Clinging to Guns & Religion or in Need of a Scapegoat?

I am currently in the heartland of where small-town Americans supposedly cling to guns and religion telecommuting in the small town where I grew up and visit regularly. In a highly publicized and criticized statement, Barack Obama recently said “You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy toward people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.”

Well, basically the economics in these small towns, especially those whose economies were dependent on manufacturing industries, i.e. Bethlehem Steel, are in dire straights. When the plants closed, Obama was correct: not much replaced them. This has led to many to become unemployed and lacking in the skills needed to compete in the “new economy” (i.e. technology workforce).Recent graduates, in hopes of better opportunities than their parents had, need to leave the area to find a job. Where are the job training programs? Where are resources for these small towns to plan and implement businesses and jobs that are driving today’s global economy so they can employ their workforce?

Do you think these people are not bitter? While they may not “cling” to guns and religion, they may feel resentment, especially to immigrants, whom they perceive as taking their jobs at lower wages or welfare recipients, who they perceive as sitting back and doing nothing except collecting money from the state while they work as hard as they can to support their families. These perceptions are based upon the frustrations referred to by Obama and they need to blame someone; they need a scapegoat.

While Obama may not have phrased what he meant to say well, he identified a problem that needs to be addressed. But can he be blamed. The candidates are getting up at 5 and 6 am and going to bed at 1 or 2 am. They are travelling non-stop and under a lot of stress and pressure. Mistakes are bound to be made when they are giving their zillionth speech day after day. Let’s give them a break and vote on the issues, not on their verbal mishaps and bouts of ill chosen words.