So let&#x27;s ask the question, then.  What makes progressive social policies (ignoring loaded issues like reproductive options and gun control) so distasteful to some of those who would most benefit?<p>I&#x27;ll provide a starting hypothesis for discussion&#x27;s sake: maybe urban disdain for the suburban and rural lifestyles (exemplified by complaints about &quot;subsidizing&quot; rural areas) turns people off before they hear the good ideas?<p>An alternative hypothesis based on my own rural extended family: maybe one group decides based on what they are led to believe is practical or effective, while the other group decides based on what they are led to believe is &quot;right&quot; or moral, and the rhetoric of either side cannot penetrate the thought process of the other?