“Yee-Haw!!” “What in tarnation??” “Yes, I think I’ll have the possum stew and bog water.”
While President Biden has yet to be caught saying these phrases, as they continue to parade him in front of barns and John Deere tractors, the likelihood goes up. Traveling on the “Investing in Rural America Event Series,” he kicked the tour off on November 1st. Dropping in on the Dutch Creek Farms in Northfield, Minnesota, his team provided the media with a copy of his rambling remarks.
“[T]hrough our clean energy initiatives contained in the Inflation Reduction Act, we’re investing nearly $20 billion…$20 billion; the money is there…to help farmers and ranchers tackle climate crisis through climate-smart agriculture and cover crops, nutrient management…and storing carbon in the soil…Through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law…we’re making the most substantial investment…in rural America since Eisenhower’s highway plan — roads, bridges, inland waterways, ports, regional airports, clean water, high-speed Internet.”
Not hitting the road alone, Biden, as well as Vice President Kamala Harris and other top administration officials, will blanket the US on this tour. Arizona, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming are all on their list of stops.
In rural Arizona, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm stopped by to advocate for the spread of electrical access into this rural section of the state. Despite not having many other utilities and options out there, the Biden administration wants people to know electrifying this area is critically important to their agenda. They believe that people cannot be informed misled without proper electrical services.
Deputy Agriculture Secretary Xochitl Torres Small visited rural Michigan recently. Currently, the Department of Agriculture is spearheading an initiative to connect 300,000 rural households with high-speed internet. While a limited impact initiative, for many of these people, this initiative can provide a much-needed and often neglected lifeline to the rest of their community and the world. Especially for senior farmers who may no longer be operating an active farm but refuse to move into town.
Even with these initiatives, the Biden campaign isn’t reaching middle America.
A poll announced by Siena College for The New York Times shows Biden trailing Trump by 4-11 points in five of the six swing states many believe are up for grabs. Leading by 4 points in PA, 5 in AZ and MI, 6 in GA, and simply dog walking the man by 11 points in NV. The only state Biden holds an edge in is in WI, and that is only by 2 points. Conducted from Oct 22 through Nov 3rd, the survey was conducted with over 3,662 registered voters and carries a 1.8% margin of error.
Biden is one of those politicians who doesn’t know an Angus bull from a dairy Holstein. His only experience around farms came from 50+ years ago and was only because he took a wrong turn. The man and his campaign staff know nothing of the harsh realities of farming, rural living, or making a go of it.
Rather than fix the problems these farmers know they need to have fixed, Biden and his team of “experts” find ways they think will help the most and rush forward with them. No input from those who need the help, no questions being asked about what they want. Just action is being taken with little to no thought being given to the long-term consequences. To these people in Biden’s campaign, they have all the answers and firmly believe they know more than Rural America.
The fact of the matter is Trump speaks to middle America. He listens to their concerns and validates what they have to say. He spends the time to hear them out and tries to understand what isn’t working for them. Seeing the reality of the situation for what it is, his personality as an American is better and more relatable than anything Biden. Or his campaign can come up with. The level of capability, and clear thought isn’t even close. At this point, Biden is just trying not to embarrass himself.
