New York City is the largest urban center in the U.S.,
and for this reason it holds many unique distinctions in
American political, cultural, economic and sports life. One
of those is the “subway” World Series of baseball that has
occurred when both the American and National League
championship teams were located in New York. The American
League team has always been the New York Yankees (since it
is the only New York team in that league), but the New York
Giants (now San Francisco Giants), the Brooklyn Dodgers (now
Los Angeles Dodgers) and the current New York Mets have
each represented the National League. There have been 14
“subway Series” since 1921 when the Giants beat the Yankees.
The most recent was in 2000 when the Yankees beat the Mets.
The name originates in the fact that a New Yorker could attend
all of the World Series games by using the city’s subway system.
There has not ever been a “subway” presidential election, but
2016 presents an extraordinary, if fanciful, opportunity for that
to happen.
Here is the scenario:
On July 28, Hillary Clinton is nominated at the Democratic
National Convention in Philadelphia after a cabal of
“super-delegates” conspire to defeat Bernie Sanders who has
otherwise won the popular vote and most of the elected
delegates during the primary season. Hillary, a former New
York U.S. senator, lives in Chappaqua, a suburb of New York
City.
Angry at what he feels was being cheated out of the Democratic
nomination, Mr. Sanders announces a nationwide write-in
campaign for president. Although a Vermont U.S. senator, he
was born in Brooklyn.
Earlier, on July 21, Donald Trump wins the Republican
nomination in Cleveland. Mr. Trump is a native of the New
York City borough of Queens.
Meanwhile, anticipating the results in Cleveland and
Philadelphia, former New York City Mayor Michael
Bloomberg has qualified on the ballot in most of the 50
states as an independent. Mr. Bloomberg lives in
Manhattan.
This covers only three of the five boroughs and the suburbs,
and would not be complete, but In August, Supreme Court
Associate Justice Sonya Sottomayor, incensed that an
Hispanic-American is not on the November ballot, takes a
three-month leave of absence from the Court, and
announces her independent write-in candidacy for
president in August. Ms. Sottomayor is from the Bronx.
Although this leaves the fifth borough, Staten Island, not
represented in the November election, being surrounded
by the Hudson River, Staten Island has no subway.
On Labor Day, the five presidential candidates, each of them
either native to New York City or residents, appear at a huge
rally at Yankee Stadium, and pledge, with a nod to William
McKinley’s successful 1896 presidential campaign, to conduct
their entire remaining campaigns from their respective back
porches. and not to leave the confines of New York City and its
suburbs (except for Bernie Sanders who returned to Vermont).
New York City and Vermont tourist business subsequently
booms as millions of Americans travel there to see the
candidates in person.
In November, the winner of the presidential election is, of
course, a New Yorker.
Only in America.
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Copyright (c) 2016 by Barry Casselman. All rights reserved.
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