When I turned 18, a few of my friends,
under the mistaken impression that Connecticut was a swing state, suggested that
I register to vote here, instead of in my native New York. I declined, for as
someone who is interested in New York City politics, I was looking forward to
the opportunity to vote for local officials.
Earlier this year, I did my civic duty
and sent in my absentee ballot request form. Last week, I received my first
ever absentee ballot. Excited to play my part in our great American electoral
drama, to rock the vote, to declare myself to be in compliance with the demands
of Christina Aguilera and Andre 3000, I breathlessly ripped open the envelope.
I knew in advance that,
due to the Electoral College system, my presidential vote wouldn’t have any
effect on the overall outcome of the election. Despite New York City Mayor
Michael Bloomberg’s pledges, it has always been a foregone conclusion that New
York will go Democratic this year. Al Gore won the state by a full 25 points in
2000, and New York’s electoral votes haven’t gone to a Republican candidate for
President since Reagan’s national landslide in 1984.
However, there is no
lack of important positions open in this election. With a Senate seat, a House
seat, a State Senate seat, a State Assembly seat, and a number of Judgeships on
the ballot, I assumed that, at least in some of the races, there would be real
choices to make.
Imagine my dismay when,
upon reading my ballot, I realized that in absolutely none of the races is there
a serious contest going on.
In the race for the
Senate seat, Chuck Schumer, the Democratic incumbent, is running practically
uncontested. His Republican opponent, Howard Mills, a State Assemblyman, has
raised $551,000 for his campaign, compared to Schumer’s $27 million. While
Mills may be “running on ideas, not money,” as he says in an online campaign ad,
it’s not ideas that buy the television spots that allow people besides dorks
like me with fast internet connections and too much free time to actually see
that ad.
Next on the ballot are
the judgeships. In New York, we elect, and I use this word in the most general
sense, our State Supreme Court and Civil Court Justices. While volumes could be
written on the way these positions are given out, it’s enough to say that the
entire system is corrupt. The local Democratic Party essentially handpicks the
judges based solely on donations and fealty to the party. Further, the other
local parties don’t even bother to put up their own candidates. For three of
the open judgeships this year, the Republican Party has endorsed the Democratic
candidates, and for the rest the Republicans left their slots on the ballot
blank.
The race for the House
of Representatives in my district is between Jerry Nadler, a very well respected
Democrat incumbent running for his seventh term, and Peter Hort, a 33 year old
Republican eight years out of law school with no prior political experience.
Not that his biography is of any consequence. Even if Hort were a wizened,
respected old conservative, maybe a William F. Buckley type, his candidacy would
still be a joke, running as a Republican running against one of the Houses’ most
liberal members in one of the most liberal districts in the City.
Now we come to the two
state legislative races. In any discussion of the New York State legislature,
and especially one concerning elections, it is important to note that in the
past 20 years, incumbents running for re-election in their districts have won
99% of the time. In a legislature with 212 members, only thirty times in the
past 22 years has an incumbent lost a re-election bid. Suffice to say; once
you’re in, you’re in for good. So, I don’t think my legislators, Tom Duane and
Scott Stringer, have much to worry about.
So, let’s review. The
Democrats have a lock on the Presidential race, the Senatorial race, all of the
races for Judgeships, the Congressional race, the State Senatorial race, and the
State Assembly race. In all but the Presidential race, the Republicans are
hardly putting up a fight. While I haven’t yet mentioned any third party
candidates, most third parties have simply endorsed the Republican and
Democratic nominees. There are a bunch of third party options in the Senate
race, but only one, Marilyn O’Grady, was even included in the debates, and she
has raised even fewer funds than Mills, the Republican in that race.
My point is that New
York is a one party City, at least as far as the Judicial and Legislative
representatives are concerned. Some might say, “What are you complaining
about? At least it’s the Democrats who control it.” I have two replies. The
first, and most obvious, is that this is obscenely undemocratic. The thing
about Democracy, as I understand it, the thing that separates the United States
from, say, pre-invasion Iraq, is that our leaders derive their legitimacy from
the fact that they were selected by the people as representatives of the
people. Saddam, as we all know, used to hold elections in which he was the only
candidate included on the ballot. This is precisely what the is going on in New
York. The headline of the New York Times article about the second debate
between the senatorial candidates, Chuck Schumer and Howard Mills, was “Schumer
Ignores Opponents' Attacks in Second Debate”.
And why should he have done any
differently? There’s no reason for him to pay attention. He has about as much
chance of losing as Saddam ever did. Schumer could have shown up at the debates
dressed as Peter Criss, painted whiskers, leather pants and all, waving a big
red Nazi flag, and started shouting guttural Satanic incantations while goose
stepping across the stage, pausing briefly every few minutes to engage in heavy
petting with Governor Jim McGreevey, without jeopardizing his chances of winning
the election.
My second reply is that
power such as this inevitably corrupts, in a number of senses. This is most
obvious in the everyday workings of the New York State Legislature, which has
evidently decided that it’s position is so secure that it need not worry about
doing its job any more. The Legislature hasn’t passed the state budget on time
in the last 20 years. This year, with a number of exceedingly important issues
hovering over their heads and waiting to be dealt with, they got literally
nothing done. Further, members were accused of corruption left and right: from
Roger Green, who received free transportation from a State contractor while
still accepting reimbursement from the state for the cost of the trips, to
Gloria Davis, who took money from a State contractor in return for votes, and
Guy Velella, who also took bribes, was sent to jail, only to be released by an
obscure board three months into his yearlong sentence.
Now, I know that I’m
guilty of oversimplification, that I’m conflating a number of issues into one.
I know that the reasons that Kerry, Schumer, Nadler, Duane, Stringer, and the
Judges are going to walk away with victories in the state are varied. With some
it has to do with incumbency protection programs and redistricting, with others
it’s an issue of campaign financing, and with others it’s due to flat-out
corruption. But the result of all of this is that I don’t have any real
options. P. Diddy made an explicit threat on my life in order to make me go
vote, and yet here I am, and I’ve discovered it’s all fraud. “Pay no attention
to the man behind the curtain!” shouts the System. Well, I know what I saw back
there. And I’m not sure that participating in this fraud is necessarily
productive. This is not to say that those of you who live in States where real
elections are going on shouldn’t vote – in fact I envy you, and I wish
that I were in your position. But as for me, I don’t know what a vote on my
part would do, except serve as a vote of confidence in a system in which I am
not particularly confident.