What Republicans have done in my view is that they are systematically dismantling a sense of community in America.

[Hurricane Katrina may be a defining moment, other speakers said, and not necessarily a positive one for the Republicans.] The controlling philosophy in Washington now is to dismiss community and place all the responsibility on the individual, ... It’s better if we have both.

And sometimes people don't realize that 90 percent of the persistent poverty counties are located in rural America.

There is more potential for economic growth in rural America than at any time in decades.

President Obama's fight for rural America is personal. He was raised by a single mom and grandparents from Kansas. He hails from a farming state, Illinois.

To keep farmers on the farm we must maintain a strong farm safety net, but we will also have to build a thriving companion economy to compliment production agriculture in rural America.