Get Out The Vote

Letter To Status Quo Politicians: It Is Just Beginning

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NY GOP Did Not Support Rob Astorino & Chris Moss;                  Did GOP Collude with Cuomo to Defeat its Own Candidates?

NY GOP Now Appeals for Grassroots Support;                            Another Reason for Change in Albany Status Quo

The New York State Republican Party virtually ignored Rob Astorino and Chris Moss, its very own candidates for Governor and Lieutenant Governor.

Despite reportedly having a $13 million campaign “war chest,” little or none of it went to support its own candidates for the state’s highest office.

Insiders say the multi-million dollar war chest and lack of GOP support for Astorino/Moss is not widely known.  Even back in July, however, the New York Post editorialized with this headline:

The New York Senate GOP stiffs Rob Astorino (July 21, 2014)       http://nypost.com/2014/07/21/the-new-york-senate-gop-stiffs-rob-astorino/

In September, The Journal News published this:

[Senator Dean] Skelos says he supports Astorino; doesn’t say how
The Journal News, Sept. 30, 2014
http://www.lohud.com/story/news/politics/politics-on-the-hudson/2014/09/30/skelos-says-he-supports-astorino-doesnt-say-how/16480279/

After the election, the cat came all of the way out of the bag:

Cuomo had a secret re-election ‘pact’ with Republicans                                                                  New York Post, November 10, 2014                                                 http://nypost.com/2014/11/10/cuomo-had-a-secret-re-election-pact-with-republicans/

All of this raises questions of how much the GOP contributed to its own defeat in the governor’s race; and did Republican Senator Dean Skelos collude with Governor Cuomo to defeat GOP candidates?  Skelos is “the highest-ranking Republican official in state government,” according to his bio, and represents Senate District 9. 

Read this November letter from Don Smith of Ontario, New York, to Ed Cox, Chairman of the New York State GOP.

It is a “shaming” letter to status quo politicians who think they are entitled to get support even when they don’t give it.  And it is very direct.

Don Smith, who wrote the letter is a grassroots leader, who crisscrossed more counties than I can count to energize and mobilize the vote.  Thoughtful and always helpful to others, Don was recognized with a Distinguished Service Award from the Shooters Committee On Political Education (SCOPE).    As Susan Maressa of SCOPE said of Don:  “He’s a little power house.”

 Don Smith’s letter to the New York GOP

Dear Mr. Cox:

You must be kidding! The GOP deserted Rob Astorino and Chris Moss and you expect we Republicans to support you?  What have you been smoking?

I voted for no (as in zero) Republicans.  I voted for Astorino and Moss on the Common Core line and my other choices were all on the Conservative line except for my own so-called representatives Senator Nozzolio and Assemblyman Oaks.  I voted for neither of them.

I am fed up with the GOP.  Your friend [NYS Senator Dean] Skelos (sometimes spelled C-u-o-m-o) was responsible for the unSAFE act. You couldn’t bother to fund the Astorino campaign but you and your GOP friends had the audacity to spend $75,000 in Erie County to run a smear campaign against the Democratic candidate.

Why?  So you could support another RINO, Mark Grisanti, who also voted for the unSAFE act. He got what he deserved in the primary election but you went to bat for him anyway and abandoned the real Republican candidate in that race.  [Kevin Stocker “trounced” Grisanti in the Republican Primary on Sept. 9.]  How many more monies did you literally burn that could have provided us with a real governor?

While we are on the topic of money, what do you and your Republican friends plan to do with the $13 million you stashed away here in NY?  (Excuse me, it’s a bit less. I almost forgot the $75,000 you spent on behalf of Grisanti.)  Nozzolio and Oaks and others didn’t need the money. They had no opponents again, and again, and again.

BTW, the only reason I am remaining a registered Republican (God, I can hardly type the word) is to be able to run some likewise derelict Republicans out of Town office next Fall in the primaries.

Many dedicated New York citizens spent a good deal of time and their own funds to support Rob Astorino.  He was a truly viable candidate who might well have replaced a man who has absolutely no respect for those of us in Upstate NY.  

The Republicans clearly abandoned any pretense of support for Mr. Astorino and Mr. Moss. You and the rest of your ‘allies’ are a disgrace to the Republican party and consequently you, sir, should resign your post. 

Donald H. Smith

Energize & Mobilize for Nov. 4

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It would be supremely ironic if liberal Democrats suppressed their own vote with their “Can’t Beat Cuomo” mantra.  One indicator is the 10% voter participation rate in the Dem’s hotly contested primary on September 9 between Governor Andrew Cuomo and his challenger Fordham University Law Professor Zephyr Teachout.

This was a contest where the Democrats’ War On Women was on full display.  Mr. Cuomo reportedly spent millions from his war chest to shut down Teachout’s candidacy — including two legal challenges and his refusal to debate (fear?).  Voter participation rates in primary elections are said to be traditionally low — but 10% in a race that had so much energy around it?

This “very low-turnout primary win” was noted elsewhere.  For example, Capital New York, a political news and commentary website, said (emphasis added):

“While voter turnout is often low in a primary race in New York State, especially when the contest isn’t expected to be close, as was the case with Cuomo’s race against Zephyr Teachout, political scientists said the numbers from Tuesday night were particularly abysmal.                          Link:  http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/albany/2014/09/8552295/cuomos-very-low-turnout-primary-win

Meanwhile, on the grassroots trail, I and colleague Don Smith have been working to energize and mobilize voters from several counties including Chautauqua, Cattauragus, Wayne, Seneca and Ontario.

 

Face-to-face with grassroots.

Face-to-face with grassroots.

As we give these presentations across counties, anecdotes are encouraging.  In Wayne County, for example,  two persons approached me after the presentation.  One told of a friend, described as a RINO (Republican In Name Only) with unpredictable voting patterns, who had attended our presentation in Ontario County.

The RINO told this gentleman that not only will he and his wife vote for Astorino/Moss, but they each will get four others persons to the polls on Nov. 4.

Another gentleman told me he helped five individuals fill out their voter registration forms and he will take them to the polls to vote on Nov. 4.

At yet another gathering in Chautauqua County, a member of the audience told with good humor of how he discovered to his astonishment that his 80-year-old mom revealed she was not registered to vote.  Being a good son, he helped her register and promised to take her to the polls on Nov. 4.

Last month I helped two friends fill out their voter registration forms — a married couple.  He said he had never voted and she hadn’t voted for more than 20 years.  I called him this week to see if they received their post cards from the county elections bureau.  He was in a tree stand — oops! I said, I’ll hang up now; but he said, “No, the traffic is low!”  He confirmed that he received his card and it was in his wallet as we spoke.  They, like so many we’ve talked with, are energized and mobilized to get out the vote.

Perhaps these are small anecdotes but they speak to a level of energy out there, including among folks who have not voted or are not regular voters.

The message is clear: we cannot afford to be among the 2/3rds who don’t vote if we want to take back our political freedom and put an end to the corruption, name calling and flight of citizens and businesses from New York State.  Issues range from the unSAFE Act (and more to come), Common Core, Taxes, pay-to-play politics and more.

If you want your vote to make a difference — this is the year!

 

Do The Arithmetic – We Can Win On Nov. 4

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If We Get Off Our Seats & Vote

Vote for Rob Astorino & Chris Moss

Do the arithmetic — the numbers are on our side:

  • There are 15 million eligible voters in NYS — but less than 1/3rd vote
  • Gunowners cannot afford to be among the 2/3rds who don’t vote!
  • 6 million gunowners in NYS means there are more gunowners than total NYS citizens who vote (4.6 million in the last 2010 gubernatorial election).
  • Want your vote to make a difference?  This is the year!
  • No excuses — everyone must vote.

US News & World Report said:

“Astorino has the issues on his side … and Andrew Cuomo is even more out of touch than Mario Cuomo ….”  (July 14, 2014)  Link:  http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/peter-roff/2014/07/14/republican-rob-astorino-can-win-in-new-york-against-govandrew-cuomo