In The Elections, The Dirty Trick Of The Year Came In Monroe

The ruling KY bloc is said to have distributed last-minute campaign literature feeding the anti-KY sentiment of many Monroe voters by urging them to vote for the SaveMonroe slate.   Follow us. Incumbent Republicans in Monroe had support of the KJ bloc vote. That was a given and is usually enough to bring victory. This year, though, the KJ Alliance, a group within the Hasidic village that opposes the ruling KY bloc, endorsed the Democratic slate in Monroe. SaveMonroe fielded its own third slate of candidates, with no major endorsements. The literature spread around town Tuesday urged votes for SaveMonroe as a vote against control by KY. It said, "Vote Republican, get KJ. Vote Democrat, get KJ-Lite." SaveMonroe said it wasn't them.   The intent clearly was to split the anti-KY vote and, more significantly, to direct votes away from the more-potent Democratic line to the longshot SaveMonroe line.   This is clever, to be sure.
But if the powers-that-be in Kiryas Yoel are going to purposely stir up resentment against themselves in order to gain political favor, how do they expect anyone to trust them or sympathize with them when others use anti-KY feelings as a political weapon in a more straightforward manner?