Not A Book In The House But A Rifle By The Door: Voter Trauma In Fishkill
By Michael Boyajian
I recently went door to door in Fishkill with New York State senate candidate Didi Barrett and listened and made observations as she spoke to a diverse group of voters in one neighborhood. First of all we visited voters of all enrollments but the nicest person was a Democratic woman who loved cats. She smiled attentively and asked good questions of Didi as three kittens played around her feet. Didi in the end told her she had some beautiful kittens and she smiled and said thanks pledging to vote for Didi.
Then there was a Republican man who was unhappy about what was going on in Washington and Albany and liked what he heard from Didi because cleaning up Albany is her central campaign theme and this voter also liked the fact that she was not a politician but a concerned citizen called to duty because of what was happening in the state capital.
He was also concerned about Fishkill but was afraid to mention any names. The town is running a $6.5 million dollar deficit. This fear was the trauma of living in a town that has experienced one party one person rule for two decades. He agreed to consider Didi for senate.
At another stop we met a voter whose living room you could easily see into and it was obvious that there was not a book on the shelves in that room but there was a rifle by the door. It was at this point that it struck me that a lot of people in their 50s were home not working.
That leads to the next woman who had been out of work for over a year and was unhappy with Washington and Albany but she was happy that she had found someone like Didi who was listening to her concerns.
Then we met another Republican, a man in his 80s, who said we should blow up Washington and as an aside added now that Bush was out of there. At the next house we met a voter who agreed with everything Didi had to say so much so that I marked on the walking sheet that he would vote for Didi but then he said well I have got to get back to Glenn Beck and closed the door. Another man agreed we needed change but wished he could vote for the wrestling queen running in Connecticut.
I could go on and on but it was obvious that there is a lot of voter discontent out there but voters are not sure where to focus their anger. It was as if the electorate was a great spinning roulette wheel and where it would stop no one could say for sure as was the case as to what would happen this November but Didi is betting a majority will pull the lever for her once they are in that voting machine.
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