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Al D'Amato: Never underestimate George Pataki
Newsday ^ | July 30, 2005 | former Senator Alfonse M. D'Amato

Posted on 07/30/2005 2:19:24 AM PDT by RWR8189

Note to Republican presidential primary candidates: Don't underestimate George Pataki.

There was a time when the pundits said he couldn't win a freshman's run for mayor of Peekskill. They also said that about him when he ran for the Assembly and then the State Senate. In each instance this quiet, thoughtful man proved himself an astute politician who could read his constituents far better than the pollsters and the political analysts.

Not only did he run and win but he was able to position himself in such a way that an expanding circle of voters genuinely welcomed him as a new and thoughtful voice in government.

Even as he declines to run for a fourth term as governor, many continue to misjudge George Pataki. Ironically, that has been part of his strength. During his tenure, opponents would dismiss him as too distracted or indifferent to pursue some difficult public policy. Yet, they would arrive to work one day only to discover that a particular Pataki initiative was now solidly in place, the governor having stealthily overridden their opposition while moving on to address some other issue. Perhaps, in retrospect, this calm but skillful political chess player should have made far more noise about his accomplishments and legislative agenda since, with his decision not to seek another gubernatorial term, critics are already seeking to minimize his legacy.

This is the governor who, using Theodore Roosevelt as a personal model, preserved some 1 million acres of land throughout the state. It was Pataki who restructured how we pay for electricity on Long Island, recognizing that LILCO's rate structure was crippling the region's economy. And it was Pataki who dismantled many of the state

(Excerpt) Read more at newsday.com ...


TOPICS: Editorial; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: New York
KEYWORDS: 2008; aldamato; damato; georgepataki; georgepataki2008; gopprimary; newyork; pataki; pataki08; pataki2008; primary; rncprimary
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Pataki?

Please.

George Allen 2008.

1 posted on 07/30/2005 2:19:25 AM PDT by RWR8189
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To: RWR8189

Lol maybye in new york but wre not going to elect a tax raising pro choice pro gay pro union pro abortion governor as our candidate.


2 posted on 07/30/2005 2:29:14 AM PDT by SDGOP
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To: SDGOP

And using that litmus test will also elimate a number of other people that think that they have a chance to become the next president.


3 posted on 07/30/2005 2:37:50 AM PDT by Coldwater Creek ("Over there, Over there, we will be there until it is Over there.")
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To: RWR8189

Never "Overestimate" him either.


4 posted on 07/30/2005 2:55:17 AM PDT by dc-zoo
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To: RWR8189

Pataki won't fly in the south. As a RINO it is pretty hard to capture the white house without the South.
There isn't three voters here in the south that would vote for this boob that aren't transplanted new yorkers.


5 posted on 07/30/2005 3:18:33 AM PDT by Joe Boucher (An enemy of Islam)
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To: Joe Boucher

I don' t think it's fair to call Pataki a boob. He's a smart guy - someone who got into Yale on his own merits. And he's quick on the uptake. I wouldn't exactly call him a RINO either. He came into office with a real desire to lower taxes and reduce regulation, and one of his first moves was to get NY's death penalty statute enacted.

That said, somewhere during his tenure he lost his fervor and became more interested in getting re-elected than in doing much with the office. And I do agree that he stands no realistic chance of winning the GOP nomination.


6 posted on 07/30/2005 4:07:58 AM PDT by governsleastgovernsbest
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To: RWR8189

Never overestimate Al D'Amato. He is just a doofus.


7 posted on 07/30/2005 4:33:02 AM PDT by montag813
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To: RWR8189
Yes Pataki cameout of nowhere in 1994.I should know. My firm produced 15 radio ads and 2 TV ads for his fledgling campaign,focusing primarily on the death penalty. I also produced an ad attacking Giuliani for endorsing Cuomo as a quid pro quo for getting more cash aid for New York City (that ad really helped Pataki in the suburbs).

It felt good to have a big impact on a campaign like that. But unfortunately, I could never again help Mr Pataki in good conscience. Firstly, the restoration of the death penalty, which was our primary campaign theme against Cuomo, has become a farce. There is effectively no death penalty in New York, and Pataki has shown zero leadership to fill the judicial and legislative void.

And on abortion, the Pataki situation is appalling, and not just because he himself is pro-abortion. When I met his wife Libby, she seemed a gracious and decent woman. But she has since revealed herself as a gruesomely vigorous supporter of abortion. Libby Pataki has herself or with others,participated in fund raisers that have raised over $14 million for Planned Parenthood and NARAL. This is not a "women's rights issue". These are the lobbying groups for a giant industry that slaughters children. Libby Pataki's zeal in funding abortionists has made it impossible for me to even consider helping her husband ever again.

8 posted on 07/30/2005 4:43:31 AM PDT by montag813
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To: montag813

Wrong again. Al D'Amato was a very, very shrewd politician in his day, an excellent tactician, and now he's one of the wealthiest lobbyists in the New York area. He may be a lot of things, but "doofus" is not one of them.


9 posted on 07/30/2005 4:49:36 AM PDT by Deo et Patria (Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori.)
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To: Deo et Patria
Wrong again. Al D'Amato was a very, very shrewd politician in his day, an excellent tactician, and now he's one of the wealthiest lobbyists in the New York area. He may be a lot of things, but "doofus" is not one of them.

Yeah, but he was also always a doofus. The Claudia Cohen "I'm in love" press conference, the Judge Ito impersonations, the "Old MacDonald" signing on the Senate floor.

10 posted on 07/30/2005 5:00:30 AM PDT by montag813
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To: RWR8189

Pataki has no chance in hell. The Republicans in NY don't like him, so why would anyone else?


11 posted on 07/30/2005 5:15:28 AM PDT by GnL
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To: Joe Boucher

Pataki won't fly in his home state! It'll be my first presidential election in 2008, and I'm not casting my vote on the most liberal backstabbing antimoral timid appeasing hack of a 'Republican' I've ever had the immense pleasure of being governed by.


12 posted on 07/30/2005 5:19:35 AM PDT by RedBeaconNY (Dulce et decorum est, pro patria mori)
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To: RWR8189

Al, you're on drugs.


13 posted on 07/30/2005 5:19:59 AM PDT by jmaroneps37 (The ratmedia: always eager to remind us of why we hate them.)
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To: governsleastgovernsbest
Let Pataki, then, do us all a favor and win a US Senate seat in 2006. That'll really devastate the Dems.
14 posted on 07/30/2005 5:23:26 AM PDT by dufekin (US Senate: the only place where the majority [D] comprises fewer than the minority [R])
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To: RedBeaconNY

Another 3-time Pataki voter here who has no love for the guy. He has no chance. Period.

George Allen 2008.


15 posted on 07/30/2005 5:29:03 AM PDT by Jhensy
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To: Deo et Patria

I always had a lot of respect for Al D'Amato, actually. I almost puked wheh "Up Chuck" Schumer beat him. I really thought Al would whoop him and we'd be rid of Chuckie once and for all. Too bad it didn't work out that way.


16 posted on 07/30/2005 5:34:38 AM PDT by Hardastarboard
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To: dufekin

I don't think Pataki would have a chance against Hillary. I very much doubt he will ever be elected to another office.


17 posted on 07/30/2005 6:04:14 AM PDT by governsleastgovernsbest
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To: RWR8189

That's Gapetto talking, you understand.


18 posted on 07/30/2005 6:09:30 AM PDT by PzLdr ("The Emperor is not as forgiving as I am" - Darth Vader)
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To: RWR8189
Dear "former Senator Alfonse M. D'Amato"

Note to from Republican presidential primary candidates voters: George Pataki wouldn't, no CAN'T, win one primary.

Also "Al" buy a clue. Pataki has the personality of drying paint, and that's his 'good point'. And "Al" a NE liberal will never win the WH, even if he calls himself a republican.

19 posted on 07/30/2005 6:16:09 AM PDT by Condor51 (Leftists are moral and intellectual parasites - Standing Wolf)
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To: RedBeaconNY

Come on now Red, don't hang back. Tell us how you really feel about this putz Pataki.


20 posted on 07/30/2005 8:03:22 AM PDT by Joe Boucher (An enemy of Islam)
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