It was Democratic voters in the suburbs... that kept voting for the Republican. When I would go to canvassing events, I would run into Democratic volunteers - who were very hardcore Democrats - who would say, "Oh! I've always voted Republican for Ag Commissioner because I know agriculture and Republicans, they go together; and that way I can tell my friends I'm bipartisan."
And if you look at the vote total - yeah, that was more important than getting the right person in the job.
If you look at the vote totals, we've had the same Republican Agriculture Commissioner for over twenty years. The people keeping him in power: Democratic voters in the suburbs... there is no way he can win without them. That's who is keeping him in power.
The last twenty years is when the H2A business blossomed... Democratic voters in the suburbs... are kind of the reason we're having these ICE raids right now.
This is a 20 year period where we are constantly being told, "You have to vote with your food dollars, you have to vote with your food dollars."
If we had been talking about voting with our actual votes, we might be in a very different country right now.
This was, as usual, an incredibly informative discussion and such a helpful window into the ag industry, from someone who knows very much what she is about. So grateful for Sarah Taber's work to educate USAmericans about what's not working in Agriculture; what factors are preventing us from addressing those problems; and what people can do about it.
