Well of course they were. Not all of WV is coalfield. Though a long-term analysis is good as it neatly demonstrates the main reason for what has happened: the Democratic Party's abandonment of redistribution, which was the sole positive reason for voting the Democratic ticket.
Could you please elaborate as to what "redistribution" means in this context?
There's something strange about coal country's embrace of the Republican Party. This is a party that refused to investigate the frequent occurrence of black lung cases in the 21st century once they took control of Congress. This is a party that would gladly shove coal miners into a meat grinder if they received a six-figure payment for each death and yet the Democrats' new cosmopolitan image is toxic to the point that coal miners embraced Mitt Romney, out of all people. I must be living in a sublime world of dreams, this is all so strange yet all so familiar.
Listening to the children of urban academics, lawyers, PR men, quants and accountants discuss politics reminds me why a self-respecting blue collar worker would never vote for the Democratic Party. These urban professionals, who are the core of the party, look upon those with high school educations as if they're ignorant subhumans. The classism is apparent in every mannerism of these people. I'm just thankful that a few Democratic bastions of the proletariat still exist. At the very least, Mexican-American agricultural workers and their children will wave the flag of the working class in the party for the next century.
