Thread by @abbybroyles

I saw this yesterday - there are few words that can describe how disrespectful this tweet is for families in rural Oklahoma, and rural America. To think that families are legitimately scared right now and your only words of comfort are, "look at us, aren't we the best!"

Jim obviously has no idea what rural families are facing. All of the staff written tweets in the world won't save him from the reality that he's been in the Senate for an entire generation and nothing has changed. Here are some facts from our friends at @_OneCountry_

1.8M people 65 years & older (4% of US seniors) live in a county without a hospital. 86% of counties w/no hospital beds have greater than average senior population & most of those counties are rural.

Since 2005, there have been 170 rural hospital closures.

An additional 1 in 4 rural hospitals are at risk of closure, and there’s reason to believe the financial strain of responding to COVID-19 is creating the economic downturn that could push cash-strapped rural hospitals over the edge.

Speaking of rural hospitals, they're more likely to serve uninsured patients & accept Medicare & Medicaid at a higher rate than urban hospitals. Despite this, Jim supports the disastrous proposed cuts to Medicare & other related programs, resulting in millions decreased funding.

Medicaid helps finance 50% of births in rural counties, & Jim supports budget cuts that could further undermine the already precarious maternal mortality rates in rural areas.

By the way, the maternal mortality rate in rural America is a staggering 61% higher than urban areas.

Doctor shortages are a real problem too. Many students after medical school go into more lucrative specialities rather than primary care, & as a result, end up in urban centers. Often, rural areas have just 1 doctor to serve residents, ranging from infants to geriatric patients.

Rural families are terrified of the devastating opioid epidemic and have seen the highest rate of increase in opioid mortality from 1999 to 2016 and have fewer hospitals and resources to combat the epidemic.

Only 34% of rural Americans report they have easy access to treatment for addiction to prescription drugs or heroin in their local community, meaning they have to drive to other larger communities to get treatment.

Another concern for rural America, especially with schools and businesses working remotely, is connectivity to reliable, high-speed internet.

Farms need to be connected to technologies that will modernize their operations and allow for precision farming - lowering costs, increasing yields and improving sustainability.

Rural schools need to be connected to the educational resources available for distance learning. In urban and suburban areas where high-speed internet is widely available -

- students can learn in virtual classrooms alongside their peers. Its essential rural schools and homes have the same infrastructure to provide for an equitable opportunity to learn and succeed.

Broadband connectivity, often framed as a business need in rural communities, has become a pressure point for education as rural schools close across the US and in geographically isolated areas as health care providers see higher patient volumes during the public health crisis.

Concerns over the ‘homework gap’ have gained new urgency as only 47% of students living in small towns or rural areas regularly rely on the internet to get their homework done, compared with 65% of students attending suburban schools.

1 in 5 students can't finish their homework b/c they lack a high-speed internet connection at home & the 2020 4H & Microsoft Digital Impact Survey found 1 in 4 teens in rural areas lack broadband, despite 81% reporting a need for high-speed internet to complete their schoolwork.

I know that's a lot of information - but while Jim is flying his plane upside down and hoping you don't notice how horrible he is for rural America, I'll be right here on the ground every single day fighting for you. Let's do this! #VoteThemOut