Consequences and Truth

The news gatherers on my local NPR station were musing this morning on the results of the elections and their significance to the North Country.  As with many rural areas in NY,  we have more in common politically with districts in Southern Alabama than with most of the rest of this state.  Ironically, we did have a couple of democratic assemblypersons from this area who were able to secure a significant number of taxpayer dollars upon which many local governments depend.  As with other rural areas around the country, despite the rugged individualism people like to project, we are dependent on the decadent economy of NYC and its suburbs to generate enough revenue so some of it can be diverted to this and other pockets of poverty to help keep the lights on.  So, one of these revenue diverting democrats was defeated by a republican and presumably that area will get less government largesse.   Meanwhile, Billy Jones, a democrat representing my district in Albany will get help from his downstate peers to keep propping up Franklin and Clinton Counties.  We also sent Betty Little, a republican back to a state senate where she will now be in the minority.  I have a feeling we won't be getting campaign flyers from her office touting her ability to bring home the pork this time around.  Finally, although she won comfortably, Elise Stefanik, our congressional representative will find the playing field in Washington quite a bit less to her liking.  She will now be a minority member on the Armed Forces committee and will probably not be bragging about her ability to keep Fort Drum and the 10th Mountain division in beer and skittles.  Elections do have consequences!