From the NY Times:Without a convention, New York is likely to remain stuck in its familiar mode of being overlooked by both major parties except when it comes to raising mountains of campaign cash. Neither party sees much to gain by actively campaigning — i.e., meeting real people — in a city and state that are no more likely to go Republican this year than post-Olympics China is to go democratic, lower-case D.
So come fall, don’t expect to hear much from the presidential candidates about what they would do to solve problems specific to this or any other American city.
Typical NYC voter's routine:
Go to the polls after work (but only if your favorite primetime TV show is a rerun)
Enter booth and immediately scan for the column with the "D" at the top.
Pull levers from top to bottom in a straight line.
Exit booth.
Typical routine of NYC voter who is passionate about the issues:
Same as above, plus...
Write angry letters to newspapers about what the guy in the White House is doing while your local pols turn your neighborhood into a slum.
Look how well that attitude has served you over the years. Now no one takes your vote seriously. Especially not the people running for office. The problem is not them, stupid.
19 comments:
On target!
Some people actually want to dump Frank Padavan and Serf Maltese, to make jobs for Joe Addabbo Jr. and Jim Gennaro.
A changing of the guard from time to time is definitely a good thing. Maybe you think the challengers are inferior but after awhile the incumbents just take you for granted. History has proven that the world won't end if Addabbo or Gennaro win, and in 2 years you can correct your mistake if you choose.
"Enter booth and immediately scan for the column with the "D" at the top."
That's usually the case. But this year, I'm hearing people either don't want to vote because they hate both candidates or they will vote for McCain because they don't want a black president. Isn't that ridiculous?
No more ridiculous than voting for the guy who funded your senior center's free trip to Atlantic City.
Obama!
Most voters have sent their brain on a vacation years before they ever enter a voting booth!
So in the end we all get who we deserve for falling asleep at the wheel.
The Republicans are in such disfavor that even Mr. Republican Serf doesn't choose to acknowledge in his TV ads that he is one. I'll take Joe over Mr. Sleezy Serf. Only wish the opportunity to vote him out had come far, far sooner. As far as Obama is concerned, McCain's hockey mom made my mind up for me. No way I want her a heartbeat away from running my country at this point in history. I love my country far more than I dislike Obama.
"Enter booth and immediately scan for the column with the "D" at the top. Pull levers from top to bottom in a straight line."
Right on target. This is especially true of most black, hispanic, and Jewish voters, who form the largest local voting blocks. They don't even care about the candidate's name, as long as he or she has a (D) next to their name.
If that were actually the case then Serf would have lost in 2006. His votes included those of Dems who did not just vote D. Until now there was no alternative or the bad alternative of Baldeo. Joe's not perfect but he's a great alternative to Serf.
Most voters have sent their brain on a vacation years before they ever enter a voting booth!
So in the end we all get who we deserve for falling asleep at the wheel.
99999999999
Yes and no. We need an active public education program. If people like the waterfront groups dash out do clean the waterfront (work that taxes used to do two decades ago) or have TA fund dangerous bicycling, just because both groups are funded by special interests, why cant we find the resource for an active public education program - all we ever do is act like children around these politicians as they manipulate us and jerk our chains.
Where are voter registation drives?
Where are goups ready to go out and try to be community organizers for civics?
Where are the programs to have people get a vested interest in the health of a community?
Please answer me...
Absolutely true.
The machine does everthing it can be make our participation as meaningless as possible.
Dont feel your vote counts? Thank the machine.
Now Mr American Citizen, what the hell are your going to do about it?
Serf runs his own machine. It grinds out the likes of Gallagher and Como and he conned the people into accepting them. Who needs them or him? He's had the luxury of no opposition, he sold his soul to have it and we have had an empty suit sitting in Albany for years doing the bidding of Pataki and Bruno while tossing out platitudinous pap and crap to the folks at home to keep them from looking at him to closely.
"The Republicans are in such disfavor that even Mr. Republican Serf doesn't choose to acknowledge in his TV ads that he is one."
I guess that's why Barrack Osama is doing so well in the polls right now. You must be one of those Dems that just want to control the State Senate and thinks that all politics is the same: Fed and local.
Im a registered republican from queens and I just might vote for 3rd party liberterian because barack doesnt need my vote in ny.
Serf is useless in my neighborhood not to mention never there other than for a photo op maybe once a year. I actually am a regular at my civic, we get nonsensical mail from him and little else. On the rare occasions that he's shown up over the years he has had nothing significant to say about anything. His rep shows up, signs in and leaves without staying to hear what people say. Serf's nothing but a party line Repub who thinks the Reagan Dems will save his sorry political life. Not this time. He got his last free pass in 06. He got saved cuz Baldeo outranked him in the sleaze dept. That don't mean Serf is not a sleaze.
Serf is actually a decent and loyal guy. he's a masterful politician in a time when that just doesn't count any more. I like him and if I lived in the district I'd vote for him. We'll see what happens. Either way the sun will still rise.
Serf's a sleaze, not a masterful pol, He's down in the gutter in this campaign because that is where he is most comfortable.
This lack of attention by the presidental candidates is cause in part by the closed primaries that are the law in this state as well as many others. In closed primary only the voters registered as Republican and Democratic get to vote in the primary election of their party. This prevents a large pool of independent voters from forming. The two major parties like it that way. It gives each them control of over the voters and limit the influence of third parties and independent voters. The states that get the most attention during national election cycles are states with large pools of independent voters which are encourage by being allowed to vote in open primaries. If we got rid of closed primaries the candidates for national office would have to spend time in our state. It would also weaken the strangle hold the Democrats and the Republicans have over our State government.
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