Friday, November 07, 2003
The winger line on the Philly election
The winger line on the Philly election—already showing up in the Letters section of our own Inky—is that it showed how Philly is divided by race, and (whether in code or stated outright) that blacks will only vote for blacks, which is why the (black, Democrat) Street won. (This, of course, is part of the larger Republican Big Lie that the Democratic party is not the party of minorities, but the party of only minorities. And I wish the Democrats wouldn't play into this.)
Not so: the numbers tell the tale.
Street stomped (Republican-lite) Katz, 60% to 40%. That means that a significant number of whites voted for Street, since Philadelphia is evenly divided by race. And while the race was close until the end, Street pulled away when the cover of a clumsy FBI bugging operation in Street's office was blown. When it turned out that Street was not a target of the operation, Katz was toast.
Philadelphians in large numbers voted the straight Democratic ticket, which had the additional benefit of electing some Democratic judges. So the story is not black/white division. The story is that the Philadelphia mayoral election was, for some Democrats, a referendum on Bush and his department of justice, and that Bush did badly.
So there's good news for Democrats here: nationalizing local elections can work for them too; the yellow dog Democrat is alive and well; and that Bush is vulnerable among swing Democrats.
Not so: the numbers tell the tale.
Street stomped (Republican-lite) Katz, 60% to 40%. That means that a significant number of whites voted for Street, since Philadelphia is evenly divided by race. And while the race was close until the end, Street pulled away when the cover of a clumsy FBI bugging operation in Street's office was blown. When it turned out that Street was not a target of the operation, Katz was toast.
Philadelphians in large numbers voted the straight Democratic ticket, which had the additional benefit of electing some Democratic judges. So the story is not black/white division. The story is that the Philadelphia mayoral election was, for some Democrats, a referendum on Bush and his department of justice, and that Bush did badly.
So there's good news for Democrats here: nationalizing local elections can work for them too; the yellow dog Democrat is alive and well; and that Bush is vulnerable among swing Democrats.
