, while Mr. Ruffini seems to appreciate it a bit more.
I wasn't too sure of what to say, initially. I actually like the piece, even though I believe Mr. Von Drehle still doesn't "get" the Red State people. He is, however, fairly frank at the beginning of his piece:
We met dozens of people along the way. We asked them about themselves, about their communities, about their votes. Some were leery of us. Several asked politely: "What are you trying to accomplish?" Others were more blunt: "What's your angle?" Another version: "What are you hoping to find?"
We met Bruce Owen outside Abilene, Kan. He invited us into his home, introduced us to his wife, Donna -- and then seemed to wish he hadn't. He told us he rarely saw people like himself portrayed in "the media," except as objects of derision.
He had a point there.
But it's right near the end of the article that I thinks he makes his best point - even though I' m not really sure he understands it himself. I hope so, but like many in "Red America" (and I hate that color - it reminds me too much of communism), I am a wee tad suspicious of the MSM and its, um, minions....
After a campaign in which the Democrat made very little effort to seek their votes, the Red Sea folks decided to cast their ballots in large numbers for George W. Bush. Something he said or did struck a chord with some note of their own political music. Maybe it was the feeling that bureaucrats just don't get it. Or the idea that elitists hold the heartland in contempt. Maybe it was the worry that traditions are under attack. Maybe it was the view that coastal culture is an enemy, not a friend, in the effort to raise children. For some, it was the feeling of authenticity and apparent horse sense. The attitude toward land and resources that comes from living amid an abundance of both. The significance of personal faith.
In short, I found ordinary people with various motivations, sundry stories, personal beliefs, custom-made decisions.
I suppose there are no great surprises there -- these views represent many of the strands that have been collected over the past generation into the political camp we call "conservative." But the focus on this common label may obscure the individual nature of these voting decisions. I met regular churchgoers and people who attend church seldom if ever. I met young libertarians and elderly prims. I met a wealthy man and a man unemployed and deeply in debt. I met people who admire Bush and people who have little regard for him.
I imagine this might disappoint those people who seek a large and unified explanation of something as important as a presidential election. How much more satisfying it is -- especially for those who make a living from explaining elections in catchy sound bites -- to conjure up overarching themes, towering trends, looming like alps over an election. Nothing sells like a big trend story, whether the trend is "right-wing backlash" or "values revival."
At any rate, I think the piece is at least fairly thoughtful and worth reading the whole way through.
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