Who are we? Why are we here? What are we even doing?
So much to answer. There’s lots of time to unravel it all, but here we’ll give you a brief introduction to why this site now exists.
Rural Progressive Voices is the culmination of passion, interests, skills, friendships, and political frustration.
Rural America is viewed as a monotonous red sea filled with white rural rage.
However, it’s so much more than that.
And the narrative about it is only making matters worse – for those who live here and for the democratic movement overall.
While local democrats in rural communities work their hearts out making calls, writing letters, sending postcards, giving rides to the polls, they watch voter registration numbers drop and drop.
The state and national Democratic Party has all but outwardly said it couldn’t care less about rural communities. In some states, it publicly did say it. Regardless of verbalization, campaign dollars do not flow to rural counties, and national candidates don’t visit.
Anyone who has watched election night returns over the last two decades could tell you that Pennsylvania is a critical swing state in presidential elections. Despite that, the last time a national liberal candidate visited the most rural part of the Commonwealth – northcentral Pennsylvania – was Barack Obama in 2008, when he stumped at Penn State campus. About 20,000 people attended. Bill Clinton visited nearby Lock Haven University while campaigning for himself in the 1990s and Hillary Clinton in 2008. They came because they were prioritizing the working class, and the working class faces the same problems in all communities – not just urban ones. People here remember it.
These visits matter in communities that are left behind. They help change the narrative and inspire voters.
You might not believe it, but some of our rural PA counties actually had Democratic Party majorities back in 2008 and 2012. Shocking, but true. We remember it because we live here.
Understanding how rural progressives feel about the issues, and making it a point to serve our communities once elected is critical.
The democratic movement has always been one about bringing everyone into the fold, together – especially those who have been left out and disenfranchised, the working class. It’s time that the Democratic Party recognizes this includes rural communities who are being left behind and the working class people in them too.
If rural communities continue being ignored, the margins will keep growing here. And Republicans will keep winning for decades to come based on their false rhetoric and empty promises.
So that’s why we’re here.
We’re sick of being left behind, forgotten about, and bunched in with what’s become the majority. We deserve to be heard, and we want our fellow rural progressives to feel represented.
It’s time we tell our stories and share our feelings, for ourselves, in a format that is accessible.
This site will feature sections for different writers on various political topics, and we look to launch a companion digital newsletter soon too. Our writers represent a variety of ages and backgrounds, all with decades of experience living in rural Pennsylvania and advocating for progressive policies to make our communities more resilient.
We’re living in trying times, and because of it, we’ve opted to allow our writers to use their normal byline or choose a pen name/alias. We hope you will understand and gather solace in our writings.
You’ll find reflections on current events, historical anecdotes that help us all remember how the progressive movement beckons to the laborers and the rural voters of all times, and other resources and topical pieces.
Enjoy the journey!
Rural Progressive Voices 