Bob at News Copy New Yorklamented the Republicans' loss of the 24th Congressional District. We had a bit to say about that, and reprint it here:
The Republicans should have won this, but they lost the confidence of their rank and file -- at least this one in Oneida County.
They abandoned their base. Tax cuts were replaced with a myriad of fees and mandates to local government levels. Instead of attacking the root cause of New York's economic decline (the high cost of doing business) they threw money at particular industry clusters such as nanotech -- essentially rewarding those industries at the expense of all others -- exacerbating the burden that drives people and jobs away. The initial crop of professional grade agency appointees of the mid 90s were eventually sent packing to be replaced by know-nothing hacks who could be dictated to. Promises of state development in the Utica area (Center for Brownfields Studies, Homeland Security Center, etc.) either did not occur at all or were only hollow shells of what the public had been told. Now we have to face the prospect of a powerline running through our midst that will blot our landscape, decrease our property values, harm our health (or at least our peace of mind) and RAISE our already non-competitive electric rates which consume a greater share of our incomes than the rates of the down staters it will serve. The line is the direct result of the current administration's failure to implement an energy policy that would require (or at least encourage) generation nearest the point of consumption.
Mr. Meier and many other Republicans did not get elected or reelected because the Party became more oriented to the personal advancement of its top honchos and their buddies than the good of the People in general. Proof in point: NO succession plan by the current governor.
The Republicans should have won this, but they lost the confidence of their rank and file -- at least this one in Oneida County.
They abandoned their base. Tax cuts were replaced with a myriad of fees and mandates to local government levels. Instead of attacking the root cause of New York's economic decline (the high cost of doing business) they threw money at particular industry clusters such as nanotech -- essentially rewarding those industries at the expense of all others -- exacerbating the burden that drives people and jobs away. The initial crop of professional grade agency appointees of the mid 90s were eventually sent packing to be replaced by know-nothing hacks who could be dictated to. Promises of state development in the Utica area (Center for Brownfields Studies, Homeland Security Center, etc.) either did not occur at all or were only hollow shells of what the public had been told. Now we have to face the prospect of a powerline running through our midst that will blot our landscape, decrease our property values, harm our health (or at least our peace of mind) and RAISE our already non-competitive electric rates which consume a greater share of our incomes than the rates of the down staters it will serve. The line is the direct result of the current administration's failure to implement an energy policy that would require (or at least encourage) generation nearest the point of consumption.
Mr. Meier and many other Republicans did not get elected or reelected because the Party became more oriented to the personal advancement of its top honchos and their buddies than the good of the People in general. Proof in point: NO succession plan by the current governor.
It's enough to make one Republican turn Democrat!