Posted on 08/11/2005 1:15:59 PM PDT by areafiftyone
Edward Cox, the Manhattan lawyer and son-in-law of the late President Richard Nixon, said Thursday he is not leaving the race for the Republican nomination to challenge Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's re-election bid next year.
``We're going to stay in this race,'' vowed Cox just one day after Jeanine Pirro, the Westchester County district attorney and apparent favorite of many party leaders, formally announced her candidacy.
``We'll support whoever the Republican nominee is, but we expect to be that nominee,'' Cox told The Associated Press.
Meanwhile, another prospective GOP challenger, former Yonkers Mayor John Spencer, told an Albany radio station he was also not quitting and was ready to go to a September 2006 Republican primary, if necessary.
``I'm staying in the race and I expect to get the Conservative (Party) line,'' Spencer told WROW-AM.
No Republican has won statewide office in New York without Conservative Party support since 1974.
Spencer said he could envision a scenario where Pirro could wind up as the Republican candidate while he would be on the Conservative Party line.
``I'll split the two liberals,'' Spencer said, referring to Pirro and Clinton.
``That would be the worst-case scenario, but it is an interesting scenario,'' he added.
Pirro's past support for abortion and gay rights, including her advocacy of civil unions, has not endeared her to state Conservative Party Chairman Michael Long.
Cox told the AP that in a conversation with Republican Gov. George Pataki in February, the governor had told him there were only two real candidates for the Senate nomination, Cox and Pirro. Pataki said Cox was the best Senate candidate, Nixon's son-in-law told the AP.
There was no immediate comment Thursday from Pataki.
Cox, like Spencer, said Pirro's candidacy was doomed to fail because she would not be able to bring the Conservative Party around. Cox, who said he is anti-abortion, predicted he could do that.
Cox and Pirro have both said that, in the end, they do not expect a Republican primary.
Cox, who is married to Patricia ``Tricia'' Nixon, told the AP that polling he has done found that his relationship to the late president was not a liability with New York voters. Tuesday was the 31st anniversary of Nixon's resignation from the presidency over the Watergate scandal.
While Cox and Spencer were vowing to stay in the race, Pirro was on Day 2 of a three-day announcement tour with stops in Rochester, Syracuse and in southern Saratoga County where she was to meet with some area county GOP leaders.
Also eyeing the GOP nomination is William Brenner, a tax attorney from Sullivan County.
This guy doesn't know what he is doing. Jeanine Pirro is the greatest and most popular Republican in the country, and the savior of the party. She easily surpasses Reagan in popularity on this site.
Talk about ones cajones 'headin south!
On a funny side note, Norm McDonald did a perfect imitation of Bob Dole when he was on Saturday Night Live.
Edward Cox ping.
Yes, especially in the Halloween episode. Scary - - but then, so is Bob Dole (at least to a conservative like me who finds unprincipled RINOs scary)
Pretty much what I heard on the radio a couple of days ago, and how Pataki liked Cox, etc, etc.
You know AC, between you and me, neither of them is going to win. Let's face it, my State doesn't have enough conservatives to beat the Liberals. I feel like crying, but it's the truth. So what do we do? We hope a Republican would come along, put up a fight and just make our adversary spend money,... just make the life of our adversary a bit difficult, that's all. However, we all know he/she won't win. Isn't that sad? Now, I'm crying.
Neither Pirro nor Cox have whatever they supposed to have to beat a freaking Liberal like Clinton, yet so many jump and gloat at the idea that a quasi-liberal -Pirro- is going to win. Forget about it! My point here is that at least Cox doesn't have all the baggage Pirro has, thus the embarrassment and negative jokes will be less. What the heck, they're both losers. If I had to pick a looser, I would pick the guy who'd embarrass me the least.
(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)
(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)
yeah, sounds familiar, like when Hillary said, "we are the president." Ugh!
It's much better for a woman to run against Hillary. It removes a gigantic sympathy factor for her. And by the way, who in the race is more accomplished. Just check out Pirro's website. What has Hillary done? Yeah, you guessed it.
New York state is the exception. I'd be glad to vote for a RINO over a socialist Dem if I lived in NY (thank God I don't).
Nobody knows Cox, he's wishy washy, Hillary would beat him from day 1, and he should just fold right now.
Pirro isn't perfect, but she IS the best person to run against Hillary.
However, Pirro may end up being the best candidate to run against Hillary -- if nothing more than for the simple purpose of doing a lot of damage to Hillary's superficial attributes. The one thing that Pirro is capable of is doing a lot of damage to Hillary's "aura" as a major player on the national scene. As soon as Pirro made her announcement I suggested that her primary role in the 2006 campaign is to make Hillary look like a faded, worn-out bag of wind.
As Victoria has said, the odds of either Pirro or Cox winning in a Marxist state like New York are pretty slim. I think it really comes down to this -- are we more concerned about a candidate's political "purity," or are we looking at this race simply for its entertainment value? One way or another, the New York GOP ought to get its house in order and avoid a primary battle at all costs.
The parallels between this race and the Gray Davis recall election in California are pretty remarkable. In that race you had a stronger conservative candidate (McClintock) running against a RINO-type Republican (Schwarzeneggar) who stood a much better chance of winning in a liberal state.
And speaking of BAGGAGE, I'm predicting that we've only begun to scratch the surface of Pirro's.
She is indeed a "Republican In Name Only" at least as to what the national Republican party holds as their ideals. She's pro-gay marriage, anti-gun, pro-abortion. As for the rest of your statement I agree 110%.
If Cox learned anything from Nixon, it should be how to HIT your opponents. For example, RFK in 1968 and George Wallace in 1972. Who knows what happened to JFK since Nixon wasn't running in 1964.
Ed Cox has never held a political office. His father-in-law absolutely IS fodder for Hillary and she is salivating to use every antipathy she has had for Nixon, for decades, against him. It's guilt by association/marriage. And he's mealymouthed; not to mention the fact that he has NO idea how to campaign. No man, NO MAN, not even Rudy, can effectively run against Hillary and THAT is her secret weapon.
There is far more of a chance of Pirro unseating, even making Hillary leave the race, than any other person, alive or dead. And even should Pirro lose, she will have bloodied Hillary badly and RUINED her on a national level.
Does Pirro have baggage? Yes, her creepy husband. But, and this really is a huge BUT, Hillary's spouse is even worse! And then, there is the fact that as DA, Pirro is well known and respected for sending rapists and wife beaters to jail. She understand that kind of man.
There are all kinds of Republicans...most of them NOT of RINO status. But, even IF Pirro is a RINO, if elected, she would vote for the president's judicial nominees, with him on tax cuts/ending the death taxes, his Social Security plans, etc.! Hillary won't. And one more GOP Senator IS something we all should work for.
Whatever, I'm not going to split hairs over the definition of a slang term. She's not the perfect conservative Republican, but I do hope she creams Hitlery.
Pirro is an excellent debator, has tons of self confidence and has actualy accomplishments unlike Hillary.
A debate will be very interesting.
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