cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/53235450
Terry Zink has spent 57 years building a life in Montanaās backcountry. The 57-year-old third-generation houndsman from Marionāa remote town nestled deep within the Flathead National Forestāruns a small archery target business serving outdoor recreation workers and guides who, until recently, had steady employment managing Americaās public lands. Contents
Those workers are disappearing. Their jobs are gone. And Zink, who voted for Trump in 2024, is watching his customer baseāand his livelihoodāvanish before his eyes.
āYou wonāt meet anyone more conservative than me, and I didnāt vote for this,ā Zink told Politico reporters as he surveyed the damage. āYou cannot fire our firefighters. You cannot fire our trail crews. You have to have selective logging, water restoration, and healthy forestsā (1).
Even if the republicans are weakened in the midterms, the democrats will probably still find some way to lose ground to the far-right, either by not working to fully undo all the shit wrought since Trump took office, not have the clout to overcome the presidential veto, or pushing the party further to the right to appease racist right-wing voters at the expense of their original base.
Iām terrified that they will quadruple down on their appease the right bullshit. Shits going to get way nastier if we donāt start hauling motherfuckers in