They can’t even “rig an election” right.
This is why I find local politics more interesting. Instead of smashing my head against the wall, frustrated at Americans who would believe the aforementioned “vast left-wing conspiracy,” I’d rather see how the votes played out in my neighborhood. What with change beginning at the local block party and all. It’s better than driving around town yelling, “Recount! Recount! Pregnant Chads! Shenanigans!” out the window.
The lowdown from the Secretary of State’s website for Ward 1 Precinct 2 of Orleans Parish:
| Demographics | Total | |
| White | 310 | 60.3% |
| African-American | 147 | 28.6% |
| Other Races | 57 | 11.1% |
| Republicans | 70 | 13.6% |
| Democrats | 272 | 52.9% |
| Other Parties | 172 | 33.5% |
| Total Voters | 514 | |
| Candidate | Votes | |
| “Mitch” Landrieu | 95 | 72.52% |
| C. Ray Nagin | 36 | 27.48% |
| TOTAL/TURNOUT | 131 | 25.49% |
| Arnie Fielkow | 77 | 60.63% |
| Jacquelyn Brechtel Clarkson | 50 | 39.37% |
| TOTAL/TURNOUT | 127 | 24.71% |
| Stacy Head | 106 | 83.46% |
| Renee’ Gill Pratt | 21 | 16.54% |
| TOTAL/TURNOUT | 127 | 24.71% |
| Nick Varrecchio | 77 | 66.38% |
| Arthur A. Morrell | 39 | 33.62% |
| TOTAL/TURNOUT | 116 | 22.57% |
| Maria Elliott | 72 | 58.54% |
| Darren Mire | 51 | 41.46% |
| TOTAL/TURNOUT | 123 | 23.93% |
All of my picks won here, which means one of two things regarding my neighbors and me: a) we are similar in political outlook or b) we want change. The latter option sounds right.
Look at the percentages – only a quarter of the 514 voters in my ward/precinct voted in any given race. I must be one of the few who voted in all races.
310 White voters, 147 Black and 57 Others. (Don’t laugh, I’m one of those 57.) That’s roughly one Black voter for every two White ones. From the looks of it, no one was crazy about Renee Gill Pratt, while Arnie Fielkow won by 27 votes and Maria Elliott by 21. C. Ray garnered a third of the votes of Mitch.
Yup, those sneaky DNC “political operatives” who were sent “to work against the reelection of Mayor Ray Nagin” did a superb job, especially by asking campaign workers to call my unlisted office phone number repeatedly asking me to vote for Nagin.
Look at the color-coded election results, Drudgeheads – this election was about race and already decided along those geographic lines in our city. No DNC trickery, never mind how absurd that sounds, can change the sorry fact that the 52% majority* simply want things to go back to the way they were, no matter how absurd that sounds.
My mom asked whether the results imply that New Orleans politics is headed the way of Tamil Nadu’s DMK/AIADMK here on out. “Here on out? Here on out?!?! They have South Indian corruption and politics beat down here,” I wailed into the phone. Then again, she’s one to talk while a resident of the state that houses the infamous Diebold.
* 52-48 is a lame majority. Isn’t this when we break the mold and form a government that doesn’t alienate half of ailing New Orleans?
Wrong they. I believe this likely false story was planted to cover what they were doing to in fact do just that: elect Nagin.
One thing I learned working in politics is that the GOP will always accuse, sometimes preemptively, their opponent of doing what they’d be afraid of being caught out doing. That turns it into a He Said-She Said story. Anytime they accuse the Dems of doing anything dastardly, that’s your clear clue that they are up to the very same damn thing somewhere.
What’s amazing is how predictable the idiots are. They are run like the Soviet Army, out of a central playbook, and only the commisars are allowed to have maps. If you can catch them doing Thing X in a Congressional election year, it’s your clear warning to watch out for it in every other race.
Why people who still get paid to do campaigns and politics (paid a lot more than I ever did) don’t capitalize on this knowledge better still amazes me.
Obviously, my sarcasm didn’t come through in the first sentence. I’m fully aware of what some Rs are trying to do, while accusing the Ds of doing it first. It’s classic, and painfully transparent.
This is why I put “rig an election” and “vast left-wing conspiracy” in quotes – if the Dems were that clever, Landrieu would have won. However, the other political machine, the one that supports Jindal, did. Nice straw man.
I don’t know how they could possibly take Moon’s and Mary’s legacy out on Mitch, when Mary is the most conservative democrat in our state. Not quite Dixiecrat, thank god.
I’m too worn out to feel good about any of this. Fielkow is in there, but how much influence will he have on Nagin? When is it going to stop being too soon to tell?
What we really want to know is: Does the C. in C. Ray stand for “Chocolate”?
No, it stands for Cocksure.
Update: Adrastos must have heard your question, because he has the answer based on the same link I gave above.