On January 25, AEI’s Brent Orrell and the Brookings Institution’s Tony Pipa hosted the first of a series of conversations “On the Front Porch” with authors of recent research on issues facing rural America. Mr. Orrell and Mr. Pipa spoke with Nicholas F. Jacobs, the author of The Rural Voter: The Politics of Place and the Disuniting of America, a recent book that examines the state of politics in rural America.
They considered the book’s central claim, that rural Americans have combined a deep sense of place with increasingly nationalized policy and political concerns to form a distinct voting bloc in recent years. They also discussed the history of rural America; the social, economic, and political forces that have changed it in recent years; and the notion of a stark rural-urban divide. Mr. Orrell, Mr. Pipa, and Dr. Jacobs concluded by emphasizing the importance of dispelling myths about rural America to overcome distrust and disunity.
Event Materials
Agenda
1:00 p.m.
Introduction:
Brent Orrell, Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute
Tony Pipa, Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution
1:10 p.m.
Presentation:
Nicholas F. Jacobs, Assistant Professor, Colby College
1:25 p.m.
Conversation
Participants:
Nicholas F. Jacobs, Assistant Professor, Colby College
Brent Orrell, Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute
Tony Pipa, Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution
2:10 p.m.
Q&A
2:30 p.m.
Adjournment