No one likes to be taken for granted

(The Reconciled Body) – “Democrats need to talk to rural voters,” Vilsack once warned. “They can’t write them off. They can’t ignore them. They actually have to spend a little time talking to them.” Before Vilsack became Agriculture Secretary, he served two terms as governor of Iowa, which is 95% White. His eight years as governor should have been the national blueprint for the Democratic Party to follow in addressing the isolation of White working-class voters in rural America – now, rural America has become the heart of Trump’s MAGA movement. When Vilsack won his long-shot race for governor in 1998, it was the first time Iowa had elected a Democrat in 32 years. In eight years, he transformed the state’s political landscape when he was followed by a Democrat governor who, for the first time in four decades, had a Democratic legislature. Related Stories “I personally took over managing legislative races,” Vilsack said. “We won the House and the Senate, and we had three of the five members of Congress.” Vilsack’s success was a boon for Barack Obama, whose 2008 victory in Iowa proved that he could attract the support of White Midwestern voters. As the party of political...