Another Liberal Journalist Says the Rural Poor 'Voted Against Their Own Interests'

Tucker Carlson’s guest last night was yet another in a long line of liberals who think they know what’s best for everyone. That trait, more than anything else, seems to epitomize the American Left these days.

Julie Alvin of Time, while also arguing that Hillary Clinton lost due to sexism, made this comment:

They absolutely have the right to make the decisions that they believe are best for them. But you think you could also say in this election that a lot of people, a lot of rural, low-income people actually voted against their own interests in voting for Donald Trump.

Because, you know, the healthcare bills that he would propose and the tax bill that’s going through are things that are going to disadvantage them. So, you know, you can say this is sexist, you can say this is elitist, but if you actually look at the policies in place, a lot of these do disadvantage women, they disadvantage low-income part-time, and they disadvantage people who voted for Donald Trump. I don’t think that’s patronizing, I think that’s true.

As someone from the Deep South with close ties to rural people — and who, until recently, lived below the poverty line — I have heard this slander a lot. Over and over again. Those who are poor but lean conservative or libertarian are often told they are voting against their self-interest.

Alvin may not think that’s patronizing, but it’s as patronizing as it gets.

The truth is that the Left’s idea of helping the poor always involves handouts redistributed from other taxpayers. The rural poor, believe it or not, are wise enough to know that reliance on the government is not a future. That promises of a free lunch are a lie. They want to produce, to earn for themselves. They want real economic growth, which will give them a chance to pull themselves out of poverty. Maybe even to run a successful business.

Look at the 2016 red-blue map: guess who rural Americans heard talking about economics, and not repeating lies about free money? (Hint: It wasn’t Felonia Von Pantsuit.)

Liberals routinely look at the poor and think: “They’ll die without us!” The Left has successfully managed to convince most of the urban poor that this is true. But the rural poor have seen generations survive on hard work, independence, strong families, and strong communities. They know what works, and want the government to stop incentivizing failure.

Donald Trump promised them that. Hillary Clinton didn’t.

It’s just that simple. So stop pretending you’re smarter, Julie Alvin, because you couldn’t even figure that out.