The Politics Thread

[Vee]

 

[DramatistDreamer]

Pretty sure I warned folks not to quickly dismiss Eric Adams in the NYC mayoral race and looky-looky. Things are still somewhat fluid and Adams, at 31% or so if the vote is still far from the 50% or above needed to win, but I have followed NYC politics enough to know darn well that someone who has been as well known in NYC public life as Adams wasn't going to fade. If I remember correctly, I warned that if you dismiss Adams, you do so at your own peril.

 

[DramatistDreamer]

 

I never thought Yang had much of a chance. He knew next to nothing about the architecture of how NYC could effectively be governed. It's one thing to be unschooled on certain aspects, but Yang demonstrated that he was out of depth in all aspects of NYC's governance.

 

 

No, Adams benefitted from being perceived as a known entity. He has been on the margins of public life and public service for decades now. I can remember seeing him on NYC community programming since the mid 90s. People knew who he was long before he became Brooklyn borough president. He also presents himself as a combination of a working class public servant, who will understand the average New Yorker, because he is the average New Yorker (or would like to be perceived as such). He also is a former cop, in a city where crime has escalated during the pandemic, crimes against Asian/Asian-Americans have been of particular concern, as well as shootings and subway assaults. 

Now Maya Wiley is not out of the running, not at all, but as a progressive, it remains to be seen whether she will be tied to the "Defund The Police" mantle (though she has avoided the use of the term lately), a term that has become reviled by all but the uber-left. Adams, otoh, has cast himself as a former victim of police brutality, who then went on to speak out and create an organization that was anti police violence and mentoring Black and Brown young men.

Kathryn Garcia is kind of neck and neck with Wiley in second place but I am not sure that she did herself any favors by trying to form some type of 11th Hour alliance with Andrew Yang. It certainly did Yang no good. He conceded the primary race last night.

 

It could be weeks before the results of the Democratic mayoral primary are known, with absentee votes, etc. needing to be counted.

 

Meanwhile, the Republican primary has already been decided with Curtis Sliwa (founder of the Guardian Angels) selected. Cannot believe he got enough votes to be the candidate, then again, it's the Republicans--the party of Giuliani and Trump.

Edited June 23, 2021 by DramatistDreamer

[DRW50]

 

I meant in terms of media coverage. They had little interest in Adams compared to Yang (or to others whose campaign flameouts and scandals got a lot of notice, like Morales or Stringer). Once the media gets a bit in its mouth, it will work nonstop to drive a candidate into the ground for clicks. Yang was a lousy candidate and ran a lousy campaign, but he also seemed to run afoul of a lot of media personalities and they spent months wearing him down.

Edited June 23, 2021 by DRW50

[DramatistDreamer]

 

I think it depends on the types of media you're talking about. NYC based media (even the Metro section of The Times) definitely could not ignore Adams, he was a factor from the very beginning but if we're talking about...say, USA Today or eve Politico, well, I wouldn't be surprised by that, as Politico leaves a lot to be desired.

I was surprised to see Adams referred to as some sort of neophyte whose biggest claim to fame was being Brooklyn borough president. Adams may be a lot of things but 'new' ain't one them.

[JaneAusten]

I know NYC is important but honestly the fixation on this race nationally has been ridiculous and it's nice to see publications like Politico wrong again. I wish more people would see that the Beltway is a bubble. These people don't understand DC much less the rest of the country.

 

My niece who lives in Brooklyn - her main concern was Adams experience in public service. Yes he served in the state senate but after 8 years of De Blasio, as an employee of the NYC Dept of Public Health she wanted someone with leadership experience.   She wasn't really high on any of the candidates. She does like Adams and in her opinion she thinks he might have a lot more success at police reform than anyone. He was a police officer and reformer and despite what some may think, is not well liked by the NYPD. He's not going to get support from Staten Island in the GE that's for sure.

 

He actually did well in all the Burroughs other than Manhattan who I think went for Garcia.  Despite the gentrification in other Burroughs including Brooklyn, there are still an awful lot of working class people living in those communities especially when compared to Manhattan.  You were right on about him from the beginning.  I do wonder if Adams appeal was due to his law enforcement background or his working class appeal or a combination of both plus his being fairly well known across the city.

 

I find it hard to imagine the mail in vote making a huge difference but who knows. 

Edited June 23, 2021 by JaneAusten

[DRW50]

 

I also meant the Twitter journalism pundits who had an outsized influence in 2016 and 2020 and still tend to now. 

 

This tweet probably sums them up (and your larger point):

 

 

[DramatistDreamer]

I don't always agree with Astead but he basically made a pretty good assertion there.

[DramatistDreamer]

 

I used to live in a working class neighborhood in Manhattan...a little village by the name of Harlem.

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Everyone assumes that Manhattan is all Upper East Side, Upper West Side, Soho and Greenwich Village and they indeed have a huge say in Manhattan political life but people forget that Harlem has had a huge impact politically since the days of Adam Clayton Powell. In fact, no one running for any citywide office can bypass Harlem and expect to win public office. Harlem has been gentrifying, but not as fast as other areas, surely not as fast as many parts of Brooklyn.

There is also Inwood/Washington Heights. All in Manhattan, all predominantly working class. Even the Lower East Side still has a sizeable working class, mainly Latino population. During this campaign, I was reading that a number of Latino voters were going for Adams and I admit that even I was a bit surprised by this at first, but I do think some of this is indeed older Latino voters, who may feel strongly about the security aspect, particularly in regards to public transportation.

There were/are many who oppose Adams quite vehemently, but I am not sure how many actually got out to the polls and voted.

 

As for Staten Island... they're gonna Staten Island. They've always been Republican country out there. Fortunately, they are the borough with the smallest population.

Edited June 23, 2021 by DramatistDreamer

[Vee]

She sounds as done as I am.

 

 

[DRW50]

 

[Vee]

 

[DRW50]

There's an article on Politico today (I know most don't like the site so I won't link) with operatives just saying outright the CRT stuff is the new astroturf Tea Party to get Congress back. I guess with Obama not there they need to drum up insane racist hatred some other way.

 

It's also being used as a smokescreen for this type of terror:

 

 

[DRW50]

 

[JaneAusten]

Interesting about Manhattan. Last time I was in Harlem was about 3 years ago when there was a walking tour organized by one of the City Colleges that my niece took me on.  Some of it seemed the same from years prior but so much seemed to have changed. I guess I just assumed that gentrification in so much of Manhattan had driven out so many over the years. So much has happened in Chicago in areas where there are now million plus dollar townhomes on the near west side and Bridgeport.  Now they are after the Chinatown area.

 

I am going to assume Adams is going to win the primary. Unless Garcia or Wiley might have a good percentage of the absentee ballots.