Zeeland Dena
| 🪑 | |
| Era | The Seventies |
|---|---|
| Age | 50-56 |
| Home | Zeeland, MI |
| Demographic | small-town, Dutch Reformed stock, clerical |
| Lean | Lean Republican |
| Race | white |
A bookkeeper for a furniture maker in Zeeland, Michigan, raised in the Reformed Church, no longer attending it, and still keeping its rules. She represents the western Michigan Republican, who values thrift and punctuality, disapproves quietly, and regards Gerald Ford as the model president.
Who they stand for
Ottawa County is one of the most Republican counties in Michigan. It was settled by Dutch Calvinists in the 1840s, and its Reformed churches still dominate its public life. Zeeland's furniture and clock factories, including Herman Miller, made the town prosperous, and residents attribute that prosperity to their own discipline. Dena represents the small-town Protestant Republican who has stopped attending church without abandoning the church's beliefs. She votes the way the church votes, but she does not go to services.
Her congressman was Gerald Ford, whose district included Ottawa County, and his presidency is the decade's most important event for her. When the White House tape transcripts were published in 1974, with Nixon's swearing marked as deleted expletives, the language offended her more than the Watergate burglary itself. She regards Ford's pardon of Nixon as the correct way to bring the matter to a close. Michigan voted for Ford in 1976 and for Reagan in 1980. Concordia Hilda has the same morals as Dena, but Hilda's disapproval is aimed at sin. Dena's disapproval is aimed at conduct, which for her means laziness, debt and disorder, not at matters such as the contraceptive pill, which is Hilda's concern instead.
Playing to them
Dena values order in public life. She wants a balanced budget and a government that does not pay people who do not work. She also wants a president who is punctual, properly dressed and not seen enjoying himself. She judges other presidents against Ford's manner. A president who behaves as Ford did wins her support whatever his policies are. A president who is competent but vulgar loses her support even when the budget balances. She does not forgive an expansion of welfare, deficit spending or public spectacle. She counts street protest and a president's recorded language as spectacle. The disputes of the culture war reach her only as questions of grooming and manners, so a president does not need to adopt Concordia Hilda's positions on sin to keep Dena. He only needs to avoid embarrassing her.
Winning her costs the New Deal side of the cast, which means Coalfield Roy, Nonna Concetta and Motor City Moses. It also costs Berkeley Bruce and Japantown June, because their demonstrations are the spectacle she votes against. Milwaukee Marv is the cast's other lapsed Midwestern Protestant, and he is lost only if the budget Dena wants closes his factory.
Where they live
The five states where Zeeland Dena makes up the largest share of the electorate in the seventies:
- Michigan
- Iowa
- South Dakota
- Washington
- Minnesota