In these days of coronavirus we’re not supposed to touch our face. But good luck reading the latest by Globe columnist Alex Beam without scratching your head and wondering if it’s possible to do a more half-assed job discussing a timely topic.
Read it and let me know if you agree.
What a baffling article from a strange angle. Not everyone in Newton is rich, as surely someone in his position would know. There are also plenty of reasons why people, regardless of their level of affluence, would decide to support Sanders, particularly given that it’s a national contest.
I volunteered to run most of the 2020 Sanders operation in Newton, not just because of my personal beliefs, but also because one of his strongest areas in 2016 was in Newton Upper Falls in my ward and I wanted to make sure that perspective was represented and had a voice on the Council. (Likewise my colleague Councilor Maria Scibelli Greenberg also endorsed Sanders because of both her beliefs and Ward 1 being one of the strongest areas of Sanders support in 2016.) Of course the results were a bit different this year in a more crowded field with a home state candidate running, but Sanders still received more support proportionally in Newton than the share of Councilors endorsing him.
There was a really good opportunity in this column to spark a serious discussion about when voters vote outside their own self-interests.
After all, that’s exactly what Newton voters did this week when collectively and resoundingly we said: “We want our already great community to change.”; “We want to be more welcoming. “We want to be part of the solving this region’s housing crisis.” And “We’re willing to accept more local traffic for the greater good of curbing suburban sprawl and greenhouse gases.”
Beam didn’t even try and go there.
Instead he pegged it to a very odd statistic: Bernie Sanders only had 16 percent of Newton’s vote (in a city with a couple colleges and all the things Councilor Humphrey said above, 16 percent is kind of low). Elizabeth Warren had twice that, and though Beam’s simplified prism, similar positions. Why cite his 16 percent as indicative of a trend,instead their collective 45 percent of the vote?
But I digress.
If Beam really wanted to understand what Newton voters really did this week he should have looked right there on the Globe’s editorial page a couple weeks ago.
Because really the question after Tuesday’s 16 point affirmation for Northland isn’t “What’s wrong with Newton?” It’s “How did Newton get it right?” “How did Newton decide to look beyond its narrow self interests?” And “Will Tuesday’s resounding vote inspire other communities to do the right thing now too.”
Guys, read the whole thing.
Thanks for the shoutout to my Boston mag article, Alex, but that was bizarre. Point 1: Rich people can’t possibly vote for Sanders (spoiler alert: they can). Point 2: Maybe they are seeing a bigger picture for this country. Point 3: But they’re all too hypocritical anyway.
Nice!
See, I’ve never viewed Alex Beam as a truly “serious” columnist/op-ed writer. He likes to nudge, josh, tease and generally mock — albeit with more of a velvet glove than a bludgeon — his selected targets, sometimes including himself. For the most part, I enjoy reading his stuff, but I would never expect him to deliver anything in the way of reasoned commentary.
Strangely, 15% of Newton public school students qualify for free and/or reduced lunch. You look at the outside of any form of housing that’s not a single family dwelling and you have no idea how many people live within it or what the conditions are inside. I don’t see this as a serious column due to its lack of facts to back up its premise.
84% of Newton didn’t vote for Sanders, the supposed frontrunner going into Super Tuesday – is that a story?
Greg – You need to move on.
@Jane: Huh? You realize that I didn’t write the column and also don’t agree with it, right?
@Greg I think Jane is referring to you tying this back to Northland
Well then Newton Highlands Mom, I can only assume that Jane didn’t read the column. And perhaps neither did you?
If you’re gonna accept the results of the Yes vote, you can’t complain about the 16% for Bernie. These are unrefutable FACTS, right? Or are we a community that’s full of (excrement)?
Who’s complaining? (Matt I’m guessing you didn’t read it either, right?)
That column was marginally incoherent, suprising given that Alex Beam usually has something interesting to say. Just one of those off-days for a local favorite. He apparently wanted to satirize the Garden City, but his supposed evidence didn’t sustain his (not very) witty perspective.