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 Liberal Unfriendly Place: Elkhart County, INThese are comments on Elkhart County, submitted by other Turn Left visitors. They do not necessarily represent the opinion of the webmaster. You may add a comment on Elkhart County if you want.  Though it is not a city, Elkhart County, Indiana is one of the most far-right places I have ever seen. I am a native of this area and have travelled extensively. It even surpasses some areas of the Deep South I have visited.
It is the centre of the Recreational Vehicle industry. The executives of this industry rule like tyrants, exploiting, among others, African- and Hispanic- Americans with long hours for negligible pay. Unions are almost unheard of. These executives will close a plant and fire everyone before allowing a union to come in. They live in palatial gated communities in Elkhart only blocks from the worst area of the city, populated mostly by African-Americans. They blithely ignore safety regulations (not that Indiana has that many) and OSHA inspectors turn a blind eye. Of course, like most of Indiana, it is overwhelmingly Republican. Elkhart and Goshen have elected Democratic mayors but their policies are almost indistinguishable from Republicans. "Rush is Right" bumper stickers abound here and the Holy Trinity is Reagan, Limbaugh and Quayle. Despite the presence of pacifist Mennonites and Amish, "Christian" here usually means Southern Baptist, Independent Baptist, Pentecostal or Independent Fundamental. Mainstream Christians such as Lutherans (of which I am one), Presbyterians, and the "godless, Pope-worshipping Roman Catholics" are frozen out. Don't even ask about Buddhists, Jews, Muslims etc because I don't know of any. The KKK is very active here. There have been Klan rallies in Elkhart, Goshen and Middlebury over the past year. Confederate flags are a common sight, as is the odd "White Power" licence plate on a 4x4. The John Birch Society directs politics here, and their dinners and speaking engagements are given extensive coverage in the local press. There are two daily newspapers here, The Elkhart Truth (ha!) and The Goshen News. The Goshen News is by far the most conservative of the two, though the "Truth" is not far behind. They feature such examples of broad-mindedness as Dan Quayle and Cal Thomas. Their editorials are overwhelmingly anti-Democratic, as are the letters from their readers. As I know from personal experience, if one sends a letter to either of these newspapers, it is either edited so as not to offend the Republican Party and attendant RV business executives or simply not printed. There is also a local weekly paper called simply "The Paper" which has an anonymous phone-in comments page called "Speak Out". They either edit or will not print anything critical of the Republican Party. The Mennonite Church runs Goshen College. A few months ago, violent anti-gay graffiti began appearing there. Very little outcry was raised. "Entertainment" here largely consists of yee-haw redneck bars where many of the patrons are "packin' iron and ain't afraid to use it."
Overall, unless you are a far-right, "mega-Dittos, Rush!" Republican, avoid this area like the plague.
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