Those Wacky Pennsylvanians

We are privileged to call several Keystone State residents "brother" on this blog. I never realized how backwards y'all were until Senator Obama filled me in (c/o Jules Crittenden):

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.

Thankfully, you have Senator Clinton:




I know you're feeling better after that.

The Blogosphere is on DefCon 5 over this (causing even me to mix jargon) but I think the man who talked himself out of the Rev. Wright imbroglio can beat this rap. But it will weigh down the campaign. Mark Steyn compares his arrogance -- unfavorably -- to Senator Kerry's:

I had a ton of fun covering Kerry's awkwardness with Americans but, in fairness, it was essentially a consumerist snobbery: he preferred the Newburgh Yacht Club for lunch over the local Wendy's, he'd rather be windsurfing off Nantucket than rednecking at Nascar, etc. Obama's snobbery seems more culturally profound, and unlike Kerry he can't plead the crippling disadvantage of a privileged childhood. Rather, Barack's condescension reveals a man out of touch with the rhythms of American life to a degree that's hard to fathom.

All the while, Hugh Hewitt wonders why Keystone Staters are so bitter? I didn't even know y'all were until today.

John Lewandowski at PA Water Cooler has a suggested "Snoboma" campaign poster.

UPDATE: I never said DefCon 5 wasn't fun! Terrestrial Musings interviews a man from West Deer Township:

"And it wasn't just the beer. Some of them actually went out in the woods in the fall, and shot animals. And kilt 'em. With real guns!

"I was shocked, of course. For all their diversity, none of my gay friends would have ever thought of doing anything like that. But with my job loss, and lack of money for pedicures and pommade, they didn't want to hang with me any more. So I borried a twelve gauge over'n'under, and went out with my new beer-drinking animal-killing friends in the woods. And I'll tell you what, when I shot down that eight-pointer, I felt a sense of power over the helpless in a way that I hadn't since I'd been looking down on the rednecks when I had that good job in Pittsburgh, driving around town in my 528i.

Dem2008 Primary Posted by jk at April 12, 2008 1:18 PM