Last Sunday, outside the offices of Syracuse's Channel 5, a man wearing an Orangemen jacket punched a member of the Marijuana Reform party in the process of throwing him out of a tent packed with Pataki supporters.
Victoria Jordan, me, my wife and my 3-month-old were invited to an event at the debate site. We arrived late and were confused about where to go. As we walked towards the television studio, a police officer politely asked us what our credentials were. I didn't think we'd get in, but I decided to play all of the cards we had. I told him that Victoria was a campaign coordinator for Aronowitz and that my wife and I were members of the state committee.
The police officer let us through. We walked up to the front door, with our baby in a sling. The people guarding the door asked to see our invitation (an e-mail that Victoria had printed out.) They told us we couldn't come in because they didn't recognize any of the names on it. I asked if there was any place we could find a TV and they suggested we go to a restaurant or bar.
We went across the street where about ten young people, bedecked in dreadlocks, were holding signs for the Marijuania Reform Party. They told us that there were TV sets in the Pataki tent up the road, so we figured we'd try that. The neighborhood had the rarified feel of a university district in a South American metropolis. We noticed that Pataki supporters had parked four Winnebagos covered with blue signs in front of the TV studio as well as a sound truck in the driveway. The Golisano campaign had erected a minature hot-air baloon in front of the studio.
The Pataki tent was on the corner of James St and Oak, across the street from PayChex, Golisano's corporation. The tent was closed in on four sides and had one entrance. It had propane heaters inside and a small gasolene generator powering two large-screen television set. I stood behind a table of coffee dispensers and powdered mini-donuts and watched the debate. I was impressed by Aronowitz's performance and that of the other "minor" candidates. The "major" candidates didn't really want to talk about the issues facing New York, and seemed only concerned that they didn't say anything stupid that would alienate some faction of the electorate. Aronowitz stood out, I felt, in that he had something good to say about every issue.
Around this time, a balding man in an Syracuse Orangemen jacket offered me a blue Pataki sticker. Left to my own devices I would have taken it, but my wife insisted I refuse it. We were asked to leave, and we did.
On the way out we were accosted by a firearms advocate who gave us a URL for a story about a "Ground Zero Firefighter." I asked him which candidate his organization was advocating and he told us that they hadn't decided -- that they were going to support whoever best advocated the right to bear arms. I explained how gun control was a controversial subject amoung NY Greens. For many Greens from upstate, firearms are just part of the culture. For others, more downstate, firearms were seen as a hazard. I'd told him that, in the wake of the DC sniper attacks, some Greens had faced opposition when they spoke out in favor of gun rights in Long Island while other Greens felt that our principle of non-violence is opposed to gun ownership.
The man was trying to explain to me why I should own firearms -- at the very least, he said, I should buy a shotgun and store it in a PVC tube or plaster it into a wall in my home so it would be ready should I face some unspecified threat in the future. I suggested that, if he has the right to own a gun, I have the right to not own a gun. He was concerned, however, that criminals might discover that I don't own a gun, and choose me to be a victim.
At that moment I heard yelling from the Pataki tent and turned around to see the man who'd thrown me out punching one of the Marijuania reform activists in the face. As saliva foamed from the boy's mouth, a shrewish woman complained that he wouldn't be kind enough to properly dispose of his coffee cup on the way out. A minute later, the Pataki supporters trekked out of their tent to cheer the Governor at the end of the debate.
About forty Republicans put on a show outside the debate. They were countered by the Marijunia Reform party, perhaps five McCall supporters and perhaps twice that many supporters of Golisano. The Pataki supporters (assisted with megaphones) screamed "FOUR MORE YEARS!" and "PATAKI IS HERE TO STAY!" while a man with a buzzcut frantically waved a Republican flag in the driveway. The rest of the crowd countered with "PATAKI HAS GOT TO GO!"
The police split the crowd to allow two vehicles out, then Pataki emerged. His followers shut up so they could hear him speak, so I shouted "YOU SUCK!" from across the street. They followed him to his Winnebago and I yelled "BAA! BAA! BAA!"
Then Victoria spotted Aronowitz coming out the studio and we cheered for him. He told us that Pataki's wife had praised his performance; as we spoke, a young man told him that he liked what he had to say.
