|
|
Posted by Sid9 on 06/02/06 03:34
June 2, 2006
News Analysis
Republicans Fear Waning Political Fortunes
By MICHAEL COOPER
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y., June 1
-- Twelve years ago, when they gathered at their state convention,
Republicans were so hungry to retake the governorship that party bosses led
by Senator Alfonse M. D'Amato brokered a deal to spare George E. Pataki a
primary against his fiercest opponent.
But when the Republicans met here on Thursday to choose a new candidate for
governor, the party found itself dispirited and deeply divided. Last-minute
efforts by Governor Pataki, a lame duck, and other party leaders to avoid a
potentially damaging primary fell apart. And the leadership's favored
candidate for governor, William F. Weld, finished a distant second, earning
a spot on the primary ballot but failing in his bid to be the party's
designee.
It was a largely gloomy gathering, except for the rambunctious partisans of
John Faso, a former assemblyman who pulled off an upset when he became the
party's designee with 61 percent of the vote. If the Democrats seemed to
taste victory at their gathering in Buffalo earlier this week and let their
excitement spill over at their many breakfasts and receptions and parties,
many Republicans here said privately that they feared their 12-year run of
good fortune was coming to an end. Empty chairs pocked many of their events.
Many Republicans, from state senators to consultants to county chairmen to a
former Pataki administration official, said privately that some of the blame
lay with Governor Pataki. They used phrases like "train wreck" to describe
the party and "lack of leadership" to describe the governor's stewardship of
it.
Anthony Scannapieco Jr., the Republican chairman of Putnam County, where the
governor lives, lamented: "The governor lay back for a long time. I don't
know where his thoughts were, maybe they were in Washington, but he lay back
for a long time."
Robert Smith, the chairman of the Onondaga Republican Party, complained that
the state party chairman, Stephen J. Minarik III, had tried to foist the
Weld candidacy on the rank and file. "I feel abandoned by the hierarchy of
our party," said Mr. Smith, a Faso supporter. "I think this is a complete
testament to the leadership of Mr. Minarik."
Governor Pataki, for his part, tried to rally the troops Tuesday afternoon.
He showed the convention a glitzy, campaign-style video about himself
(complete with images of the twin towers burning) and tried to make the case
that the Republicans could run on his record and win.
"We are in the process of putting together a great ticket," he said in a
speech, as some delegates drifted out of the Hofstra Arena. "We have a
record that people can run on, because this is a better state than it was 12
years ago."
But the candidates running to succeed Governor Pataki painted a bleak view
of the state of the state after 12 years under him. While Mr. Faso praised
the governor's leadership, both he and Mr. Weld complained in speeches that
New Yorkers were leaving the state in record numbers, that taxes were too
high and that the state spent too much.
And Mr. Weld, stressing his independence and outsider status, said, "I
haven't cut secret deals with Dennis Rivera, or Randi Weingarten or the
trial lawyers lobby," referring to two union leaders who endorsed Governor
Pataki in 2002 and an organization that recently contributed $50,000 to his
national committee.
It got so bad that J. Christopher Callaghan, the party's nominee for
comptroller, found himself insisting "I detect a pulse" from the stage and
delivering a mild rebuke. "We've gone from blaming Democrats to blaming each
other," he said. "I've got a hunch this is not a winning strategy."
Even the setting of the convention, Long Island, was a reminder of how bad
things have gotten for Republicans in New York. The Democrats took over
Nassau and Suffolk County governments this year for what party officials say
is the first time. Since Mr. Pataki took office in 1994, he has been the
only Republican elected to a statewide post. And statewide, Democrats have
seen their edge in voter registration grow by 600,000 votes over the past
decade, according to Board of Elections figures.
"It's like Dutch elm disease," said Nelson Warfield, a Republican strategist
who was Bob Dole's press secretary in 1996. "The great Republican trees are
dying."
He continued: "In the last dozen years, the Republican Party has largely
become all about Pataki. The governor never focused on trying to establish a
farm team within the party, and now, as his era ends, it is apparent that
the party has not prospered under him."
This week party leaders made a last-ditch attempt to avoid a primary by
trying to broker a Weld-Faso ticket. Mr. Faso rejected their bid to have him
step aside and run for lieutenant governor instead.
After all, Mr. Faso had stepped aside once before. In 1994, he was persuaded
to pull out of the comptroller's race so Herbert London, who was popular
with Conservatives, could campaign for that post instead of challenging Mr.
Pataki in a bid for governor. There was no such deal this year.
Some tried to adopt a philosophical tone. "Ebb and flow, ebb and flow," said
James Ortenzio, the Manhattan chairman, who supports Mr. Weld. "Twelve
years, and the other party has some energy, has some vigor. But I think we
need this. I think this is required revamping. Catharsis can occur. Don't
know."
*Had Enough*?
*Had enough Republican lies*?
*Had enough Republican immorality*?
*Had enough Republican corruption*?
*Had enough Republican bad judgment*?
*Had enough Republican incompetence*?
*Had enough Republican fear mongering*?
*Had enough Republican unnecessary war*?
*Had enough Republican high fuel prices*?
*Had enough Republican false religiosity*?
*Had enough Republican secret government*?
*Had enough Republican illegal surveillance*?
*Had enough Republican financial mismanagement*?
"...*reality has a well-known liberal bias*",...*Colbert*
*Had Enough*? *Vote Democratic*
Navigation:
[Reply to this message]
|