Live From New York
Empire State Holdouts
Veterans for McCain rally in a most unlikely place.
No Republican presidential candidate has come within hailing distance of winning New York since Ronald Reagan’s 49-state sweep of 1984. Since then, a state that was once hotly competitive between the parties — Herbert Hoover even managed to carry it over native-son Al Smith in 1928 — has slipped ever further into its current status as among the bluest of blue states.
The reason can be found in the dramatic changes New York City and the state have undergone since that final Reagan triumph twenty-four Novembers ago. Ironically, Reagan’s very success had something to do with bringing these changes about. As Wall Street boomed along in the '80s and '90s thanks to Reagan’s investor-friendly tax and regulatory policies, the city was flooded with highly credentialed Yuppies from elsewhere who would rather choke on their sushi than credit Ronald Reagan with anything positive. At the same time, the low-skilled, low-wage labor needed to man the restaurants, bars, and convenience stores that catered to this new overclass poured in (legally and illegally) from Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Both groups, for different reasons, voted virtually unanimously Democratic.
The losers in this process were the GOP’s base: the socially conservative, fiscally-conscious ethnic working classes of New York City, its suburbs and the upstate areas. As the industries on which they depended for employment fled for more economically welcoming climes, these folks retired, died, or moved away themselves. Archie and Edith Bunker, if they are still alive, have long since settled in Florida.
It was the remnants of that demographic that gathered the Saturday before the election in Manhattan’s Foley Square. United under the banner of “Veterans for McCain,” about 150 of them joined in unseasonably warm fall sunshine to defiantly proclaim their support for John McCain, his running mate Sarah Palin and the values they share (and that his opponent, implicitly, does not): God, family, and country.
LEE GREENWOOD’S “God Bless the USA” wafts over the loudspeakers as the attendees gather. Gray heads seem to be in the majority, though a few young families with small children are also in evidence. A handful of New York’s Finest hover at the fringes, looking relaxed. They are probably grateful that this is one crowd that appreciates their presence.
The speaker’s list, as one might expect, is heavy on veterans (which makes electoral sense — there are around one million in New York State) or folks with military connections. They are under no illusions about taking the state for McCain, but believe theirs is a message that must be heard, especially just a few blocks from Ground Zero.
“We are locked in a deadly conflict with Islamic terrorism,” says Gary Berntsen, a New York native and the author of the 2005 bestseller Jawbreaker, his account of his time in Afghanistan as a senior CIA operative after 9/11. “We need to stay on offense in this conflict, and John McCain is the only one running for president who can do that.”
National security is also high on the list of motivations for Bartle Bull, a former publisher of the Village Voice and civil rights lawyer in Mississippi who served as New York chairman for Robert F. Kennedy during his 1968 presidential campaign. He now heads Democrats for McCain in New York.
How did he go from supporting Bobby Kennedy to supporting John McCain?
“They have two things in common,” he says. “A strong national defense and a belief in the free enterprise system. I don’t think Barack Obama really believes in either. I think that’s what pushed me over. My country is more important than my party.”
While the crowd is mostly white, a smattering of Asians, Hispanics and, yes, African-Americans are also present. I asked one of the latter, a Hofstra University journalism student named Akeem Mellis of Queens, how he came to be here.
“I’ve been a Republican for seven years, ever since 9/11,” he said, sounding a theme that was heard several times during the day.
Asked what his family and friends think of his affiliation, he smiles a bit awkwardly.
“It can be tough to resist the allure of ‘The One,’” he admits. “My family was split between Hillary and Barack earlier this year, but now they are all firmly behind Barack Obama. I think they are more impressed with the style rather than the substance.” No matter how the election turns out, he’s likely in for a tough Thanksgiving dinner.
THIS BEING NEW YORK, it was to be expected that a few Obamaniacs would try to crash the proceedings. Perhaps realizing they are locally outnumbered, they confine themselves to pushing their way toward the front row near the speaker’s platform, hoping to draw the attention of the handful of local TV news crews who have shown up.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (19) | Leave a comment
Related Articles
More Articles From Live From New York
http://spectator.org/archives/2008/11/03/empire-state-holdouts
Follow us:
ADVERTISEMENT
Current Issue
- Boys and Girls
- The End of the Castros?
- The Demise of Money and Credit
SPONSORED LINKS
FLASHBACK TO: 1995
-
Pope Culture
A man of faith in a godless age is hitting Americans where it hurts.
-
Why the GOP Does Not, Like, Totally Suck
Mr. and Mrs. American Spectator Reader, let P.J. O’Rourke talk sense to your kids.
-
Dames at Sea
-
In the Absence of Guns
In Britain, defending your property can get you life.
-
The Metaphysical Martini
-
Counting the Costs of Clintonism
The debacle of this president’s administration is both a cause and a symptom of the decline of American values. Unless Congress impeaches him, that decline will go on unchecked. An eminent jurist surveys the damage and assesses the chances for the recovery of our culture.
-
Chuck McHagel
It won’t take long for conservatives to scratch this presidential wannabe off their 2008 scorecard.
-
The Legacy of Old John and Mother Fresh-Roasted
-
It’s the Best Time of the Year
The American Christmas, like the songs that celebrate it, makes room for everybody under the rainbow. Is that why so many people seem to be hostile to it?
-
The Bush Crack-Up
Was the President done in by the economy, or by the politics of the economy?
Clip of the Day
ADVERTISEMENT
Appleby| 11.3.08 @ 6:32AM
"It does not take a majority to prevail, but rather an irate and tireless minority keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men."
Sam Adams
Grissie| 11.3.08 @ 8:11AM
The 2008 Election has made one fact totally clear. Millions of the masses have no idea what their actually voting for. It is not the man in this volatile appointment, it is the substance of his belief in our Constitution, freedom and liberty at stake.
From Veterans I would expect nothing less than support for John McCain. This happens to be what is so disturbing about the voting issues from the battlefields of Iraq. Who was the genius that thought of "notorized ballots" from deployed troops in battle. Almost as ridiculous as Obamas qualifications for Presidency.
It is no secret or surprise that 70% of the military will vote for McCain the Patriot. He is one of them. Obama has no connection whatsoever with any facet of Patriotism although he uses the term often with great frivolity. The Freedom and Liberty battle rages here at home as on the foriegn battlefields. We must all be Patriots urgently to halt this manuervering of the blatant march to Socialism and possibly much worse.
Tom Paine| 11.3.08 @ 9:15AM
Vets voting for McCain -- anywhere -- is not so surprising. McCain is a war hero.
A truly interesting story, however, is just how many vets are voting for and contributing to Obama.
McCain will carry the military vote, I'm sure, but the final count will not be nearly as one-sided as chicken hawks honking and braying from sidelines would have you believe.
Senior Chief| 11.3.08 @ 9:58AM
You can bet that this military vet will be voting for McCain. Like many vets, I'm under no delusions that the enemies of this great republic will simply fade away once Obama is placed in office. We need a strong Commander-In-Chief to stand firm against our adversaries who I am sure, are already plotting their next confrontation with the United States. We need the proven leadership & tenacity of McCain to stand up to them.
Tom Paine| 11.3.08 @ 10:24AM
Senior Chief --
No doubt you have a good man to vote for in John McCain.
I think, however, you're going to be surprised by a) the numbers of soldiers voting for Obama; and b) the strength and resolve of Obama as commander in chief.
You may buy into the stereotypes and cliches about Democrats for now. Mark my words. I've rarely seen a more aggressive, stalwart presidential candidate than Obama.
I think you'll find he wins the respect of brass early on (he knows he needs to) and does not hesitate to use the military when necessary.
Depend upon it. Obama is no Bill Clinton. You can say what you want now. Let's see what you think in a year or two.
michelle White | 11.3.08 @ 10:31AM
i like this website
it gives alot of imfo and i'm going to show it to my fellow citizians! :)
thank you for beening there for McCain!
you are a great help to the republican party && i;m suppoting you all the way! :)
so thanks
Karin| 11.3.08 @ 10:36AM
Tom Paine, your post elicited a snort-laugh from me. Strength and resolve as a commander in chief? Please, this kittenish dove knows nothing about matters military. He is unfit to command by any vetting criteria.
As to New York state, I live here. There is much more to New York than NYC. I had a discussion with some friends over the weekend, and they are resolved to vote McCain. Why? Military issues. Mine were economic and constitutional issues. There are about a million reasons not to vote for this Marxist baby killer and his loathsome running mate. Pick one, any one.
Senior Chief| 11.3.08 @ 12:21PM
Tom Paine, Stereotypes and cliches have nothing to do with it. I just doubt that a man that has voted mostly 'present' for most of his political career, has the intestinal fortitude to stand up to our enemies around the globe.
Pat P| 11.3.08 @ 1:21PM
"If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time, or die by suicide." -
Abraham Lincoln
Pat P| 11.3.08 @ 1:33PM
“A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within . . . For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation . . . he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to fear. The traitor is the plague.”
— Cicero
Tom Paine| 11.3.08 @ 2:20PM
Karin --
Calling Obama a "Marxist baby killer" is foolish. You should try to grow up.
Senior Chief --
I know it's endlessly repeated on talk radio that Obama is somehow "soft," but I think you'll find he's not. He did vote "present" -- while making his way to the top of the toughest political environment in the country. He defeated the Clintons, and soon he will have defeated Rove. He's tough. Believe it.
Or don't. It doesn't matter. He's going to win. You guys can try again in four years. And who knows, maybe Rev. Wright or Gay Marriage will work in '12.
It could be, however, that the country is passing you by.
Republicans should fear becoming a regional party. If you want to be the John Bircher party, go right ahead. But it won't be good for Republicans in the end.
Senior Chief| 11.3.08 @ 4:38PM
Tom Paine, I hate to bust your bubble there shipmate, but I don't get my opinions fed to me by talk radio. In fact I have little or no time to listen to it. The 'John Bircher' comment was funny. You and the folks you represent have no clue. The fact that you had to resort to a personal attack indicates to me that the point I made must have struck a nerve.
Larry| 11.3.08 @ 6:31PM
I find it amusing that the correspondents are debating Obama's "resolve" as commander in chief; Obama's flip-flopping of positions on a number of issues does not assure one who is looking for something approaching "resolve."
Yes, Obama will not be like Bill Clinton; the Obama presidency will much more likely take on the aura of indecisiveness of Jimmy Carter, who plunged our military as well as our foreign policy into disaster and decline during his one-term presidency. One can only hope that an Obama presidency would resemble that of Jimmy Carter, instead of something dramatically worse.
Tom Paine| 11.3.08 @ 8:14PM
Senior Chief --
I don't think I was all that insulting, but I refuse to sit still while Democrats are repeatedly accused of favoring the enemies of this country or sympathizing with terrorists.
Tens of thousands of ballots are pouring in from soldiers over seas in support of Obama, and yet people on the right cannot find their way to have a simple debate about policy. Instead, we hear that Obama (and his supporters) are Anti-American, socialists, terrorists -- and so on. And I'm sick of it.
Let me explain something to you and the fourteen other people who read this.
JFK was murdered by a scum-bag very heavily involved with communism. His brother RFK was murdered by an Islamic terrorism. These are the two most significant events in our party's history. We don't need you or Sara Palin or anyone else to tell us who this county's enemies are, and frankly, the party of Wilson and Roosevelt has a far better history fighting wars than the party of Nixon, Reagan, and both Bushes.
But no hard feelings, comrade, we'll all be OK.
Denise| 11.3.08 @ 10:44PM
To Tom Paine: So, what DO you call a man who advocates "spreading the wealth" and votes 4 times in the Illinois State Senate to let living, breathing little human beings who survived their own attempted murders--sorry, "induced-labor abortions" (the nerve!) be shelved in closets till they die?
Tom Paine| 11.4.08 @ 8:27AM
Denise --
The late term abortion argument is too complicated to get into, but actually I oppose late term abortion.
The "spreading the wealth around" issue is the lamest excuse for a political argument I've ever seen.
ALL progressive taxation "spreads wealth around." In fact, all taxation spreads wealth around. Think about it, Denise.
If you believe that all taxation is a form of socialism, fine.
Obama proposes to CUT taxes for the middle class and restore tax rates for the wealthiest five percent of the country to the rates of 1990s, when we enjoyed the fastest, longest economic growth in modern history.
His tax rates on the wealthiest people are LOWER than they were when Ronald Reagan left office.
So don't give me this nonsense about marxism or socialism. It only works with low-information voters.
Ms. Know| 11.14.08 @ 11:12AM
The veterans and the war received the backseat this entire election, and I feel that is the fault of the left-wing illuminati and the bias media.