Change is in the air
The contours of the general election are beginning to take form as Democrats near the end of our nominating contest; meanwhile, every sign we've seen, from record-setting turnout in every contested state to the astonishing floods of dollars flowing into the war chests of both Barack Obama and hometown hero Hillary Rodham Clinton indicate that this election has energized an electorate known for its passivity.
For obvious reasons, republicans have cause to be uneasy about the Democratic wave. Here in New York, where we have several republican House seats teetering on the brink of a Democratic takeover, and the State Senate ripe for the taking, that's especially true. One aspect of Obama's strategy that's been overlooked, however, has the potential to shake up the Democratic Party's own encrusted structures.
The New York Times writes:
To offset the voters who may rule out supporting Mr. Obama, because of his race or other reasons, the campaign is working to register new voters. In Georgia, for example, 600,000 black residents are eligible to vote but are not registered. In Virginia, there are 200,000 black residents not registered to vote.
From a strictly partisan perspective, the core of Obama's strategy, a massive new voter registration effort, is an unalloyed good. A wave is being created that New York Democrats would be wise to ride.
What should make New York Democrats, especially of the machine variety, sweat, is this: this effort is going to be managed by the national campaign, with little regard for local fiefdoms. Now, it's no secret that voter turnout in, say, the outer boroughs, is artificially and purposely kept low, with the express goal of maintaining in office the representatives of the machine.
All of that is about to change. 2008 is going to see record numbers of voters going to the polls, and the September primary is likely going to be a test run for November's general election. And contrary to usual practice, this time around, there will be a new cohort of voters without ties of loyalty and allegiance to the machine; these new voters can, properly motivated, be the lever that ends the tenures of some legislators who have sat in place too long for any good they may be doing.
The best part, of course, is that these new voters will bypass the local machines - who are not going to be handling the registration effort.
Exciting times.
Bookmark/Search this post with:
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
2008 Elections | New York | New York City
In Brooklyn
Submitted by mole333 on 21 May 2008 - 11:37am.
In Brooklyn the machine is notorious for doing as little voter reg as possible. I have seen the reform clubs do voter reg, but rarely if ever seen the machine folks. They only come out on primary election day. Also heard rumors from multiple that in many areas they encourage people to register independent instead of Dem so they aren't cluttering up the primaries...but I have not witnessed this myself nor heard a first hand account of it. But I do wonder if they get any funds from the national party for voter reg and if so what they do with it. Given the abyssmal voter registration and turnout in Brooklyn, the national party should seriously question the effectiveness of the local machines.
For those of us in Brooklyn
Submitted by sidnora on 21 May 2008 - 1:13pm.
where the presidential winner is a foregone conclusion, this may be the most exciting aspect of the general election. I love doing voter registration - it might be my favorite of all campaign activities. Only yesterday there was a diary on DailyKos looking for Brooklynite suggestions on how to uproot the abysmal Ed Towns. Obama may well provide the opening, not only for that, but for a shakeup of the entire county power structure. What a good thing that would be!
Registration can be key to new victories.
Voter registration can transform a lot of our electoral and political life. As Errol Lewis remarks every now and again, NYC Housing Authority residents number 500,000 people. The conditions of their housing, however, reflects their lack of political power. When they're registered and they vote, even the most complacent of our mis-leaders will pay attention. We should not be running a single event or protest without a voter registration component. (Myself, I do not think that machine clubs have any idea what to do with voters so it doesn't really matter whether they register them.)