Friday, December 01, 2006
Honey, I Shrunk the GOP George Pataki's legacy: ebbing fortunes for party and state.
Wall Street Journal Editorial
"What happened? In many ways, the open pit in Lower Manhattan is a depressing symbol of the Pataki years: That five years after 9/11 Ground Zero is still unbuilt is a sad testament to the political paralysis currently afflicting New York. This inability to provide leadership was coupled with an inability to change fundamentally the way business is done in Albany, reform the state's political culture and revive its economy. Mr. Pataki's tenure has too often been marked by a sleepy indifference to public policy and governance. And that has cost Republicans dearly."
"Early in his first term, Mr. Pataki did cut income taxes and institute spending control. But as time passed, so did fiscal discipline. Today, the state's fiscal health and its overall economy are not much better than when Mario Cuomo left office. Spending has nearly doubled in the Pataki years, well above the rate of inflation. To support that spending, New York has the highest state and local tax burden of any state in the nation."
"Mr. Pataki's blatant attempt in his 2002 campaign to win the endorsement of Dennis Rivera--the head of the leftward health-care workers union--will cost New York taxpayers for years to come.
None of this amounts to fiscal conservatism and Mr. Pataki will have a difficult time explaining his record to Republican presidential primary voters if he chooses to run. His odds of becoming the fifth New Yorker to make it to the White House are very long indeed."
Look what "Lucky" Eliot is inheriting.........for the rest of this depressing editorial click here andy
"What happened? In many ways, the open pit in Lower Manhattan is a depressing symbol of the Pataki years: That five years after 9/11 Ground Zero is still unbuilt is a sad testament to the political paralysis currently afflicting New York. This inability to provide leadership was coupled with an inability to change fundamentally the way business is done in Albany, reform the state's political culture and revive its economy. Mr. Pataki's tenure has too often been marked by a sleepy indifference to public policy and governance. And that has cost Republicans dearly."
"Early in his first term, Mr. Pataki did cut income taxes and institute spending control. But as time passed, so did fiscal discipline. Today, the state's fiscal health and its overall economy are not much better than when Mario Cuomo left office. Spending has nearly doubled in the Pataki years, well above the rate of inflation. To support that spending, New York has the highest state and local tax burden of any state in the nation."
"Mr. Pataki's blatant attempt in his 2002 campaign to win the endorsement of Dennis Rivera--the head of the leftward health-care workers union--will cost New York taxpayers for years to come.
None of this amounts to fiscal conservatism and Mr. Pataki will have a difficult time explaining his record to Republican presidential primary voters if he chooses to run. His odds of becoming the fifth New Yorker to make it to the White House are very long indeed."
Look what "Lucky" Eliot is inheriting.........for the rest of this depressing editorial click here andy