Those villages didn't have electricity or running water at the time. They lived in the middle ages. My wife's grandparents lived in such a village. Her grandfather was thrown out by his parents as a kid because he was too small. He lived in the woods, surviving on roots and berries for years. Who is president was the least of his concerns. If the guy who gave him a piece of land to call his own told him that the best candidate is X, then that's who he'd vote for.
There were thousands of villages like that one all over the country. Reporters didn't need to hunt for he best soundbites, just pick a random village and you'll get all the material you need.
In most of those placed the mayor would come down before elections bringing gifts and telling them how everything they have is because of his party. And they have no reason not to believe him, since he's the only contact they ever have with any type of politics.
Russia has had democracy for 33 years. The people living on the Ukrainian border have electricity and running water. They are not idiots. You are acting like missing a few comforts makes people so stupid they can't take care of their own lives.
Guess what? Most people who voted for George Washington for President lacked running water. And all of them lacked electricity (except Ben Franklin I guess). They figured it out because you don't need running water or electricity at all. If you can run a farm and feed yourself, you can figure out who is lying to you and choose your leader.
Those villages didn't have electricity or running water at the time. They lived in the middle ages. My wife's grandparents lived in such a village. Her grandfather was thrown out by his parents as a kid because he was too small. He lived in the woods, surviving on roots and berries for years. Who is president was the least of his concerns. If the guy who gave him a piece of land to call his own told him that the best candidate is X, then that's who he'd vote for.
There were thousands of villages like that one all over the country. Reporters didn't need to hunt for he best soundbites, just pick a random village and you'll get all the material you need.
In most of those placed the mayor would come down before elections bringing gifts and telling them how everything they have is because of his party. And they have no reason not to believe him, since he's the only contact they ever have with any type of politics.
Russia has had democracy for 33 years. The people living on the Ukrainian border have electricity and running water. They are not idiots. You are acting like missing a few comforts makes people so stupid they can't take care of their own lives.
Guess what? Most people who voted for George Washington for President lacked running water. And all of them lacked electricity (except Ben Franklin I guess). They figured it out because you don't need running water or electricity at all. If you can run a farm and feed yourself, you can figure out who is lying to you and choose your leader.