Executive Vice President Most Southerners have been closely associated with the Democratic Party at least since the Depression Era of the early 1930s. Blacks in increasing numbers began to support the same party as it became more and more a leader in the civil rights struggle of the 1950s and 60s. The party has also wrapped itself in the mantle of being pro environment whereas the Republican Party because of its conservative bent has allowed itself to be cast as a friend of the bad big business polluter. Most of the TV and print media follow along a liberal pro environment track. Unfortunately what this has led to is that extreme environmentalism holds sway and any effort to curb environmental excesses is pictured as succumbing to the focus of evil.
More pollution is seen as the result of any effort to return balance to the environmental equation.
Farmers, particularly southern ones, are the original environmentalists. Most have grown up with the soil and in communion with the nature on the farm, which they depend on for their livelihood. They believe in and strive toward conservation of all resources - land, water, air, ag inputs, etc. They found it difficult to believe that their Democratic Party through its EPA Administrator seemed to be doing almost everything it could to make life more difficult and put them out of business. The farmer looks for the new administration in Washington to restore at least some balance with reason and good science being involved in all decisions.