On Tuesday I went to vote and there were about 6 or 7 poll workers there and just me. “Are you a Republican one asked me?”. I said “Yes,we do exist in Manhattan”. It reminded me of the days of the early 196o’s when The New York Jets were the New York Titans and the stands were very much empty, someone said, “They ought to introduce the fans to the players”.
by Drew Belsky
When I applied to be a poll worker for this past Tuesday’s Republican primary in Manhattan, I never expected to be assigned to the East Village. After all, four years living in the area as an NYU student had soundly convinced me that Homo sapiens Republicanus had been purged from Greenwich Village — from the Cozy Soup ‘n’ Burger on Broadway to the filthy East River, from the statue of Gandhi at Union Square to the clothiers on Houston Street (that’s pronounced HOW-stin, for you out-of-towners).
So who on earth are these Republicans who live in Greenwich Village? The inky darkness of this past Tuesday morning found me powering across town to find out.
This would be my first embrace of civic duty, and I was raring to ensure a fair election. It would be hard enough to do, I thought — in the training course a couple of months prior, we were informed that only under the narrowest of circumstances — i.e., if the voter registration list demanded it — could we ask a voter for identification. At that point, the voter-to-be could refuse to show ID and proceed to vote anyway…but, granted, with an affidavit ballot, for which he’d need to attest that he really, really was eligible to vote. Seriously. Scout’s honor, fingers crossed.
[.....]
So I marched into the East Village on 24 April with my jaw set, prepared to loudly challenge any suspicious character to attempt a fraudulent vote. (That’s a technical term: see, anyone’s allowed to “challenge” a shady wannabe voter. It results in a lot of aggravating paperwork for poll workers, and the challenged party gets to vote anyway. Will some vote-counter sort out the details later? Well, that’s none of my concern, or yours. Good system.)
And then I remembered that this was a Republican primary…in New York…and I came to my senses. There would be no voter-challenging…heck, there would be no voters. We didn’t even have a Spanish-speaking interpreter; even the poor Chinese interpreters, doubtless demanded by a district expecting high Asian turnout in the area, sat resignedly in one corner, their tent-sign drooping.
The first voter came in at 6:53 am. “You can tell he’s a Republican because he’s all dressed up,” my neighbor — a registered Democrat for decades and a retired dentist — whispered to me. At 7:21, we got so bored that the one other Republican besides me (a “proud Rockefeller Republican,” this one), who lived in the district, voted just to test our system. Voter Number Three, his wife, came in at 8:07.
Anyone tempted to suggest that turnout would increase around lunch hour does not yet understand how hopelessly blue Manhattan is. We were up to eight voters by around two in the afternoon. (We did have about as many Democrats wander in and attempt to vote — slurred one, “I wanna vote against all these people!”) So with the tumbleweed a-tumbling through the room and next to nothing to do, we brave dozen proceeded to shoot the breeze.
Having graduated from NYU, I tend to expect all liberals to be homogeneously foaming-at-the-mouth nutcases like my fellow college students were, and still are. And yes, one poll watcher was an OWS-loving loon, to the extent that she passed around copies of a paean to all things Occupy that she’d written for a local paper. When the conversation turned to 9/11 memories, she reported blithely determining that “I am not gonna let this ruin my day!” and fuming, “And Bush is at the helm!”
But to my surprise, Madame OWS made for a caricature against which the other Democrats in the room hastened to contrast themselves. The wide-eyed silence from one end of the room to the other at how important it was for 9/11 not to ruin this woman’s day, for example, forced a backpedaling rationalization that she was “in denial.” Then there was the affable and loquacious dentist, who stalwartly declared that “I always vote for the person,” not the party. He told me how disgusted he was with our government’s waste, spending, and corruption. “You sound like a great candidate for the Tea Party,” I replied, and he shrugged his shoulders in an if they’re right, they’re right sort of way.
Our local Rockefeller, for his part, boldly excoriated the Tea Party and Sarah Palin, whom he dubbed “Pinhead.” He’d made his fortune on Wall Street and then transformed into a public schoolteacher (and, apparently, a two-thirds-Democrat). “The Tea Party is not electable,” he said. ”They’re not a political party,” I replied, “and I’ll tell you what: I love Pinhead.” He hated the NRA, too, whereupon my brain started puckering: I shared more ground with the Tea Party-sympathetic Democrat next to me than with the Republican across from me. The dentist came to my defense, thank goodness, by at least exalting Charlton Heston’s performance in Ben-Hur.
Hours passed. We made it to ten voters. One woman dismissed Obama as insincere and unprepared. I blinked, but she tempered my shock by revealing her ’08 support for Hillary. (Then another Democrat woman reignited it by crediting Palin as a good speaker.) The OWS-lover boasted about her campaign work with John Edwards, but everyone expressed nausea at the mention of Silky Pony’s name.
We were up to fourteen voters by seven o’clock. Mme. OWS rhapsodized about her time in Indonesia and recited from memory a poem about her divorce. (There was a lot of divorce in the room, in fact — only Rockefeller provided hard evidence of a spouse, with all the women pooh-poohing marriage as overrated.)
[......]
So what could I take away from the Republican primary in the Village? Well, the Wall Street Journal called the whole affair “sleepy,” but from my vantage point, I’d call it “apathetic.” Republicans here just don’t care. Maybe it’s because Rick Santorum took with him the only serious chance of a contrast among candidates (sorry, Paul fans), or maybe it’s because we right-wingers are too hopelessly outnumbered here in the Apple to bother about who our nominee is. But regardless of how you explain it, the apathy is downright depressing to a twenty-something political junkie digging his conservative toes into the world.
On the other hand, though, I think about the Democrat dentist, who not only admitted, but proudly declared that he wants a smaller government. I think about the one Democrat woman who lambasted Obama’s bitter offensive against Hillary in the ’08 primary and the other who dutifully pays her student loans on time and blasted widespread loan forgiveness as a lesson in irresponsibility for our youth.
As I said, nuthouse NYU has trained me to expect Occupy-caliber craziness from Democrats…and I get it in spades from liberals my own age. But maybe my new dentist friend is not the only lifelong Democrat in Manhattan — or in America — who sees the big problems with big government. If Mitt Romney (who, again, predictably cleaned house throughout New York on Tuesday) keeps the focus on downsizing Washington’s influence, I wonder if any of those dentists…I mean Democrats out there will see themselves as GOP-fans in November.
As for the twenty-somethings…well, it wasn’t too long ago that one of them told me social welfare programs are our way of paying the poor not to murder us. The less you know about those guys, the better.
Read the rest - Greenwich Village Republicans: They Do Exist!
Tags: Drew Belsky
We had a few Democrats come into our primary polling place in Georgia. 80% of them asked who was on the ballot for the Democrats. We just smiled a lot and tried not to scare them.
Green Witch Village?
Sounds about right for Manhattan…
Interesting contrast in reporting.
The caliphate news network reports that the latest afgan murder of one of our troops was merely clad in an afgan uniform.
Man clad as Afghan soldier kills U.S. coalition member
While al-reuters reports is as an elite soldier who was part of a closely vetted force.
KANDAHAR (Reuters) -- An elite Afghan soldier shot dead an American mentor and his translator at a U.S. base, Afghan officials said on Friday, in the first rogue shooting blamed on the country’s new and closely vetted special forces.
To be fair the date lines are a day apart.
It is weird being a Republican/Conservative in an overwhelming liberal state/city.
I am not looking forward to the summer when the ObamaZombies will be out in full force.
It has got to be worse living in San Francisco, Washington D.C., Chicago, and Boston.
Face it, the only type of Republicans who can win there are centrists.
Therefore you nominate the most electable Republicans not necessarily the most ideological such as Christie, Giuliani, D’Amato etc.
@ citizen_q:
He was clad as a soldier because he was a soldier. I feel we ought to treat the Afghan Army s an enemy army.
@ Speranza:
But you don’t nominate them to national office. They are regional candidates only. They always will be.
@ Speranza:
I live in the D.C. area. It’s been bad. Especially when I watch the local news. You would think that in such a major market there would be some quality. You would be grossly mistaken. Even the local Fox affiliate.
OTOH, I am hopeful. Lots of intelligent people here. I have noticed people are not filling up their gas tanks. Lots of round numbers at the pumps, $40…$50…$70…. Prices for everything is rising quickly. The media can ignore or spin only so much.
I am hoping that Romney plays to win. obama has nothing but race and class hatred and envy. That shite does not fill gas tanks. Either will talk of green unicorns like spinach energy.
@ Speranza:
True but misleading.
The afgan army is and enemy army.
Where are the cries for an apology? Where is that turd karzai? He should be bowing and scraping to save his hide and gravy train.
Iron Fist wrote:
Giuliani would’ve made a very good POTUS, I doubt that Christie would.
citizen_q wrote:
Karzai is going to end up hanging from a lamp post just like Najibullah.
citizen_q wrote:
I am optimiistic so far about that (Romney playing to win). Romney’s camp has hit back hard against Obama’s lackeys attacks on him. I doubt that Mitt Romney has planned for three years to run for POTUS and not been serious about winning. I have some doubts about Romney but it seems so far that unlike McCain he actually wants to win. let’s see if he brings up Reverend Wright.
Carolina Girl being in the Bay Area of S.F. probably has a shitload of stories.
Speranza wrote:
I wonder how much of Karzai’s security is provided, directly or indirectly, by American troops? It’d be a shame if they were to be momentarily distracted…..
@ MacDuff:
Karzai will bug out when the last American leaves. Maybe even before that. If I were him, I’d have an exit already planned. He’s got the money from his brother’s heroin operation to set himself up in Saudi Arabia or someplase like it for life.
citizen_q wrote:
I was really amused when the congress failed to pass the Buffett law. I was travelling from GA to WA state and in the morning the Atlanta paper read “Democrats fail to garner enough votes to pass Buffett Law” in the evening the Seattle Paper read “Republicans block effort to tax the rich”.
Feds under Obama appear tougher on medical marijuana, disappointing voters
I don’t get this; if he thinks this, somehow, appeals to a more conservative or even moderate voter, he’s dead wrong. This is a net loser and it’s testament to his political tin ear.
Iron Fist wrote:
I kinda fantasize that the American military already has plans that dictate that Karzai never leaves Afghanistan alive and his expiration date is the same as our pullout date.
Like I said, fantasy.
Speranza wrote:
What do you think Ray Kelly’s chances of being the next mayor are?
MacDuff wrote:
I would expect that his guards are well paid. As soon as the the U.S tax payer and China borrowed gravy train dries up they will turn on him. If not before.
citizen_q wrote:
A huge mistake making our solders waste their time playing social workers in Afghanistan.
MacDuff wrote:
Actually quite good. Christine Quinn is a huge lefty and a union stooge.
New York seems rather tame compared to Chicago on election
day
It is open season on Repblicans with no bag limit.
only slightly exaggerating.
The great Moose Skowron who played for the Yankees,
White Sox & Dodgers has died at age 81.
A good guy. RIP
Speranza wrote:
Double tap to the head… It the only way to be sure…
Speranza wrote:
Don’t misunderstand me, I really like Rudy, but POTUS material? Yea, I’m not a New yorker, so I’m really not sold on that one.
Here’s a really good Goldberg column on Arizona’s immigration law.
doriangrey wrote:
I was very impressed by his governance of Gotham even before 9/11. One of the first things he did was tell Al Sharpton that he no longer was welcome at Gracie Mansion (the Mayors official home).
doriangrey wrote:
What gets me is that they just assume that you agree with them politically.
RIX wrote:
Shit -- I met him at a baseball card show in the early 1990′s. Also played on the 1963 World Champion Dodgers and hit a homerun in game 1 off of Whitey Ford.
Speranza wrote:
And looking to be the First Lesbian Mayoress of New York, which is, frankly, nothing the city really needs.
Also she was involved in a huge funding-fake-agencies scandal about a year and a half ago.
@ MacDuff:
That’s a shcocker!/ The Palestinians can do no wrong as far as Obama is concerned.
buzzsawmonkey wrote:
I don’t mind her sexuality but she would have the city revert to the Days of Dinkins.
Speranza wrote:
I do—because I am sick to death of the identity politics routine that suggests it is important if someone is a “wise Latina” instead of a competent jurist, or the First Black President instead of someone with executive experience, or the First Lesbian Mayoress instead of someone who is honest and independent instead of a corrupt union whore.
If your actual qualifications are so fucking slender that they do not qualify you for the job unless you mask them with identity politics, you have no business being elected.
@ Speranza:
To which I would add that it is precisely because Christine Quim is going to run on her identity politics instead of any objective qualifications that she will return the city to the Dinkins years.
@ buzzsawmonkey:
Her sexuality is her own concern -- not mine.
My objections to her is her radical politics.
Speranza wrote:
Not if she makes it the basis for her campaign—which she already has.
She is campaigning to be First Lesbian Mayoress—that means she is making it your concern, and guilt-tripping you into voting for her, or trying to. You’re not going to be a bigot and vote against this oppressed political insider, are you? Are you? You’re going to show that you are a good little suck-it-up New Yorker and ignore what she’s shoving in your face to prove how fucking liberal and tolerant you are, right? right?
That is the campaign she is running. To hell with her; I’d vote for fucking Carl Kruger over Christine Quinn; at least he’s an open crook.
Speaking of which, liberal creep Andrea Peyser was going on about how eeeeeevil Kruger was for being in a same-sex relationship yet voting against same-sex marriage.
I, for one, applaud him for doing so. I’m betting it was done as cheap political cover, but I’d like to believe it was a vestige of principle.
@ buzzsawmonkey:
I don’t do guilt trips. Her left wing politics is reason enough for me not to vote for her.
BBL
Speranza wrote:
Yes, the leftwing politics are reason enough—though if you don’t vote for someone in NYC on the basis of leftwing politics, you wouldn’t vote at all.
But, since you mention it, her sexual proclivities, of which she has made an issue herself, are part and parcel of her leftwing politics.
@ Speranza:
A good guy.
buzzsawmonkey wrote:
Unfortunately that ship sailed in November ’08 and it’s going to be very difficult getting it back to the dock.
MacDuff wrote:
On the contrary, I think that the last four years may well result in that ship being torpedoed at the waterline.
I hope so.
Speranza wrote:
I can relate. Being an American conservative in Europe I might as well be from Mars.
@ Buckeye Abroad:
In Londonistan it probably feels like Mars.
buzzsawmonkey wrote:
I disagree with you and I think you are changing the narrative.