I 💯agree with Jess Piper For Missouri. I ran for TN state house in 2018 because we lost our hospital. I was never going to win, but I made sure this whole state and others heard our voices and knew that we cared about ourselves and our community. It’s a trade-off, living in such a beautiful, remote area, and we choose to live here because we love our homes, but we still deserve our resources and tax dollars used for us instead of stripped away to some fancy stadium or big corporation that will never benefit us. This ridiculous stereotyping that we are not smart enough to do better for ourselves in rural TN has followed me from day one when I stepped into the political arena in 2018. Not just republicans, but even blue bubble democrats and independents criticize rural people. They ridicule our appearance, our intelligence, our accents and our lifestyles. Often, our confidence gets mischaracterized as arrogance. Our health issues get mischaracterized as apathy. Our persistence gets mislabeled as aggression. Our accomplishments get diminished as coincidence. The reality is that our way of life forces us to learn. We are usually, by far, tougher, more resourceful and more resilient than most. We are independent and we survive on our own, but those characteristics can be very intimidating. Country folks value our privacy and our freedom. We fish. We hunt. We grow food. We cut wood and build. We fix things because there is no one else to call. We build cars and motorcycles, and we race because we enjoy it. Not only do we survive, but we thrive out here in the hills of TN. We have guns, but most of us believe that people need to be taught gun safety and have common sense gun laws. We use our land, but we also protect our environment. Many, MANY of us country folk don’t care who you love, where you live, what you do or how you worship. As long as you don’t bother us, we don’t bother you. We mind our business. Tennessee has lost almost 20 hospitals since I ran for office the first time. Over the last few years, I’ve visited bean suppers, BBQs, fish fries, birthday parties, picnics and Sunday dinners at little churches all over rural TN. Folks just want someone to show up, and most are grateful when you come hang out, listen to what they need, see how they live and show them they are not alone. I lost my butt in 2018 and in 2020, but what I won was a lot of friends who understand that we have no choice out here in the TN hills. We have to save ourselves. The TN GOP in power since 2010 have stripped our resources, pillaged our land, taken all our state and federal jobs, attacked our public schools, and left us out here to die without hospitals while they thrive off of our hard earned sales tax. Our elected officials all have insurance, retirement, private schools and the best doctors while many of us are broken from working. Our poverty rate here in Clay County is over double the TN state average. I decided in 2020 that the best thing I could do to help get better leaders elected here was go to Nashville and make sure that establishment politicos knew we were here, gather support and resources, and bring them back to rural TN. Many of us have done that, but sometimes we get kicked so hard that we give up. Well- we’ve had about enough of that out here. WE ARE NOT GIVING UP. ❤️🔥 One of my favorite sayings is ‘when going through hell, keep going’. Many people, even a very small few who we think are ‘our people’, will try to tell us that we are not worth the effort out here. They will alienate us when we get loud trying to effect positive change. They will rationalize that resources are better spent where there are more people, and they will make excuses to us, espousing that we are better off supporting bad leaders sometimes and that we can never have great leaders because they are ‘all bad’. Those are just lies crafted to make us be quiet and lay down. Sometimes when we get louder, they will work harder to silence us. When we get so loud that we can’t be ignored, they may lash out and try to make us the bad guys. Nobody wants to be the bad guy, but sometimes truth has to be told and faced so that positive change can happen. ‘What we’ve always done’ ain’t working. There is only one response when we get kicked. Toughen up. Get louder. Kick harder. 👏👏👏 Don’t lose focus of what is really important- helping people. We need and deserve access to better healthcare, clean drinking water, affordable childcare, public education, cheaper food and transportation, and most of all, freedom. We deserve ethical leadership that represents our rural interests, that will preserve and protect the beautiful places we love, and that will advocate for us to have better. Don’t fall for this idea that we should not run un-winnable races. Running these races in rural, red states are so important because that is the best way to communicate with people about who we are and convince them that we can be better. This is how we change minds. We have to support all of our candidates because every race we run has value and lets people know that they are not alone. The races I ran were tough. There were threats and bullying. I worried about being physically attacked. I worried that our businesses would suffer, or that we would not be able to recover after me running as a democrat in our red community, but we survived. Now, I see more amazing candidates than ever before running in all kinds of places, fighting to get better. All these races matter. We have to dig in and show people that we can be better by showing up, and the only way we can ever have better leaders is to keep running for office and using our voices to help give hope where there is none. And vote. We have to turn out in Tennessee. All republicans are not horrible people, but republicans have been in power in Tennessee long enough. Their complacency have costed us a lot, and the only way we can stop them is to show them they are not guaranteed their elections. We have to beat them. Do not allow anyone to convince you to give up fighting for what we deserve-we deserve better leaders. The people that matter don’t mind, and the people that mind don’t matter. 💙 Monday, Oct. 5, is the deadline to register to vote. Check registration at GoVoteTN.gov Early voting is Wednesday, October 14 – Thursday, October 29, 2026. 🗳️ My favorite candidates are Seth McMillan for TN House District 38, Jason Goodman - TN House District 41, Ali Simpson - Tennessee House District 32 Mike Croley for Congress, Jerri Green Official ✅ and Marquita Bradshaw for U.S. Senate. Love y’all. Carol #WeAreTN #Appalachia #RuralTN
Loaded Language: The word 'ridiculous' is emotionally charged and dismissive, framing the stereotyping in a way designed to trigger an emotional reaction rather than convey neutral facts — for example: ridiculous stereotyping and blue bubble democrats.
Appeal to Prejudice: The sentence establishes an in-group identity ('we', 'rural TN') that is being wronged, priming the reader to identify with the rural community against outside critics — for example: we are not smart enough to do better for ourselves in rural TN, even blue bubble democrats and independents criticize rural people and They ridicule our appearance, our intelligence, our accents and our lifestyles.
Repetition: Sentences 4–7 repeat the same grammatical and rhetorical structure ('Our [virtue] gets mis[labeled/characterized] as [negative]') four times in a row, a deliberate rhetorical device to hammer home the victimhood narrative — for example: 'gets mischaracterized', 'gets mischaracterized', 'gets mislabeled', 'get diminished'
Glittering Generalities: The phrase 'our way of life forces us to learn' is a vague, positively framed claim about rural identity that sounds noble but lacks specific substantive content — for example: our way of life forces us to learn and We are independent and we survive on our own.
Exaggeration/Hyperbole: The claim that rural people are 'usually, by far, tougher, more resourceful and more resilient than most' is an extreme overstatement presented without evidence — for example: 'by far, tougher, more resourceful and more resilient than most'
Flag-Waving: Patriotic, religious, or in-group identity invoked to validate a position.
Slogans: Catchy phrase used to compress a complex position into an emotionally loaded shorthand.
False Urgency: The declaration 'We have to save ourselves' implies an urgent, existential necessity with no time for deliberation — for example: We have to save ourselves
Scapegoating: The TN GOP is blamed as a single group responsible for a wide range of complex socioeconomic problems including hospital closures, job losses, and poverty — for example: The TN GOP in power since 2010 have stripped our resources, pillaged our land, taken all our state and federal jobs
Card Stacking: The sentence presents only the opposing side's arguments in a dismissive framing, characterizing them as rationalizations and excuses without acknowledging any legitimate basis — for example: "they will rationalize", "they will make excuses".
Conspiracy Appeal: The claim that opposing arguments are 'lies crafted' implies deliberate, coordinated deception by hidden actors to suppress the in-group — for example: lies crafted to make us be quiet and lay down and they will work harder to silence us.
Appeal to Fear: The sentence warns that the in-group may be recast as villains by powerful opponents, creating anxiety about retaliation for speaking out — for example: 'they may lash out and try to make us the bad guys'