Bernie Sanders, Donald Trump, and winning with New York values.
The people of New Hampshire, both Democrat and Republican, voiced their anger at the American political establishment last night, and they did it in a thick New York accent.
The two insurgent candidates shaking up the contest are a Jewish socialist from Flatbush and a Queens-bred Manhattan real estate developer, both typifying different strains of what one might call “New York values.” Yes, Sanders made his career in Vermont, but as his own brother puts it, “he is 100 percent Brooklyn,” which his attacks on the “millionayuhs and billionayuhs” make obvious. In his speech after his New Hampshire victory last night—a speech aimed at introducing himself to a national audience—Sanders didn’t once mention neighboring Vermont but instead touted his upbringing in a “small three and a half room, rent controlled apartment in Brooklyn, New York.”
As for Trump: I, a son of New York, had initially dismissed his electoral chances for the same reason I never really took Rudy Giuliani or Mike Bloomberg seriously as national candidates: too socially liberal, too secular, too brash, and too, well, New York to win over Republicans outside the Northeast. But primary voters throughout the country sure are taken with Trump’s tough guy, outer-borough, xenophobic shtick. You could call it Sal’s Pizzeria conservatism, even though Trump’s famous “yuuuuges” and “fantaaastics” mask a privileged upbringing and Wharton education.
AdvertisementThis is a big deal. It’s never been easy for successful tri-state area characters to make the jump to nationwide success. Sure, they might get plenty of ego-stroking media buzz, thanks to the New York–based major news outlets. But, contra Frank Sinatra, the political profile that allows one to make it New York has often been a liability when trying to make it anywhere else.
Advertisement Advertisement AdvertisementTed Cruz’s attack on Trump’s “New York values” ahead of the Iowa caucus—“socially liberal or pro-abortion or pro–gay marriage … Focus around money and the media”—was nothing new in presidential politics. New York candidates have faced the attack that they’re not quite Americanenough since at least 1928, when Democrats nominated another guy with a thick New Yawk accent, the progressive governor Al Smith, to run against Herbert Hoover. Smith grew up in poverty on the Lower East Side and used “The Sidewalks of New York” as his campaign song but faced vicious attacks on his Irish heritage and Roman Catholicism and was tailed on the campaign trail by the Ku Klux Klan.
AdvertisementThe last president from New York was the patrician Franklin Roosevelt of the Hudson Valley. Since then it’s been a rough ride. New York Gov. Nelson Rockefeller tried unsuccessfully to win the nomination three times in the 1960s as a liberal Republican with a scandalous personal life in an era when his party was moving rapidly to the right. He eventually became Gerald Ford’s unelected vice president but was unceremoniously dropped from the ticket in 1976 when Ford needed to appeal to conservatives.
AdvertisementProminent New York political figures including John Lindsay, Al Sharpton, George Pataki, and Giuliani, have made dismally unsuccessful runs for the presidency. Mario Cuomo, Colin Powell, and Bloomberg have managed to generate fevered media speculation without ever actually running. New York Reps. Geraldine Ferraro and (the decidedly upstate) Jack Kemp were named vice presidential nominees, but both on losing tickets. If you count the whole tri-state area, you could add Connecticut’s Joe Lieberman and Chris Dodd as well as New Jersey’s Bill Bradley and the imminently departing Chris Christie to the list of the region’s successful politicians who’ve failed to cross over at the national level. (Yes, both presidents Bush have Connecticut roots, but there’s a reason they played up their links to Texas.*)
Advertisement AdvertisementBut this election, something’s changed. Even aside from Trump and Sanders, it’s a remarkably New York–centric race. If Democrats ultimately reject Sanders, they’ll be backing a former New York senator who calls Chappaqua home. The specter of a third-party run by Bloomberg still hangs over the contest. The American electorate as a whole is becoming more urban, more socially liberal, and more culturally diverse—a source of hope for some and terror for others. In short, America is looking more like New York. New York values, of one brand or another, may be exactly what voters are looking for.
Advertisement Advertisement*Correction, Feb. 10, 2016:This post originally misstated that President George H.W. Bush was born in Connecticut. He spent much of his childhood in Connecticut but was born in Massachusetts.
Tweet Share Share Comment-
Get Thee to Totality: ChicagoTesla reveals Cybertruck has sold more than DeLoreanNewborns hit new low, but births to those unmarried reach record high: dataUpdate your BIOS: Utilities from Top Motherboard MakersPixel 9 Pro XL handsNewborns hit new low, but births to those unmarried reach record high: dataTesla issues recall for 9,100 Model X cars水产品占“四席”!广州南沙十个农产品上榜“国字号”Police bust crypto scammer who received plastic surgery to evade arrestIf aliens harnessed solar power, could we detect them? NASA investigated.
- ·Microwave technique recovers 87% of batteries' lithium in 15 minutes
- ·Campbell highlights Washington Declaration amid security concerns over Putin
- ·The Weird, Wonderful World of Water Towers
- ·21 Lost and Lonely Cemeteries
- ·Nvidia GeForce Now Ultimate vs. New Graphics Card
- ·Scientists discover where the huge dinosaur
- ·Echo Dot (5th gen) deal — get it for $29.99 at Amazon
- ·18 Places for Epic Outdoor Adventure Across Colorado
- ·Campbell highlights Washington Declaration amid security concerns over Putin
- ·Tesla Robotaxis aren't coming in August, it seems
- ·The Best AMD Ryzen Gaming Laptops (So Far)
- ·CrowdStrike outage is still causing hundreds of flight cancellations daily
- ·Best smartphone deal: Google Pixel 8a on sale for $449 at Amazon
- ·US to oppose North Korean worker dispatch to occupied Ukrainian territory: State Dept.
- ·Newborns hit new low, but births to those unmarried reach record high: data
- ·How 3D Game Rendering Works: Texturing
- ·I used the Pixel 9 Pro XL in the shower — does the screen work when wet as claimed?
- ·'Black Myth: Wukong' PS5 review in progress: A potential masterpiece
- ·CrowdStrike outage is still causing hundreds of flight cancellations daily
- ·11 Unique Amaros and Liqueurs to Level Up Your Aperol Spritz
- ·The Composer Has No Clothes
- ·If aliens harnessed solar power, could we detect them? NASA investigated.
- ·24 Museums Dedicated to Black History
- ·Newborns hit new low, but births to those unmarried reach record high: data
- ·Sports minister says audits into football, badminton federations set to conclude in Sept.
- ·Blinken condemns Russia
- ·Speeding space object triggered a warning. It wasn't an asteroid.
- ·PS5 Pro: There are new whispers that the release date is fast approaching
- ·US Open 2024 livestream: How to watch US Open tennis for free
- ·To Russia, with Love
- ·Which is Faster for Gaming, Windows 10 or Windows 11?
- ·9 Festive Holiday Treats and Where to Find Them
- ·Webb scientists haven't found a rocky world with air. But now they have a plan.
- ·The Astounding World of Automata
- ·LG Display starts production of advanced OLED displays for gaming
- ·N. Korea test