Election Upset: Barack Obama Swept Brooklyn
Yes yes, Barack Obama won re-election nationwide last night, weed and gay marriage scored major victories, horrible elderly rape apologists were roundly defeated, voting in New York was well-attended but an even bigger mess than usual in the wake of a disastrous hurricane from which we are still struggling to recover, some nerds are hopefully going to prison for Instagramming their ballots. A lot was going on, to be sure, but what’s really notable this morning is Barack Obama’s decisive sweep among voters in Brooklyn (or “Barack-lyn,” as the Brooklyn Paper helpfully re-names us).
With 98% of polling locations reporting, the President (and former Park Slope resident, apparently) garnered 81% of the vote around these parts, winning 503,291 votes to Mitt Romney’s 108,630.
But how did we get to such staggering numbers? Are we so far removed from the notion of “personal responsibility?” Do hours-long lines do nothing to deter? Are we as a borough beholden to do whatever Jay-Z dictates? Am I deliriously tired from staying up to watch the actual speeches 3 hours after the election was officially called last night? Whatever, this is obviously as predictable as it is great. Good work everybody, go back about your business (and maybe take a nap).
Follow Virginia K. Smith on Twitter @vksmith.
