That elitism is more than just using terms like "hillbilly." Lots of conservatives do that. It is the liberals' contempt for the values of rural Americans--religion, patriotism and law and order--that kills them on election day.

Liberals need not abandon principled stands on flag-burning, school prayer and capital punishment to win these voters. They only have to take rural concerns--and rural voters--seriously. To start, liberals must take a credible stand against crime and abandon their contempt for people who believe that there is honor in serving God and country.

THIS summer, one prominent Harvard liberal extolled to me, over a few beers, the virtues of living in New York City. I told her that I prefer my little home-town in West Virginia, where you can leave your keys in your car, and where no one would think of walking past a starving man on the sidewalk. "Yes," she said, looking at me impatiently, "but what can you do on weekends?"

When I argued that values such as community, charity and respect for the law were more important than the number of night clubs, she stared at me as if I were from Mars.

When I occasionally play Hank Williams, Jr. tunes in my room, my Harvard friends get a pretty good laugh. Hank sings about such ignorant, redneck things, you see. Things like the injustice of killers getting off free; the dignity of gainful labor; fear of violent crime; having respect for the flag. Really stupid stuff.

The Harvard liberals laugh at people like my neighbors who believe in this stuff. And my neighbors vote for Republicans.