Rural issues

A close up shot of VP candidate JD Vance mid-speech.

Democrats Dismiss JD Vance at Their Peril Democrats Dismiss JD Vance at Their Peril

Calling the Ohio senator "weird" may feel satisfying. Pundits have dismissed him as a drag on the ticket. But the smarter play would still be to steal his thunder.

Sep 6, 2024 / Column / Erica Etelson and Anthony Flaccavento

A sign calling for volunteers hangs at the Sheffield Volunteer Fire Department on Friday, May 31, 2024, in Sheffield, Pennsylvania.

The Missing Pieces of the Democrats’ Rural Offer Could Fill a Barnyard The Missing Pieces of the Democrats’ Rural Offer Could Fill a Barnyard

Rural America looms large in the 2024 election. So why is it such a small piece of the Progressive Caucus agenda?

Aug 13, 2024 / Anthony Flaccavento

Nathaniel Blankenship, a crew member in a job program with Coalfield Development Corporation, works to remodel a 1920s-era warehouse into office space in Williamson, West Virginia.

Paul Krugman May Not Know How to Reverse the Decline of Rural America. But We Do. Paul Krugman May Not Know How to Reverse the Decline of Rural America. But We Do.

The countryside has been neglected for decades. A Rural New Deal would reverse that with capital and creative solutions writen by and for rural Americans.

Jun 12, 2024 / Erica Etelson and Anthony Flaccavento

Bruce, after arriving in the middle of the night, waits to enter a Remote Area Medical (RAM) mobile dental and medical clinic on October 7, 2023, in Grundy, Virginia.

It’s Not Too Late for Democrats to Win Back Rural Voters It’s Not Too Late for Democrats to Win Back Rural Voters

Putting together a Democratic majority in 2024 requires winning back some portion of the rural working class. The good news is that it can be done. Here’s how.

May 17, 2024 / Column / Erica Etelson and Anthony Flaccavento

Sarah Lloyd works on her farm in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin

Here’s What a 21st-Century Rural New Deal Looks Like Here’s What a 21st-Century Rural New Deal Looks Like

A strategy for building a rural-urban working-class coalition.

Apr 23, 2024 / Katrina vanden Heuvel

west Virginia statehouse, capitol, economic bill of rights

In West Virginia, Can the Left Win Back “Trump Country”? In West Virginia, Can the Left Win Back “Trump Country”?

Not until coastal journalists stop viewing rural people as an exotic species.

Oct 16, 2023 / Richard Eskow

Covid Has Left Deep Wounds in America’s Rural Communities

Covid Has Left Deep Wounds in America’s Rural Communities Covid Has Left Deep Wounds in America’s Rural Communities

The virus tore at the bonds of solidarity in rural areas like Vermont's Northeast Kingdom. Many of the scars have yet to heal.

May 23, 2023 / Anne N. Sosin

An Arkansas girl in migrant camp near Greenfield, Salinas Valley, Calif., 1939

How Reading “The Economist” Helped Me to Stop Worrying About White Supremacy How Reading “The Economist” Helped Me to Stop Worrying About White Supremacy

A recent viral sensation identifies the migration of poor whites as the cause of the problem—letting the rest of us off the hook!

Apr 21, 2023 / Sarah Taber

Rep.-elect Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-Wash.) smiles after drawing her number in the room lottery for new members of House.

Democrats Can Win Rural Seats if They Listen to Marie Gluesenkamp Perez Democrats Can Win Rural Seats if They Listen to Marie Gluesenkamp Perez

Washington’s new congresswoman talks working-class appeal and the failure of the party elite.

Dec 14, 2022 / Q&A / Nick Bowlin

Democrats Must Do Better in Rural America

Democrats Must Do Better in Rural America Democrats Must Do Better in Rural America

If this midterm was a success for Democrats, it is a retreat from what they ought to expect.

Nov 17, 2022 / Anthony Flaccavento, Erica Etelson, and Cody Lonning

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