Nov 22, 2021
Thinking Citizen Blog — November 2021 — What is Worth Remembering? Virginia? New Jersey? New York?
Thinking Citizen Blog — Sunday is Political Process, Campaign Strategy, and Candidate Selection Day
Today’s Topic: November 2021 — What is Worth Remembering? Virginia? New Jersey? New York?
Sifting through the news and the commentary is tough. There is so much of both. Today, a few notes on the surprises of Virginia (ouster of the Governor), New Jersey (defeat of the Senate President), and New York (the two ballot measures that failed). Experts — please chime in. Correct, elaborate, elucidate.
NEW YORK — same-day voter registration and no excuses absentee balloting voted down
1. “Both reforms are fairly commonplace in the U.S. at this point, with 20 states allowing for same-day registration, and at least 34 states allowing for no-excuse absentee voting.”
2. “Fewer than 40% of voters voted yes on the absentee ballot question this month, in a state where Joe Biden won 60% of the votes last November.”
3. In 2019. 72% of Republican members of the state legislature supported the absentee ballot measure. In 2021 only 32% did.
NB: does this matter? how could this happen? Is it effective messaging by Trump? Was it failure of the Democratic Party to spend to educate the public on the issues? (see first NPR link for details)
VIRGINIA — WHO IS THIS GLENN YOUNGKIN GUY? WHO CARES? WHO SHOULD?
1.“His victory running as a conservative in a seemingly Democratic redoubt — no Republican had won statewide in Virginia in a dozen years — could make Mr. Youngkin, 54, a contender within his party nationally if its voters decide they are ready to move on from Mr. Trump and Trumpism.” (see second link, NYT).
2. “With a personal fortune estimated by Forbes at $440 million, Mr. Youngkin contributed $20 million to his own bid. That lavish sum paid for top-tier G.O.P. consultants and an avalanche of TV ads, and it prompted speculation that Mr. Youngkin’s sights were set beyond Virginia, where governors must step down after a single term.”
3. “Furious Democratic attacks that he was a Trumpian wolf in suburban-dad fleece never quite stuck because, in both biography and manner, Mr. Youngkin did not fit the former president’s bullying, self-aggrandizing profile. His ability to direct multiple messages — red meat to the G.O.P. base via interviews with right-wing media, and a less divisive pitch to swing voters — will serve as a blueprint for his party in the midterms.”
NEW JERSEY — TRUCK DRIVER UNSEATS #2 DEMOCRAT IN THE STATE
1. In stark contrast to Glenn Youngkin, Edward Durr, a Republican truck driver defeated New Jersey’s longest-serving State Senate President while only spending less than $3000. He shot his own campaign video with his cell phone.
2. Durr only ran because he was angry that he was denied a concealed carry license despite a pristine record.
3. His platform was lower taxes, a business friendly environment, and Second Amendment rights. He was outspent 100 to 1.
NB: “It didn’t happen because of me. I’m nobody. I’m absolutely nobody. I’m just a simple guy. It was the people. It was a repudiation of the policies that have been forced down their throats.” (Durr)
AFTERWORD
Was the Education First Party such a bad idea after all? And how about the Thinking Citizen? (See last two links.)
What 2021’s recent elections tell us about voting in 2022 and beyond
Glenn Youngkin’s Journey From the Heights of Finance to the Top Tier of G.O.P. Politics
EDUCATION FIRST PARTY — Education is the Civil Rights Issue of Our Time
THE LAST FOUR YEARS OF POSTS ORGANIZED THEMATICALLY ARE AVAILABLE HERE:
PDF with headlines — Google Drive
YOUR TURN
Please share the coolest thing you learned in the last week related to political process or campaign strategy or 2020 candidate selection or anything else for that matter.
This is your chance to make some one else’s day or change their thinking. Or to consolidate in your own memory something worth remembering that might otherwise be lost. Or to clarify or deepen your own understanding of something dear to your heart. Continuity is key to depth of thought.
