He starts off his piece at The Hill with digs at those in "flyover land" who overwhelmingly voted for Donald Trump.
A flyover state is the huge region between the coasts. As opposed to the eastern seaboard, northern post-industrial states and Pacific Ocean states. They’re overwhelmingly Republican, stanchly (sic) conservative, regressive right wing, evangelical Christian and working class, well, the loudest, most ill-informed of them are. The term wasn’t commonly used in a political manner until recently with the emergence of the Tea Party and the election of Obama.
A visit to Wichita, Kan., isn’t on the bucket list of many Americans. Whereas most travelers fly over Fayetteville, Ark., and Springfield, Mo. They’re not destination spots. The flyover state gripe has nothing to do with the tourist industry of Oklahoma or Nebraska or Iowa. This is about their perceived feelings of abandonment and disrespect from their government. Never mind they’ve elected local, state and national representatives that should reflect their values and interests.
There are very few things which come across as more insanely arrogant than someone projecting what is in someone else's "interests." And while "flyover residents" may be justified in feeling disrespect from our government, abandonment is, to a certain extent, what is actually sought. It is the working class's desire for government to cease with burdensome regulations that are crippling their livelihoods as well as the unprecedented overreach into their health insurance. And since the Federal government has gotten its mitts into the student loan industry, working class Americans are further hampered from saving the ample amount of money for their kids' post high school education.
I'm not going to Fisk the whole thing, so definitely read it in its entirety if you have built up a strong tolerance for unearned condescension. However, there are a couple of other paragraphs I want to specifically address.
(Trump voters are) delusional in their belief that their views are more important, more valid, more ethical, and more patriotic than any other groups. They claim American Christian values, home, God and country. White values. Any dissenting viewpoints are taken as literal acts of war.
Anyone who questions the narrow vision of Middle America Christian values, being forced on 325 million people of multiple cultures, religions, no religion, and a mosaic of ethnicities, is deemed ungodly and un-American.
It’s clear cultural fascism.
Aside from that being patently false, it's classic lefty projection. There have been numerous examples of people of the Christian faith being persecuted by the "Gay-stapo" and other "progressive" groups for choosing not to violate their collective conscience (e.g. declining to cater same-sex weddings). Again, the vast majority of us Christians seek to live our faith and thus have no interest in making our fellow Americans acquiesce via legislative fiat.
Mr. Townsend ends this screed as it began: with insufferable smugness.
To Trump voters: You allowed your bigotry and anger at the system to be cynically exploited yet again, by regressive, wealthy demagogues. I have little sympathy for you. I for one will not be contorting myself to "give Trump a chance" or seek common ground with you.
You need healing, not allies.
Apparently Mr. Townsend preferred that this country would have elected a regressive, wealthy demagogue (i.e. Hillary Clinton) who was firmly entrenched in "the system." Sucks to be him.
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