What's really interesting is that the combination of popularity of TVA among locals of all ideological backgrounds and Obama's lack of popularity in the area has resulted in there being very strong opposition to privatizing it. If there was a referendum in the Tennessee Valley on the matter, I'd say 80%+ of the population would oppose privatization.
damn barry o playin the long game, that sneaky motherf[inks]er
LOL. But only a portion of it is truly linked to anti-Obama sentiment; there are multiple generations of Republicans around here (as they were often the majority in the TN Valley, even before Civil Rights) who revere the TVA and all of the New Deal investments in the region - because this place was literally nothing before rural electrification began. You have to think...in the mountains prior to TVA, there was no industry, no coal and no agriculture. I can't even imagine what people did for a living in this part of the Appalachians.
My own family has roots in the TVA, as my great-grandmother's family came down from the mountains of NC in the 1930s to find work and start a new life. I know a surprising number of people in SE TN & NW GA who are here today because their families migrated.
