Well, I don't know about that, but the NY political system obviously has serious problems. Today, the Republicans seized control of the state Senate with the aid of Democratic defectors in a move that will almost certainly add to gridlock in an already paralyzed government. Hapless Governor Paterson is not likely to win re-election under these circumstances. It is interesting that the GOP is doing okay in New York, but they can scarcely win any national races there. This is how state parties and national parties differ. For national elections, NY is as Democratic as it gets. For state elections, there are divisions between moderates and radicals of various kinds, plus patronage issues and other party machine issues that divide. The Republicans controlled the NY state senate for 40 years until this January, similar in kind to the Democratic control of the CA assembly for nearly 50 years with a brief 1995-1997 break where various shenanigans took place (such as the Dems retaining control by getting defectors for most of 1995).
Monday, June 08, 2009
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4 comments:
It sounds like NY is trying to top CA for most screwed up.
I note with interest that both defectors are currently under investigation or indictment. They are probably looking for a new protector.
Also, New York has a lot of very Republican areas. The national elections go to the Dems largely because of NYC.
The same could be said of CA and the Bay Area+ LA.
Bell Curve's statement is absolutely correct. New York's upstate demographics and politics are VERY different from the city, which dominates in terms of population.
I suspect this is true of many states -- the diversity and divisions of the state show up in the state government, and the national elections tend to represent the mean position of the population.
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