I really don't understand these western countries which voted for Obama in 2008 yet gave Paladino a massive landslide. I really don't get it.
Paladino's from there.
I know. I just don't understand why home turf effect could be so strong. It would be like McGovern winning SD in a landslide in 1972.
It's not just home-turf effect, it's the metro-West cleavage. The two combined were responsible for delivering such huge margins to Paladino.
But where does this cleavage come from ? A sort of "western alienation" feeling ?
This is exactly it, actually. Western New York, particularly Erie and Niagara Counties feel so disconnected from downstate. Buffalo is the second biggest city in New York State, and Western New Yorkers tend to feel like Albany completely ignores it. Niagara Falls sits as one of the nations greatest natural landmarks, and Western New Yorkers feel like Albany ignores it.
The important thing to note about WNY, is that the people here are so used to dissapointment. Businesses promise to come here, and we even offer pretty generous tax credits, and in the end, it falls through almost every time. Politicians promise significant state funding for this tourist program, and development, and in the end, many people here feel betrayed and ignored.
When Paladino came around, his consistent message was that he did business in WNY and he believed in WNY. The idea that WNY could have a Governor that directly (well, more directly than his opponents) understood our grievance, was attractive. Mind you, the Buffalo News did a piece portraying Paladino as a vulture waiting to buy out real-estate for development. However, the pick of a "true" WNY'er, over the son of Mario Cuomo who resided downstate, became more attractive to most people in this area. That being said, I still voted for Cuomo
