The Democrats want Tim Walz to speak to rural Americans. They aren’t listening

By Charlie McCann

Talk to southern Minnesotans and you’ll notice they often use the word “rural” as if it were a proper noun. “When you get to Rural”, they’ll say, as though it were a place in itself: Rural, Minnesota. To get there, drive south from the Twin Cities, the state capitals of government and finance. Suburbs gradually give way to russet-coloured trees, lakes known as “prairie potholes”, and pigs (which outnumber humans in this sparsely populated region). Signs warn about tractors; cornfields stretch towards the horizon. You know you’ve got to Rural when you drive your Mazda down a gravel road and a man in a pick-up asks if you are lost.