There's A Break In The Heartland

With the economy in shambles, with the candidates for President jousting over who is to blame, with Americans from all walks of life worrying about spiraling prices of food and gasoline, and with the U.S. infrastructure in the Midwest literally crumbling before our very eyes, the once assured red states in America's Heartland are slowly but surely creeping ever closer to going blue come November.

In Nebraska, a state that is continuously placed squarely in the McCain column by television political pundits, Republican lawmakers are in open revolt over the pick of Sarah Palin for Vice President. Senator Chuck Hagel has denounced the choice, saying that John McCain and Republican operatives who claim that Palin is qualified to be Vice President are 'stretching'.

The significance of that statement to Nebraskans should not be underestimated. For one thing, Nebraska is not an all or nothing state as many pundits seem to make it appear. The state's electoral votes are split into three districts, with the area comprised of Omaha proper having one electoral vote, Lincoln and surrounding counties have two, and points west of Grand Rapids holding two votes. Omaha and Lincoln are already in the bag for Obama, giving him 3 electoral votes right off the bat, and the rest of the state west of Lincoln has a much different demographic than it did even in 2004. There are many Hispanic voters in that area now, making the once 'safe' red state of Nebraska up for grabs. And finally, surrounding states look towards Nebraska to see what they're going to do, then mostly follow suit.

In Kansas, another red state stronghold, Democratic Governor Kathleen Sebelius has been campaigning hard for the Obama campaign, pointing out that Obama's mother was born in that state and the changing demographics there can most certainly put that state into play. Kansas City, Kansas. Wichita, Manhattan, Lawrence, Topeka, all have larger Democratic constituencies than in 2004.

In Missouri, a state that pundits keep punting around like a football, voters in Kansas City, Missouri are overwhelmingly Obama supporters. St. Louis, Springfield and many smaller cities along the I-44 and I-70 corridor are falling into the Obama column, which would make Missouri much more likely to vote Democratic.

In Ohio, once the purging of voters is complete and the attempt to steal that state again is thwarted due to overwhelming vigilance on the part of voting rights groups, at the end of the day, there will still be many more Obama supporters than McCain/Palin ones, and pundits may want to get on this bandwagon now, and just place Ohio in the blue column.

Interestingly, even though Montana has Democratic Senators, a Democratic Governor, and the populace has been consistently leaning towards Democratic ideals, the pundits keep claiming the state for the McCain campaign. But if one gets down to the local level, areas such as Missoula, Billings, Butte, and Helena, the areas with the greatest concentration of people, are all going for Obama. Hence, Montana goes into the Obama column.

Colorado. Does anyone truly believe that there is some sort of 'race' for this state? Maybe in times past, but with high levels of registered Democrats in Denver, Colorado Springs and much of the I-25 corridor, this one should be an easy call for even the most jaded of talking heads.

New Mexico is a toss up state? Very funny. In what universe?

Minnesota is most certainly going to vote Democratic, as well as Wisconsin and hard hit Michigan. All this talk of hard fought battles is just that, talk. Political pundits use 'polls' and don't actually research local newspapers to read the comment sections and the editorials that are all in favor of Barak Obama.

This break from the Republican Party by the people of America's Heartland is going to be the final straw for the McCain campaign and they know it. Toss up states? Pennsylvania, and that's only barely. North Dakota, another state already given away to McCain is actually a toss up state. New Mexico, still a toss up, will eventually fall into the Obama column, as will Nevada. The truth is, even states such as South Dakota are in play, and Democrats should react aqccordingly.

So what does all of this mean? It means that all of the arguing, all of the political punditry, and all of the lies of the Republican Party are for naught. This election is already over, the final nail in the right wing coffin being the collapse of the economy that they completely deregulated, while allowing for bridges, roads, waterways, and all manner of infrastructure to fall apart when they held sway in the Congress for twelve years. All of the bluster, all of the finger pointing at the Democrats, and all of the bald faced lies of the Republicans do not change the fact that every domestic spending program put forth by the Democrats was blocked by them, every warning about Wall Street firms was ignored by them, the surge did not work, with the Sunnis ready to rejoin Al-Quaida, and everything that is wrong with this country is the Republican's fault, and the American people know it.

Ican't see Russia from where my house is, but I can see the Heartland of America. I'm no political pundit, but I can and do read editorials from newspapers all over the country. It's a hobby. Come November 4th, the Republican Party and the political pundits are in for a shock. In what is shaping up to be the largest landslide in American history, the Republican lie machine is being laughed at. And when the Heartland red states are running for the door and waving Obama banners, the time of the neo-cons is finally over. Not a moment too soon.