Posted on 11/30/2006 10:36:09 AM PST by neverdem
ALBANY, N.Y.--The recent midterm election was bad news for Republicans, but it was even worse for New York Republicans. The GOP lost all three statewide offices by wide margins; its gubernatorial candidate did not even break 30%. Its sacrificial lamb for Senate did only slightly better, and representation in the state's 29-seat congressional delegation fell from nine to six seats. The most prominent state Republican is New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a former Democrat who, shall we say, wears his party affiliation lightly.
What a contrast with 1994, when George Pataki, a little-known Republican legislator, defeated three-term incumbent Gov. Mario Cuomo, one of the nation's leading liberal voices. Mr. Pataki, a social moderate and a fiscal conservative, rode into office on that year's Republican wave.
New York City's first Republican mayor in 30 years, Rudolph Giuliani, had strangely endorsed and campaigned for Mr. Cuomo. At the time, the move looked like political suicide. It is 12 years later and both Messrs. Giuliani and Pataki are making noises about running for president. Given the events of 1994, it is hard to believe that Mr. Giuliani is leading in some polls for the Republican nomination, while Mr. Pataki's ambitions are stuck in the low single digits.
What happened? In many ways, the open pit in Lower Manhattan is a depressing symbol of the Pataki years: That five years after 9/11 Ground Zero is still unbuilt is a sad testament to the political paralysis currently afflicting New...
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Since 1990, a weak upstate economy has meant a decline of more than 25% in the population of 25- to 34-year-olds, as young, educated people flee for the South and West.
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The party's future political success will depend on how its members reconcile their attitudes toward government with their desire to stay in office.
(Excerpt) Read more at opinionjournal.com ...
NY, CA, MI, and NJ are pretty good examples of why we don't want a one party state.
There are so many nearly all Democrat states now. Those you mentioned, and the long-term prospects are not that bright in VA, CO, AZ, IA, and AR either.
NY, CA, MI, and NJ are pretty good examples of why we don't want a one party state.
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Amen.
I blame Joe Bruno in part for this mess - he votes and acts like a lib and has betrayed the GOP. Pataki is finished. Under his "leadership" we have lost Nassau County and Westchester. Giuliani did nothing to build the GOP in NYC and he should have run against Spitzer to stop him.
MA... best reason of all.
"Since 1990, a weak upstate economy has meant a decline of more than 25% in the population of 25- to 34-year-olds, as young, educated people flee for the South and West."
I fled upstate for VA in the mid-90s when I was 29, so I'm living testiment to that.
Soon-to-be-former U.S. Rep. Sue Kelly (R-NY) told me a few months ago that Pataki has driven the party and the state into the ground and what he hadn't already destroyed, Spitzer would in the next 4 years.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus
On the one hand we know who to blame if things don't go right. On the other hand ... it's depressing to see the whole state go Socialist.
Isn't his quest to be pres to blame for all this?
I love the title! I am amazed that george thinks he can win the gop nomination. He is about conservative as hillary.
Inter-party canibalism and finger pointing rarely attracts voters.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus
I think it was more like his quest to put all his cronies into $100,000+ patronage positions.
Michigan isn't a one party state. The Pubbies just lost the State House, but until then controlled both houses of the State Leg as well as the governorship until 2002.
He joined the dark side during his quest for a second term. He gave every municipal union everything they wanted (in particular the health care workers under Dennis Rivera) in return for their endorsements even though every poll had him way ahead without them. It went all downhill from there.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus
In Massachusetts, the Republican Party is now significantly smaller (in terms of number of seats contested in the legislature) than the Green-Rainbow Party. The Democrats now control every state legislature in New England and 21 out of 22 New England U.S. House Seats (the 22nd, Chris Shays, is essentially a Democrat and is still in perpetual trouble). Republicans do still have 4 RINO Senators from New England -- Sununu, Gregg, Snowe and Collins, but that's temporary. Sununu and Collins are in big trouble in 2008. The Dems like to moan about losing the South -- when they now control New England much more closely than the Pubbies ever have had the South. I'm not aware -- except in the Jim Crowe period in the Rat-dominated South -- of any one party ever having as much domination in any one region.
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