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Post-Election Thoughts

The results of th 2006 elections sends a message to the Republican Party both on a National level and on a New York State level.

On the National level, American expressed disappointment towards the President's handling of the Iraq War. The Republican Party had expected to lose some races in Congress, but not as many as we did. Some political journalists, such as Joel Mowbray suggest losing the 2006 Elections isn't necessarily be a bad thing for the Republican Party, as long as we regroup and reform a strong message by 2008. What that message is has yet to be presented, but it should be something similar to the "Contract with America" presented by Rep. Newt Gingrich in 1994.

On the State level, the Republican Party was doomed to start, because the current state party leader (Gov. George Pataki) squandered any hope of grooming strong party leaders for this election cycle.

2007 will be an interesting year for the New York State GOP. As I continue to become more and more involved in the party, I see how the powerbrokers tug and pull the party every-which way, but the one way they aren't pulling is the path towards victory. Will we begin to see a buzz begin in areas across the state? Will the party select its targets of challenging weak incumbents so we can begin seeing a rebirth of the party?

I would hope that many of the candidates we had run this year will start planning a run in 2008. After the holidays, candidates like Joseph Savino and Robert Heim should begin their run for 2008. Republicans won't win if their candidacies start in May 2008. We'll see what happens.

When January 1, 2007 comes, the two most powerful Republicans of New York will be Majority Leader, Sen. Joseph Bruno and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Not the greatest picture for a party looking to return to significance.

by Daniel Peterson, Monday, Nov. 13 | Permalink