The 1st Congressional District in Arkansas should be called "Fortress Democrat". Its one of the most fiercely loyal Democratic Party strongholds in the United States. I can't figure out why.
The 1st District encompasses northeast Arkansas and much of the Delta region. It has high unemployment rates, high poverty, low development, and a high minority population. It has been a development backwater for at least a century or more, if not always.
So I must admit that I am stumped. After 150 years of one party dominance, are these people satisfied with the improvements that their voting patterns have produced? Are they satisfied with their position relative to other districts within their state and their position within the nation? They must be, because they continue to vote for the status quo. One definition of insanity is "continuing to do the same thing and expecting different results". By this definition, the 1st Congressional District is insane.
Democratic control is maintained by a combination of promises. Free prescription drugs, farm subsidies, and Social Security. In other words, the promise that the smooth flow of government checks will continue, and perhaps increase.
The fastest growing and most dynamic region of Arkansas is the Northwest. The only part of the state where the Republican Party has had input. That region was also a poverty stricken area. It was geographically isolated with notoriously poor transportation links to anyplace important. Yet it has seen a burst of economic activity and wealth generation.
The 1st District has a lot more going for it. It has easy access to the aorta of the nation, the Mississippi River. It has some of the best farmland in the United States. It is situated right next to a decent-sized urban area that has established itself as a major American transportation hub. Yet with these geographical advantages it has fallen farther and farther behind Central and Northwest Arkansas.
The people there are not that different from the people in Central and Northwest Arkansas. The tax rates are the same. They share the same set of laws and regulations. Yet they are vastly different. The obvious explanation is the lack of a two-party system and a desire to remain dependent on the industry of poverty.
I have no solution. All I can do is ask, how many more centuries will the people of the 1st Congressional District give one party the steering wheel? If after another 150 years the region is still mired in poverty will you try something else? Maybe the 1st District should draw a line in the sand and tell the Democratic Party that they have only 100 more years to get us from 49th the 48th. All we ask is a little progress every century or so in exchange for our votes. It might be worth a try.
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1 comment:
You have raised some interesting points and expressed them very effectively. Being from Arkansas, I am familiar with the poverty in that region. However, I do not believe their voting preferences prove they are insane. I am not from that region and am not living in poverty so I cannot speak for them. But perhaps they feel the administration currently in power nationally does not have their best interests at heart.
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