Here are some quotes by prominent democrats and elected officials as they talk about rural areas. These things were said off-the-record, therefore I will not reveal who said them, but they reflect a candid view of how some democrats view rural areas of our state.

“There just a bunch of cow farmers up there.”-- Prominent democratic activist in the Plattsburgh.

“All that's out there [in Renselearville] is a bunch of cows.”-- High ranking county-wide elected official in Albany County.

“I constantly have to run against a bunch of gun toting republicans out in the sticks, who all they care about is taxes and their guns.”-- An Albany County Legislator Who Represents a Suburban-Rural District

“Nearly everybody out there is in rural areas are republicans.”-- Another Albany County Legislator

These voices are very dismissive of country folk. They also reflect a frustration of some democratic officials with their success in rural areas. They also are a self-defeating attitude that suggests that rural people are somehow inferior for their choice of elected officials. It also downplays the weakness of Democratic Party ideology, as traditionally conceived by many party activities.

Rural people are voters. They might not count for as many votes in the urban areas, but for many districts in Upstate New York and elsewhere, the rural constituency can be important for winning majorities from local office to national office.

They also have their own beliefs and their own lifestyles. That does not mean that they are inferior, or that they can not be members of the Democratic Party. Indeed, many of their working class beliefs are compatible with our beliefs, particularly if we stress the importance of government being there to help people and not harm them.

There also are a lot of rural Democrats out there. They might not always have a clear voice, or have lived through decades of Republican rule, but that doesn't mean that they are ready to support a good Democrat when one comes along. We are seeing more and more good candidates, but it takes years to build ones without an strong organization to back them.

Indeed, there are many clinging to having a strong Democratic party in their rural part of the state, but they lack an effective organization. Not only are there not viable Democratic candidates in many rural areas, but patronage also works against rural Democrats. Patronage is very important in rural areas without many good jobs.

We need to embrace rural people like any other people. We can't be just a party of urbanites, just like we can't be just a party of blacks and women. We need to be a party of all, and exclude nobody for any reason. We need to allow diverse ideologies in our party, as long as they agree on the same basic principles.