[dragonwriter]

> The problem is that it’s stagnanted over here. NAFTA destroyed the way of life for a lot of mid-westneners.

Neoliberal international trade without adequate internal redistribution of gains (which was going on long before NAFTA, though NAFTA was a particular example) broadly was doing that for quite a long time, but the problem is.more on the lack of redistribution end than the open trade end (you do want to avoid a race to the bottom on labor, environmental, etc., standards, but in aggregate terms trade is a net gain and losing that gain without doing anything about internal distribution isn't going to do many people any good — as Trump's tarriffs may soon demonstrate tangibly.)

> Everyone here, everyone sees that value and importance of education.

That might be true of your neighborhood; it's clearly not generally true as demonstrated by the outcomes of elections in the Midwest at every level.

> Again, loss of tax base, loss of jobs, increased violence.

Sure, economic dislocation and it's side effects may be why culture war topics leveraging cultural resentment directed both at “coastal elites” and both higher education and the people that have it is a winning way for local elites to line up political support between policies they feather their own nests.