Appalachian DUers: How would Romney do in Appalachia against Obama?
I think we all know that Obama has never sold well in Appalachia. From Pennsylvania to northern Alabama, Hillary Clinton racked up huge margins in all of the mountainous counties.
Obama's "bitter...guns and religion" remarks were also unhelpful and offensive.
And then in the real election against McCain we saw Obama lose three counties in western Pennsylvania that were carried by John Kerry in 2004 and poll worse in several other counties down the Appalachian range. I think some of this could be attributed to Hillary voters staying home and some defecting to McCain.
Maybe McCain was their type of guy: he was military and he is of Scots-Irish descent, like them. He's feisty, which is characteristic of a lot of politicians from that region.
Then there is Romney. I cannot see Romney connecting with these people in any way. He could not be culturally more different. He's not tough and gritty, he looks like the corporate executive who flys in to their factories and warehouses, never talks to the workers, lays people off, cuts benefits and then disappears off to his gated suburban community.
These are voters that he will need, and I see a lot of them yawning at a Romney candidacy, and maybe even a few of them being up for grabs for Obama IF he is willing to call Romney out on his corporate Power Point presentation bullshit.
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