Walter Shapiro

Walter Shapiro @MrWalterShapiro

@DougJBalloon Can't wait to read, "Blueberry Ice Cream Elegy." — PolitiTweet.org

Walter Shapiro @MrWalterShapiro

@EmyDonavan Yang ended up finishing a weak fourth on first-round votes before RCV kicked in. He was assumed to have a vast political following even though the high point of his presidential campaign was getting 2.8 percent in NH. — PolitiTweet.org

Walter Shapiro @MrWalterShapiro

It is a variant of the same phenomenon that caused smart handicappers in NYC to take Andrew Yang's candidacy seriously for too long. It's the logic that if Trump can be elected, anyone (regardless of credentials) can be elected if they sound glib and confident on TV. — PolitiTweet.org

Walter Shapiro @MrWalterShapiro

“Inside U.S.A” may be the greatest on-the-road book in American history. I have a well-read collection of Gunther beginning with his prescient mid-1930s “Inside Europe.” — PolitiTweet.org

Walter Shapiro @MrWalterShapiro

@ndhapple I go through life quoting Bogart's last line as he holds the statue of the bird: "This is the stuff that dreams are made of." — PolitiTweet.org

Walter Shapiro @MrWalterShapiro

@dceiver My hope is remembering that the worst machine politics of Tammany Hall built the lustrous Tweet Courthouse. — PolitiTweet.org

Walter Shapiro @MrWalterShapiro

@ndhapple Nothing is better than "Casablanca." And that is said by someone who loves "The Maltese Falcon." — PolitiTweet.org

Walter Shapiro @MrWalterShapiro

@janebjacobs Yes. It looks like Adams won by about 8400 votes. — PolitiTweet.org

Walter Shapiro @MrWalterShapiro

I assume Eric Adams is enjoying his brunch. — PolitiTweet.org

Walter Shapiro @MrWalterShapiro

Next update from the Board of Elections will promise results at brunch-time at 7:30 am tomorrow. It will be designed to provide an "extra layer" of cake atop the "extra layer" of caution. — PolitiTweet.org

Walter Shapiro @MrWalterShapiro

@EJDionne @laurenskahn @cjerdonek @SouthPoint1000 I concede your point on turnout. I just don't think that RCV is fairer and having more ability to do rankings (1-11) will give much more power to hyper-motivated voters. I also worry about hedge funders running as independents without the "wasted ballot" problem in November.. — PolitiTweet.org

Walter Shapiro @MrWalterShapiro

@laurenskahn @thecob82 @cjerdonek @SouthPoint1000 @EJDionne Polls in NYC are open from 6:00 am to 9:00 pm so the time off work problem is much less acute here than elsewhere. — PolitiTweet.org

Walter Shapiro @MrWalterShapiro

@progressnerd @EJDionne Good luck with that. — PolitiTweet.org

Walter Shapiro @MrWalterShapiro

@laurenskahn @cjerdonek @SouthPoint1000 @EJDionne A final thought: My real fear with Ranked Choice Voting in NYC is that pretty soon every ambitious hedge funder will decide that he or she can run for mayor as an independent because there will no longer be the "wasted vote" problem for non-party candidates. — PolitiTweet.org

Walter Shapiro @MrWalterShapiro

@progressnerd @EJDionne That's a lovely sentiment. I am just a tad dubious that it will be shared by ardent supporters of the losing candidate. — PolitiTweet.org

Walter Shapiro @MrWalterShapiro

@PrimeNewYork @SouthPoint1000 @EJDionne A lot of it is the era. The 1969 Mario Procaccino primary in NYC, without a runoff, was the probably the most divisive. That 1969 primary gave rise to the runoff. https://t.co/DCWVjy7VJe — PolitiTweet.org

Walter Shapiro @MrWalterShapiro

@laurenskahn @EJDionne Never assume that my motivations for positions are solely based on candidate preferences. Nor glibly assume whom I voted for. Here's a 2018 piece that I wrote about my skepticism about reforms like Ranked Choice Voting: https://t.co/w0M8zUGFoj. — PolitiTweet.org

Walter Shapiro @MrWalterShapiro

This is a great job. And I really invite everyone who isn't already at OANN or Newsmax to apply: https://t.co/BKgBemAvPE — PolitiTweet.org

Walter Shapiro @MrWalterShapiro

@laurenskahn @EJDionne The expense seems equal to about what the city pays 10 retired police captains. Okay, I exaggerate. But the expense issue strikes me as a red herring in a city that's spending $100 billion a year. — PolitiTweet.org

Walter Shapiro @MrWalterShapiro

@laurenskahn @EJDionne So does a runoff. — PolitiTweet.org

Walter Shapiro @MrWalterShapiro

@EJDionne You may be right. But if Garcia wins, it’s because she successfully won the upscale voters who dutifully filled out their full ballots. I really worry about the uproar if Adams loses based on the intricacies of RCV. I just don’t see the benefits for RCV in a NYC setting. — PolitiTweet.org

Walter Shapiro @MrWalterShapiro

@cjerdonek @SouthPoint1000 @EJDionne Ethnic makeup of NYC and demographics are quite different than SF, Maine or Australia. Also based on anecdotal evidence in NYC, the higher income that you are the more you are likely to take full advantage of RCV. I suspect that if Adams loses, it's because of exhausted ballots. — PolitiTweet.org

Walter Shapiro @MrWalterShapiro

@cjerdonek @SouthPoint1000 @EJDionne Yes, that was the case in NYC until this year. And remember that in municipal elections in a place like New York that votes in odd-numbered years, the November elections are the least important of the bunch. — PolitiTweet.org

Walter Shapiro @MrWalterShapiro

@SouthPoint1000 @EJDionne A runoff also clarifies issue differences in a way that Ranked Choice Voting does not. Also as Eric Adams’ charges of “voter suppression” when Garcia campaigned with Yang illustrates, RCV certainly hasn’t encouraged unity in NYC beyond the Board of Elections snafus. — PolitiTweet.org

Walter Shapiro @MrWalterShapiro

RT @jonathanalter: Mine is called “His Very Best.” Please consider buying the hardcover or pre-ordering the paperback. It’s been out 9 mont… — PolitiTweet.org

Walter Shapiro @MrWalterShapiro

So much better than the actual print and online heds. I love the Yogi refer. — PolitiTweet.org

Walter Shapiro @MrWalterShapiro

@margotroosevelt @BenMullin And, with a very few exceptions, the correct answer is "no." As in, "Will Aliens off UFOs Attend the Next Trump Rally?" Or, "Can a Democrat Sneak Off with a Senate Seat in Alaska?" — PolitiTweet.org

Walter Shapiro @MrWalterShapiro

@mseyfang All true. But we also are witnessing grade inflation in job titles. More communications directors than ever as the prior occupants of these jobs are now called deputy campaign managers or senior strategists or something. — PolitiTweet.org

Walter Shapiro @MrWalterShapiro

@dceiver Love to start a Sunday show by asking all the guests to surrender their talking points provided by the White House, the RNC, their campaign consultants and aides. — PolitiTweet.org

Walter Shapiro @MrWalterShapiro

@dceiver Why watch? Life is too short. I haven’t seen a Sunday show in years. If something actually is said, there are easy to get transcripts. And who cares about panel discussions where most points are predictable? — PolitiTweet.org