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Fox News
2 days ago
- Politics
- Fox News
'Liberal Redneck' on NAFTA's devastation of rural America and how it led to Trump winning over Southerners
Comedian Trae Crowder sat down with Fox News Digital last week to discuss how his upbringing in rural Tennessee helped shape him into the self-proclaimed "liberal redneck" he is today and what the Democratic Party could do to get working-class southerners back on their side. Crowder grew up in the small rural town of Celina, Tennessee, where he was raised by his father, who ran a local video store and piqued his interest in all things "show business" with his artsy taste in music and films. His mother, on the other hand, was "in and out of jail" and fell victim to the opioid epidemic — a tragically common occurrence in Crowder's hometown after prescription drugs flooded the area and businesses shuttered left and right. "She got hooked on pills, started selling them, she was an addict and then a convict and all this stuff and the factory closed. All my family's businesses closed, and this happened to everybody," the comedian detailed. Prior to the opioid epidemic, former President Bill Clinton signed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) into law, which Crowder said led to the economic devastation of the rural manufacturing town. For the decades leading up to the 90's, the "beating heart" of the future comedian's hometown economy was an Oshkosh B'Gosh factory that employed many of the town's residents. "You either worked at the factory, you worked at these other little businesses that sort of served the people that worked at that factory, like my dad's video store, my grandma had a restaurant, my uncle had a deli, my grandpa had like a car lot and a garage, all this stuff," said Crowder. Once NAFTA went into effect, this all changed. The Oshkosh B'Gosh factory shut its doors and all the businesses that supported the workers at the factory, including the comedian's family's businesses, followed suit as the town's economy cratered. "To this day in my hometown, it's just been economic devastation. And that's not the only thing that happened," he foreshadowed. "I always say that another very important thing happened at the exact same time. The jobs left forever, and the pills showed up for good at the exact same time. That's right when you know Big Pharma was like, 'Hey, guess what we got? You heard of Oxycontin? Pretty sweet, huh?' And that happened at the same time, and it was just that combination of those things that just ruined my hometown," Crowder told Fox News Digital. This is when, according to Crowder, his father swore he would never vote for another Democrat for as long as he lived. Over 20 years later, a New York City real-estate mogul came onto the political scene and seemingly spoke directly to the hardships Crowder's hometown had been facing for over two decades. "In 2016, all these years later, Donald Trump starts showing up, and it's like — I never believed him from the beginning that anything would really materially change, but he was like talking about — the only person even pretending to care about people in my hometown," Crowder recalled. Although the comedian didn't buy into what future President Donald Trump was selling at the time, the real-estate mogul's message resonated deeply with many in his hometown who had felt left behind by previous administrations. "Now, if you ask me, in my opinion, because at the time was saying that, I was like, 'Look, I don't believe him. I think it's all bull----.' But like, I get why there's an appeal there," he noted. "I understand where you're coming from, people in my hometown, but all these years later, you go to my hometown it's, if anything, it's worse." Crowder questioned why so many Southerners are still loyal to Trump, despite his view that many rural southern towns like his hometown have only gotten worse under his watch. When asked by Fox News Digital what Democrats could be doing to win back rural southerners, Crowder noted that may be a far-gone aspiration. "I don't want to say that ship has sailed, but like, it's just so deep-seated, the sense of like, betrayal, but also elitism," he said. Crowder pointed out that many Southern Democrats, like his father, had felt betrayed by the Democratic Party following NAFTA and despised the party's perceived elitism towards them. "They just think Democrats think they're better than everybody else. They look down on us. It goes even beyond that now over the past few years, like QAnon and everything where it's not just that, but also they drink baby's blood or whatever. The PR is horrible," he observed. The comedian called Democrats losing their status as the party of the working class "the biggest mistake they've ever made" and asserted that he's unsure if they can ever get it back. "They can try, but like I said, it'll take years to undo the damage that's been done, I think. But they need to try to speak more to just like regular people's issues and problems and working-class stuff, I think, than they do. Some of them do, but broadly, they don't," he claimed. Crowder's newest comedy special "Trash Daddy" premiered on March 13 and is currently streaming on YouTube.
New York Times
09-06-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
My Journey Deep in the Heart of Trump Country
Supported by 'We're losing our best and brightest,' Roger Ford, the 58-year-old president of an energy startup, told me sadly one day as we ambled through a hillside cemetery brightened by graveside flowers. 'Too many young people are leaving these mountains looking for jobs in cities, and too many of the ones who stay behind have been caught in an opioid epidemic.' Mr. Ford has lived here in Kentucky's Pike County all his life. Around us lay the graves of his ancestors, proud locals all. His great-grandfathers on both sides fought in the Civil War, and uncles and cousins fought in World War I and II. As the native-born leave the mountains, few immigrants venture in. So as Mr. Ford and I entered a small, empty church nearby, a question seemed to hang in the air: In years to come, who will run the region's restaurants, gas stations and start-ups, plow its gardens, and honor its dead? On the Greasy Creek Elementary School Facebook page, Mr. Ford describes himself as 'Kentuckian by birth, Southern by the grace of God, Freemason and Shriner.' He is pro-life, pro-gun, pro-police, pro-wall and anti-tax, and told me 'God sent Donald Trump.' And many thought God had. In the 2024 election, 81 percent of Kentucky's Fifth Congressional District — the whitest and third poorest in the nation — voted with Mr. Ford for Donald Trump. Once full of New Deal Democrats, the region had suffered losses that its people felt modern Democrats didn't care about or address. During World War I and II, the 'black gold' dug out of their mountains fed industrial America. Then the coal mines closed, and the drug crisis crept in. In 2016, Mr. Trump's answer to these losses took the form of policy promises and a story. Many of the policies he promised never panned out. As James Browning, a thoughtful drug counselor and grandson of a coal miner killed in a mining accident, recalled, he never brought back coal or 'great, new jobs.' He did 'nothing about drugs.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
31-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
'Being smart on crime' leading to downtrend of overdoses
TUNKHANNOCK, WYOMING COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU)— A local community is doing its part to combat the opioid epidemic by handing out a potentially life saving drug Narcan. It's a medication that counteracts the effects of opiate related overdoses. Wyoming County District Attorney Joe Peters, along with his community awareness group, set up shop in Tunkhannock in an effort to get this potential life-saver in as many hands as possible. For years, Wyoming County has been putting up a fight against the opioid epidemic through community events like this one. DAs share crime trends in Luzerne and Lackawanna counties The anonymous drive-through event hopes get Narcan in the hands of as many residents as possible, something District Attorney Joe Peters calls being 'smart on crime'. 'We just want to get Narcan out there. It's like a fire extinguisher. There's one in every building because, you're not trying to encourage a fire, you're trying to have something there to stop the fire,' said District Attorney Peters. Inside the kits, Narcan and instructions on how to administer it. Narcan is a nasal form of the drug naloxone. It binds with opioid receptors in the brain to reverse the effects of an overdose. The drug is not harmful to the user. 'That's the magic and the miracle of this drug,' expressed District Attorney Peters. While opioid related deaths are on the downtrend here in Wyoming County, District Attorney Joe Peters says distribution events like this one are crucial to continuing the fight against opioid abuse. One woman attending the event tells me she lost her brother to a fentanyl overdose only a few years ago. She says she wishes resources like these could have been available then. 'I think not only being aware that this, you know, is in our communities, this fentanyl, but being knowledgeable that there are things like Narcan that can make a difference,' said Mary Scarpa, Tunkhannock. She says now, she carries Narcan wherever she goes just in case someone needs it. 'If the situation ever occurs that, you know, I can help somebody out then I certainly would like to. It is really difficult to lose somebody to an overdose and so I don't wish that upon anybody,' expressed Scarpa. Peters says he hopes to have more Narcan distribution events throughout Wyoming County in the future. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
$4.5M from opioid settlement will be used to bolster Gateway Center resources
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Millions of dollars in opioid settlement funds will be used for services throughout the Gateway Center in Albuquerque. $4.5 million has been allocated to boost recovery housing, the gateway's medical sobering center, and the first responder receiving area. This money is part of a larger $20 million package to bolster access to treatment and housing. To date, nearly $6 million in opioid settlement funding has been allocated to gateway recovery for both construction and operations. City of Albuquerque looks to catch up on backlog of needed trash bins 'This is such an important thing for the community, and I think that it's been a long time coming, and it hasn't been an easy road. But I think we're going to see payoff and see the ability to help people in this building,' said Albuquerque City Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn. Over the last several years, billions of dollars have been awarded to cities, states, and counties around the country. It comes from drug manufacturers and distributors, settling lawsuits for their role in the opioid epidemic. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Rep. Roy offers compromise on minimum mandatory prison for drug crimes
A key House committee endorsed minimum mandatory prison terms for drug sellers who cause death or possess significant amounts of fentanyl, but with an escape hatch that would let a judge issue a different, lesser punishment if an individual offender met several qualifying conditions. House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee Chairman Terry Roy, R-Deerfield, told his panel he spent weeks fine-tuning his proposal under one package combining the two Senate bills that are top priorities of Gov. Kelly Ayotte: • Fentanyl possession (SB 14): This would impose at least a 3½- year prison term for anyone having at least 20 grams of fentanyl and a seven-year minimum for someone caught with at least 50 grams and, • Death resulting (SB 15): Anyone caught selling drugs known to have caused the death of another would face at least 10 years in prison with a term of up to life behind bars. Roy said he started out knowing full well about the long-held skepticism of the House of Representatives to such bills. 'Many of us on both sides of the aisle are not big fans of minimum mandatory (bills),' Roy began. 'We are all aware of many studies that conclude they are not quite effective in reducing crime.' But Roy said the devastation of fentanyl that fueled New Hampshire's opioid epidemic made him determined to find some compromise language. 'We do know that fentanyl is destroying so many lives in our state and people bringing in this poison into our state have to be sent a message that we are done playing,' Roy said. Roy's amendment would allow a judge to hand down a different punishment if that offender: • Had no recent record: No prior conviction for violent felonies or similar drug offenses within the past seven years; • Had no guns: The offender is not involved in any potential or threatened use of firearms or other deadly weapons; • Was not a player: The accused is not to be seen by authorities as a leader of the drug operation; • Had significant cooperation: To the extent possible, the offender has to show they have provided substantial assistance to law enforcement in related prosecutions and, • Had no deception: The offender can't be involved in any way in selling drugs with fentanyl hidden inside them. To receive a lesser punishment, the defendants would have to submit to court-ordered substance use evaluation and complete within nine months drug treatment as long as it's available in the state. Under Roy's proposal, anyone caught violating their probation would be sentenced to a minimum term, three and a half years for a fentanyl crime, at least five years for causing someone's death. Critics: Minimum mandatory looks tough but accomplishes little Completion of a lesser sanction would require at least 250 hours of community service for a fentanyl crime, 300 hours for someone who causes another's death. Rep, Buzz Scherr, D-Portsmouth, was a leading appellate criminal defense lawyer. 'I have substantial problems with mandatory minimums given the history of the war on drugs. Incarcerations have been shown not to have the kind of impact we intended it to have even though the intent was good,' Scherr said. Roy's panel broke along party lines on the proposal 9-7, with all Republican members in support and all Democrats in opposition. House Democrats praised Roy for trying to soften the minimum mandatory provisions. Rep. David Meuse, D-Portsmouth, said there's no evidence that judges in the state have issued lenient penalties against serious drug dealers. 'What I am not seeing is how this bill makes anything any better,' Meuse said. 'This is an opportunity to perform in politics.' While campaigning for governor, Ayotte said she learned in the 15 years since she was attorney general New Hampshire had fallen behind with tough criminal penalties for drug crimes compared to surrounding states. 'We're out of step and I'm for restoring New Hampshire's image for having among the toughest penalties on fentanyl in the nation,' Ayotte said during a recent interview. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Bill Gannon, R-Sandown, sponsored both bills and has been pressuring Roy's committee for weeks to take action. Manchester Mayor Jay Ruais came to the State House in January to testify for both bills. It's unclear whether the Senate and Ayotte will support Roy's changes. Roy is right about the House's past on the topic with libertarian Republicans often joining Democrats against these bills. A year ago, then-Gov. Chris Sununu supported these two ideas that cleared the Senate. The House last spring voted 340-24 to block the fentanyl bill's passage by placing it on the table and sent the other one off to study. What's Next: The full House of Representatives early next month will vote on whether to support Roy's compromise. Prospects: There's still good odds this happens, but this changes the calculus a bit. Assuming Roy can get his bill through if the Senate balks at it, this could face more talks before a conference committee to reach consensus between the House and Senate. klandrigan@
