Yuck
Now I remember why I hate elections.
The gay marriage defeat in Maine casts a pall over everything. I’ve been counting on the states to pass gay marriage and create critical mass — i.e., reach a point where it’s legal in so many states that the others will have to throw up their hands rather than refusing to recognize marriages from other states, at which point it becomes legal nationally. I still think this will happen. All I can do is agree with Jesse Ventura: civil rights issues should never be put to the voters.
Bloomberg: I should be happy. My candidate won, a rare enough experience for me. But it’s a victory no one can really be happy with: every penny of Bloomberg’s $100 million overkill campaign turned out to be necessary, despite a weak opponent with no central message. The anti-Bloomberg arguments got to me all day yesterday, the police tactics and the homeless, etc., as well as the people pointing out that even LaGuardia’s third term was lousy (not to mention Koch).
You know who feels like an idiot today? Anthony Weiner. If Thompson could hold Bloomberg to three points, what could an aggressive, focused opponent have done?
Yes, the NJ and VA governorships were decided on issues specific to those states and the candidates. Corzine was utterly unlovable and no one’s idea of a shining executive. But Chris Christie, what an oaf! Oh well, it’s Jersey. At least the Democrats picked up a House seat in upstate New York.
I am saddened to wake up today and hear about the results in Maine. I think it’s proof that we’re so close to seeing a new wave of civil rights expansions in this country, but it’s also proof that bigotry sometimes wins. How could you go to the polls and make love illegal? Very disappointed with my neighbors up north. Wish I didn’t hear about this vote for the first time yesterday.
Bloomberg has been taken down a notch by the close poll results (with what should have been an unwinnable election given the circumstances) and that’s a result that helps no one. Instead of rallying behind the mayor, close to half of the city has rejected his tenure, for someone who’s platform was being a black man and a Democrat. Bill Thompson is no Cory Booker, I’ll tell you. The overall city government is weaker as a result; individual officeholders will be emboldened to oppose Bloomberg on policy matters where they might not have before, and the motivations for doing that will be to appease those selfish shortsighted constituents who make the loudest noise. Mix that in with the power and the awfulness of Albany (and the same boldness that they’ll now face Bloomberg with), along with the crummy state of the national economy, and you’ve got yourself a rough four years ahead. Keep complaining about the smoking ban, the Olympics and the RNC, douchebags.
