Next Tuesday, June 26th, are the Congressional Primaries in NYC. Most are quiet and not that competitive (in fact, most of NYC's congresspeople aren't facing primaries at all) but there are a few that are interesting as this overview shows.
But the most competitive, and nastiest, primary in overwhelming Democratic NYC is the Republican one in Staten Island.
It's between current Congressman Dan Donovan and his predecessor Michael Grimm. What's interesting about this race is that it's not really about policy (that's true about most primaries) but about the personalities of the candidates and their loyalty to Trump. For Donovan, his record and candidacy is about doing what's best for his district, first and foremost, even if that meant voting against the GOP tax and health care bills (which he did). For Grimm, it's all about Trump, blindly voting for his agenda no matter what. Also, Donovan is a quiet type while Grimm is full of bombast. So it comes down to loyalties and attitude, policies vs. cult of personality, thoughtfulness vs. anger.
On Tuesday we'll find out which view prevails.
And taking about a "view prevailing", it'll be interesting to see how NYC treats Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump once, or if, they ever come back home. Will this hideous couple, scions and scion-in-law of this hideous president, be welcome back with lovely arms or will their hometown revile them? I hope it's the latter but, as people note, in NYC, anything can be bought with money -- even respect when none is deserved.
All politics is ultimately local -- and personal.
P.S. This stuff, however, is short-term. Long-term, much longer-term, generations from now, historians will want to know what it was like to live in America in 2018.
How to describe it? I know: think of that scene from "Apocalypse Now" where Martin Sheen is stuck in a bamboo cage, helpless and bewildered, while Dennis Hopper gives him water and rants about Colonel Kurtz:
"You know something, man? I know something you that you don't know. That's right, Jack. The man is clear in his mind, but his soul is mad ... I mean, what are they gonna say when he's gone? 'Cause he dies when it dies, when it dies, he dies! What are they gonna say about him? He was a kind man? He was a wise man? He had plans? He had wisdom? Bull shit man! And am I gonna be the one that's gonna set them straight? Look at me! Look at me! Wrong!"
That perfectly encapsulates it: we live in a world controlled by a madman, having this fucked up situation either reinforced or explained to us daily by bizarre characters, and the rest of us are trapped, staring out at this mess, helpless and bewildered, thinking, "What the fuck is this?
And taking about a "view prevailing", it'll be interesting to see how NYC treats Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump once, or if, they ever come back home. Will this hideous couple, scions and scion-in-law of this hideous president, be welcome back with lovely arms or will their hometown revile them? I hope it's the latter but, as people note, in NYC, anything can be bought with money -- even respect when none is deserved.
All politics is ultimately local -- and personal.
P.S. This stuff, however, is short-term. Long-term, much longer-term, generations from now, historians will want to know what it was like to live in America in 2018.
How to describe it? I know: think of that scene from "Apocalypse Now" where Martin Sheen is stuck in a bamboo cage, helpless and bewildered, while Dennis Hopper gives him water and rants about Colonel Kurtz:
"You know something, man? I know something you that you don't know. That's right, Jack. The man is clear in his mind, but his soul is mad ... I mean, what are they gonna say when he's gone? 'Cause he dies when it dies, when it dies, he dies! What are they gonna say about him? He was a kind man? He was a wise man? He had plans? He had wisdom? Bull shit man! And am I gonna be the one that's gonna set them straight? Look at me! Look at me! Wrong!"
That perfectly encapsulates it: we live in a world controlled by a madman, having this fucked up situation either reinforced or explained to us daily by bizarre characters, and the rest of us are trapped, staring out at this mess, helpless and bewildered, thinking, "What the fuck is this?
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