My hometown of Binghamton, New York, is somehow the new Mecca of all political campaigning, with recent appearances by Bernie Sanders, Ted Cruz, Sean Hannity, and the Campaigner himself, Bill Clinton. My question is, where did these people think they were actually<\/i> going that they thought a Binghamton stop would be worth their time? It boggles the mind.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t pay much attention to Binghamton politics anymore, but when something unusual comes up it does tend to catch my attention. My Facebook newsfeed, after all, is still mostly Binghamton people, and recently I\u2019ve seen more than a post or two about Dorollo Nixon.<\/p>\n
Mr. Nixon is the Republican candidate for New York Assembly District 123, which includes Binghamton and its surrounding area. The seat has been held for 12 years by Mrs. Donna Lupardo, a woman who\u2019s up to at least four government gigs by my count: Broome County Legislature, State Assembly, SUNY instructor, and \u201ccommunity mental health educator,\u201d whatever that is. Her \u201cefforts\u201d have overseen the general decline of the area into that which we affectionately call Little Detroit.<\/p>\n
Ordinarily I\u2019d be happy to see any Republican put up a real challenge to Mrs. L.\u2014she hasn\u2019t seen one in years\u2014but this is Binghamton, and what passes for a Republican there would vote for Bernie Sanders over Abraham Lincoln.<\/p>\n
But the most amazing thing about the contest? I\u2019d never heard of Dorollo Nixon in my life. I lived in Binghamton for 30 years and paid pretty close attention to local politics for about 25 of those, yet I had to go to the guy\u2019s website to find out anything about him. Some type of attorney, apparently. He seems to say the right things, but out of context Tom Libous used to accidentally say some conservative things too. (Speaking of Libous, I\u2019d always thought that the Binghamton-area GOP sort of laid down for Lupardo in exchange for their laying down for Libous. Now with Libous gone that arrangement might be off the table.) This Nixon fellow apparently has at least tacit support from Binghamton\u2019s Republican crime family, as evidenced by the group of familiar dorks standing behind him at his campaign\u2019s press event.<\/p>\n
Nixon\u2019s main argument for running seems to be that he wants to \u201cgive something back.\u201d This is an old Libous line too. Give something back?<\/i> What did you take? Why do you feel the need to reimburse me? Why must you seek a position of power and authority over those to whom you feel such debt? Have you found no charitable causes to which to contribute? Will you be working for free?<\/p>\n
Mental note: contact Nixon and Lupardo campaigns with questions.<\/p>\n
Er, maybe not.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
My hometown of Binghamton, New York, is somehow the new Mecca of all political campaigning, with recent appearances by Bernie Sanders, Ted Cruz, Sean Hannity, and the Campaigner himself, Bill Clinton. My question is, where did these people think they … Continue reading