Urban Policy on the Campaign Trail
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
While democratic candidates hash out the big issues in attempts to distinguish themselves, urban policy is a vital issue that has been largely scooted to the peripheries of campaign talk. WNYC's political director Andrea Bernstein discusses why candidates should give this metropolitan issue more weight.
Comments [9]
McCain and the Republicans have had an urban policy. It's kind if experimental and you could see it at work in Bagdad in the weeks after the fall id Iraq. OK....it's a work in progress. Rome wasn't built in a day. You could see it a couple of years later in in New Orleans, in deregulation that lead to predatory mortgage lending and a limp wristed FAA. Long live tax cuts, shrinking government, cheap guns, cheap gas and fork lifts in slaughterhouses.
One must admit that when the word "urban" is put in front of any noun it conveys images of govenment programs meant to address decaying inner cities. Perhaps we need some re-framing here that acknowledges that "urban" issues are really issues that effect all areas of urban metropolitan regions. The condition of the Garden State Parkway, Tappan Zee Bridge, Metro North Railroad effects the condition of New York City every bit as much as whether or not Atlantic Yards getts built.
Excuse my cynicism, but I don't think the 100,000+ Republicans recently registered "Democrat" vote in the primary have any intention of also voting Democratic in the November.
More likely, they're throwing votes towards Clinton, to keep her in the race and weaken Obama WHEN he gets the nomination.
Yeah I was just metioning this the other day...how absolutely sick I am about hearing only about America's "heartland" and nothing about the cities.
Without the city centers like NY this country would be nothing, yet we aren't considered the "heartland" and are hardly mentioned in these elections. I blame the MCM mostly for this backwards thinking bs.
FYI, Obama is holding a rally tonight in Evansville, Indiana.
His musical headliner? John Mellencamp.
Listen to Thom Hartman 12pm-3pm on airamerica.com for news taht is not controlled by the corporations and they will tell the real story.
Is it corporate control over the media that leaves urban issues off the table and it takes Bob Hennelly, Andrea and WNYC to ask the questions? The urban media centers are not asking the questions, it does not attract viewers?
isn't this HUD's job?
It' a bit of a political tightrope for Obama to bring up urban issues. He almost needs to dissociate from urban issues in order to keep on the us side of us and them, whoever the us and them are but they are.
P.S. I really enjoyed the anecdote about the radio in the trash.
Have any of the candidates looked to what the urban planners in portland oregon are doing in regards to transportation? It would seem that if american cities invested in public transportation you could begin to solve a lot of urban problems; getting a single passenger driver out of their cars, congestion from cars, pollution. Also transportation connects isolated neighborhoods and builds commercial corridors.
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