The GOP's lame-duck strategy foreshadows a coming political war between urban and rural America.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

In both Wisconsin and Michigan, Democrats followed a similar formula last month to win the governorship and other key statewide offices: big turnout in urban centers and gains in white-collar suburbs.

But in each state, Republican dominance of small-town and rural communities—reinforced by a highly partisan gerrymander of legislative district lines—allowed the party to maintain control of both state legislative chambers.

Now both states are embroiled in bitter postelection struggles over a flurry of proposals from the GOP-controlled legislatures to limit the power of the incoming statewide Democratic officials—and to dilute the voting power of the urban-based coalitions that elected them. Wisconsin Republicans passed a sweeping package of such bills early Wednesday morning.

Now both states are embroiled in bitter postelection struggles over a flurry of proposals from the GOP-controlled legislatures to limit the power of the incoming statewide Democratic officials—and to dilute the voting power of the urban-based coalitions that elected them. Wisconsin Republicans passed a sweeping package of such bills early Wednesday morning.

But the sharp, and strikingly consistent, geographic and demographic contrasts between the Republican and Democratic coalitions in Michigan and Wisconsin make clear that these explosive fights are also something more. They represent just the newest front in a larger national confrontation: the struggle between metropolitan and nonmetro America for control of the country’s direction.

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/12/wisconsin-and-michigan-republicans-try-strip-democrats/577420/?utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=the-atlantic&utm_term=2018-12-06T11%3A00%3A43&utm_content=edit-promo&utm_medium=social

[NoMoreRepugs]

1. What small town and rural voters fail to understand

is that Repugs don't give a SHIT about them, they are just easier to influence.

[Tumbulu]

6. But 30+ years of hate am radio has utterly brainwashed this population

And now there is also Fox News. Until some new source of info gets to these people, forget it, we are doomed. Because they vote, and so many urban and young voters don’t. And gerrymandering magnifies their power.

[dameatball]

2. In all due respect is there anyone who has not realized this? That is the problem with the electoral

college.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

3. not urban vs rural; democracy vs despots

Those are wanna-be despots who do not recognize the power of voters. They want to remain in power regardless of voting and are willing to attack the foundation of the country to do so.

[2naSalit]

7. +1

Says a Democrat in rural America.

[drmeow]

4. The struggle between majority rule

and minority mob rule. Call it what it is - the minority imposing their will on the majority. Its not that different from Saddam Hussein's Sunni rule over the majority Shia and a host of other minority totalitarian regimes. The GOP is no longer a political party - it is a crime syndicate which is using the minority mob rule to get rich and turn this country into a dictatorship.

[erronis]

5. It's simpler than that. There is no urban vs. rural strategy. It's whatever it takes.

The repuglicons (not a political party but a asset-management group) will engage in any divisive tactics they can.

Sometimes it helps to split the cities against the rurals. Sometimes it helps to split the north-of-the-tracks against the others. Progressives vs. Democrats vs. Greens vs. Independents.

Whatever it takes, division is how to beat a united opposition - if the united opposition doesn't fight back.