God & Guns: The Rural Disconnect

Sen. Barack Obama on Rural Americans:

"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."

So now that it’s out there, let’s just let it linger a little bit.

After another long week of the Democratic Presidential Primary one thing is certain: Barack Obama has lost a piece of the heart land with his rouge comments on guns and religion,  just how much is yet to be determined.

Speaking at a San Francisco fundraiser last week Obama attempted to explain religion and gun ownership as a byproduct of poor governance - like a high crime rate.

Obama’s comments should come as no shock, and further underscore the growing disconnect between the far- left and rural America. The situation is just as laughable as John Kerry walking into an Ohio sporting goods store and asking for a hunting license; but as inflammatory as Bill Maher insisting that Christians have a “neurological disorder.”

Vermont is a model for gun ownership.  The Green Mountain State garnishes some of the most lax gun laws in the nation, with no license or permit system, yet one of the country’s lowest per-capita gun murder rates.  Kids are taught from an incredibly young age to respect fire arms, while, the far-left constantly paints gun ownership as a crime in its own right.

Life long hunter and Vermonter Ryan O’Grady had this to say about Obama’s comments, “I’ve hunted my entire life. I don’t cling to guns out of frustration; I honor the traditions and values of my father, and his father.”

“It comes down the very real stigma that exists in large cities across the nation that those of us who do not come from large urban centers are uncivilized, ignorant, and automatically less tolerant.” O’Grady said. “It’s really disheartening to someone running for President, use stereotypes so matter-of-factly.”

Sen. Hillary Clinton alluded to this very idea last week saying, “the Democratic Party, to be very blunt about it, has been viewed as a party that didn't understand and respect the values and the way of life of so many of our fellow Americans."

The implied notion that, rural America is simply an extension of pre-bellum bitterness and ignorance is perhaps the most disturbing part of Obama’s comments.

No faith in government: “Get yer guns.”

No faith in government: “Get yer God.”

The irony is that those same gun-touting, bible thumping red necks are, without question, the most mobile voting block of the last quarter century. Just ask the Congressional Class of 1994 or Al Gore, a southerner who couldn’t win a single state south of the Mason-Dixon Line in his 2000 bid for the White House.

“He used the words ‘they’ and ‘them,’ you would think that of all people in the political world, Sen. Obama would be more thoughtful in his choice of words.” University of Vermont student Leila Bair said.

“The dig on rural values, which yes do include guns and religion, really makes me question just how much Sen. Obama understands the working class of this country. Rural Americans do not need Sen. Obama to descend upon us and urbanize us. Now, that I think of it, rural America doesn’t need Barack Obama at all.” Bair added.

The problem at the root of Obama’s comments is that it seems he, in some way believes that government is the elixir to wean rural American off its addiction to religion; that Washington, of all things can save us from God and guns.

So what happened?

The political answer is that, a liberal candidate pandered to an ultra-liberal crowd in an ultra-liberal city in hopes of adding a few more bucks to his war chest. It happens on both sides of the aisle- sad but true.

However, Obama may have crippled his chances of winning some of the more rural states in a general election, the most obvious being Ohio and Pennsylvania, with a measly 44 electoral votes between the two.

This is the most recent example of how a long primary has the ability to destroy a party from within.  And as the shine begins to wear off the Obama movement, one has to wonder how much longer this contest can be allowed to continue. One thing is for certain, the only person happier than John McCain about Obama’s thoughtless comments, is the rejuvenated Clinton Campaign.

Hillary was last seen “getin-r-done” in Indiana pounding whisky and trying to shoot ducks with a revolver.

The circus continues.