Thursday, October 29, 2020

A Dark and Stormy Night

 

The election comes on the heels of Halloween.  It's beginning to have a Sleepy Hollow feel to it.  It  has driven me morose, kept me away from writing here.   I  have not watched the TV news in years and since the death of RBG I have automatically deleted NYT Alerts and WAPO politics.  Now I read only features and science news, Dear Abby and the still all-too occasional story of another murdered black person.

I voted yesterday.  Stood in line for 25 minutes.  After four days of early voting more than 44,000 votes had been cast in Monroe County (8 percent of the total vote).  In addition, 71,000 absentee ballots had been returned,  more than 52 percent of the total absentee ballots that had been mailed out.  Massive turnouts are good but I keep asking myself, how many red hats in those long voting lines?  

There are about 192,000 Democrats registered in Monroe County and 126,000 Republicans. Right leaning fringe parties, like the Conservatives, 8,000 members; and Independent Party, about 20,000; exercise influence.   There are 110,000 voters with no party affiliation (we call them blanks), who are true independents and unpredictable.  Left leaning parties, Greens and  Workers Party have about 3,000 votes.   By rights if everyone votes, Democrats win handily in the national election.  Monroe County is a donut community... all the black people live in the city and all the white people do not.  Local elections, particularly in the suburbs, are dominated by the GOOP.   So maybe Biden wins Monroe County... a big deal because no Democratic Presidential candidate has done so in forever.  Not a big deal as, win or lose Monroe County, New York will vote for Joe Biden.  So who cares really about the Presidential election here. 

We have one national race of consequence.  In the 27th Congressional District   Nate McMurray,  is a moderate Democratic  is running for the third time.   He narrowly lost in 2018 to a GOOP candidate who was under indictment for insider trading on information available to him as a congressperson. That guy, Chris Collins, was convicted, had to resign and is now seeking a COVID get out of jail free card.  In a special election last June,  Nate narrowly lost to another GOOP millionaire, also named Chris.  Now he is running  against Chris No. 2 again.  Can Nate win?  In 2016 the NY Assembly district included in the congressional district  elected a dead, indicted GOOPer.  Since the dead guy couldn't exactly hold the office, he was replaced with a candidate who  was demonstrably senile.  You be the judge. 

Still my big worry is how many of these early voters mobbing precincts nationwide wear red hats.  How many have tasted the presnut's kool aid?  

Walter Wallace, 27, father of seven children, a black man  in Philadelphia with mental health issues.  Gunned down by police.   The family called 911 for help and Walter was carrying a knife.  Killed in front of his mother.  She says the police laughed at them. These stories cannot be ignored! and now  they serve as fodder for the presnut's campaign... background as he travels the country spreading his disease and whipping fear and loathing into a toxic froth.  Will he carry Ohio and Pennsylvania?  Florida?  Terrifying to think of four more years.  I am preparing for  the worst.