re: #246 HappyWarrior

Honestly even before Christie lost his street cred with the base, I thought he was being over-estimated. Call me crazy but I just didn’t and still don’t see how a guy with his style fares in early states like Iowa and South Carolina. He’s got a very urban style to him much like Rudy Giuliani did. Now granted Christie is more socially conservative than Rudy was so he wouldn’t be handicapped by support for choice, gun control, and gay rights but I just can’t put my finger on it. In fact, I don’t think there’s been a Republican candidate in my life that really qualifies as “urban.” They’ve all been either suburban or rural in flavor. Does that make any sense?

Yes. Almost all of the Republican party is now suburban or rural. Many within the party don’t really want to deal with urban issues. They don’t want to live in a city and don’t want to share the party with people who do. National Review ran a article about this in its current issue, wherein Brian C. Anderson reminded readers of the folly of that sort of thinking. Sadly, such words are likely wasted on those whose dislike of urban areas is not only practical but cultural as well.

Not a new phenomenon, though. You can find examples of ‘ruralism’ going all the way back to ancient Greece. But it doesn’t work in a nation where city dwellers are growing while rural folks are currently static.