Posted on 12/01/2009 10:15:08 AM PST by LdSentinal
As far as defeating McCarthy is concerned, it is doable, if there is low turnout on the Dem side. While the district has seen some demographic changes since the 1990s, let alone the 80s (especially in Valley Stream and Elmont in the SW part of the district, which are now essentially an extension of SE Queens demographically), the biggest voting bloc are still white "Catholics", who can swing toward the GOP depending on how the political winds blow. There is also a growing Asian (especially Korean) christian population in the NW part of the district, but the GOP has done little to make inroads among this affluent group (who also have high rates of voter turnout).
It was run by high tax, often corrupt RINOs for most of its history. As the national party moved to the right, Nassau moved to the left in the 1990s, with registered Dems now outnumbering registered Repulicans since 1996.
Do you agree with my point: The GOP can win in the Northeast but do not expect the Politicians to be strict Conservatives.
Most Republicans in the northeast have been "socially progressive" for at least as long as I can remember. Basically, the main areas that the GOP on Long Island distinguished themselves from the Dems when I was young were opposition to bussing and low income housing (big issues in the 1970s and 1980s), a stronger stance on law and order, and (in rhetoric, though often NOT in practice) lower spending. They were indistinguishable from the Democrats on other core issues (gun control, taxation, unions, support for public schools, etc.) and were not free market libertarians.
My main issue with NY Republicans in the past is their inability to hold down spending and property taxes, and their tendency towards patronage and coziness with the public employee unions once in power. I would never expect them to act like Texas Republicans, but I do expect better fiscal responsibility and more backbone when dealing with organized labor. The squishiness of the NY GOP is a key reason why the state is a fiscal basket case.
Irrespective of whether we can retake the NY-04 in 2010, we need to take back the state senate (and, hopefully, the govermorship as well) so that the black-majority NY-06 is extended from Queens into black areas in Nassau (at least to take in black parts of Hempstead village) and the NY-04 becomes a more Republican district.
Maybe we should run a Korean-American from the private sector against McCarthy ?
How about a *Catholic* Korean-American from the private sector?
thanks, bfl
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