One of my mom’s sayings is that listening is the key to learning. I feel like she was trying to gently remind me to be quiet in the King family kitchen, but I still think it’s sound advice.
Politics has made listening a forgotten art. And far too frequently in our reporting on politics.
Partisan bombast is getting more and more airtime at the expense of everyday Americans, who are either ignored entirely or given a quip or soundbite here and there.
I mean, it’s important to report on politicians’ statements. And the content of their advertisements. Please verify all of the facts.
However, we hope to tip the scales in a different direction with our All Over the Map initiative. Taking the time to hear. To learn.
After ten months of this, we’ve learned a lot from people who are completely diverse in every manner imaginable.
Now that we’re entering the home stretch of a significant election and a presidential debate is on the horizon for Thursday, we hope you’ll join us in listening—in a way that transcends what we can do through written dispatches or television.
To help us tell the stories of our voters in greater depth, All Over the Map has arrived in podcast form at AWN Audio today. You can hear individuals discuss how their personal experiences have shaped their political views and how they struggle with making decisions.
South Carolina, Virginia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada, and Arizona are now part of an AWN series that started in New Hampshire and Iowa when the primary season got going. I agree with Mom. Listening teaches you.
What I’ve learned thus far is that, yes, there are significant disparities in our deeply divided country. Contrary to what politicians would have you believe, citizens are prepared and even eager to have the difficult talks. The majority is open to talking about the political concessions that aren’t going to happen. Concerns about the economy and the candidates are common.
Voters who supported Nikki Haley in the presidential election express their opinions—and frustrations—on the two candidates in this first episode. We wanted to stop by a few places in Pennsylvania, a key battleground state, before the first Biden-Trump debate because there are enough people who support the former governor of South Carolina, who decided to cease her GOP primary quest in March, to make a difference in the election.
The anguish of self-proclaimed Reagan Republicans—like Linda Rooney and Michael Pesce—who wish to reclaim their party from Trump but who are tormented by thoughts of voting for a Democratic president reelection because it goes against their GOP DNA.
As the Trump-Biden showdown approaches, it is interesting to hear from voters who begin in the same spot but end up taking different paths.
The Philadelphia suburb of Media, Pennsylvania is home to Rooney, who lends his voice to a common refrain we encounter on our travels. Took a stand for Trump in 2016 and will back Biden in 2020.
“To be honest, I’m disappointed that these are our only two options,” Rooney replied. It’s getting old for me when famous people dabble in politics. Even though I dislike Trump, I feel compelled to admit that our personal situation was improved under his presidency. His unreliability is what I find annoying. His next move is completely unpredictable. All I want is a regular guy. I simply desire a typical partner. I am not interested in a famous person, and I am not confident in Joe Biden. So, it seems like I’m stuck with no options.
Although she has pledged to cast her ballot, she is aware that the victor from Pennsylvania usually ends up being the victor from the rest of the country.
As a member of the generation that ushered in a new age of American politics forty years ago, Pesce is also a part of the suburban shift that is currently altering the course of American politics.
Doylestown is in highly contested Bucks County, where he resides. Similar to Rooney, he voted for Trump in 2016 but for Biden in 2020.
Among the reasons Pesce, a meat processing factory worker and veteran of the Coast Guard, switched to Republicanism when she reached eighteen was Ronald Reagan. “Reagan was my party president. That brand of conservatism is appealing to me. That America is the one I prefer. This is his take on “America First.” That the free world looks to us as its leaders. We have the position of global military commanders. We are committed to this. Then I thought, “Yeah, that’s my dream job.”
Going further, we stop by one of the most recent presidential battlegrounds in the United States and speak with two people whose opinions and decisions in 2024 will be influenced by Joe Biden’s historic 2020 victory in Georgia.
We also go into the schisms within Biden’s coalition and how they affect his reelection calculations and strategy. The frustration that young voters and Arab American voters have about Biden’s handling of Israel’s war in Gaza is expressed by a Palestinian American law school student from Dearborn, Michigan. A Black Milwaukee entrepreneur discusses the deterioration of communities that provided manufacturing jobs as a means to the middle class.
We would be honored if you would think about coming along on this adventure with us. Even after starting a discussion about voting, you may not feel connected to a stranger who lives far away and has vastly different opinions and experiences than you. But I’m willing to wager that at the conclusion, you’ll feel a connection or have your own ideas about a topic or the candidates stirred up.
We know the race is tight, that third-party candidates complicate the state-by-state calculations, and that voters who don’t particularly like either major-party candidate will pick the winner, and we’re just over four months away from Election Day. Perhaps you belong here. Perhaps you are so sure of your decision that you fail to comprehend the anguish I’m feeling. Please, if you are able, spend some time with us so that we can teach you something.
