Quinn Switches Sides
GOP consultant and former state GOP Executive Director Brendan Quinn, who was involved in the state Republican Party’s efforts to keep U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Az, off New York’s presidential primary ballot in 2000, confirmed he is now working for McCain and setting up his Empire State campaign for the ‘08 election.
Quinn said he is currently employed as a consultant and has no title, although a formal announcement of a more delinated role may soon be in the offing.
Among McCain’s other New York supporters is former U.S. Sen. Alfonse D’Amato, Quinn said.
There are ironies on top of ironies here.
First of all, Quinn’s work for McCain makes him diametrically opposed to his former boss, ex-state GOP Chairman Bill Powers, who was tapped last week to serve the New York co-chair of former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s presidential campaign.
Powers was chairman when the party was working on behalf of then-Texas Gov. George Bush to keep McCain off New York’s ballot (they eventually gave up; Bush won anyway).
Powers and Giuliani clashed in 1994 when the then-mayor bucked the then-chair to endorse former Democratic Gov. Mario Cuomo instead of backing the Republican candidate hand-picked by Powers and D’Amato: Then-state Sen. George Pataki, who appeared recently at an event in Manhattan with McCain.
Quinn said he’s had a change of heart about McCain because he doesn’t think Rudy can “get to the primary.”
“When you start looking at things that Republican base voters care about - abortion, gay marriage, family values - I don’t think you find Rudy in sync with those values,” Quinn said.
