September 8, 2018
If history’s a guide, next Thursday a skeleton crew of voters will turn out for the NY State Democratic Primary. And further, the winners in most of the local contests will have essentially clinched November’s general. The Gazette would like to remind readers that in low turnout elections a few dozen votes can swing the results, so please do vote.
In the biggest match up Governor Cuomo faces longshot challenger Cynthia Nixon. The Attorney General race has also been in the spotlight, especially against the backdrop of a possibly successful effort by Republicans to summarily quash the Mueller investigation. The Lt. Governor race has also generated some heat and light along the trail. The Gazette wishes all the candidates in those races luck and makes no endorsements.
Further down the political totem pole are some local contests that will have statewide repercussions, specifically those for NY State Senate. While the upper chamber in Albany has long enjoyed a well deserved reputation for corruption, pay-to-play deal making, and outright self dealing, the IDC Democrats have managed to make it worse. Elected as Democrats, the IDC’s treachery handed control of the Senate to the party of Trump. Nobody put a gun to their heads and forced them to cross over.
The party of Trump has separated asylum seeking children at the border from their parents and put them in cages, banned entry to America on religious grounds, and abused their control of the Senate to block hearings for a Supreme Court Justice nominee in order to steal a lifetime appointment for one of their own political hacks. They’ve rolled back or eliminated protections for workers, the environment, and consumers. Their tax scam increased the deficit and worsened income inequality. Worst of all, they’ve empowered racist white nationalists and enacted policies explicitly intended to harm people of color. The myth of “white genocide” is the foundational lie of all the other victim-themed fright tales they constantly propagandize.
So why do our IDC Senators empower the party of Trump? Who knows. Who cares? They’ve done so in broad daylight and now it’s time for their comeuppance. Next Thursday, the Gazette would like to see Marisol Alcantara and Jeffrey Klein relieved of duty. Their opponents, Robert Jackson and Alessandra Biaggi, have committed to serving as actual Democrats and we believe them. We can’t say the same about pledges from their IDC opponents.
In one other Senate race, Simcha Felder is defending his Brooklyn seat against Blake Morris. While not an IDC member himself, Felder might as well be. Like them, he caucuses with the party of Trump to give them the majority. Blake’s race is critical to flipping the Senate.
The Gazette Endorses:
NY Senate:
17: Blake Morris
31: Robert Jackson
34: Alessandra Biaggi