Only one farmer in the MN delegation

[dflprincess]

3. My aunt's husband (we'll call him Uncle 1) was raised on a farm in Renville County

the farm is still in the family though he never farmed it, just rented the land out. (And both uncles are gone now.)

Years ago my mother's brother (Uncle 2), who turned Republican, something most of us couldn't understand started to get into over politics pretty strongly. Uncle 2 finally said he couldn't understand how anyone cold vote for a Democrat (Wellstone and/or Dayton were probably the big issue here. Uncle 1, who had been sitting quietly finally spoke up and said "My dad always said we would have lost the farm if not for Roosevelt, so I became a Democrat. I can't understand how anyone out here can be a Republican."

Then my aunt chimed in and reminded Uncle 2 that their dad had had PWA jobs and they had had food on their table as kids because of the Democrats and she could name a lot of people in town who wouldn't have gotten through the Depression if not for FDR.

It didn't change Uncle 2 at all - but you do have to wonder why rural areas have always been so Republican -- even during the New Deal.