Herd Opinions

Last night, I caught a bit of Boston Legal, a David E. Kelly program that is exceptionally partisan in nature show, but portrays Denny Crane (William Shatner) as an old school New England Republican.

In a discussion with Alan (James Spader), he says he's voting for McCain. Alan is shocked and asks him to give two reasons for voting for McCain. Denny's first reason is salmon. With a McCain win, many Americans will flee to Canada where they will learn the salmon population is in danger. With American ingenuity, these people will find ways to repopulate and save the salmon. His second reason is liberal women upset of four more years of a republican would make them depressed and vulnerable and in need of a shoulder (or a bed).

Later in the show, the two get into a paintball fight when Denny says the tax issue is important and Alan argues that 95% of Americans will get a tax cut.

It's a shame Mr. Kelly couldn't write in a valid argument Denny Crane could've made about his decision to vote for McCain. I would've had Denny say, "Checks and Balances" and argue the case for it to Alan. Denny Crane is a clever lawyer and could've made the case for McCain. Of course, I don't believe David E. Kelly would want to make a case for the Republican candidate.

I happened to read a guest column in this week's Broadcasting & Cable by Patrick Maines of The Media Institute.  In it, Maines bemoans "it is as ominous as it is lamentable that we don’t have at least a few national news organizations that are trusted, for their rigorous commitment to thoroughness and objectivity, by people of different political persuasions." 

Earlier he says "The United States today is fairly seething with fear and anger.  It is no overstatement to say that many people in this country, left and right, literally hate some of their fellow Americans...A few years ago I used to say jokingly that I didn’t think the country was up for any more foreign wars, but that I thought there might be an appetite for a good civil war. I don’t think it's funny anymore."

So what did happen to the fair press?  Why isn't there an unbiased media in this country?

The answer is simple -- there never was one. 

One reason I believe we haven't won any new seats our local Assembly or City Council is that our base just assumes that we'll lose. We hold only one Assembly seat out of sixty-five. We hold only three Council seats out of fifty-one. Why support our candidate in a Manhattan or Bronx district, which haven't seen a Republican hold office in over six years?

What's really upsetting is hearing this from Republican activists. These are the folks who encourage you to run, but then stop short of helping because you have no chance of winning.

This year, we have a numer of encouraging candidates for local office. One of our candidates in Manhattan has the drive and the political philosophy that suits the urban republican ideology. Last night, I got the following email from Saul Farber, a young man who is running in the 75 AD. It's a fundraising email and I encourage anyone who has an extra $50 out there to throw it Saul's way. He's definitely a person we want rerpresenting us in the future.

Dear Supporter,

As you may know, I have successfully made it on the ballot on both the Republican and Independence Party lines, the only candidate in Manhattan to do so. We are proud to announce we collected the greatest number of petition signatures of all the Assembly candidates in Manhattan and have been given generous financial support from the NY Republican County Committee. We are in the streets each and every day spreading our message to the voters and it is because of supporters like you, who have enabled me to be on this endeavor.

I am running for the Assembly because I believe working together we can solve the problems that face our community. Whether it's improving our Quality of Life by improving safety and security, creating a better and more efficient mass transit system, allowing parents a choice in education, or finding a fair balance between fair market and affordable housing, our campaign has been a message of change for Albany. I will fight to grow and strengthen our economy by cutting wasteful spending and reducing taxes to bolster small businesses and keep big business in our community. I will fight to make government more accountable and streamline regulations that create a hindrance on businesses. I will make Energy Security a priority by lowering the cost of energy here with emphasis on conservation, expansion of existing  energy options and will support renewable and alternative energy solutions that can provide affordable heating oil and electricity for New Yorkers.

We have an opportunity to capture a seat in Speaker Silver's backyard. We our message of positive change and government transparency, we can succeed. Please visit www.saulfarber.com and see how you can help.

Saul even inspired Hudson Institute Senior Fellow, Diana Furchtgott-Roth to write an op-ed on him. If our party is to succeed, we have to believe in our candidates like Saul. He may surprise you and win. And, if by chance, he doesn't, with positive support this year could bring an even stronger and more successful campaign in two years. Let't not write off our candidates and let's throw our support behind them now.