Rowhouse Logic - Breathtaking Inanity

I work in the technology industry and I love being surrounded by the youthful idealism of my young co-workers. Their enthusiasm is contagious and if it weren’t for them, I probably never would have seen the Chapelle Show and I doubt that I would have ever heard of Bongo Jones or Pepper’s Ghost. But as much as I love them, I just don’t get their politics.

I hate talking politics in the workplace; usually it’s just not a good idea. But since yesterday was the primary, I decided to check in with a few of the kids (whom I already knew to be left-leaning) only to discover that everyone I spoke with was a registered Independent.

I’ve got nothing against Independents. In fact, with my opinions ranging all over the political spectrum, I probably should re-register as an Independent. Whoa Nellie, not so fast.

What do we need to say so people understand that change happens at the local levels and then hopefully works up to the higher levels? If you really want to know if your vote counts, look at the local elections, particularly those with low turnout. In yesterday’s D.A. race, with a total turnout of less than 107,000, Lynne Abraham beat Seth Williams by about 12,285 votes. In a city the size of Philadelphia, that’s nothing.

My two closest friends, both of whom live in Philadelphia, are registered Republicans. Matt or Joanie, if either of you are reading this, “What is the point of being registered as a Republican in Philadelphia?” You rarely get to make any difference in a primary because most everyone runs unopposed. Until somebody decides to challenge Sam Katz on his mission to become Philadelphia’s first Republican mayor in eons, you really can’t make a difference at the local level. (Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone if you vote Republican every November, my concern at this point is the primary.)

I ask the same question of my kind-hearted, young co-workers. “If you enjoy living in Philadelphia and care about it’s future, why not register as a Democrat so you can have a voice in the political process?”

Ideally we should have both strong Democratic and Republican parties in Philadelphia, but since I don’t see that happening anytime soon, it seems like the only way to be a catalyst for change is by becoming a registered Democrat.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 18th, 2005 at 8:29 pm and is filed under Philadelphia, Freshly-baked Cookies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.