Appalachia now Trump country

[lostinblue 1,989]

Once a Clinton stronghold, Appalachia now Trump country

ASHLAND, Ky. (AP) -- When President Bill Clinton rolled into the small Appalachian town of Ashland, Kentucky, in 1996, cheering crowds lined the streets. Local boy-turned-country music star Billy Ray Cyrus performed a special version of his hit, "Achy Breaky Heart" before nearly 20,000 supporters at a riverfront re-election rally.

Back then, this was Clinton country. Today, it looks an awful lot more like Trump town.

Hillary Clinton was met in Ashland on Monday by just a handful of supporters and a lone heckler, who shouted: "Go home, Hillary!" Later on, hundreds of protesters stood in pouring rain, waved Donald Trump signs and chanted "Kill-ary" as Clinton toured a health center in Williamson, West Virginia.

The unwelcome reception marks a striking political shift for the Clintons, who've long staked their electoral fortunes on working class white voters. Bill Clinton won the White House in 1992 by wooing Southern swing voters in places such as Kentucky, West Virginia and Tennessee, and his wife swept all three states in her primary run in 2008 against then-Illinois Sen. Barack Obama.

Eight years later, Trump's connection with those voters could pose a threat to Clinton in the coal mining communities of Appalachia she visited on Monday, but also in parts of the Rust Belt and upper Midwest hit hard by the decline of domestic manufacturing.

"I am well aware of the politics in West Virginia," she told MSNBC in Charleston, W.Va on Tuesday. "It's gotten increasingly challenging for Democrats to be successful."

As she increasingly focuses her efforts on the general election, Clinton is trying to replicate the electoral strategy that twice boosted Obama into the White House by concentrating on wooing young, minority and female voters.

Trump may afford them new opportunities to expand what's known as the Obama coalition: Her aides calculate the billionaire's penchant for controversy could put traditionally Republican-leaning states such as Georgia, North Carolina and Arizona into play.

"As an old duck hunter, I know the truth of the saying, 'You gotta hunt where the ducks are at,'" said Paul Begala, who helped engineer Clinton's victory in 1992. "President Obama understood this, as does Secretary Clinton."

But at the same time, Clinton's long history with the region means she and her husband aren't willing to give up on places such as Ashland. Her campaign explained her swing through the coal-mining region as one that highlights her willingness to speak to the entire country - even those people who don't support her bid. Aides say she's unlikely to win either Kentucky or West Virginia in the primaries later this month or the general election next fall.

Democrats have lost support in Appalachia as the region has shed jobs in industries such as coal mining and as union membership has declined, said Democratic strategist Dave "Mudcat" Saunders. The leftward shift of the Democratic Party during the Obama administration on social issues, including gay marriage and gun control, hasn't helped. "In those areas, it has become culturally unacceptable for a white male to admit he's a Democrat," Saunders said.

On Sunday, Bill Clinton was booed at an event in Logan, West Virginia. Before he arrived, the town's mayor sent an email to West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin's office, saying the couple wasn't welcome to use city fire department facilities for their political events.

Clinton's waning popularity in the region was further hurt by a remark she made in a March interview with CNN, when she said she would "put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business." She was responding to a question about how her policies would benefit poor white people in Southern states.

"I can't take it back and I certainly can't get people who for politically reasons or personal reasons, very painful reasons, are upset with me," said Clinton, who called the comment a "misstatement." ''I'm going to do whatever I can to try to help."

Outside her event, protesters weren't buying.

"Hillary Clinton should be in prison," said Dionne Collins, who backed Bill Clinton in 1992. "The only hope is Donald Trump."

---

Associated Press reporter Catherine Lucey contributed to this report from Des Moines, Iowa.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_DEM_2016_CLINTON?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2016-05-03-14-11-52

when she said she would "put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business." She was responding to a question about how her policies would benefit poor white people in Southern states.

"I can't take it back and I certainly can't get people who for politically reasons or personal reasons, very painful reasons, are upset with me," said Clinton, who called the comment a "misstatement." ''I'm going to do whatever I can to try to help."

Outside her event, protesters weren't buying.

"Hillary Clinton should be in prison," said Dionne Collins, who backed Bill Clinton in 1992. "The only hope is Donald Trump."

[ExPatty 502]

#anyonebuthillary

I'd be ok with that DOJ indictment coming down before Sanders drops out and him taking office in November even.

[lostinblue 1,989]

• 

Gillette, Wyo - More bad news for Wyoming’s energy sector as Alpha Natural Resources announces the layoff of nearly 40 more workers.

The coal company is one of several other mining groups to file bankruptcy in the last few months.

The 37 jobs cut will affect its two mines, Belle Ayr and Eagle Butte in the Powder River Basin. These layoffs mean close to 500 Wyoming workers have lost their jobs in the coal community over the last couple of months.

The Gillette News Record reports that the layoffs announced on Thursday represent about 6.5 percent of Alpha's 563 workers at the two mines

http://www.kgwn.tv/home/headlines/More-jobs-lost-in-Wyomings-coal-community-377458861.html

[ready4ONE 5,400]

Make America Appolatia Again! I'm pretty sure that Herr Drumpf will get right to work on making all of America working poor. Just Google how well Drumpf treats his Vegas Casino workers. Good pay? Nope. Decent benifits? Nope! Get your own wealthy daddy to give you a fortune.

[lostinblue 1,989]

Make America Appolatia Again! I'm pretty sure that Herr Drumpf will get right to work on making all of America working poor. Just Google how well Drumpf treats his Vegas Casino workers. Good pay? Nope. Decent benifits? Nope! Get your own wealthy daddy to give you a fortune.

“[H]ere’s what I want you to know, what I want you to know is I’m going to do everything I can to help, no matter what happens politically. I mean that is just how I am made. I’m going to do everything I can to help.”

The liberals do everything they can to put these folks out of work ... Whole communities ... out of work ... Then they rush in and say..... we are here to save you ... Just vote for me .

[ready4ONE 5,400]

[H]eres what I want you to know, what I want you to know is Im going to do everything I can to help, no matter what happens politically. I mean that is just how I am made. Im going to do everything I can to help.

The liberals do everything they can to put these folks out of work ... Whole communities ... out of work ... Then they rush in and say..... we are here to save you ... Just vote for me .

You prefer the more genteel fleecing of the somewhat wealthy by way of shady investments? Scam College to fleece students hoping to achieve the success daddies money bought? Getting less pay and benefits from the billionaire owner of the casino where you work?

I'm sure you realize that coal jobs have been in decline since Ronald Reagan was President? I know that you love your fantasy world in which the liberals ruin everything but it is just fantasy.

Edited May 4, 2016 by ready4ONE

[Póg mo 1,749]

[H]eres what I want you to know, what I want you to know is Im going to do everything I can to help, no matter what happens politically. I mean that is just how I am made. Im going to do everything I can to help.

The liberals do everything they can to put these folks out of work ... Whole communities ... out of work ... Then they rush in and say..... we are here to save you ... Just vote for me .

Margaret Thatcher in the UK put a lot of coal miners out of work, she certainly wasn't a liberal. The coal industry is dying, but instead of doing something that might have helped people in Appalachia learn new skills etc, conservatives have done everything to ensure they are at the mercy of low paying dead end jobs.

[smilesammich 10,727]

"Hillary Clinton should be in prison," said Dionne Collins, who backed Bill Clinton in 1992. "The only hope is Donald Trump."

hillary clinton aside, how could anyone in appalachia think for one friggin second that trump is going to do anything to help them? like, what exactly is the difference between hillary and trump when it comes to their perception of coal workers/miners? those jobs ain't comin back, i don't care who gets elected.

[yuna628 9,758]

hillary clinton aside, how could anyone in appalachia think for one friggin second that trump is going to do anything to help them? like, what exactly is the difference between hillary and trump when it comes to their perception of coal workers/miners? those jobs ain't comin back, i don't care who gets elected.

The term Appalachia is a wide net of people. If you've never been there or never seen a band of people that live in abject poverty, fundamental lack of education and healthcare, drug addiction... a lack of clean running water and proper food sources. They are enslaved to the coal industry for years because their governments never provided the infrastructure or economy for anything else. You begin to understand why how desperate they are. The coal industry has killed them, destroyed their lands and water for ages, and yet they rely on it for barely-there survival. And what was it all for? For the energy needs of other Americans.. certainly not themselves. People may make fun of them or view them with a strange sense of curiousity, but we owe them a great deal. Unfortunately it means people like Trump and others routinely prey upon issues close to their hearts, that an outsider will not understand. Hillary made an incredibly stupid statement and it will be cashed in on. The Appalachians have always been taken advantage of, one way or another.

Ever seen a documentary called The Last Mountain? Really disturbing scene of the relationship between the people and the coal companies.

[smilesammich 10,727]

The term Appalachia is a wide net of people. If you've never been there or never seen a band of people that live in abject poverty, fundamental lack of education and healthcare, drug addiction... a lack of clean running water and proper food sources. They are enslaved to the coal industry for years because their governments never provided the infrastructure or economy for anything else. You begin to understand why how desperate they are. The coal industry has killed them, destroyed their lands and water for ages, and yet they rely on it for barely-there survival. And what was it all for? For the energy needs of other Americans.. certainly not themselves. People may make fun of them or view them with a strange sense of curiousity, but we owe them a great deal. Unfortunately it means people like Trump and others routinely prey upon issues close to their hearts, that an outsider will not understand. Hillary made an incredibly stupid statement and it will be cashed in on. The Appalachians have always been taken advantage of, one way or another.

Ever seen a documentary called The Last Mountain? Really disturbing scene of the relationship between the people and the coal companies.

hillary made an incredibly transparent statement, she should guard her true face better if she wants to win the big trophy. and the part in bold is what gets me, this is how it's always been - but this time around trump isn't even a wolf in sheep's clothing. he's a proud wolf simply pretending he's not hungry for all sheep flesh.

i have seen the last mountain, and if i remember right i cried through most of it. it's tragic, and perfectly displays how capitalism functions to prey upon it's foundation.

[Boiler 46,368]

Perhaps they need to stay on the reservation.

[TBoneTX 46,417]

Mining is probably a sunset industry, itself.

[Dashinka 24,978]

Mining is probably a sunset industry, itself.

This might be true of coal mining, but mining in general is still needed. Even those touted clean energy sector businesses need raw materials to produce something, and most if not all of it comes from the ground.

[The Nature Boy 7,659]

[The Nature Boy 7,659]

The term Appalachia is a wide net of people. If you've never been there or never seen a band of people that live in abject poverty, fundamental lack of education and healthcare, drug addiction... a lack of clean running water and proper food sources. They are enslaved to the coal industry for years because their governments never provided the infrastructure or economy for anything else. You begin to understand why how desperate they are. The coal industry has killed them, destroyed their lands and water for ages, and yet they rely on it for barely-there survival. And what was it all for? For the energy needs of other Americans.. certainly not themselves. People may make fun of them or view them with a strange sense of curiousity, but we owe them a great deal. Unfortunately it means people like Trump and others routinely prey upon issues close to their hearts, that an outsider will not understand. Hillary made an incredibly stupid statement and it will be cashed in on. The Appalachians have always been taken advantage of, one way or another.

Ever seen a documentary called The Last Mountain? Really disturbing scene of the relationship between the people and the coal companies.

Spent a lot of time there have you ?