In New York State Assembly District 72 (upper Manhattan) there is a rather contentious race going on for the Democratic primary election next Tuesday. The incumbent, Adriano Espaillat, is being challenged by his former mentee Miguel Martinez, who has reached the end of his term limit as City Council Member.

Interesting things can be found in the duelling campaign mailers sent out by the two camps. I wonder if this speaks only to the politics of heavily Dominican (and Hillary-supporting) upper Manhattan or whether it's a sign of how NYC politics as a whole is tacking in 2008.

First mailings:

Environmentalists, social activists, feminists, atheists, political junkies... our modern Swifts and Voltaires. George Carlin blended anger and satire to blissful perfection, Grist Magazine is doing it for environmentalism, and Melissa McEwan does it for sexism and racism at Shakesville.

As the Obama euphoria fades, expect much more of this, from 23/6:

The Reader's Guide to Maureen Dowd

Paul Krugman in his latest column:

The question Democrats, both inside and outside the Obama campaign, should be asking themselves is this: now that the magic has dissipated, what is the campaign about? More generally, what are the Democrats for in this election?

That should be an easy question to answer. Democrats can justly portray themselves as the party of economic security, the party that created Social Security and Medicare and defended those programs against Republican attacks — and the party that can bring assured health coverage to all Americans.

They can also portray themselves as the party of prosperity: the contrast between the Clinton economy and the Bush economy is the best free advertisement that Democrats have had since Herbert Hoover.

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Perhaps they will still be available come November...

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Image by mjs, taken in Hawthorne District, Portland, Oregon

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Pushing to seat the Florida delegates, at least one top Clinton fund-raiser, Paul Cejas, a Miami businessman who has given the Democratic National Committee $63,500 since 2003, has demanded Democratic officials return his 2007 contribution of $28,500, which they have agreed to do.

“If you’re not going to count my vote, I’m not going to give you my money,” said Mr. Cejas, who was the United States ambassador to Belgium from 1998 to 2001.

This Unity is Corrente-approved.

So I'm going to change tactics here, perhaps this will become a series. Obama people, religious people: let me say to you that you probably think I hate him/you because he's a Christian and has Christian supporters while I am an angry atheist. But you're wrong. I hate Christianists, who I define as people who claim to share your faith but don't. I'd like you to join me in saying publically: they don't follow Christ.

I've known some terrific Christians in my life.