Thanks, George
Today, Illinois’ third Senator kicked off her reelection bid in the Big Apple. Sadly, she’ll win by what could be the largest margin in the State’s history of Senate races, thanks in no small part to the absolute ineptitude of one Gov. George Pataki. Through his “leadership”, Republicans have managed to lose statewide race after statewide race, frequently by embarassing margins. In the state that was less than a decade ago represented by Sen. Alfonse D’Amato, Democrats now enjoy free rides.
Throughout his tenure, Pataki has insisted on handpicking candidates who had no chance at winning, and made the environment even worse for those who could. “The base”, small but once significant, no longer exists in the state. There is no GOP bench in the state as just about ever competitive race has been lost by the once Grand Old Party. It’s not Massachusetts yet, but it’s getting there. This should be a lesson to Republican Parties in other states that they cannot win by attempting to become more liberal than the Democrats.