It's not specifically Dryden, but I'm not used to seeing analysis of New York State's internal political gyrations anywhere far beyond here. This Washington Post article looks at the state of the Republican Party here, and recognizes that there's more to this state than the City:
What is happening to the Republican Party in New York state is the national GOP's nightmare. The once-thriving political organization of Nelson Rockefeller, Al D'Amato and George Pataki is a shambles.
And the way the Republican coalition has broken up should have national Republicans scurrying for a new game plan.
For many Americans, "New York" evokes the liberal salons of Manhattan. But Manhattan is a small piece of the Empire State. Political change has been driven by the populous suburbs of Long Island and Westchester and Rockland counties, and by the vast stretches of Upstate New York that are far closer in spirit to the Midwest than to the Upper West Side or the Silk Stocking District.
The Republican collapse here has been driven by two streams of defectors: suburban moderates and Upstaters.
It's clear that Tompkins County has been defecting from the Republicans for a very long time, but that seems to be spreading to much more of upstate this year than in the past. (And one thing I'd like to add to the article is that Democrats aren't homogenous either - New York City Dems, suburban Dems, rural upstate Dems, city upstate Dems, and Tompkins County and Dryden Dems specifically all have different perspectives.)
Posted by simon at October 13, 2006 12:02 PM in politics (national)