So Donald Trump visited East Palestine, Ohio, yesterday. Visiting the scene of the crime is what immediately came to mind when I saw him arrive in “Trump Force One.” But what I saw from many in that community was nothing of the sort. There were cheers, clapping, and fawning – something resembling a rock star coming back on stage for an encore.
What in the hell is wrong with these people?
I’m sorry. I do not mean to lump everyone in East Palestine into the same camp. Indeed there are folks there who despise the man. But let’s face it. Trump got over 70 percent of the vote in that area in 2020. Certainly, those are landslide numbers by any stretch of the imagination.
And what they do not know, at least most of them, is that when Trump came into office in 2017, he gutted scores of regulations spanning multiple agencies across the entire spectrum of the United States regulatory system. Of course, it’s not a shock that a Republican president – hell, any Republican president, would resort to these tactics. It’s what they do every damn time.
And rural America is okay with Republicans gutting regulations because they’ve been told it’s nothing but big government trying to tell companies, and them, what to do.
It’s a crazy dichotomy that always plays out when Republican ones replace democratic administrations. But here’s the deal. At some point, folks who live in areas like East Palestine will likely need big government, and they will need it in a big way. And the disastrous train derailment perpetrated by Norfolk Southern proves that point.
In 2018 Trump reversed an Executive Order issued by President Obama that would have required Norfolk and other rail company behemoths to adhere to a higher safety standard concerning their antiquated braking systems. Naturally, Norfolk and the others lobbied the Trump administration hard to ensure these new regulations were rolled back.
It’s too early to tell if gutting that particular regulation was the sole reason for the derailment in East Palestine, as the National Transportation Safety Board is currently investigating the incident. And it appears more and more that it’s not the case.
But does it matter? In recent years, Norfolk has cut back on workers, enriched shareholders with stock buybacks, and increased profits. And those profits were enhanced by increasing the number of rail cars allowed on the tracks and the subsequent cutting back on personnel.
Consolidation in recent years has left the nation with seven major freight railroad companies, most of whom have adopted the same type of profit-boosting methods of Norfolk. According to a Government Accountability Office report issued in December, “the overall number of staff among the seven largest freight railroads decreased by about 28 percent from 2011 through 2021.”
But what is the prevailing opinion of the folks in East Palestine? That Joe Biden doesn’t care about rural America. That’s right, big government Joe Biden decided to go to Ukraine – not East Palestine. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg is also hearing from the GOP because, until today’s visit, he hadn’t been there either. Never mind that the EPA and NTSB were there within hours.
It doesn’t matter because most of the folks in East Palestine only hear the narrative from some of the pontificating GOP politicians like Senator Marco Rubio, who is currently in a tiff with Buttigieg over the derailment.
Buttigieg had the nerve to point out that Rubio was one of several politicians who signed onto a letter in 2021 siding with the rail companies on rolling back regulations. But Rubio, of course, was having none of the sorts. He did what GOP politicians do: he doubled down, recommending Buttigieg resign over the incident.
The mayor of East Palestine also weighed in when Biden traveled to Kyiv to show solidarity with Ukraine on Monday. The mayor said he should have come to East Palestine instead of Ukraine. He, of course, voted for Trump, like most of his constituents. He’s since walked back those comments somewhat. Still, the mayor was there yesterday with Trump and newly elected Senator J.D Vance, wallowing in their hero worship of the guy who gutted regulations and doesn’t give a damn about the community.
Let’s face it. It’s all about pointing fingers at the Democratic administration and making the people of East Palestine think the Republican Party cares about them. We know, though, that they really care about scoring cheap political points. And they do that very well.
Remember, profits are all that matters to these companies. Cutting checks to pay fines is a drop in the bucket, as is throwing millions to politicians who will do their bidding. And Norfolk, by the way, made well over $4 billion in profits in 2022. Again, sending some crumbs to politicians who will ensure regulations are kept in check is well worth their efforts.
But as tragic as this disaster has been, perhaps even more troubling is the enormous disconnect in that community and many others like it throughout the United States: That Democrats are inherently evil and don’t give a damn about rural America, and Republicans do. Regardless, it couldn’t be further from the truth, but it’s the prevailing narrative.
And while GOP politicians are at the forefront of this narrative, we cannot discount the damage that Fox News continues to do to our democracy daily. It’s always a blame Biden first strategy, never providing nuance or context as to who may or may not be to blame for incidents like the East Palestine tragedy or what can be done in the future to prevent it from happening again.
There will be other calamities. Tornados, hurricanes, wildfires, derailments, and earthquakes will devastate communities like East Palestine. And they will demand a response from the government they’ve been told to despise no matter what.
Biden, at least, is trying to bridge the divide. The recently passed Infrastructure and Chips Acts contain many positives for rural America. They will help create jobs in those areas and provide easier access to broadband internet.
But most people won’t believe it, nor will they give credit to a Democrat under any circumstance. I feel for the people of East Palestine. Nobody deserves what happened to them. But, damn it, they keep voting for GOP politicians repeatedly. As they say, eventually, you will reap what you sow.
And they will continue to watch Fox News and welcome Trump to their community. Yesterday’s visit was classic Trump. He arrived with pallets full of ‘Trump Water’ and doled out MAGA hats to employees at Mcdonald’s. The folks there loved it.
I could show them several tweets from their favorite president in 2017 and 2018, where he bragged about ridding businesses of bothersome regulations and how great it was for the economy. But why bother? They wouldn’t believe it. Besides, if their hero did it, he did it because he knew what he was doing. By the way, when asked about it yesterday, Trump denied knowing anything about the regulation rollbacks. Of course, he did. They’ll all believe him, regardless.
For the disconnect to improve, Democrats must seek ways to reach these folks in these rural communities. Frankly, it might be too late. The Right has spent decades buying up radio stations nationwide in these areas. Many of them only receive news from far-right or conservative-leaning stations.
It has undoubtedly contributed to the big divide between rural America and the Democratic Party. It helps when Democrats go to these communities and let the folks voice their concerns. Out here in rural Oregon, our two Senators, Merkley and Wyden, make it a point to go to every county in the state. Of the 36 counties here, most are rural. That outreach may also work in other areas of the country.
But it’s going to take time. Hell, it may already be too late. Meanwhile, the people of East Palestine are told Joe Biden doesn’t give a damn about them. And they will believe every word of it. What a shame.
On The Fence Voters 
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