Worst County in the Country? Explain why?

[Donerail]

Buffalo County, SD is heavily impoverished, a good couple hours from the nearest major city, and has an unemployment rate eclipsed by only a few countries in Africa and Central Asia - and Turkmenistan probably has more houses with kitchens, indoor plumbing or windows than Buffalo County. Basically a third-world country in America. Truly depressing that something isn't done, but America, I guess.

[Donerail]

Eliot County, KY.  Poor, depressing, nothing to do and hasn't voted for one Republican nominee from Fremont to Romney!

Funny how that works.  I thought all the racist Democrats joined the GOP.

Duh!  And the only reason was the CRA, it just (for some reason) took those Southern Whites several decades to catch on!

Oh look, you found a friend. Good for you.

Anyways, Elliott County's voting patterns are more attributable to Rocky Adkins than to any grand narrative. Nice try, though.

[Donerail]

Eliot County, KY.  Poor, depressing, nothing to do and hasn't voted for one Republican nominee from Fremont to Romney!

Funny how that works.  I thought all the racist Democrats joined the GOP.

Duh!  And the only reason was the CRA, it just (for some reason) took those Southern Whites several decades to catch on!

Oh look, you found a friend. Good for you.

Anyways, Elliott County's voting patterns are more attributable to Rocky Adkins than to any grand narrative. Nice try, though.

Mhm.  God forbid any "hick" county be filled with registered Democrats who legitimately buy into the economically populist policies of the DNC, right?  If they're culturally conservative in any way, there has to be some other lurking variable to explain away why you can't trash them as Republicans of the "cling to their guns" type.

I don't see your point. The quality HuffPo profile of Elliott County makes it seem pretty clear that the reason it votes differently from its surrounding areas is Rocky Adkins' (and the entire Adkins family's) influence in state politics and their ability to funnel lots of money into the district (in an area that's very much defined by familial loyalties) that keeps it voting Dem.