Did ya know that the Washington Post-- yes, THE Washington Post -- stopped by the patch the other day to talk to take the pulse of the electorate regarding the upcoming presidential election?
That's right -- one of the country's premiere newspapers thought it important to stop by "coal country" (in a county that hasn't had a major working mine in 50 years), to talk to people who still say, "I grew up in the patch."
The story, "In Pennsylvania coal country, voters not thrilled with their choices," can be read here:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/in-pennsylvania-coal-country-voters-not-thrilled-with-their-choices/2012/06/03/gJQA5pHzBV_story.html
Were you aware that, according to the Post, Fayette County "is a political and economic battleground"? Or that it is "full of prototypical Reagan Democrats"? Or that -- egad! -- its "unemployment rate is higher than the national average"?
Or that, "This is one of the poorest counties in the state. Locals bemoan a culture in which too many families are broken and too many people have drug dependencies or are living off disability payments in what ought to be the prime of their working lives."
(We can't wait to see what the folks at Fay-Penn Economic Development handle "negative news" when it appears in a national publication. Perhaps a letter to the Post, saying that its story is driving potential employers away?)
Anyway, here in "coal country," amid all its "company houses" and overgrown gop heaps, the Post found South Union Township supervisor Bob Schiffbauer, state Rep. Tim Mahoney, union member Mike Mercadante, one-time Brownsville restaurant owner Beverly Novotny, high school employee Tina Palko, psychologist/Republican Debra Rhodes, disabled Vietnam veteran Gary Smitley, used car salesman Tom Nicholson, lawyer Jeffrey Golembiewski and Judge Ralph Warman.
We're not sure how many of them ever lived in a company house or played on a slate dump, but they are the Post sources on this story, which seems to be centered on the theme that Fayette County voters are having a tough time choosing between Democrat Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney.
The story notes that in the traditionally Democrat-heavy county, Republican John McCain beat Obama by fewer than 200 votes in 2008.
We have our own theories on why that was -- and why Obama may not carry Fayette this year, either -- but our real pet peeve concerns the endless and meaningless historical recitation about the area that still goes on.
What is the relevance of anyone continuing to state that Fayette County was part of the Whiskey Rebellion? That has about as much to do with the current Fayette County situation, or the mindset of the people therein, as it does Justin Bieber's latest hair style. Have you ever heard anyone say, "My great-great-great-great Grandpappy was part of the Whiskey Rebellion -- and that fighting spirit, handed down through the generations, is why I won't take this from my elected officials!"
Honestly, someone should mount a campaign to convince the Post and others to stop refering to "King Coal" (that king has been dead for so long, he no longer matters), "trolley cars" (they haven't operated for ages, but we do have a pretty nice expressway and bypass, and even most of the poor have cars), and "steel mills ... fueled by coke" (the only thing the county's coke fuels nowadays is bad behavior and crime).
Same thing for references to Fort Necessity, the French and Indian War, Fallingwater, Frank Lloyd Wright, George Washington, the National Road, blah-blah-blah. What any of those things has to do with a current-day analysis of presidential politics is beyond us.
Do you think that they matter to Obama or Romney, or the Democrat or Republican strategists who are crafting their strategy for winning the election?
"President Obama, we've done the research -- visit Fallingwater and mention Frank Lloyd Wright, and you'll win Pennsylvania."
"Governor Romney, if you want to carry Fayette County and win Pennsylvania, you'll need to ride in the National Pike Festival wagon train. Our research shows people will vote on that basis."
In any case, the story is an interesting take on how outsiders view Fayette County, shorn of worry about how advertisers or the influential will react.
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