Courting the reluctant Amish and Native American vote

The North Country — like much of rural America — has a population that’s gradually shrinking.

The exception are the Amish and the Mohawk communities, both of which have seen a rapid expansion the last decade.

That could bring bigger clout in local and regional elections.

But both groups see themselves as distinctly apart from the rest of the U.S. The Mohawk are literally a different nation.

As a consequence, many Mohawks and many Amish simply abstain from voting.

But this year for the first time, Democrats have been openly courting Native American votes.

Here’s a taste of a recent Politico.com article.

“I would like to believe these efforts reaching into Indian Country are truly altruistic — and for the large part, they are — but these candidates know that in order to win, Indian Country can be a deciding factor,” said Kalyn Free, an Oklahoma superdelegate and founder of the Indigenous Democratic Network’s List, a political organization that mobilizes the Indian vote and recruits, trains and funds Native American candidates.

Read the full article here:
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0508/10676.html

Meanwhile, the on-line magazine “Slate” has a fascinating profile of Amish residents in Pennsylvania, who’ve been courted heavily by Republican politicians.

Here’s a sample:

Egg-selling Verna Miller, for instance, wreathed by five blond High German-speaking children like a bonneted Lady Madonna, explained to me that although her parents received a daily newspaper, since marrying her husband she’d stopped reading one.

She didn’t have the time, and from what she could see, little in the outside world affected her. Even if the election came down to just a few votes in Pennsylvania, she, like others, assured me that “God will make sure it’s the right candidate.”

This frustrating explanation that a prayer is equal to a vote was offered up over and over.

Read the article here:

http://www.slate.com/id/2203700/