2,600 D.C. Voters Switch to the Democratic Party Ahead of Mayoral Primary

[bigtree]

August 17, 2010 09:02 AM

(Washington Post) — Almost 2,600 D.C. voters have switched parties to become Democrats this year in anticipation of the Sept. 14 primary — a contest that traditionally elects the mayor of a city where 75 percent of voters are Democrats.

Monday was the last day to change parties to vote in the primaries. Preliminary numbers showed that 2,068 voters who declared “no party,” often dubbed independent, and 308 Republicans changed their affiliation to Democrat from January through Monday morning, according to the Board of Elections and Ethics. Several hundred members of the Statehood Green and other parties changed their affiliations, too.

Although a new election law will allow early voting and same-day voter registration, voters can't switch parties within 30 days of an election. Final numbers of those who switched will not be available until next week because the elections board allows 10 days to receive voter-registration applications postmarked Monday, said Alysoun McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the elections board.

Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and D.C. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray, his main opponent, have been pushing to get more voters registered to participate in the Democratic primary. Efforts by Fenty, who is expected to be endorsed Tuesday by New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg (I), have been much more aggressive, with go-go music concerts that require concertgoers to have filled out voter-registration applications to enter.

read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/16/AR2010081604972_pf.html

[davidinalameda]

1. go-go music?

thought that went out with the 60s

[bigtree]

3. originated right in D.C.

still wildly popular here

[Laughing Mirror]

6. not the same as DC gogo

which began in the city in the 1970s and has very little in common, both musically and stylistically, with the wide-ranging mini-skirt go-go scene of the 1960s.

[bigtree]

9. heh

poster was thinking go-go boots and stuff. Pretty funny.

Go-Go History

Don't feel bad if you've never heard of Go-Go. It's a local phenomenon that is over 20 years old, and shows not signs of dying. In that time, it has evolved into a way of life unique and rooted to Washington, D.C., Southern Maryland, and Northern Virginia. Chuck Brown is credited as being the man who started it all. For this he is referred to as "The Godfather."

During the early 70’s Chocolate City had a very competitive live music scene. Chuck Brown & the Soul Searchers were respected as one of the top bands and recorded a few moderately successful records. One of their singles, Ashley's Roach Clip, contains a distinct beat that has been sampled and duplicated countless times most notably by Eric B. and Rakim (Paid in Full), and Soul to Soul (Keep on Moving). In fact, it may be one of the sampled and duplicated loops of the early hip-hop era. In 1978 Brown hit it big with a single that would become a 70’s funk classic – "Bustin’ Loose."

Brown explains that he came up with a new playing style – later tagged Go-Go – purely out of necessity. "Disco DJ’s started taking our shows," he points out. "They were cheaper and because of mixing they could keep the dance floor packed. People no longer liked the pause in between songs." In response, "the Godfather" started experimenting with a style that enabled his band to continue into the next song without ever stopping. He let the percussion section – drums and congas – take over, while he talked to the crowd. The call and response lyrics, and percussion work that developed became the benchmark of Go-Go.

more: http://johnhenry22.tripod.com/gogo1/info/history.html

[Laughing Mirror]

10. Well DC Go-Go never made much of an enduring splash outside the (as we say now) DMV

so the confusion is understandable.

I am old enough to have lived (in DC) through the "Going to the Go-Go" sixties and the "Bustin' Loose" endless-beat seventies, and he local music scene seemed much livelier back then than it seems to me today. But maybe that's just me.

Thanks for the history lesson.

[davidinalameda]

11. glad it's not me

I haven't really listened to any new music in years

[ejpoeta]

2. could we have republicans trying to affect the dem candidate chocie

to aid the republcian candidate in november?

[bigtree]

4. not enough of them here to make that kind of difference

These are residents rallying around our party in anticipation of voting in November. A good sign.

[ejpoeta]

5. ok i hope so. i have just grown cynical.

[marmar]

7. Who gives a f**k who Michael Bloomberg endorses?

:wtf:

[bigtree]

8. I thought he was endorsing Sestak in NY

That may well be a mistake in the article. At any rate, Bloomberg certainly doesn't carry any weight or influence around here.