The impulse is not to vote at all. Fight it. Look at it as a challenge. Anybody can vote in a historic contest like the last presidential election. Then, you felt part of history being made. The test comes when it just feels like history being perpetuated.
-- Michael Daly
Daly notes that the good mayor has done various things to make NYC a nice place to live (overstacking the case some) but his late move to help overturn term limits (against the will of two popular referenda on the matter) leaves a bad taste in the mouth. The opposition might be a nice guy and all but nothing to be too excited about. This makes it fairly typical in this one party town, even with a few races that made things interesting, including a few city council races that were in part a message sent to the city council president deemed too friendly to the mayor.
All the same, we have a civic obligation to do our part as citizens. Is that not the point of democracy? The basic ceremonial act, in fact, even if it means a lot more (including being an educated voter, not voting willy-nilly, and being aware and vocal about the issues of the day). This is not the same thing as saying you should be forced to vote. OTOH, that piece -- "The net result: nothing, save for the warm glow of civic virtue that comes from bullying your neighbors into pulling a lever, any lever." -- left something to be desired. A duty ala jury duty would logically include some education on the issues, etc., as some comments noted. And, the "any lever" -- just close your eyes! -- is simply not what people say.
This is not to say the races are matters of grave importance in various cases. She has supplied some good commentary on various issues, but Melissa Harris Lacewell's commentary on Rachel Maddow last night on the point left something to be desired. [For example, some locals argue the third party candidate in New Jersey very well hurt Gov. Corzine.] MHL's forte is not political commentary of this sort and she was not the person to go to for that. A few races might matter nationally, including the measures for or against domestic partnerships and same sex marriage. And, some sorts will try to make a few Republican wins important, if people let them.
Other than mayor, I had two sets of judges (the voting guide helped me out with the ballot measures* but not here -- again, what is the point of voting for people no one knows anything about? what else but party association do we have to go on?), comptroller and public advocate (who's main responsibility is to fill in if something happened to the mayor), and my local councilman (with only a conservative party opponent, who unlike the race upstate, is truly just a token one, also not referenced in my voting guide**). There was coffee and cakes, but for sale by the school wherein the voting took place.
One last thing -- concur with HS on political robocalls, except for the concern that the First Amendment is being harmed. The First Amendment doesn't require me to get them in my E-Mail box. They surely don't require me to deal with them on my telephone. Obnoxious.
[The mayor actually robocalled me today to let me know that there was low turnout in my voting district and encouraged me to vote since every vote counted and we needed to continue the good times he brought us. I doubt the race was so close that this matters in the least. OTOH, as with his many commercials -- many negative -- it can also be explained by the fact he has loads of money to spend.
Update: Well. Though NYT is calling it for Bloomberg, the difference is now only a couple percent, half that not too long ago. And, this with a lackluster opponent and a war chest that could have gave something like $10 to every resident in the city. Plus a record that even the Village Voice made look decent enough. His ego trip / changing the rules in mid-stream approach did bother a good many voters. Also, Rachel Maddow ridiculing a few decade old paper didn't stop the Republican from winning in VA and ML was wrong about NJ.
... Still close, but in the last hour or so, a one point lead became a more comfortable five point.]
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* I asked my three local NY representatives about the second measure ("authorizing the Legislature to allow prisoners to voluntarily perform work for nonprofit organizations"). I got a notification that my email was received from one, another didn't have a position, and the third did not respond. The other measure:
The proposed amendment would authorize the Legislature to convey up to six acres of forest preserve land along State Route 56 in St. Lawrence County to National Grid for construction of a power line. In exchange, National Grid would convey to the State at least 10 acres of forest land in St. Lawrence County, to be incorporated into the forest preserve. The land to be conveyed by National Grid to the State must be at least equal in value to the land conveyed to National Grid by the State. Shall the proposed amendment be approved?
Ah, to practice direct democracy as honored by the 10th Amendment!
** The guide lists the various nobodies running in the third parties for mayor, including for the "Rent Is Too Damn High Party," but third party opposition in other races was somewhat haphazard. They should do something about that. You would think the third parties would make darn sure that they could reach the sizable audience who receive these guides for free in the mail or elsewhere.