Joseph Mercurio on "Tribal Politics: Can the Republicans Play the Game as Well as the Democrats?"

Can the Republicans Play the Game as Well as the Democrats?

Political consultants talk about New York's "tribal politics." At first, it sounds very un-PC. No one in the politically correct speech game (like the Board of Regents before their rewrite-famous-authors scandal) would ever talk that way. But a little history will take the edge off of the subject.

After the Revolutionary War, men who served as officers in Washington's Continental Army and their sons were eligible to join the Society of Cincinnati, an elite group that was aligned with the Federalist Party. Other men were left to join the Tammany Society, which, at the beginning, was not a political group but a fraternal organization.

Tammany was an imaginary Indian chief. Local groups used pseudo-Indian names, officials had fake Indian ranks and the members often dressed in Indian garb at events -- thus the tribal beginnings. Ironically, Tammany's first celebration in New York City was a Columbus Day event before there were Catholics or Italians in any numbers here. Later, the Tammany Society became associated with the Democratic Party when it formed. Democratic headquarters on 14th Street was called Tammany Hall.

At first, the reaction to immigrants was hostile. Tammany was a nativist group in its early days. Politicians like Boss William M. Tweed noticed the waves of immigrants as they came into the city, though, and saw them as an opportunity for political organizing. Each wave of newcomers was treated like a new Indian tribe and were brought into the Democratic Party and treated as a group. Needless to say, the immigrant groups became powerful voting blocs -- the root of "tribal politics."

Old habits are hard to break and the Democrats still play that game with newcomers. Republicans are learning. They are now smarter about ethnic and immigrant identity than they were even ten years ago, and they are now giving Democrats a run for their money in that area. Governor George Pataki's moves in recent years into the Hispanic and other immigrant communities are an expression of that activity.

This kind of politics also shows up in the favorite-son campaigns. Fernando Ferrer in the last two mayoral races used it, for example. Undoubtedly, Carl McCall will use the racial heritage version this year in the governor's race. When candidates are perceived as equally acceptable or when there is little information about either candidate, racial, ethnic or national background becomes an important consideration in voting.

The tradition of political parties and candidates working ethnic or national groups is so ingrained that candidates often miss another historical trend. As waves of immigrants die off and second, third, and fourth generations of hyphenated Americans dominate a group, members start to drop ethnic identity in polls and census responses. This was again seen in the 2000 Census. Not only do groups intermarry, they shed their national and ethnic identities as the origins become diffuse and distant.

Over time, this makes religion a much more important factor in voting. For instance, Peter Vallone in the last mayor's race and Andrew Cuomo in this years governor's race have, when voters have scant information, received excess support among Hispanic voters due largely to their religion, in this case Catholicism. This is something Ferrer neglected in both his races for mayor. He was so heavily invested in a favorite-son candidacy that he failed to get the default Catholic vote he should have received.

It should not be like this, but New York City is an expensive market so it is hard for merit and accomplishment to break through the airwaves. "Tribal politics" makes a difference in the absence of information.

In the General Election, Pataki is more than just triangulating what have been traditional Democratic issues. He will also continue to expand his base by emphasizing environmental issues one week, education the next, and the drug laws after that. Pataki's success, though, has also hinged on working various new immigrant groups, especially Hispanics. He is quietly working Jewish voters as well now. Later, depending on who wins the Democratic Primary, you can expect to see him go after black voters, or more likely, he will make a major push to attract Catholic voters (beyond Hispanics) if McCall wins the primary.