So in case anybody thinks this forum thing was a joke, let me tell ya, it wasn’t. Both Tracie and Jarrett came up with some really tough questions and to be honest I pretty much flubbed a lot of ‘em. I managed to come back at the end with a pretty rousing speech in my concluding remarks, but answering policy questions off the cuff (with a minimum of preparedness) is tough. Over the course of the campaign I have gotten a grudging respect for career politicians. Being a good politician is really difficult. Being a great politician is almost unimaginable. Of course, it helps to be rich. I don’t think someone like George Bush could have made it without being wealthy enough and connected enough to have handlers and coaches and people like Karl Rove telling them what to say. It makes Bill Clinton even more impressive - son of a working class single mom who is smart enough and determined enough to amass a huge knowledge of many different policies and areas of interest, but still magnet and charismatic enough to draw people in. Really amazing.
Me, I’m a bad politican. I’m “just some guy.” Like, for instance, Tracie McMillan asked me a question about legal immigrants/residents and whether they should have the right to vote. My kneejerk reaction was “yes, if you pay taxes you should get to vote.” But when I stepped up to the mike, I wavered, hemmed and hawed. “Well, maybe, but I think voting is a privilege of citizenship and we should probably examine the issue more.” Then Theo Chino got up and was saying how legal residents can fight in the military but they can’t vote and if they can serve their country they should be able to vote. I’ve been going over it a lot since then.
If I was a GOOD politician I would have said:
“Tracie, that’s a good question. A better question is how we can increase voter participation amongst citizens! Voter turnout in this city and across the country is abysmal. People feel hopeless and disenfranchised, they feel that their vote doesn’t matter, they feel removed from the process and have given up participating. We need to figure out how to get people involved again, we have to work so that every vote counts. We need to reconnect the government with citizens and make the political process viable for ALL the people of NYC.”
If I was an ERUDITE politician I might have said:
“That’s a good question, Tracie. But I think it points to bigger societal questions of cultural relativism, assimilation of immigrant populations and the challenges of maintaining a diverse, pluralistic culture. America in general, and New York in particular, are proudly diverse, vibrant, pluralistic societies. We embrace people from countless cultures, religions, lifestyles and beliefs. We are predicated on the idea that all people are entitled to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. And we assume that people coming to this country share those values. We believe that people who come to this country to seek freedom and opportunity value the ideals upon which this country is founded and which create freedom and opportunity. But as we have learned there are many people who come to this country who do not share these values. In England, France and Holland we have seen vast immigrant populations that not only do not WANT to assimilate but actively repudiate the pluralistic values of their adopted homes. While it is vitally important that people have a say in their government and that taxpayers have a voice in how their tax money is spent, it is equally important that we preserve the pluralistic values that are the bedrock of American society. It is unpleasant to think that hardworking, taxpaying immigrants who get legal status do not have the right to vote. At the same time, the act of becoming a citizen is a demonstrable gesture of commitment to the values upon which this country was founded. Rather than focus on giving the vote to legal immigrants we should focus on expediting the process of citizenship. We should devote more resources to outreach to immigrant communities and making the benefits of citizenship available to as many people as want it.”
My question is - does this make me a conservative or reactionary? Can a person be a social liberal and progressive and still believe that voting should be reserved for citizens only? I had never really thought about it before.
What do you think?
