I got myself invited over the border for tomorrow night to witness the special election for the 23rd New York Congressional District… well, to witness the election night party actually. It was a tale of a three way race until the left-wing Republican dropped out Saturday and then on Sunday threw her support behind the right-wing Democrat all in an effort to keep out the “conservative” Independent who was first rejected by the Republicans but may now have to be reckoned with:
Her position in New York’s Republican Party seems in doubt: The state party chairman, Edward F. Cox, condemned Ms. Scozzafava’s move. “Dede Scozzafava’s endorsement today represents a betrayal of the people of the North Country and the people of her party,” Mr. Cox said, referring to the state’s northern reaches. Ms. Scozzafava had been under siege from conservative leaders because she supports gay rights and abortion rights and was considered too liberal on various fiscal issues. Democrats appeared emboldened by the endorsement, but the outcome of the race in this Republican-leaning district remains unpredictable. Neither candidate is taking anything for granted.
Why do I care? Well, frankly, as I am locally sworn to be a neutral voice in my professional calling it is a conduit to engage my unnatural interest in elections. Plus, I just find northern New York culture fascinating – so similar to and well aware of their Canadian neighbours but also so different, sitting in a construct of governance which is utterly alien constitutionally. You know, I only learned this morning from my cousin in Boston as well as a US soldier in Afghanistan (Facebook is weird somedays) that in the US to give out a bag of chips on Halloween is an insult. Then, you know, its an hour away so why not and, finally, I have to do some vintage baseball research on that big 1874 Watertown tournament not to mention good beer needs to be bought and am combining interests.
But what is my plan? I only learned yesterday that this story is now attracting the international press. Maybe I will get interviewed by the Czech press for the Canadian position. What would I say?
{Original comments…]
Ben (The Tiger) – November 2, 2009 11:53 AM
http://tigernova.blogspot.com
The Guardian weighs in, too.
Have fun!
seanie – November 2, 2009 2:01 PM
A bag of chips is considered an insult?
Hillbillies….
Alan – November 2, 2009 2:11 PM
I wasn’t aware hillbillies were adverse to chips.
Chris Taylor – November 2, 2009 2:25 PM
http://taylorempireairways.com
The real insult is giving out those stale “caramel” candies that have the consistency of granite, and come in a brand-less orange/white/yellow/black wrapper.
Alan – November 2, 2009 3:14 PM
Those truly are the Devil’s treats. We didn’t see one enter the house this year. Do they still make them? If so, can the factory be blown up by a small team of commandos?
Chris Taylor – November 2, 2009 4:33 PM
http://taylorempireairways.com
I saw giant econo-packs of them (guaranteed to last a decade’s worth of Halloweens) in a Wal-Mart last year, so somebody is still fabricating the things.
I think we are fortunate because most of us remember how awful they were, and so aren’t remotely tempted to buy them to shell out to kids. But our children’s children, who will never have known the hardships of chewing on stale deacde-old no-name candy, could potentially be the ones that bring it back to the fore as a cost-saving measure.
Maybe we should build up a strategic reserve of the things, and hand them out to kids before they go out and get the good stuff. Like a sort of pagan Passover, a way of remembering that the world has seen truly awful junk food before, and we should be thankful we no longer share in the edible travails of our ancestors.