Though I wear proudly my advanced degree (I am a Doctor of Jewish Prune Juice), I never expected that I myself would ever be the subject of any academic study by a Ph.D, unless those letters stood for “Pretty Hip Dude.’
But I’ve been proven wrong.
For your amusement, I am linking you all to the title page of “Blogging the Unspeakable: Racial Politics, Bakhtin, and the Carnivalesque” by Polly Bugros McLean and David Wallace, published by The University of Southern California Annenberg School’s “International Journal of Communication.”
From that page, you will find a PDF containing the actual document, which runs 20 pages.
According to the Abstract:
“The 2006 Democratic primary in New York’s 11th Congressional District saw opposition from the blogosphere to David Yassky, a White legislator running for election in a district created under the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Drawing on Mikhail Bakhtin’s account of carnival, this study uses a qualitative approach to examine how the racial discourse was constructed on two political blogs within a carnivalesque framework. At the same time, this study notes the uniqueness of the discourse between the White bloggers as well as between the Trinidad-born bloggers and their White counterparts. While the bloggers injected themselves into the spectacle of the campaign hoping to impact the election, there were inherent limitations in this new medium.”
The bloggers are myself and Rock Hackshaw (of Room 8), EnWhySea Wonk and Maurice Gumbs (then still affiliated with Room 8), and Michael Bouldin, Mole333, Liza Sabater, Dan Millstone and Rwallnerny (then all affiliated with the dearly departed Daily Gotham [alev ha-sholem]).
And I thought Bakhtin was what you put on booboos.
But the only booboo here is that some supposedly reputable journal allowed itself to be suckered into publishing this journey into the surreal. .
Frankly, except for me, all the bloggers who responded to my contact are delighted, feeling that it affirms their value.
This, in spite of the fact that to a person, we all think Rwallnerny is perhaps the worst political writer of all time.
The writers are not without some points:
Political blogging bears a striking resemblance to elements of Russian literary theorist Mikhail Bakhtin’s notion of carnival culture. For Bakhtin, carnival culture belongs to the traditions and ritual practices of medieval folk culture, manifesting itself through ritual spectacles (carnival pageants, comic shows of the marketplace), comic verbal compositions (parodies both oral and written), and various genres of billingsgate (curses, oaths, popular blazons) Carnival is a time of laughter and openness leading to a type of communication that is aimed at creating an “atmosphere of freedom, frankness and familiarity”. The carnival, therefore, provides “a place for working out, in a concretely sensuous, half-real and half-play-acted form, a new mode of interrelationship between individuals”). This essay argues that the blog is the 21st-century carnival square—the marketplace—where people mingle, negotiate, laugh, tease, chastise, and organize while asserting their values and ideologies. Like Bakhtin’s carnival, the blog “brings together, unifies, weds, and combines the sacred with the profane, the lofty with the low, the great with the insignificant, and the wise with the stupid”. It is precisely this mix of people participating in an online community relatively free of “officialdom”—across social strata where the borders between actors and spectators are blurred and where praise and abuse operate side by side—that blogging permits. For political bloggers, entering the virtual square, whether masked or unmasked, provides a liberating experience and a rebirthing of political engagement.
Characteristic of Bakhtin’s carnival is a world turned “upside down” or “inside out,” where life becomes unpredictable. It is in this carnivalesque atmosphere that bloggers can unmask the sacred and subvert what is authoritative, rigid, or serious through discussions and opinion postings. Moreover, verbal etiquette and discipline are relaxed, and indecent words and expressions may be used. However, Bakhtin cautions that the “Carnival is not a spectacle seen by the people; they live in it, and everyone participates because the very idea embraces all people”. Because people live in the spectacle culture of the carnival, there are no passive spectators—writers, readers, blurkers are all active participants. Yet, as social actors [they] are rarely “innocent” and social roles are rarely fixed and shared in any simple fashion. Instead, social actors are usually driven by complex interests, which lead them to push and pull at one another at every next turn.
In this vein, marked by an unmanaged social gathering across geographical space that is free, open, nonhierarchal, rarely neat, and user-driven, bloggers can turn U.S. cultural politics upside down by tackling the unspeakable subject of race.
Or, as one Room 8 blogger puts it:
“Gatemouth is the man New York politicos love to hate. An angry, acerbic, absurdist, contrarian, pragmatic, partisan, neo-liberal, Bill Clintonite, New Democrat, with an intolerence for sacred cows and received wisdom, a love-hate relationship with politics as usual, and an alarming tendency to drop bad puns, obscure political history and esoteric cultural references.
Picture, if you can, Michael Kinsley trying to channel Groucho Marx while overdosing on Viagra, stuffed derma, and scratchy old jump blues 78s. Watch New York politics realistically portrayed as the theme park you always suspected it was. Then watch Gatemouth spoil it by paying too much attention to the man behind the curtain.”
The authors also are very prescient in describing how the white bloggers, with their focus on Chris Owens and David Yassky, missed the real story of the race (Clarke's eventual victory), though they go too far in saying that only Wonk did not write her off.
While it is true that only Wonk supported Clarke, Rock Hackshaw always considered Clarke a strong candidate from the start, and I myself made a few comments along the way acknowledging her strength, saying at one point that if Owens was so concerned about holding the seat for a black, he himself should leave the race because he was the weakest of the black candidates.
But much of the time the writers seem intent of distorting our points, sometimes going out of the way to take them from their context, and make us into something we are not:
As Mole noted “I find it very amusing. We are caricatures of ourselves.”
We are fit into boxes, and not even accurate ones. Wonk, who is as Puerto Rican as Owens is black, is portrayed as being white. My home page, clearly meant to be the equivalent of vaudeville (or, if you prefer, “carnival”) is portrayed as deeply revealing of my character.
Meanwhile, my real issues with Owens—the issues a Clinton Democrat would have with a very leftie “progressive”—are completely ignored. As a review of my actual pieces would confirm, I believed (as did my pro-Owens antagonists, Mole and Bouldin) that we were engaged in a war for the very soul of the Democratic Party; in my case, I believed Owens embodied the enemy—as Rabbi Hillel said, “everything else is commentary, and though I criticized Owens (and all the other candidates) about other matters, that was at the heart of my coverage.
None of that comes though here, casting my work in a very false light.
The result is a very different portrait of me than what one would find from the totality of my writing on this race the authors have claimed to have read through multiple times.
So, in the interest of correcting the record, I give my own version of the race, as covered on the blogs.
What is here includes 1) my own pieces posted here at the time (leaving out a few tangential pieces, like Owens’ proposals to reform the Brooklyn Democratic Party, and the efforts of the candidates to pack the membership of political clubs), 2) some of the original comments posted from threads on those pieces, which no longer exist, but which I had saved, 3) things I added to the originals later, mostly culled from comments threads from here, Daily Gotham, Politicker, Daily Politics and elsewhere (which were also seen by the authors, since at the time they still existed), 4) a couple of pre-Room 8 threads from Politicker, 5) clarifying comments in parenthetical boldface added to the original pieces, sometimes drawn from the threads here or elsewhere, and 6) a few gap-filling narrative sections, written for a book I never finished, or put together especially for this piece, often drawn from threads I had saved or gathered from elsewhere.
I will note that, while the authors may be correct that we did not have much influence on the election results, the evidence would indicate that some of us did quite a bit to sway coverage in the mainstream media.
This is my recall of the 2006 Democratic Primary for Congress in CD-11 as portrayed on the blogs from my vantage point. It surely was a “carnival,” but one very different from that portrayed by the authors.
Congressional Notes — February 15, 2006
BEN SMITH: Daily Gotham rounds up the race to replace Major Owens in the 11th. [Note: The piece no longer exists on the web- ]
GATEMOUTH: The Gotham piece (written by some jerk who calls himself Mole333) is sci-fi verging on masturbation fantasy. We are supposed to believe that there is a plot for Andrews and Perry to drop out so Yassky can become the machine candidate? The last thing Yassky wants (unless it's for DeBlasio to drop in) is for Andrews and/or Perry to drop out. And while Yassky might want de facto support from Lopez, but he'd never want open support, and in any event wouldn't get it. The piece would be a good commercial for Chris Owens, if it weren't so stupid.
ROCK: Who wrote that piece on the 11th Congressional race ?
Fire the writer please!!
One of the worst political pieces ever written.
Yassky's slim chance lasts as long as the field stays large . If there are four or more he has a legit shot , but two or three and he is dead man running.
Chris, Nick and Yvete will all have money problems. Chris and Yvette will run irregardless. Nick may fold real soon. Carl may raise the money but has some "connection" issues. Maybe because she is the only female Yvette just might pull this off( there are other good / legit reasons why she can win of course). Being the only female must be good for at least 5 percentage points here , no?
Chris may be the best on the issues with Yvette and Yassky close runner-ups.
Nick and Carl are yet to show us that they do care about public policy.
To your marks. Get set. GO!!!!!
The Owens race is truly an open race for all political handicappers. Here are the latest odds ( supplied by the "rockman" ) :
Owens 2-1
Clarke 5-2
Andrews 3-1
Yassky 6-1
Perry 25-1
Machine Politics — February 16, 2006
BEN SMITH : Over at Daily Gotham, a blogger argues [Note: the piece no longer exists on the web] that David Yassky can't win in Brooklyn.[I’ve always wondered why, if Bouldin was so certain that Yassky’s efforts would come to naught, he was so obsessed with impeding them] How do you reach this conclusion? By vastly overstating the effectiveness (existence?) of the "Brooklyn black political machine."
He writes: "…there are currently two races, one open, one very much behind the scenes. The first is the primary, the second is the race to see who is the most promising African-American contender. Should Yassky win the primary, which is possible, if unlikely in my view, he will face the winner of the second race.
GATE: How stupid can the writer get? The 2nd primary must take place before the 1st primary to have any effect. Otherwise what ballot line shall the winner of the 2nd race run on?
Republicans Working Families, Conservatives and Independence will all select their choices before the Dem primary, unless they have primaries themselves; either way, one doubts they would unite on the same horse, or that the "machine" spoken of could control this result so that there'd be only one viable black candidate coming out of such a process. If they could do that, they wouldn't need to do it at all; they'd just do it before the Democratic primary, and avoid the challenge of winning such a general in what is likely to be a heavily Democratic year.
Moreover, thanks to the recent Federal Court decision [Subsequently reversed by the US Supreme Court], the opportunity for the other parties to designate a placeholder who could later be nominated for a Supreme Court judgeship has probably gone out the window. Unless they nominate a candidate who has property in Ireland (it has been done) substituting later would seem to be out of the question. Finally, independent (not Independence) line petitions must be circulated before the Dem primary occurs, and, unlike minor parties, have a high signature threshold, making them very susceptible to challenge. Plus, how do you keep everyone from filing them?
While the writer's theory could work theoretically, in reality it runs into the roadblock of both election NY election law and personal ambition.
BOULDIN: Well, as the author of the offending piece, perhaps I can add whatever my substantial and acknowledged degree of ignorance allows.
First, I stand by the conclusions reached in this piece, based on conversations I've had with various elements in NY-11. Based on those conversations, I do assume that there will be a black compromise candidate on the November ballot. Who that is going to be, I do not know, despite the claim that this piece carries water for Owens, who isn't mentioned.
Second, I'll acknowledge a degree of inexactitude: 'machine' should have read, perhaps, 'machines', in the plural. I'm referring to the various fiefdoms out there, which are quite vital, and which I believe will all pull in one direction come November.
Third, to be clear, I have no personal animus towards Yassky; he's a fine legislator, and would be a good Rep. That said, I don't think he'll be elected, for the reasons I laid out. I get a strong sense that there is resentment of what is characterized as effrontery by Yassky to run for a seat in a district carved out to send a black person to Congress. One does not need to share that analysis to see that the voters there would be very open to it.
Erik Engquist: As to the notion that Yassky could win the primary but lose to a black candidate in the general election, that is absurd. The danger for Yassky, if he wins, would be facing a single black candidate in 2008
The 11th CD: A Guide For the Perplexed (The First in a Series of at Least Three Parts)
The race for Congress in the 11th Congressional District works best when viewed as a morality play, allowing the audience to comfortably weigh their own competing values against one another, while pondering their irreconcilability. At the end of such a play, one can walk out satisfied that one has exercised their intellect, and then one can discuss it for hours on end over a double latte or a crisp white pinot, without ever actually feeling obligated to convert one’s conclusions into an actual course of action.
The race for Congress in the 11th CD works worst when viewed as an actual election, because once the curtain falls, one is obligated to actually vote for one of the candidates.
Christopher Owens does have his points. While, at times, he seems to be reciting a catechism of the politically correct, at least it appears that he has some system of belief which he can actually apply to each new situation and use to come up with a rational answer. That is an important consideration.
Compare Ed Towns, who has no belief system, allowing him to vote to allow a land war in Kosovo, while voting against supporting an air war, a combination which made no sense, except for its expediency at that moment. By contrast, Chris Owens appears to own a moral compass.
Who among the others possess this quality? Carl Andrews appears to be in the Towns mode; just as shrewd, and probably smarter, but if there is a moral compass working together with that intelligence, the best one can say about it is that he's not yet had the opportunity to display it.
Nick Perry does have a moral compass. Unfortunately, the best one can say about it is that he's promised not to use it. An admitted social conservative with a religious bent, he states he will nonetheless put aside his beliefs if his constituents prefer otherwise. Would that we could trust him on that; but even a pol as personally honest as Peter Vallone could not be trusted to be maintain his insincerity in the face of a a contrary belief system.
A devout Catholic and social reactionary, Vallone's ambitions ultimately led him to become a timid supporter of gay rights and choice, but while he mouthed the right words, he could never really dance to the music. When carefully prepped, Vallone regurgitated his liberal talking points without passion, but if something new came up, he fell back on what he really felt; at one point in his 1998 governor's race, he was caught off guard during an interview and came out for school prayer. That was the real Peter Vallone, and the real Nick Perry isn't too different in his views.
While one can't conceive of Carl Andrews taking an unpopular vote as a matter of conscience (although one can picture him doing so as part of a deal), the thought of Perry taking such a vote is conceivable, and somewhat frightening. And not every socially reactionary vote Perry might have the opportunity to cast might prove so unpopular either.
Yvette Clarke, at best, seems a work in progress. She may yet evolve into something more substantial, or she may become a political strumpet, like her mother [Una Clarke, her daughter’s predecessor on the City Council, fobbed upon the public by Major Owens in a race against Andrews and Maurice Gumbs (in 2006, a Room 6 blogger); no bad deed going unpunished, Una later challenged Major and would have won if Major had not been saved by white voters in Brownstone Brooklyn, a result later replicated when Yvette challenged Major. In 2006, Una was serving as the token Caribbean George Pataki displays in his store window].
This leaves David Yassky. While less predictable than Owens, he evinces clear evidence of holding a set of guiding principles, as well as a formidable intellect which allows him to apply those principles with an often refreshing lack of allergy to nuance. There have been times when he's been politically daring (taking some Eva Moskowitz type positions on the schools).
But, at other times Yassky almost resembles a wonkish Carl Andrews; the guy who comes up with the wonkishly clever rationale to explain whatever deal was made the night before. Nonetheless, while the questions about Yassky’s (and Owens’) character deserve a piece of its own (forthcoming), let us just stipulate here that, flaws and all, Yassky, in many ways, appears to be among our best and brightest.
Yassky’s been accused of being too friendly to developers, but the actual record shows a realist bent on maximizing community benefits while minimizing bad impacts. The Williamsburg waterfront rezoning was initially offered to the community by Mayor Bloomberg as the only way to avoid a power plant. When other electeds jumped to support it immediately, Yassky held out for concessions on affordable housing, and backed the plan only after substantial modifications.
Politically correct? No; but, perhaps the best deal for the community. On Atlantic Yards, Yassky is also trying to split the difference, working toward a “mend it, don’t end it” type compromise, which in the end is probably the best the community can do. Of course, on that issue, the community also needs Owens-type opponents to move the proponents to the bargaining table (although they probably could do without Owens' silly, and probably legally dubious, call for rigid quotas, which are almost a bad parody of affirmative action).
The question is, who would do better in Congress? Owens could probably settle in more comfortably, not having to worry about a race-based crusade every two years, while Yassky's life would be a constant scramble, possibly impeding real achievement in Washington. Yet, it is Yassky who appears to have a better idea of what to do on the job.
Owens' proposals often have only the faintest acquaintance with reality. Take his proposed constitutional amendment (one of about half a dozen listed on his website) to require the government to guarantee affordable housing to all. Ratification would only require two-thirds of both houses and three quarters of the state legislatures. If such support were possible, we'd actually have enough support in Congress to already have a real housing program in place. One can always depend upon Chris Owens to propose a slogan; Yassky might actually come up with a real proposal with some possibility of enactment.
And, let's talk about impeachment. It is infuriating the House impeached Clinton over a (apparently mediocre) blowjob, but that Bush can shred the constitution at will with no response. But, the House had a Republican majority then and now.
Yassky recognizes this, and has proposed that the House Democrats constantly introduce Resolutions of Inquiry onto the floor and force House Republicans to vote them up or down; this would put many Republican marginals in the position of choosing between their political health and that of the President. Those votes would become issues in local races, and might cause some seats to change hands, making real debate on censure or impeachment possible in the next Congress.
Owens made fun of this strategy, saying that impeachment can't wait until the Dems have a majority. Either he's pandering (which I sort of respect) or he actually believes this (which would render him a marginal figure like his father). But, Yassky clearly understands how Congress works, and I'm not sure Owens (Sr. or Jr.) does.
Certainly, Owens, although not exactly a product of the working class, has a better understanding of the district, and might be a better Congressman for the majority of his constituents (although his dad is pretty pathetic). But, Yassky offers the possibility of being a better Congressman for the country. As Rabbi Hillel once said, "the rest is commentary".
Or, would be, if Yassky wasn’t white.
ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS: MILKING THE TURKEY
I once watched a member of the State legislature testify before a City Council committee in support of a resolution urging the State Legislature to pass a particular piece of legislation. What a grand circle jerk!
Similarly, the Owens/Yassky debate on the proper method of handling Bush accelerated into heights of the ridiculous when Yassky’s smart idea about Resolutions of inquiry went down like a lead balloon at candidates forums, where the faithful demanded half baked red meat. Thoughtfulness then went out the window as Yassky then served up some empty calories by introducing a meaningless City Council Resolution in favor of censure. .
Typically, Owens' response upped the ante while lowering the IQ, as he argued that Yassky should have introduced a resolution supporting impeachment instead of censure. Apparently, Owens doesn't mind that Yassky is masturbating on public time; he just thinks that David's milking the wrong dick.
And those are the two smartest guys in the race.
Does Yassky Fail the Paper Bag Test? (2nd part in a series of at least three)
As both readers of my blog know, I recently concluded that only two candidates for Congress in the 11th CD, David Yassky and Christopher Owens, met the minimum standards to be fit for service, but while I found Yassky more promising, I was reluctant to support him because he is a white candidate in a black majority district. I sort of feel ashamed about this, but my reluctance to support him is a pragmatic judgment, not a moral one.
Yassky's whiteness is going to hang from him like a target and every two years he is going to face another racial crusade. This presents several problems. The first is that it does little for community comity. The ugliness of this race has already been damaging to community relations in Brooklyn, and will become more so as the primary approaches. This animosity is fueled by other candidates (especially Chris Owens), free lance community opportunists, and parasitical institutions of the Fifth Estate like Ed Weintrob’s repulsive collection of Brooklyn Paper rags.
I once was walking on the Promenade when I stepped onto a copy of the Brooklyn Paper. Luckily, there was some dogshit laying around or I’d have had nothing to wipe my shoe with. Ed Weintrob is a racial arsonist willing to thrown gasoline at anyone he thinks might be lighting a cigarette in the near future.
Recently, Weintrob decided to create a race controversy based on the idea that a music program at a school in Carroll Gardens was there only to serve the white students (the non-white students were deemed to be in need of “basic education”) Mr. Weintrob, have you ever heard of John Coltrane, Lester Young, Charles Mingus, James Brown, Jimi Hendrix, Miles Davis, George Clinton, Thelonious Monk, Sun Ra, Sly Stone, Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, or T-Bone Walker?
But, Weintrob (and his enforcer, Gersh Kunzman) is far more obsessed with making the Yassky campaign the front page controversy during any week when Bruce Ratner disappoints him by doing nothing outrageous. The more Weintrob and the other racial arsonists say there’s a fire, the more true it becomes.
Some of these stories have some basis in fact, although it’s often exaggerated. Other stories are almost out of whole cloth. The fact that Yassky raises more money from white Brownstone areas of the Congressional district than the other areas might be related to the fact he represents those white areas on the City Council. I’ve never seen Weintrob complain that Nydia Velazquez’s money comes from the same people. None of this is necessarily Yassky’s fault, but electing him will certainly bring Brooklyn more of the same, and many would just rather avoid this.
Hard to blame them.
There’s a touch of opportunism in Yassky’s candidacy which has echoes elsewhere in his record, and which I intend to explore in more detail at a future date. But, the real ugliness on the race issue has been the good cop/ bad cop game played by Chris Owens.
Chris desperately wants Yassky out of the race so he can pick up the lion’s share of the white Brownstone vote. Chris Owens’ usual pose is to stand silent trying to look innocent (but barely suppressing his laughter) while Major pretends to accidentally blurt out the darnedest things; it is easily the most unhealthy father-son realtionship since Nice Guy Eddie in Reservior Dogs.
When Major accused Yassky of trying to “colonize” the district, the press missed the point, focusing on the fact that Yassky lived a block and a half outside the district. Nonsense; Tracy Boyland lived outside the district in 2004, and no one cared (not even Major). Major would consider Yassky a colonizer if Yassky lived next door to him. The real fact is that Brownstone Brooklyn has been sliced and diced among three different Congressional districts to render it politically impotent. In every reapportionment since 1980, more and more of the area has been moved into minority districts to boost their population, but only in careful increments to make sure brownstoners can never elect one of their own (ironically, it was these white voters who saved Major’s tail in 2000 and 2004) . Yassky is not a colonizer; Yassky has been colonized.
Why should a talented pol unquestionably accept the idea that his skin color, because it differs from that of the majority in a particular political entity, permanently disqualifies him for national office (unless he runs in Staten Island)?
Barack Obama never brought that argument, and as a result, he’s a US Senator.
However, electing a white Congressman under such circumstances ensures a member who’s preoccupied with all the wrong things. While all members of Congress must run for re-election, most don't face constant primaries, so they can eventually settle in and actually accomplish something productive. Despite his capabilities, Yassky’s race will likely be a serious impediment to his productiveness.
Yes, people like Marty Markowitz survived representing districts far blacker than the 11th. But, they learned to walk the walk. Does anyone really believe that Yassky is ready to stand in front of an all-black crowd wearing an ice cream suit while hosting a gospel concert? I can’t imagine Yassky would find this fun, but the thought of him attempting to fake da funk is hilarious; Yassky's idea of an evening of African-American music is probably a joint bill of Tracy Chapman and Sweet Honey in the Rock.
It is also to be preferred that a member of Congress have some empathy for his constituency. Sad to say, but one has to be black to know what it is like to be black. This can be overcome; one can have empathy for poor and working people by having suffered some level of poverty and/or deprivation. I’m on the record for my less than esteemed opinion of Marty Markowitz, but it cannot be denied that Markowitz, a child of poverty, has no trouble feeling empathy for his African-American constituents despite his melanin deprivation.
By contrast, Yassky is a child of pure privilege. He can barely feel empathy for the plight of the Upper-Middle-Class. Can he truly understand where the majority of 11th CD residents are coming from?
Chris Owens is hardly a child of poverty. One look at him makes it quite clear that Owens has never missed a meal, but I'd bet he’s been passed by a taxi while trying to hail a ride. But, his campaign has been trying to have it all ways on race, pretty much telling audiences that his being black makes him more qualified to hold the seat, while running a full page on his website about his red diaper baby Jewish mom, complete with shots of little Chris at a seder.
Query: If being black makes Owens more qualified than Yassky, does this mean that Andrews, Clarke and Perry are twice as qualified as Owens? Just asking.
However, one cannot call Owens’ pitch race baiting, since he makes the same case in front of white audiences, at least those in the Brownstone belt (I think he may understand that white guilt does not play a big role in the politics of places like Midwood). I think that this pitch may be working on many, and I’m not sure it isn’t haunting the back of my mind.
Yet, Yassky is still the smartest, most knowledgeable, and best on the issues. In a better world that would be game, set and match. But, in a better world we would not be debating the politics of race (and in a much better world, we might not be debating politics at all).
Comments
ROCK: You hardly (if ever) discuss the Caribbean-American factors in this race.
Gatemouth: Point taken Rock, but the Caribbean thing is largely under the radar if you're not a part of that community, and I'm not. I think Yvette's potential is highly underestimated, but Perry splits that ethnic vote. Her real hole card should be gender [Perhaps not the best choice of words], but she needs to raise more money if she wants to reach her potential among the sort of voters (many white) for whom this would be an important factor.
Finally, the factors I find interesting just don't apply to the Caribbean candidates. I find Perry somewhat repugnant in his personal views (though he is not without his charm), while Yvette has never proven herself to be anything but an empty pants-suit of suspect lineage. Yvette Clarke may yet pull out a victory, but it won't be with my vote.
EnWhySeaWonk: This is the most interesting race this year because it balances qualifications against what "feels" right. The most qualified candidate in perfect color-blind world doesn't quite "seem right" for this seat. This doesn't mean he can't do a great job representing the district, though and it's democracy–everyone has a right to run.
I don't think you've explored the fact that Chris is the least qualified person in this race. He has zero legislative experience and has never been in elected office (school board doesn't count–there was no actual office). Chris is a nice and smart guy and would probably be better than his dad, but his qualifications come down to one word–his last name. He would not be a serious candidate if he was not the son of the incumbent.
Although I have qualms about supporting David for all the reasons you've discussed, he is the most qualified. Not only does he have major (no pun intended) legislative experience as a member of one of the largest legislative bodies of this country, he was a congressional aid to Chuck and actually wrote parts of bills that are now federal law. Even the other legislators in the race have never lived in Washington, worked on the Hill and has first-hand experience working for the body he is running for. He would de facto be more effective on day one than any of the others. That said, I was born in this district and lived there for two decades, with Shirley and Major as my reps. Although I don't think Major has not been effective, it seems totally bizarre that a priviledged white guy could win this thing, even if he's far-and-away the best candidate.
Gatemouth: I don't buy your argument that Owens' lack of legislative experience makes him less qualified than Andrews, Clarke and Perry. I don't even think it makes him less qualified than the three of them combined, as their combined legislative records are notable only for their singular lack of accomplishment in any area beyond the occasional acquisition of some local pork. I would say on the criteria of legislative experience, Owens starts on virtually equal footing with anyone but Yassky.
Moreover, except for Yassky, Owens appears to be the only one who has given more than a half hour's thought to the legislative issues facing our nation. A visit to Owens' website makes clear he has a very specific vision of what he would like to accomplish in Washington. I find that vision to often be unrealistic, and occasionally troubling, but I think it's clear Owens gave nearly every national and local issue some deep thought, even if his answers are always politically correct received wisdom.
Listening to Andrews and Clarke it's hard to picture that they've spent more thinking about issues time than it took to memorize their talking points, which were probably written by others. Perry might actually have spent a little more time, but the only places where he's shown evidence of a clear vision are on issues where he's promised to disregard it.
In others words, the only candidates deserving consideration are Yassky and Owens.
"Five Candidates In Search of Some Character" (Perhaps the Final Part in a Series of at Least Three)
In an election like the 11th CD Congressional race, where so little separates the candidates on most issues, perhaps it’s time to looks at the candidates’ characters. Unfortunately, there is no better topic to bring one back to a discussion of the issues.
Chris Owens must have the most unique campaign for Congress ever conducted in New York’s sorry, sleazy political history. In a certain sense he’s selling himself as the cross-racial unifier, the only candidate with appeal across both sides of the color-line, but it’s a peculiar appeal indeed. To white audiences he essentially says “this is an historically black seat which a white candidate has no moral right to hold, so vote for me, because I’m the one black candidate who shares your values” (this may only be a Brownstone phenomena, as white guilt does not play a big role in the politics of Midwood). To black audiences he essentially says “the whites are trying to steal our seat, which is part of our birthright, I’m the best guy to stop them, because I’m the only one who can get white votes.”
Essentially, Owens takes the “progressive agenda” and wraps it in a racial Ponzi scheme. When reporters are in the room, Chris generally soft pedals the racial aspect of his message, merely reminding folks that he’d be in the Congressional Black Caucus, which he calls “the conscience of the Congress”. He leaves to his father, Major, the use of red meat code words like “outsider”, “invader” and “colonizer”. Having just recently compared maps of the State Senate District Major Owens served before his election to Congress and the Congressional District he was first elected from in 1982, which barely overlap, I’m inclined to believe that David Yassky’s former residence just outside the 11th CD does not form the basis for Major’s use of these words. Does anyone need to guess what does?
Not that Yassky shouldn’t take some criticism for carpet-bagging. Yassky arrived in Brooklyn Heights in the late 90s, about 15 minutes after being defeated for the District of Columbia School Board.
A perhaps apocryphal story is told of how Yassky came to run for the City Council. He and his wife Diana had just finished unpacking, when Diana said “David, I chilled a bottle of Pinot when we arrived, why don’t you go out and get a brie, and we’ll celebrate.” Yassky walked up the Joralemon Street hill toward Hicks Street and suddenly looked lost. A stranger approached him and asked him if he needed help. Yassky asked “Do you know a good gourmet shop around here?” The stranger replied “go left on Montague and check out Lassen and Hennings.” Yassky thanked him and then thought to himself “Gee, this neighborhood’s been good to me; it’s time I gave something back”.
Nonetheless, even with his recent move to the 11th, Yassky is less of a carpetbagger running for a Congressional seat containing much of his current Council constituency than he was when he first ran for the Council; and given Congress’ national focus, it matters quite a bit less (it would matter even less if it were a US Senate seat; just ask Hillary).
David’s obsessive ambition is still a concern. Sometimes it appears that he really thinks he's going to be the first Jewish president. He's spent his life looking for the next office to run for (from DC School Board to Council to DA to Congress) and is always starting his campaign about five minutes after (if not five minutes before) he unloads his moving van.
Yassky can seem slippery and evasive, because sometimes he is (there is a classic web interview he gave when running for the Council where he continually ignores a Williamsburg based reporter’s question as to which neighborhood he lives in, until the reporter finally gives up); this sort of indirectness has also been displayed to other electeds, to the point where the only reason other officials in the Brownstone area don’t regard him as totally untrustworthy is because he’s had the luck to be compared to Bill DeBlasio.
Of course, these are the sorts of criticisms made by contemporaries of Bill Clinton and FDR. Yassky’s ambition sometimes leads him to make stupid grandiose proposals or act irresponsibly (e.g., endorsing County‘s John Sampson for DA). While, such a level of ambition is pretty much a prerequisite to greatness, Yassky's actions in its service can sometimes give one pause.
Yassky's support of Sampson was repulsive and stupid. It didn't get Sampson one white vote, and it won't get Yassky one black vote (In practice, Yassky's endorsements sometimes don't last much longer than the press conference where he made them; asked at a 2001 candidates debate who he'd endorsed for Borough President, he could barely get Marty Markowitz's name out of his mouth; an opponent who was supporting Ken Fisher actually said far nicer things about Markowitz than Yassky managed).
In fact, Yassky’s whole abortive race for DA is troubling in itself. Yassky has spent virtually his entire career as an attorney as either a congressional staffer, a law professor, or an elected official. Any random lawyer in 16 Court Street was probably as qualified to be DA. In fact, his total lack of qualification for the job almost explains the Sampson endorsement. Yassky, who’d never tried a criminal case, thought Yassky was qualified to be DA. Since Sampson had actually tried one criminal case, Yassky could honestly say he thought Sampson was qualified as well.
But, he is qualified to serve in Congress; and, who among his opponents did any better in endorsing for DA?
As far as I'm aware, the only candidate who didn't support Sampson was Owens. He supported Mark Peters, a former Spitzer deputy convinced into running by folks who wanted to draw white liberals away from Joe Hynes so Sampson could win. It nearly worked, too. The line from the Organization to Peters (Clarence Norman to Carl Andrews to Eliot Spitzer to Mark Peters) is too obvious to ignore; as was the fact that the County organization bound the petitions of District Leaders who supported Peters, but refused to extend the favor to those District Leaders who backed Joe Hynes.
Do I believe Owens was part of this conspiracy? I don’t know; either (a) Owens understood this was the purpose of the Peters candidacy and nonetheless cynically embraced it to build a beach-head in Park Slope, or (b) Owens was too stupid to understand he was being Clarence Norman's useful idiot. Either way, his choice for DA does not elevate him over Yassky.
Perhaps, I‘m being a bit hard on Chris; Yassky's support of Sampson was both repulsive and stupid, while Owens' support of Peters was either one or the other, but not both. On the other hand, maybe I’m being too easy on him; perhaps he supported Peters intentionally to give him more credibility, and thereby help to make him more useful to helping to elect Sampson; after all, Major Owens called the indictment of Clarence Norman a "lynching". I’d like to hear him tell this to the mother of Emmett Till, or the parents of Schwerner, Goodman, or Chaney. Perhaps Chris can discretely apologize on his behalf.
Turning to the other candidates does not offer much relief. I think it’s unfair to link Carl Andrews to the criminal convictions against his friend Clarence Norman, since the charges Clarence has been convicted of thus far are pretty personal, and are no reflection on Carl, even by association. However, whether criminal, or just unseemly, the activities of Clarence Norman as Democratic Leader are to be fairly imputed to Carl, who basically functioned as one of the organization's underbosses, and received more than his share of tribute from the Surrogate and Supreme Courts, to the point where some regulars, who had no problem with the concept of victors indulging in spoils, found unseemly the Norman clique’s seeming inability to let anyone else wet their beak. Perhaps Carl can articulate a case that his activities on behalf of the organization inured to the public good, but, for good or for evil, it is fair to hold him accountable for the actions of the County organization under the Norman regime.
The others are little, if at all, better; Yvette Clarke has yet to prove herself anything but an empty pants-suit of suspect lineage, and her legislative record is largely written in invisible ink (as Yassky is to gun control, she is to rest room parity). As to Nick Perry, the only places where he’s shown evidence of a clear vision are on social issues, where he’s promised to put his conservative heart and mind into receivership (which a friendly judge would probably award to Carl Andrews).
So, once again we are back to the earnest Nerd twins, Yassky and Owens. Both are capable of acts of nobility. Yassky bravely and properly stood up to Giff Miller on solid waste, and paid a high price for it. And, while the merits of the issue are a little more ambiguous, Yassky’s votes to back the Mayor on education issues, in the face of Randy Weingarten’s opposition, show bravery and fortitude. On issues he cares about, Yassky has the courage of his convictions, and his convictions stem from rational analysis and worthy values.
Owens has also displayed some courage; once declining nomination on a school board petition, substituting a candidate he found worthy who hadn’t made the ballot and successfully running as a write-in. A visit to Owens’ website makes clear he has a specific and sincere vision of what he would like to accomplish in Washington.
Unfortunately, Owens’ vision is often unrealistic, and occasionally troubling. I see nothing that contradicts my suspicion that, as a Quaker, Owens may have a sincere aversion to ever using military force, under any circumstances, even to stop genocide. Chris, if this is not true, please correct me! Because, in the end, I’m inclined to regard genocide as the ultimate character issue. And please, don’t quote me Gandhi or A.J Muste; Slobodon Milosevic didn’t find non-violent civil disobedience a compelling persuader, and neither do the folks responsible for the deaths in Darfur.
In the end, I want a member of Congress who’s wrestled with, and lost sleep over, the question of under which circumstances the deployment of American forces in battle is justified. “Just say no” is not an adequate answer, but it appears to be the only answer Chris Owens is capable of giving.
FURLOUGH
Near the end of April, 2006, I had my most shameful moment as a blogger; the tragically stupid incident on “Daily Politics” where I accused Chris Owens’s campaign of circulating an email connecting David Yassky with a purported incident of arson in Williamsburg, purportedly committed by an Orthodox Jewish landlord. [Subsequent investigation revealed a homeless Polish immigrant caused the fire by accident, although some on the web accused him of being affiliated with Yassky]
The term I used for the rumor was “blood libel”, which I think got it exactly right, even if one does not agree that some of the posts had anti-Semitic insinuations. As to Yassky, it was a "blood libel". It implied blood on his hands he did not have.
Further, there was an anti-Semitic undertone in some of the posts; that Ortho-landlords burn out their buildings is an anti-Semitic stereotype I've heard raised both in Bed-Stuy and Brownstone Brooklyn. The fact that some Orthodox Jewish landlords (as well as non-Jews) have done this does not justify the ugly stereotype. One does not need to be an anti-Semite to exploit anti-Semitism (the original poster was a Jew); although it may actually be a worse crime to exploit anti-Semitism when one knows better.
I named a campaign as a culprit, and did so in vicious terms, which nonetheless would have been justified if I’d gotten the culprit right. Unfortunately, I got the culprit wrong (actually, I got the culprit right, but his campaign wrong), which, under the circumstances, was as bad as the original act of bloody libel. My error became clear later that evening. I apologized as soon as I got access to a computer, and again and again over the next few months.
The first inkling I had gotten of the item was a forward from a friend of a post from a well-known local political operative to his extensive mailing list. It was written in the operative's own voice, and in his style. A nearly identical post was then excerpted by Ben Smith, so the source for the story was clear. Subsequent posts, one implying Yassky’s actual complicity, were written in the same style, and seemingly came from the same source.
The operative in question had a long history with the Owens family, including time on Major's payroll. He had worked together with the Owens' on a major race as recently as the prior year. In an unrelated coincidence, this same operative was clearly behind an “Out Gatemouth” campaign which had recently manifested itself on all the local political blogs (My identity was not out at the time, and I meant to keep it that way).
As the Yassky campaign was based almost entirely outside the African-American community, the post was of the sort most compelling to the white left/brownstone types. The only black candidate with a real operation in these communities was Chris Owens (no matter what Yvette and Carl deluded themselves to believe). Therefore, the only possible beneficiary of taking these votes from Yassky seemed to be Owens. And, as has been demonstrated, Major, if not Chris, had little reluctance in playing the ugly card.
Later in parsing out what had occurred, I concluded that had not reckoned with the fact that some individuals are just perverse, a description which clearly fit the author of these rumors. The fact that he was also obsessed with blowing my cover was probably another factor in my angry response:
“The tactic of connecting someone to an arson they had nothing to do with has a name with some historical resonance. There's a murky, implied, but unspoken, flavor to some of these comments which adds to that resonance. The name should be familiar to those who've read Bernard Malamud's "The Fixer" or Sholem Aleichem's "The Bloody Hoax". It's called "blood libel”.
Chris Owens; does your mama know your campaign is engaging in such tactics? A shanda fur der goyim.”
What was I thinking? Even if he was guilty, this was a bridge too far. I still hang my head in shame. Bouldin and Mole displayed their outrage in full force, and they were not unjustified in doing so (although I could have lived without Mole’s repeated statements that I had repeatedly made such an accusation, when I done so only once and had almost immediately corrected it and apologized).
At the time I refrained from naming the campaign this operative was actually working for, for I’d no evidence to conclude that they were aware of what was occurring, which I then thought was probably was of little benefit to them; further, the individual in question was clearly capable of acting on his own.
But looking the matter in the fullness of time, I now think it may be that I was playing checkers while the individual in question was playing chess. In fact, I guessed it myself without even realizing it. A website had recently appeared called stopyassky. Based on the site’s similarity to another of his endeavors (jefffel