Why Haven't We Been Focusing on the Elections Much?
I guess we all know what's going to happen in the immediate NYC area. But Antid Oto and I haven't mustered up much enthusiasm to write about what is probably going to be a world-changing election (aside from a bit of gambling).
Is it that it's been done to death? That we only enjoy being contrarian? That it's happening in the flyover states and we're just typical NYC snobs?
For the record, I'm voting Green for NY governor (McCourt/Duncan). They need 50,000 votes to stay on the ballot for the next 4 years in local elections. As the government of New Paltz has shown (via gay marriage, solar heating of municipal buildings, innovative waste management systems, etc.), Greens in local seats can make a difference in their communities. If they're not automatically on the ballot, they have to spend money on gathering the 15,000 signatures necessary to get on each ballot, which is a huge expense for smaller campaigns (especially since the Greens don't accept corporate donations).
And with Spitzer guaranteed to win in a landslide, there's nothing to lose in voting your conscience.
Is it that it's been done to death? That we only enjoy being contrarian? That it's happening in the flyover states and we're just typical NYC snobs?
For the record, I'm voting Green for NY governor (McCourt/Duncan). They need 50,000 votes to stay on the ballot for the next 4 years in local elections. As the government of New Paltz has shown (via gay marriage, solar heating of municipal buildings, innovative waste management systems, etc.), Greens in local seats can make a difference in their communities. If they're not automatically on the ballot, they have to spend money on gathering the 15,000 signatures necessary to get on each ballot, which is a huge expense for smaller campaigns (especially since the Greens don't accept corporate donations).
And with Spitzer guaranteed to win in a landslide, there's nothing to lose in voting your conscience.
posted by Solomon Grundy @ 6:29 PM
6 Comments:
At 9:05 PM,
Antid Oto said…
Is it that it's been done to death?
That's my main reason. I have nothing to add to what every other blogger in the country has to say, some of it even moderately informed. Maybe afterwards.
Also the fact that I did like five long posts about the election a few weeks ago.
At 9:08 PM,
Antid Oto said…
Also, I don't believe it's going to be a world-changing election. At best I'm hoping it partially brakes the terrible world changing underway.
I would be interested, though, in hearing our California readers' opinions on whether the odious Prop 90 is still a shoo-in.
At 9:44 PM,
Solomon Grundy said…
Hm, maybe you could do a roundup of what you posted a couple weeks ago? An election day refresher?
At 10:47 PM,
Antid Oto said…
Maybe. It wasn't that important. Just a lot of whining about the Democrats.
Meanwhile, this is kind of relevant to local elections, specifically: to vote for Spitzer on the WFP line or not?
At 4:17 PM,
Solomon Grundy said…
Why would you vote for Spitzer when you could vote for the Green candidate and thereby help ensure that Greens are automatically on the ballot for the next four years?
Greens are the only third party that's actually trying to get into local offices. Also, according to NYS election rules, the party that gets the second highest number of votes in the gubernatorial race automatically gets certain powers in the state government.
For my money, voting for McCourt/Duncan is one of exactly two reasons to bother voting in NYC tomorrow. The other is to vote for Hevesi (his Republican opponent is INSANE -- you do not want that man in charge of our investments, pensions, etc.).
At 6:06 PM,
Jon Z said…
I actually don't think I've seen too much polling on Prop 90 lately, though a wave of NO on 90 ads lately have me hopeful that it can be beaten. I'm sure that Phoebe knows better than I do.
I'm mainly worried about 83 (sex offenders forced to wear a scarlet A and sleep under bridges, etc) and 85 (no teen abortions)-- they're much more likely to pass than 90. Which is to say, they will almost certainly pass.
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