Tell me why - as an interested liberal, whose family goes back to Bastrop County, TX, who has worked minimum wage jobs, who has done physical labor, who grew up on food stamps, whose ancestral homeland is the property crime capital of the nation, whose childhood was surrounded by indian reservations, why I should give the FIRST FUCK about fucking appalachia.

Because there are thirty-seven Congressional Districts in Appalachia. And 16 Senate seats.

Look, I'm an American who still loves the potential of this country. I grew up in Mediocreville, lived in a car with nothing to my name, and ended up in good shape because this place does still sort-of work. I am a Liberal because I think we need to invest more in the bottom tiers of the country's population and make a bigger middle class. It's the Middle Class people who buy stuff, start businesses, pay taxes, support the housing markets and in general make the economy solid. I think the Democrats, for all the shit they have put me through over the last 16+ years are the best choice for making the place better for the middle class... and I am one of those people so this is a bit self serving, true.

We cannot do shit on the left until we get some political power. The left gave the fuck up on a lot of "Flyover Country" and now they don't have the House, they don't have the Senate and they only control 26% of the state legislatures. In 2006, the left and the Democrats had one of their best elections EVER in my life time and threw it all away. Now they are barely hanging on and Chief Justice Roberts is going to get his majority court to roll back regulations and Trump is going to allow his buddies to deny climate change, pave over the environment, try to sell the national parks and fuck over the unions, what few we have left that are worth fighting for.

If guys like us ever want to see a left-ish government at the national level, that means that the DNC and the Democrats have to start fighting for the narrative in all 50 states, not just the coasts and swing states, because that shit just cost us. I think that Trump and the people he is putting in the cabinet are going to fuck over the US economy. The thing about recessions? TV still gets watched because it is cheap if not free. People still have babies because sex is a cheap form of recreation. People still need health care. Guys like you and I are going to be fine, but what about those around us?

True to my word to go offline and do something, I went to a state meeting this weekend. Full of people still in shock over Trump. I listened to whiny bullshit for 45 minutes, then got my chance to stand up. I asked what we are going to do to vet Trump's Supreme Court Nominee. Silence. I asked if there was going to be a campaign to fight for ACA. Silence. I asked if there was a program started to start taking back the state houses here. I was told that was not worth it. These people are not the coastal elites, they are the people who should be working to promote the Dem's in state, find candidates, fund them, support them and knock on doors for them. And no plans, nothing. Maybe the people with the plans are hitting the books somewhere else, but fuck me, man. This funk has to end now.

The Democrats have less than two years to get their shit together. They catch a break in 2017, but the RNC has to smell blood in the water over the 23 Senate seats the Dem's have to fight over in 2018. If the Democrats want to fight for the Senate and pick up the three seats they need, they need to fight in red states, all the same fighting to keep their advantage in the states that just went Trump: WV, PA, VA, MT, MO for example. The DNC cannot lose ANY seats. So, they better start recruiting and building. Then the Dems have to win again in 2020 to fight the Gerrymandering nonsense and redistricting. That is two hard, rough, elections coming up, and we may have the headwinds of a Trump scandal or twelve to help, but that ground work needs to start soon. The Recount, btw is bullshit and not going to change anything; that money and effort needs to go to Louisiana. BTW, only two people in that meeting even knew there was a run off in LA.

What we have on the left in the US is not a "coastal elite" problem, and I'm sorry you took it that way. What we have is a distinctly cowardly leadership that is afraid of pulling out the brass knuckles and fighting. But then again we here on Hubski are 50-60 people. At the end of the day we don't matter for shit outside of our hugbox either. Hell dude I'm know as the "liberal science guy from California" in my city councilman's office. As far as they are concerned I am a coastal elite.

I want my side to start winning elections, and right now all people are doing is pointing fingers. There is NO national level fight for the Louisiana Senate Seat; the last time the Senate was 51-50 we get a moderate Republican to switch sides. Good luck pulling that off with a 52-48 split.

Waiting 20 years for all the baby boomers to die is not an option for me; there may not be anything worth saving by then and besides I'll either be too old or dead by then. The way you win is to fight for it. Maybe these articles will get more links, rise in the SEO shit and strike a chord with the people who need to get the kick in the pants.