None of which means anything to Democrats if the don't working on expanding their base from it's Urban/Suburban center. To do that, they need new ideas and a commitment to policies that will help small town and rural folks substantively. Some ideas I would recommend Democrats making priorities are;
#1. Investment in education but not carte-blanch. Democrats have to understand why central planning on education is so unpopular in small town/rural America. Small town schools represent the center of social life in most small towns. They play a large roll in building the community and community relationships. We need to fund these schools, with strings attached, so that they are not only strengthened but will provide jobs skills of tomorrow and not yesterday. Some reforms that would help is more community colleges with no tuition (just like high school) that can not only provide the first couple years of a traditional liberal arts education but technical, computer, manufacturing trades, allied health jobs, etc. Another important reform is to create majors at the high school level so that we don't have so many young students in academic flux who have no idea where they want to go and do. We need education tracks that can steer students who want to learn the modern skills needed to succeed in manufacturing, construction, traditional trades, health care, liberal arts, STEM fields, computer programing, etc. This would not only prepare students better for higher education and skills training but will point them in the direction of where the jobs are.
#2. Invest in expanding IT infrastructure into rural America. How can those who live in small towns compete with large urban areas when they don't have the IT infrastructure? Developing our IT infrastructure so that we have nation wide access no matter where you live is going to play a seriously critical role in re-invigorating small town economies. It would help end the youth and talent drain so many small towns see as the infrastructure isn't available locally and they need to go where the opportunities are. It would also help create entrepreneurial opportunities in these regions of the nation. To give you an idea of what I mean. I can do my work from outside my office as long as I have the IT access. I can easily do that in my suburban home as I have access to modern IT resources. In the small farm town I grew up in those resources don't exist. Therefore that opportunity doesn't exist. Also without access to IT resources how can entreprenuers, professionals and businessmen integrate into national and global supply chains that are critical these days for business success? They can't. Dems could gain a lot of rural/small town voters by beating the drums for a national IT infrastructure.
#3. Stop means testing social programs. This one really alienates rural folks. The best social programs are the ones that benefit everyone like SS and Medicare. Why should rural folk support social programs that only help the means tested in urban areas and do nothing for them.
#4. Quite by passing small towns on infrastructure projects. Building the new high way in a straight line from Big City A to Big City B and by passing all the small towns in between is a death threat to small town economies. Having that high way pass by your town with a clover leaf can mean the difference between economic growth and stagnation. Stop by passing small towns in infrastructure planning would do more than just provide temporary jobs in these regions. They are also the economic arteries of the life blood of trade.
Those are just some examples of how if Democrats would not only address these regions needs and concerns and actually do something consequential about it that they can restore their political footprint in these communities.
