There are random murders taking place on our streets. People are being robbed and mugged. New York is flooded with illegal immigrants from around the world without background checks. Anti-Jewish assaults are at a record-breaking high. Prices on all types of items, as we head into yom tov, have doubled or tripled. Your 401(k) account is worth 40% less than its value a year ago.
But you think everything is OK and are planning to vote for Democrats like Chuck Schumer and Kathy Hochul in a few weeks. There’s something wrong.
Voting straight down the line for Republicans may not be the best answer either, but it will provide New York with some relief until we can get a handle on this deterioration into horrible violence and absolute chaos.
The only thing Democrats have going for them this year is how adept and proficient they have become at deceiving you. As far as Democrats are concerned, fooling you is good politics, and as long as it gets them elected, they did the right thing.
It is difficult to understand how the leftist Democrat Party minds work. My best estimation is that they view murders on our streets and subways as a tradeoff or a way of rationalizing why someone who commits a heinous crime should be treated differently and be released without bail if they cannot afford to post bond.
This was the big idea of former State Senator Todd Kaminsky who was defeated last year in the race to be elected Nassau County DA. Kaminsky is a good and well-meaning person, but his values and priorities were misplaced, and he just didn’t get it, so the voters sent him packing. He lost in a landslide to Anne Donnelly, who is now the DA in Nassau County.
Let’s look at the governor’s race here in New York. Kathy Hochul, the unelected incumbent, shares a political philosophy similar to Mr. Kaminsky’s. I say similar instead of the same because her political outlook is worse and more damaging than any position held by Kaminsky.
Ms. Hochul lives in fear of the liberal leftists in both the state senate and the assembly in Albany. New York needs a jolt, and the election of Lee Zeldin as governor would deliver exactly that type of blow to the complacent and confident Democrat officials who believe that abusing New Yorkers is their right.
In Washington, Democrats like Senator Joe Manchin have said that the recent passage of the $800 billion Inflation Reduction Act had nothing to do with reducing inflation. It was all about funding for climate change, which may not even exist. It was misnamed in order to fool you, and it did.
In the aftermath of the Board of Regents voting to just about take down yeshivas in the state, we need a strong stand against the arrogance of Democrat leaders in the state, and that begins at the governor’s office.
I’ve spoken to Democrat elected representatives in Albany, and while the race looks closer than anyone is willing to admit, Democrat elected officials are at best uncertain about which way this race is going to go.
The Democrats’ claim that Hochul is 15–20% ahead in the polls is part of the party consultants’ deceptive way of manipulating supporters of Republican candidate Lee Zeldin not to vote. The idea is to make you believe that since New York is so overwhelmingly Democrat, your vote—even though you plan to vote for Zeldin—will not matter because the numbers are so one-sided and there is just no hope for a Republican in New York.
(Marc A. Hermann / MTA)
But we’ve been down this road before here in New York—in the November 1994 gubernatorial elections. In that election, Mario Cuomo, who had already served three terms as governor, was seeking a fourth term. Heading into the election, the pollsters said it was impossible for the otherwise obscure George Pataki to beat their popular incumbent and that Cuomo had a 12%-point lead heading into Election Day.
On Election Day, the margin was tight—but in the end Pataki won 48% of the vote to 46% for Mr. Cuomo.
Today things are dramatically different. Governor Hochul is presiding over a disaster in New York. Her predecessor, Andrew Cuomo, was run out of office for harassing female employees of New York State. And more important, crime is raging out of control all over the state but especially in New York City.
Most pathetic is that Governor Hochul can do something to keep New Yorkers safer but refuses to do so. In order to attempt to reassure possible re-election, she has to pander to those that feel that it is racist to lock up a person until he or she stands trial and is properly judged.
Are there inadequacies in our justice system? Is there some type of imbalance? Certainly there might be room for improvement—everything can always be improved—but in the meantime, while the elite elected class is experimenting, people like FDNY Lieutenant Alison Russo-Elling, who stepped out of her office for a sandwich, was butchered on the streets of Long Island City. As for her murderer? “Keep him in jail,” exhorted the flyers left amid the flowers and candles at Russo-Elling’s memorial.
You’ve seen the name DA Alvin Bragg of New York County in print often. He’s the man mostly responsible for turning dangerous people back out on the street after they’ve committed serious crimes. Congressman Lee Zeldin, who is running for governor, will terminate Mr. Bragg’s position on his first day in office.
Do you need to check on the price of eggs or how your IRA account is doing before you decide who to vote for? How about just voting for saving the lives of innocent people like Lt. Russo-Elling who walked out of her office to get lunch at one o’clock in the afternoon?
Are you going to vote to reelect Letitia James as attorney general? What a mistake that would be. Ms. James’s only campaign promise was to come after, indict, and convict Donald Trump and his family. She found someone whom she wanted to be a criminal; now all she had to do was find a crime. She’s still working on that, and a byproduct of that is that she has neglected just about everything else that an AG should be doing.
And no, this is not about Donald Trump. Contrary to what you may be concluding as you read this, I do not believe that Donald Trump should run for president again in 2024. The Republican Party has excellent and relatively youthful talent that can work on righting and leading this county out of the Democrat and Biden quagmire.
Also, by the way, on November 1 there will be another election in Israel. The right is primed to do very well and once again lead Israel in a good and proper way. A few days ago, it was reported that New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez warned opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu not to invite Otzma Yehudit MK Itamar Ben-Gvir into any governing coalition.
The feeling is that Ben-Gvir and his right-wing party will wield too much power. I think Senator Menendez shouldn’t meddle in the free democratic elections of other countries. Also, there is a lot to be concerned about as his Democrat Party goes on destroying the United States. A great deal of change is needed. Perhaps he should busy himself with that. n
Read more of Larry Gordon’s articles at 5TJT.com. Follow 5 Towns Jewish Times on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for updates and live videos. Comments, questions, and suggestions are welcome at 5TJT.com and on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
