Posted on 09/26/2005 3:26:49 AM PDT by Pharmboy
Craig Livingston, a Caribbean-American real estate developer and Democrat who lives in Harlem, has never voted for a Republican in his life. But on Nov. 8, he is prepared to do just that, casting his ballot in the New York City mayoral race for Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg over his Democratic opponent, Fernando Ferrer.
Mr. Livingston feels that the mayor has been accountable on his chief concern, improving the public schools, while Mr. Ferrer has failed to demonstrate that he is more than a lifelong politician.
But there is no consensus among black voters in his circle.
His cousin is voting for Mr. Bloomberg. One of his friends, Hakeem Jeffries, 35, a politically active lawyer from Brooklyn, supports Mr. Ferrer.
Mr. Jeffries sees a split in the black vote in his own life. His parents are backing Mr. Ferrer. A friend is critical of Mr. Ferrer but undecided. And Bill Howell, a deacon at Mr. Jeffries's Baptist church in Bedford-Stuyvesant, is such a fan of the mayor's that he joined the newly formed African-Americans for Bloomberg.
"This is the first time that I know of in my lifetime where the black electorate has been this receptive to the Republican agenda, and in New York City that is huge," said Mr. Livingston, 35.
Mr. Ferrer's victory in the Sept. 13 Democratic primary has provided Latinos with an historic opportunity to flex their political muscle, as Mr. Ferrer tries to become the city's first Hispanic mayor.
But to win City Hall, Mr. Ferrer's strategists believe he must build a multiracial coalition, a feat requiring him to capture a significant percentage of the black vote. Interviews with dozens of black voters suggest that that may pose a formidable hurdle, as the nature of the black electorate changes...
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
If Blacks are to move forward in America, they better darn well abandon the Democrat Party, otherwise they will remain on the bottom of the political, opportunity and economic ladder forever!!!
while Mr. Ferrer has failed to demonstrate that he is more than a lifelong politician.
I'm not 100% sure that voting for Bloomberg is the same as voting for a Republican, but if a voter can experience casting an "R" ballot without having his hand fall off, that may be a worthy end.
No matter. We have spent 20 years that I can recall trying to assign anecdotal evidence to the group. It seems as though there are pockets that make it so for a day or a month. Yet nationally, it seems as though there has been about 2 percent movement in the last 12 years. Each person that sees the light is welcome. These days I will believe we are making inroads only after an election shows it to be true.
For NYC, Bloomie is about as pubbie as you can be. The news here is that school quality has moved up the list for some voters...
I'll be working extra hard to afford cigarettes to vote for Bloomberg come Election Day.
The hysteria about New Orleans--complete with the Oprah circus-- reveals that the blacks will probably be in the Democratic camp until Jesse Jackson, and maybe Jesse Jackson Jr. are dead and gone. It took a hundred years for the yellow dog Democrats in the South to switch to the Republicans and only then because of the Civil Rights revolution. Bush's hope of buying some black votes with Katrina money is doomed to failure.
In any large city, the people that reside there want, nay, demand socialism.
As the population increases so does the "nanny state" mentality.
Believe it ... or don't! ;)
I agree...The Dims have been doing them no favors
by pushing the whole "Can't-make-it=on-our-own
without-the-Democrats" victimhoodery mantra on them.
The tipping point is a ways off, but black voters are seeing the party of KKK Byrd with new eyes...
Do you realize the admission you made here?
If you want a Google GMail account, FReepmail me.
They're going fast!
Note that some parents concerned about the quality of public schools are quoted as favoring the Republican, while the "politically active lawyer" favors the Democrat.
> ... they better darn well abandon the Democrat Party
Let's see if they abandon Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-Harlem).
The only admission I made is that peoples have long memories. The Greeks still hate the pope because of the Fourth Crusade in 1202, which resulted in the sack of Constantinople by a western army.But that is an extreme example. Segregation, not slavery, made American blacks into a sub-nationality, sort of like Irish Catholics. Like the Irish they nurse past grievances. Until recently they have contributed to the IRA. The Irish-Catholics, those who still take their religion seriously and have got a little money, are just now starting to vote for Republican candidates. Probably they still feel guilty about betraying family tradition, because many who do vote Republican call themselves independents.
Is M. Bloomberg a true Republican, or is he simply a RINO?
Oh he's a RINO, all right, but to quote another poster's tagline: "I vote Republican to stop the Democrats."
All of you "Oh sooooooooo conservative" people who dismiss Bloomberg as a rino, listen up. Yes of course he is a rino. So what Jesse Helms is NOT electable in NYC, but Bloomy is 1000 x better than anyone else in the Democrat party and Dude, he will prove to lots of Black and Hispanic voters that their hands really won't fall off if they vote Republican. This is huge. This will be felt for years to come. He will be a guy running in NYC getting elected as a Republican, and winning by at least 12 points. Please keep all your chest beating rino talk to yourselves until you know what you are talking about.
***...The split among black voters has played out on an intensely personal level, between husbands and wives, pastors and their congregations, fathers and sons. Pierre Sutton, chairman of Inner City Broadcasting Corporation, supports Mr. Bloomberg. He is the son of Percy E. Sutton, a former Manhattan borough president and an elder statesman of Harlem politics. The elder Mr. Sutton endorsed Mr. Ferrer on Friday.***
Did you read my #16?
The advantages to Bloomberg are (1) The NYC Democratic party is so insanely corrupt that graft will increase threefold on day 2 of a Ferrer administration. A Democratic mayor doesn't so much run the city as manage the various party apparachiks. (2) Ferrer is far worse. Anything Bloomberg does, Ferrer will do twice as intensely and twice as fast. (3) The people around Bloomberg are more-or-less competent, whether they're Rudy holdovers or not. (4) You want to have somebody to counterbalance the insane city council.
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