Posted on 11/04/2004 5:37:57 AM PST by publius1
A Blue City (Disconsolate, Even) Bewildered by a Red America By JOSEPH BERGER
Published: November 4, 2004
Striking a characteristic New York pose near Lincoln Center yesterday, Beverly Camhe clutched three morning newspapers to her chest while balancing a large latte and talked about how disconsolate she was to realize that not only had her candidate, John Kerry, lost but that she and her city were so out of step with the rest of the country.
"Do you know how I described New York to my European friends?" she said. "New York is an island off the coast of Europe."
Like Ms. Camhe, a film producer, three of every four voters in New York City gave Mr. Kerry their vote, a starkly different choice from the rest of the nation. So they awoke yesterday with something of a woozy existential hangover and had to confront once again how much of a 51st State they are, different in their sensibilities, lifestyles and polyglot texture from most of America. The election seemed to reverse the perspective of the famous Saul Steinberg cartoon, with much of the land mass of America now in the foreground and New York a tiny, distant and irrelevant dot.
Some New Yorkers, like Meredith Hackett, a 25-year-old barmaid in Brooklyn, said they didn't even know any people who had voted for President Bush. (In both Manhattan and the Bronx, Mr. Bush received 16.7 percent of the vote.) Others spoke of a feeling of isolation from their fellow Americans, a sense that perhaps Middle America doesn't care as much about New York and its animating concerns as it seemed to in the weeks immediately after the attack on the World Trade Center.
"Everybody seems to hate us these days," said Zito Joseph, a 63-year-old retired psychiatrist. "None of the people who are likely to be hit by a terrorist attack voted for Bush. But the heartland people seemed to be saying, 'We're not affected by it if there would be another terrorist attack.' "
City residents talked about this chasm between outlooks with characteristic New York bluntness.
Dr. Joseph, a bearded, broad-shouldered man with silken gray hair, was sharing coffee and cigarettes with his fellow dog walker, Roberta Kimmel Cohn, at an outdoor table outside the hole-in-the-wall Breadsoul Cafe near Lincoln Center. The site was almost a cliché corner of cosmopolitan Manhattan, with a newsstand next door selling French and Italian newspapers and, a bit farther down, the Lincoln Plaza theater showing foreign movies.
"I'm saddened by what I feel is the obtuseness and shortsightedness of a good part of the country - the heartland," Dr. Joseph said. "This kind of redneck, shoot-from-the-hip mentality and a very concrete interpretation of religion is prevalent in Bush country - in the heartland."
"New Yorkers are more sophisticated and at a level of consciousness where we realize we have to think of globalization, of one mankind, that what's going to injure masses of people is not good for us," he said.
His friend, Ms. Cohn, a native of Wisconsin who deals in art, contended that New Yorkers were not as fooled by Mr. Bush's statements as other Americans might be. "New Yorkers are savvy," she said. "We have street smarts. Whereas people in the Midwest are more influenced by what their friends say."
"They're very 1950's," she said of Midwesterners. "When I go back there, I feel I'm in a time warp."
Dr. Joseph acknowledged that such attitudes could feed into the perception that New Yorkers are cultural elitists, but he didn't apologize for it.
"People who are more competitive and proficient at what they do tend to gravitate toward cities," he said.
Like those in the rest of the country, New Yorkers stayed up late watching the results, and some went to bed with a glimmer of hope that Mr. Kerry might yet find victory in some fortuitous combination of battleground states. But they awoke to reality. Some politically conscious children were disheartened - or sleepy - enough to ask parents if they could stay home. But even grownups were unnerved.
"To paraphrase our current president, I'm in shock and awe," said Keithe Sales, a 58-year-old former publishing administrator walking a dog near Central Park. He said he and friends shared a feeling of "disempowerment" as a result of the country's choice of President Bush. "There is a feeling of 'What do I have to do to get this man out of office?'''
In downtown Brooklyn, J. J. Murphy, 34, a teacher, said that Mr. Kerry's loss underscored the geographic divide between the Northeast and the rest of the country. He harked back to Reconstruction to help explain his point.
"One thing Clinton and Gore had going for them was they were from the South," he said. "There's a lot of resentment toward the Northeast carpetbagger stereotype, and Kerry fit right in to that."
Mr. Murphy said he understood why Mr. Bush appealed to Southerners in a way that he did not appeal to New Yorkers.
"Even though Bush isn't one of them - he's a son of privilege - he comes off as just a good old boy," Mr. Murphy said.
Pondering the disparity, Bret Adams, a 33-year-old computer network administrator in Rego Park, Queens, said, "I think a lot of the country sees New York as a wild and crazy place, where these things like the war protests happen."
Ms. Camhe, the film producer, frequents Elaine's restaurant with friends and spends many mornings on a bench in Central Park talking politics with homeless people with whom she's become acquainted. She spent part of Tuesday knocking on doors in Pennsylvania to rustle up Kerry votes then returned to Manhattan to attend an election-night party thrown by Miramax's chairman, Harvey Weinstein, at The Palm. Ms. Camhe was also up much of the night talking to a son in California who was depressed at the election results.
When it became clear yesterday morning that the outlook for a Kerry squeaker was a mirage, she was unable to eat breakfast. Her doorman on Central Park West gave her a consoling hug. Then a friend buying coffee along with her said she had just heard a report on television that Mr. Kerry had conceded and tears welled in Ms. Camhe's eyes.
Ms. Camhe explained the habits and beliefs of those dwelling in the heartland like an anthropologist.
"What's different about New York City is it tends to bring people together and so we can't ignore each others' dreams and values and it creates a much more inclusive consciousness," she said. "When you're in a more isolated environment, you're more susceptible to some ideology that's imposed on you."
As an example, Ms. Camhe offered the different attitudes New Yorkers may have about social issues like gay marriage.
"We live in this marvelous diversity where we actually have gay neighbors," she said. "They're not some vilified unknown. They're our neighbors."
But she said that a dichotomy of outlooks was bad for the country.
"If the heartland feels so alienated from us, then it behooves us to wrap our arms around the heartland," she said. "We need to bring our way of life, which is honoring diversity and having compassion for people with different lifestyles, on a trip around the country."
Michael Brick and Brian McDonald contributed reporting for this article.
My God, we risked life limp and treasure for these people, and they still don't get it!
"Do you know how I described New York to my European friends?" she said. "New York is an island off the coast of Europe."
Here's something we can all agree on - wishing that were true.
All one has to do is read their statement and see why the rest of the nation went for Bush, they think they are better than everyone else.
Schadenfreude. :^)
I did not know that they had any values.
I am submitting this vanity for all Freepers to show how much of a different every one person can make. I call this a “Freepers Tale.” Please read the whole thing because I sweated over this.
I am a conservative attorney from New York with a strong accent who was so furious this past year, that I contacted the RNC to do my part. I attended a meeting in September in NY where lawyers were asked to sign up to volunteer to go to the battleground states to support the President. The reason for not staying in New York is obvious.
I considered this election to be personal. I live around too many liberal jerks. I live in NY and know about 9/11. I was so upset over Michael Moore and lies. I broiled in anger about the unfairness towards GWB. I knew in my heart that GWB was the right man for this job and that I had to do something. Additionally, I was fearful about the message a Kerry victory would send to our veterans and soldiers alike, not to mention the terrorists and Europe. Therefore, I considered this election to be my chance to contribute to the effort.
Anyway, around October, 2004, I received notification from the RNC that I was going to Duval County in Florida to gear up for a contested race. This New Yorker has never been to Duval County before, but was eagerly waiting my chance to do my part.
On October 29, 2004, I flew down to Jacksonville Airport to meet some of the other attorneys who I would be working with in Duval County. These were Charlie (Atlanta GA attorney), Phil (Attorney from Atlanta and Fellow Freeper), and Gene, a paralegal from Alabama. We all met and were excited for the days ahead.
On October 30, 2004, we went to the Duval County Canvassing Board to monitor the counting on absentee votes and ballots with disputed signatures. Upon our arrival, we met with Chris (DC Attorney), John (DC attorney, and Margaret (Florida attorney). We monitored the counting and kept tabs on the angry Kerry/Edwards people. There was also Ryan (Freeper lawyer from Atlanta), Marty (local counsel), Olivia (Texas attorney and Freeper), and one other great lady whose name escapes me right now.
Later that day, we attended a meeting and got to know each other better and made plans for the days ahead. We had another meeting on Sunday, where we got “Voting Rights Counselor” shirts, buttons, and hats. These looked very official and were given to attorneys to where. I thought we looked extremely professional when compared with the Kerry Edwards people.
We took a ride by the Duval County headquarters to get ID’s and get more instructions. At a minimum, I was extremely impressed by the people volunteering for the Republicans. There were many many college kids there. There were even college students from Texas who came in to volunteer. They were awesome and went door to door and gave out signs, etc.
A group of people from Texas came to volunteer for the Republicans as well. They called themselves the “Texas Strike Force.” They were great and seemed to have an affinity for this NU YAWK “Yankee” who was working with them side by side. Particularly, “Glen” and “Skipper” were my favorites.
On Monday, November 1, 2004, myself, Phil, and Gene, traveled to the “Regency Library” to monitor the early voting. We wore our “Voting Rights Counselor” gear and brought a bunch of signs etc, to give out. The headquarters told us to expect heavy democratic turnout in this area.
We arrived at the site and the Kerry Edwards people had already set up shop right at the 50 foot line. They looked sort of surprised to see us, but we went and introduced ourselves to them nonetheless.
As voters arrived, we greeted them nicely and gave out GWB items. The Kerry people gave out buttons and fans. They also gave out water as if it were a marathon or something. As the turnout increased, the Kerry people brought in some additional bodies. Although they initially outnumbered us, the office sent us Skipper and the Texas Strike Force. They blew me away with their enthusiasm and Skipper had a huge sign that all voters could see that read “Who would Osama Vote For?” The other Texas people gave out B/C items. The people took as much as they could get and were very positive towards us.
Phil was great too as he mirrored the Kerry/Edwards guy giving out sample ballots and countering every statement made the Kerry guy. Gene, who is a female, laid on the Alabama charm to the people waiting in line.
Myself???? I am a big guy, very muscular, and seemed more like security and crowd control.
We completely demoralized the Kerry people. We outnumbered them, out charmed them, out spent them, and out politiced them.
After the day was over, we had another meeting, and all agreed about the great reception we received and how meager the Kerry people were. I am convinced that their claim of 10,000 lawyers was fabricated to scare us. It backfired! We had the manpower in place for anything they had, times three!
Ok. Now it is Tuesday, November 2, 2004, the big day. The local attorneys were stationed inside the polls and us out of state lawyers were part of roving quick response legal teams. I was teamed up with “Glen” a member of the Texas Strike Force. Although the two of us could not be more different, we both got along great and I think I made a good friend.
Unfortunately, we had to respond to an accident that one of our volunteers got into. I can’t give details for obvious reasons, but it took up some of our time. Glen and I responded to a number of problems with voters, mostly minor and nothing worth writing about. What is notable is the fact that our “Voting Rights Counselor” gear had a huge impact and made us look very official, organized, and professional. Some mistook us for actual election officials. I think that was the intent.
Throughout the day, the headquarters was busy with activity. There were many people being dispatched to places with little presence. It was great - it seemed like we had people all over the place!
I must admit, at one point during the day I got a chance to look at Drudge. I was very nervous and in fact was expecting the worst. Others were too.
As the day came to an end, we went over to the party arranged by the Republican party to watch the returns. It was a job well done on our part, and now hopefully would prove it. Once Florida was called for GWB, we all went nuts. It proved that average people can make a huge difference! In fact, Duval gave GWB a tremendous amount of votes to counter South Florida. As the night wore on, the mood increased. I became a little buzzed from too many beers, but we all knew we were sharing a great moment. I worked hard alongside the efforts of so many others with the same zeal and passion to keep our nation strong and get GWB re-elected.
I am so impressed with the caliber of the people of Duval county. After being somewhat down on the average voter, my faith and opinion has changed. The Duval County folks all came together and each contributed in his/her own way. Don’t get me wrong, Liberal New Yorkers are still scum and deserve Dante’s Hell.
My point is this, get involved! Your contribution will make a difference. This election has taught me that if we come together we will never lose, Never! Only if we get complacent will we lose.
I had a great experience and thank God GWB is our President. Although he is not perfect, he is a fundamentally good decent man and has only the USA as his priority.
Freepers - I love you all. This board has helped GWB and this nation!
I just about sh!t my pants laughing so hard when I read this:
"New Yorkers are more sophisticated and at a level of consciousness where we realize we have to think of globalization, of one mankind, that what's going to injure masses of people is not good for us," he said.
As a New Yorker....I am totally disgusted with these people.
I kept waiting for the punchline in the story which pointed out how self-important these people think they are and it never really came. It was noted but explained away. Could one imagine what Steyn would do with a series of quotes like this?
These people are either stupid, brain dead or can't remember.
What a bunch of hogwash, but illustrates the real problem with "blue state" mentality. Self-absorbed, total lack of spirituality, overriding effete snobbery. Their cynicism will not allow them to grasp red state reality -- People happy and content with who they are,what they have worked for, and thankful for God's blessings.
Why can't we peaceably go our separate ways? Let them have their Pres. Kerry, let us have our Pres. Bush.
"If the heartland feels so alienated from us, then it behooves us to wrap our arms around the heartland,"
You just try. This backwards Illinois redneck will kick your wimpy NY butt.
We have a theory here that how far you made it inland after your boat landed proves how tough you are. I'd say there's a lot of evidence that it's true.
This woman misses her own irony, namely that her claimed concern for diversity and compassion does not extend to the very people she wants to reach.
""What's different about New York City is it tends to bring people together and so we can't ignore each others' dreams and values and it creates a much more inclusive consciousness," she said. "When you're in a more isolated environment, you're more susceptible to some ideology that's imposed on you.""
Nothing like being blind to your own viewpoint. I grew up in NYC and after many years moved to the South with family.
I found my attitude, viewpoint, and to be truthful, education was incredibly insular and lacking.
NYC for all its vaunted polyglot atmostphere is just a conglomeration of small villages where you may buy Chinese spices from a store in Chinatown, but for heavens sake, you don't socialize outside your tight little group.
The Slimes and these chosen people don't speak for all New Yorkers.
The FDNY and NYPD were strongly behind Bush, as were many of the "little" people that keep NY going.
Too bad they're outnumbered by these dopes.
Those ungrateful slobs...President Bush made sure that these people received all the help they needed. That's gratitude for you.
The only reason America flocked to help NooYawkers after 9/11 is because they are Americans, too. Their high concentration of people make them an easy target for terrorists, but their elitist ideas and attitudes do nothing to protect them. They don't understand taking the fight to those wishing them harm. Their attitude seems to be stand still while others urinate on us and call it rain.
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