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I Hate It Here, Please Vote for Me: Essays on Rural Political Decay
When a progressive college professor runs for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in a deeply conservative rural district, he loses. That’s no surprise. But the story of how Ferrence loses and, more importantly, how American political narratives refuse to recognize the existence and value of non-conservative rural Americans offers insight into the political morass of our nation.
In essays focused on showing goats at the county fair, planting native grasses in the front lawn, the political power of poetry, and getting wiped out in an election, Ferrence offers a counter-narrative to stereotypes of monolithic rural American voters and emphasizes the way stories told about rural America are a source for the bitter divide between Red America and Blue America.
In essays focused on showing goats at the county fair, planting native grasses in the front lawn, the political power of poetry, and getting wiped out in an election, Ferrence offers a counter-narrative to stereotypes of monolithic rural American voters and emphasizes the way stories told about rural America are a source for the bitter divide between Red America and Blue America.
- GenresNonfictionEssays
228 pages, Paperback
Published August 1, 2024
3 people are currently reading
54 people want to read
About the author
Matthew Ferrence
3 books2 followers Matthew Ferrence is also known as Matthew J. Ferrence
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 6 reviews
February 16, 2025
3.5 stars
Equal parts love letter and deep examination of what is wrong with our politics (on the whole, not just current climate). In the end, I think Ferrence wants to move to hope but just can't see his way out. His perspective, and one I cannot argue with, is that rural voters exist only as a means to and for national win rates; and all media and info (and politicians themselves) is skewed to supporting the national over rural (local) politics. Will say, there are many hard truths here for all political persuasions that we really need to absorb!
In the end, rounded down because it left me more dispirited than hopeful
Some of my favorite passages:
Rural politics don't have to be this way, even though we keep voting for it to be this way.
The great travesty of politics is that it can teach us to hate ourselves...We are defined and come to define ourselves within the bankrupt social imagery used to sell us out.
Equal parts love letter and deep examination of what is wrong with our politics (on the whole, not just current climate). In the end, I think Ferrence wants to move to hope but just can't see his way out. His perspective, and one I cannot argue with, is that rural voters exist only as a means to and for national win rates; and all media and info (and politicians themselves) is skewed to supporting the national over rural (local) politics. Will say, there are many hard truths here for all political persuasions that we really need to absorb!
In the end, rounded down because it left me more dispirited than hopeful
Some of my favorite passages:
Rural politics don't have to be this way, even though we keep voting for it to be this way.
The great travesty of politics is that it can teach us to hate ourselves...We are defined and come to define ourselves within the bankrupt social imagery used to sell us out.
July 9, 2025
Wow, I really needed this. If anyone else is feeling upset, angry, anxious, scared, or some weird combination of all that with...everything going on right now, this book is a hug. Running for office in an overwhelmingly "red" area can seem impossible, almost laughable, but there's no other choice when you take into account what you're fighting for.
I famously had a hard time living in the area that Ferrence writes about, but he encompasses some of the things I loved about it: landscape, poetry, critical thought. Ferrence approaches the book the same way he approached his campaign: with thought and thoughtfulness. This doesn't feel like "a book about politics" or a collection of essays. It's a conversation with the reader, one I think we need to have more. I could go on and on about this, definitely give it a shot if this review hits your radar.
I famously had a hard time living in the area that Ferrence writes about, but he encompasses some of the things I loved about it: landscape, poetry, critical thought. Ferrence approaches the book the same way he approached his campaign: with thought and thoughtfulness. This doesn't feel like "a book about politics" or a collection of essays. It's a conversation with the reader, one I think we need to have more. I could go on and on about this, definitely give it a shot if this review hits your radar.
June 2, 2024
...I need the time to process my thoughts on this book but holy fuck, it hit HARD.
July 24, 2025
I had high expectations going into I Hate It Here, Please Vote For Me, and somehow, Matthew Ferrence managed to sidestep every cliché I thought I’d encounter.
This isn’t just another liberal lament about losing a red-district race. It’s a clever, honest, and often hilarious reflection on what it means to stand in the middle of rural America waving a blue flag and still hoping someone might look up.
What I loved most:
The goat show essay had no right being that profound. Ferrence makes you care about the absurd details and then lands a punch about identity and power before you’ve recovered.
His writing is tight, polished, and free of the usual political jargon. (No spelling or grammar issues either. This book has been copyedited with care.)
There’s humor in the heartbreak, and that's no easy balance. He manages to lose and make it a win for the reader.
It’s rare to find someone who can write about politics, poetry, and native grass all in the same breath without sounding unhinged. Ferrence pulls it off.
Highly recommended for anyone tired of the left vs. right noise and ready for something real.
This isn’t just another liberal lament about losing a red-district race. It’s a clever, honest, and often hilarious reflection on what it means to stand in the middle of rural America waving a blue flag and still hoping someone might look up.
What I loved most:
The goat show essay had no right being that profound. Ferrence makes you care about the absurd details and then lands a punch about identity and power before you’ve recovered.
His writing is tight, polished, and free of the usual political jargon. (No spelling or grammar issues either. This book has been copyedited with care.)
There’s humor in the heartbreak, and that's no easy balance. He manages to lose and make it a win for the reader.
It’s rare to find someone who can write about politics, poetry, and native grass all in the same breath without sounding unhinged. Ferrence pulls it off.
Highly recommended for anyone tired of the left vs. right noise and ready for something real.
February 8, 2025
Informative, thoughtful, equal parts hopeful and devastating. Devastating because many of those who would benefit from the insights this book offers will most likely never read it. Hopeful because it resists the automatic political narratives that get yoked to rural Americans. I say this as someone who grew up in eastern pig country, NC, and currently lives in Appalachia. We can write our own narratives. We can find new, more nourishing metaphors through which to understand our lives.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 6 reviews