53 pages • 1 hour read
Tom Schaller, Paul WaldmanWhite Rural Rage: The Threat to American Democracy
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2024A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 2-3Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 2 Summary: “Rural Ruin”
Chapter 2 explores the multifaceted issues plaguing rural America, using Essex County in upstate New York as a case study. The chapter opens with an introduction to two town supervisors, Roy Holzer of Wilmington and Shaun Gilliland of Willsboro, who exemplify the challenges faced by local rural leaders. Their towns, nestled in picturesque locations, struggle with maintaining public services, fighting for revenue, and dealing with aging volunteer emergency services personnel.
Essex County, which has supported the winning presidential candidate in every election since 1996, reflects broader political trends. Despite the supervisors’ Republican affiliations and support for Trump, their daily focus remains on practical governance rather than partisan politics. They navigate issues like the potential closure of Lake Placid Memorial Hospital’s emergency room, which would significantly impact local healthcare access, especially in Wilmington. Holzer and Gillilland’s deep familial roots in their communities highlight the personal stakes involved in their leadership.
The chapter transitions to a broader discussion of rural America’s decline, characterized by population stagnation, economic decay, and shrinking healthcare resources. Many rural areas, including Essex County, face a dwindling and aging population, with young people often leaving for better opportunities elsewhere. The authors highlight that this “brain drain” exacerbates the economic struggles of rural communities, leading to business closures, unemployment, and increased dependency on government aid.
The decline of traditional industries like farming and mining further compound economic challenges. Corporate consolidation and global competition have devastated these sectors, leaving rural economies in disarray. The rise of discount retailers like Dollar General and Family Dollar underscores the economic decay, as these stores drive out local businesses and create “food deserts” with limited access to fresh produce.
Healthcare access in rural areas is another critical issue the authors highlight. Many rural hospitals have closed or reduced services, forcing residents to travel long distances for medical care. Physician shortages and the decline of local pharmacies further strain rural healthcare systems. The chapter emphasizes the role of federal and state support in maintaining essential services but notes that political resistance to policies like the Affordable Care Act has worsened healthcare outcomes for rural Americans.
The chapter also touches on the social isolation and mental health challenges faced by rural residents. Long commutes, limited social services, and declining healthcare facilities contribute to higher rates of stroke, heart disease, and suicide in rural areas. The opioid crisis has a particularly devastating impact on rural communities, with high rates of addiction and overdose deaths.
In the face of these challenges, rural leaders must find creative solutions to sustain their communities. Some towns have turned to tourism and recreational activities to boost their economies, while others struggle to attract new residents and businesses. The chapter concludes with a reflection on the broader implications of rural decline for American democracy, noting that the frustrations and resentments of rural voters have significant political consequences.
Chapter 3 Summary: “The Greatest Political Hand Ever Dealt”
The chapter opens by telling the story of Jimmy Carter, a farmer from Georgia who transitioned into politics following the 1962 Supreme Court ruling in Baker v. Carr. This ruling mandated the redrawing of state legislative districts to ensure equal representation, thus ending systems like Georgia’s “county unit” system that heavily favored rural areas over urban ones. Carter’s victory in a subsequent special election, despite initial corruption and a subsequent court-ordered rerun, marked the beginning of his political ascent, culminating in his presidency.
The chapter then examines the systemic advantages rural voters continue to enjoy, particularly through the malapportionment of the US Senate and the Electoral College. Despite urban growth, the Senate disproportionately empowers less populous rural states. This imbalance has grown since the nation’s founding, exacerbating rural-urban political tensions. The chapter highlights the irony that while rural voters claim underrepresentation, they wield significant influence due to these structural features.
Malapportionment in the Senate means that small, rural states have much more power per voter than large, urban states. For instance, the population disparity between the largest and smallest states has grown from 13-to-1 in 1790 to 69-to-1 today. This imbalance allows a minority of the population to potentially block legislation supported by the majority, leading to policy outcomes that favor rural interests. Additionally, the Electoral College’s design amplifies the political power of rural states, often resulting in presidents who lose the popular vote but win the electoral vote, as seen in the elections of George W. Bush and Donald Trump.
Gerrymandering further entrenches rural power, with strategic redistricting ensuring that rural votes carry more weight in the US House of Representatives and state legislatures. This practice, combined with the natural geographic distribution of voters, skews representation toward rural areas. As a result, Republicans, who typically garner strong rural support, often control legislative bodies even when they receive fewer total votes.
The chapter underscores how these structural advantages impact policy and governance. Rural states receive disproportionate federal funding, and their preferences often dominate national policy debates. This dynamic was evident in the allocation of anti-terrorism funds post-9/11, where rural states received significantly more per capita funding than urban areas like New York, which faced higher threats. Similarly, the overrepresentation of rural interests shapes healthcare policy, agricultural subsidies, and other critical areas.
The authors highlight that this rural dominance extends beyond policy to the judiciary. The Senate’s role in confirming federal judges means that rural states have a substantial say in shaping the judiciary. This power was starkly demonstrated during the Obama administration when Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blocked many of Obama’s judicial appointments, allowing Donald Trump to fill those vacancies, thus shifting the ideological balance of the federal courts.
Despite these advantages, rural voters often perceive themselves as politically marginalized. This perception fuels calls for secession movements within states, where rural counties seek to join neighboring states or form new ones. These movements reflect the deepening rural-urban divide and the growing sense of disenfranchisement among rural voters, even as they continue to wield significant political power.
The chapter concludes by emphasizing the enduring and growing influence of rural voters in American politics. This influence is not merely a relic of historical malapportionment but is actively maintained through contemporary political strategies like gerrymandering and the manipulation of electoral rules. The result is a political system where rural voters, particularly rural white voters, hold disproportionate sway over national policies, often at the expense of urban and minority populations.
Chapters 2-3 Analysis
Chapters 2 and 3 discuss the complex dynamics of rural America, focusing on both local challenges and broader political structures that amplify rural influence. These chapters provide a nuanced analysis of the socioeconomic decline in rural areas and the systemic advantages that maintain rural political power.
In Chapter 2, Schaller and Waldman use Essex County, New York, as a case study to illustrate the multifaceted issues plaguing rural America. The chapter opens with personal stories of town supervisors, Roy Holzer and Shaun Gilliland, providing a human face to broader trends of economic decay and healthcare challenges. This narrative approach grounds the analysis in concrete examples, making abstract issues more concrete and relatable. For instance, the potential closure of Lake Placid Memorial Hospital’s emergency room highlights critical healthcare access issues in rural areas. Despite this, local leaders like Holzer fight back, rejecting claims that the emergency room is losing money and underscoring the essential nature of these services for their communities.
The chapter also paints a picture of the thankless role of some rural leaders: “Supervisor is a mostly thankless job on the front lines of local governance: You maintain public services, fight for scarce revenue, and solve local political disputes” (26). This highlights the multifaceted responsibilities these leaders shoulder, often with little recognition or reward. Further, the personal stakes for these leaders are immense, as exemplified by Holzer and Gilliland, whose deep familial and historical ties to the region underscore their dedication to their roles.
Chapter 3 shifts focus to the systemic advantages rural voters enjoy, particularly through the malapportionment of the US Senate and the Electoral College. By recounting Jimmy Carter’s political ascent following the Baker v. Carr decision, the authors illustrate how historical and legal precedents have entrenched rural political power. The chapter provides a detailed examination of how these structural features contribute to a disproportionate influence of rural voters, despite urban growth. This juxtaposition of personal narratives and structural analysis enriches understanding of both the local and national dimensions of rural political dynamics.
Schaller and Waldman employ a critical ideological lens to dissect the sentiments and political behaviors of rural white Americans. In Chapter 2, they explore how economic decline and healthcare challenges fuel rural disenfranchisement and resentment. This analysis is contextualized within the broader theme of The Disenfranchisement of Rural White Voters, where the authors argue that rural economic struggles are compounded by political neglect and manipulation: “Industries like farming and mining suffered from a variety of assaults, both domestic and foreign” (33). Further, the rise of large agribusiness farming has transformed rural partisanship, adding another layer of complexity to the political landscape.
In Chapter 3, the authors discuss the ideological implications of structural political advantages, highlighting how these mechanisms reinforce rural dominance in national politics. The Impact of Conservative Media on Political Beliefs is evident in their discussion of how conservative rhetoric and media have perpetuated the perception of rural underrepresentation, despite the substantial political influence rural voters yield in electoral politics. By highlighting contemporary secession movements within states, the authors further underscore The Disenfranchisement of Rural White Voters and a rising sense of political discontentment.
Chapters 2 and 3 provide historical and contemporary references that enhance the authors’ credibility and provide a deeper context for their arguments. In Chapter 2, the mention of the opioid crisis and the role of companies like Purdue Pharma grounds the discussion in well-documented public health issues, linking economic decline to broader social consequences. In Chapter 3, the historical reference to Baker v. Carr and the systemic impact of the Supreme Court’s ruling illustrates the long-standing structural advantages that benefit rural voters.
By focusing on both the immediate challenges faced by rural communities and the broader structural features that amplify rural political influence, Schaller and Waldman provide a comprehensive, multifaceted analysis of rural America’s role in contemporary politics. The chapters illustrate how local struggles and systemic advantages intertwine, contributing to the complex dynamics of rural disenfranchisement and political power. This nuanced approach further highlights the depth of rural America’s challenges and the significant impact of these issues on American democracy.
