The Voters of Appalachia …

Hmm, I kind of like being a WV redneck, hillbilly, y'all just go ahead and be whatever you want. Most folk around here are democrats, but of a conservative nature. Before FDR the democratic party was conservative, he gave us 'change', a 'New Deal', a 'chicken in every pot', and welfare, along with liberalism. Most of us, here in WV believe a hand up is better than a hand out. That everyone should have the opportunity to earn the 'chicken in every pot', just don't take my chicken away and give it to someone who isn't willing to earn it. Al Gore screwed up here, he told coal miners he wanted to do away with fossil fuel, churches that he supported abortion rights, and everyone else that he wanted to take away their guns, politically, I don't see anything else he could have done to damage himself more. Had Al Gore carried WV, Florida wouldn't have been an issue.

It's okay he us black folk's are almost over most of the abuse we try to forget it as long as it's not kicked around yet we all still have existed as best as we can, some of you'lls kid s are hustling and going to jail just like any race, some make a good enough living to help outr their families just like any-body else. Yes this will be hard just try to make your choice on who do you think will make it a little better now America will always protect it's borders know who is the president but watch this you don't need your kids growing up with all that old hate for we try not to teach our kid;s that also for some of us work and live by some desent folk's white and black Obama just happen t be black and has some great ideas and some are about all of us getting futher away from hate and stereo typing so at least give him a chance hey we tried trusting the same people yuo did and some of you are still bitter just like some of us hey I'm from Danville V.A. and I heard they had problem's before my time, yet in the 70's when we farmed we were kind of in those time's together or we tried awful hard we did our best,intergration was working but farming had it's way on 360 west down 729 out on 656 and I still love my town even though if their is a lot or little of racism I don't stand in it hey look mat it this way to we voted for all the previous president's and never said or expressed all our bad feeling's give him a try the damage has been already done

I grew up in East Tennessee and received a very good secondary education there. I voluteered to serve in the U.S. Army in 1968 and served for 17 months in Viet Nam. I have a post graduate degree.

The people there are honest and keep their word. The mountains there are beautiful. Yes there is still poverty there. Look around you and you will also see it where you are.

I'm a independent politically. I'm white. Do you know who I will vote for? Obama.

Wow, there are some crazy ideas and thoughts about West Virginia circulating. I grew up in southern WV and moved away when I got married. I moved south with my husband as he finished his enlistment in the military. I couldn't wait to come home. We have made a wonderful life for our family here and will only leave if one us must transfer due to our work I do not live in a one room shack in the middle of a hollow, but instead in a quiet subdivision where the homes were built and not brought in on wheels. There are backwoods roads that lead to places I have never been (or want to be), but from what I have seen, that is in any part of the country. I am currently halfway through a four year degree, and most of my co-workers already have their degrees. My husband and I work hard for everything we have, and we are very blessed in our lives. As for the racism comments, one of my closest friends is of different race from me, but we don't think of each other as "the white friend" or "the black friend". We have names, not colors, and we prefer to use those. It never mattered, never will. Racism exists EVERYWHERE, and is aimed at everyone at some point.

First it was convicted political fixer Antoin "Tony" Rezko; then it was Nadhmi Auchi; then it was William Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn; then it was Rashid Khalidi; then it was Rev. Wright, Rev. Meeks, Rev. Otis, Father Pfleger and the TUCC; then it was Louis Farrakhan; then it was the New Black Panthers; then it was Aiham Alsammarae; then it was Jodie Evans; then it was Hamas; then it was Hugo Chavez; then it was Fidel Castro; then it was Muammar al-Gaddafi; then it was North Korea's Kim Jong-Il; then it was the Communist Party USA; then it was ___; and then it was ___.

Just say NOBAMA!!!

hey you can vote for him now or another Afro American later or even a Hispanic if not your kids;will

Some of the comments posted regrding this article are proof positive of just how ignorant some of our fellow citizens are of what it is like to be an appalachian hillbilly. For me, it like a white person tring to tell someone what it is like to be black. But as some of the greatest black leaders of this country have said in the past." You cannot know wha it is like to be black unless you are black." The same applies to people making comment about appalachhian hillbillies. , You cannot know uless you are one.

No, we don't appreciate where YOU are going with this, it appears racist and socially unacceptable. The media seems to believe it's all a big joke to make racially charged and inappropriate comments about poor, Caucasian folks. Appalachia is not the only place in America one will find disadvantaged, disenfranchised, poor, without a hope in the world of getting help, Caucasian people. There is no such thing as 'reverse racism'; racism is racism; regardless where it is found; odd that some don't seem to agree with that line of logic, incorrectly believing the word is exclusively for their use and marketing campaign to insult and harass ALL Caucasian people and beat them into submission. The answer is E, all of the above. The Raven sounds like he has lost touch with reality. Calling someone an 'idiot' is hardly what some people would expect in return for expressing their own opinion; racial and intellectual tolerance. Takes one to know one, I guess.

KOOL-AID??????..From the kitchen of the obama sheeple!! take one heaping spoonful of an inexperienced elitist white male seeking self validation through exploitation of his african-american genetics. Combine two parts black liberation theology clerics spewing intolerance! With two parts of unrepentant intellectuals committed to the destruction of America. Stir in one cup of militant black wife harboring the overwhelming desire to stick it to whitey and one spoonful of typical white person grandmother mix well. Pour a gallon of anti-patriotism into tall glasses and sprinkle with naïve foreign policy ideations. Serve on a platter of meaningless oratorical hyperbole with a generous dollop of wealth re-distribution. Sprinkle liberally with zest of white guilt flip it and flop it till it tastes right. Serve large portions to the undiscerning and spellbound masses convinced that the Second Coming is upon America and now you have a complete recipe for disaster!

I am from Southwestern Pa. These poor imbittered folks ARE just as Obama described them so please do not try and say any different. The Old Ways have been our lifeline going back for over 250 years in some communities and it has taken a hard toll on us to see those ways go. Once we could sustain ourselves with our hunting and canning even if the coal companies ripped us off and kicked us out; now we just wait for things to get better and hope the "strong boss" will make it better. Well he wont. One of the things I saw as a child was grownips taking us 45 miles over the mountain to shop at the big stores in the "city" (Altoona!) while our local clothing store, Ben Franklin and A&P slowly sank under. WE done this and only WE can bring back our small towns. If the East Indians can do work over the phone- so can we! I believe in Obama because he does not promise to fix everything...but asks us to join together to fix things OURSELVES.

The inquisitive effete elitist may want to check out the opinion in Moore v. Moore, 337 SW2d 781, 789 by Judge Ruark, a fine Ozark surname, of the Southern District of the Missouri Court of Appeals, wherein it is eloquently explained that "hillbilly" is an expression of envy. Tis a privilege to live in the Ozarks. We love our verdant valleys, the soothing cadence of the katydid, and the sonorous song of the whipporwill. The election is ours to determine. Ozarks lawyer.

Part of the social and economic mobility that we enjoy in the US is physical mobility. My parents grew up in different parts of the US and moved to California for a better life. I moved from there to Colorado for the same reason. I can appreciate people who love the place where they were born or grew up, but I don't respect that they remain in isolated communities when they could relocate to an area where they have access to better schools and health care as well as a higher standard of living. There isn't some border that they have to cross to obtain if not a better life certainly one that is more financially stable. I guess what I'm trying to say here is that while everybody deserves a certain amount of respect as fellow Americans and human beings, we don't have to respect the choices that they make which cause them to remain in poverty.