| Highlights from the story below.
The Buffalo News: The Editorial Board: As Zeldin observes a hard fact about this state, Hochul tutors him on the reason
By The Editorial Board, 6/19/22
[…] The problem for the [Republican] party – and the public – is, as Hochul described it: Republicans have been poor competitors. The party has made itself unwelcome in large parts of New York, as the Democrats’ vast advantage in members documents.
What is more, it has done little over the past four years to demonstrate its willingness to adjust. Instead, it has doubled down on policies meant to widen divisions, foster animosities and discourage the possibilities of compromise. It’s not what a functioning democracy demands.
[…] “They had their chance to compete in the open marketplace of politics, but their ideas did not win the day,” she [Governor Hochul] said. “There’s a competition for ideas and values, and that’s why Democrats are winning,” she added. She’s right – at least, so far.
[…] The New York Republican Party leadership is ignoring the warning signs. It refuses to acknowledge the reasonable adjustments it could make to appeal to voters and, if anything, is tramping further into the wilderness.
High-profile candidates not only ignore, but reject the facts of the January 2021 insurrection in Washington, D.C. One well-known congressional candidate, Carl Paladino, promotes vile conspiracy theories about the mass murders in Buffalo and Uvalde, Texas, and then is discovered to have praised Adolf Hitler for his ability to excite a crowd. Rep. Elise Stefanik, the No. 3 Republican House leader, nonetheless endorses him.
The nation and its states require responsible, functioning parties for our adversarial system to thrive. Without it, the democratically necessary function of the opposition is compromised, if not corrupted. It certainly has been in New York, where Republicans have made themselves sufficiently unwelcome to lose all statewide power, giving Democrats a free hand.
[…] The Republican Party should be working to expand its influence, offering conservative solutions to the concerns of New Yorkers, not just stoking anger in its base. It isn’t doing that and the risk is that this blue state will continue pushing it to the sidelines, to everyone’s detriment.
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