The "... Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds" is a seminal investigation and discussion about irrational mass behavior(s) of the sort that led many with a rooting interest against the incumbent Democrat City Council Member Justin Brannan to think that a respectable, attractive candidate was running against Brannan, and a pro-active and effective campaign was being waged against the incumbent councilman
The numbers on election day and since pretty clearly indicate that nothing could have been further from the truth
Brian Fox and the Brian Fox for City Council campaign hardly moved the needle up, down, or sideways compared to the results from the prior election between Brannan and Quaglione
In two elections in a row, with two completely different styles of Republican-Conservative candidates, the election results showed a nearly identical numerical outcome in the voting for the 43rd City Council District. Both times the Democrat Justin Brannan won with a nearly 50-50 split between the voters that voted for Brannan and those that voted against him.
In 2021, neither the issues raised nor the intensity of the campaigning seemed to matter even a little once the votes were all counted. Whatever re-election strategy was pursued by Brannan, it didn't click to advanse his vote even a little. Conversely, nothing done by the GOP-Conservative side ate into Brannan's 2017 vote in anyway that really mattered to the outcome in 2021's hotly contested election.
The "... delusion and madness of [the pro-Fox] crowd[ ]" continued to be on full diplay even after the reality of Fox's loss was well-known and widely acknowledged. The Fox folks kept telling anybody that might be listening to them that the Fox-McCabe campaign against Brannan had been well done, and should have resulted in a Fox win. Clearly any such expression is "... delusion and madness..."; and it ignores the real facts in the real world.
If anybody on any side of the great partisan divide that appparently exists in the near-purple area and district in Southwest Brooklyn does not approach the election results in 2021 as a cautionary tale, they are being very foolish. That also applies to the internecine warfare that has already broken out inside the Brooklyn GOP over all that happened in 2021 from January through November.
Now, some might argue that 2021 was a "one-off" kind of election --- that would be too pat an answer --- and it would be an example of sinful sloth..... It would also be a very bad way to kick off the preparations for the rather quick turnaround for the City Council election in 2023; or the even sooner, the statewide federal and NYS offices, and the federal congressional and NYS legislative local elections of 2022.
