When an NFL quarterback approaches the line of scrimmage with a predetermined play but sees defensive coverage that doesn’t fit well with what they’re ready to run, he quickly calls an audible to change the gameplan on the fly.
New York State Conservative Party Chairman Gerry Kassar called his own “press conference audible” as he closed out his party’s annual conference in Albany.
Kassar had planned on ending his statewide conference talking about what he called New York’s “bloated budget proposal."
Instead, he and Republican lawmakers blasted a potential Democratic legislative maneuver that they believe warrants a federal, criminal investigation.
In this budget year, where Governor Kathy Hochul put forward a proposed budget of $252 billion that is up over $9 billion from last year, he thought the topic of the press conference would be waste, fraud, and abuse.
“As recently as two weeks ago, we decided we wanted to talk about waste and mismanagement. It's still my intent to mention the billions of dollars of Medicaid that go unchecked. It's still my intent to mention the $60 million staircase project,” said Party Chair Gerry Kassar. “I intended to talk about the unemployment insurance scam going back to COVID when the State of New York borrowed billions of dollars and didn't pay it back."
Kassar added, “It was my thought to talk about taxes, fees, congestion pricing, and all the waste and mismanagement that goes along in a state capital that is controlled by the Democratic Party. But guess what happens? President Trump won and the Democrats in Albany and DC are looking for ways to fight back.”
A big topic that dominated the conservative conclave: grumblings that Democrats in the Assembly and Senate would pass legislation to give Governor Hochul more leeway in delaying the start of special elections in New York. The maneuver is seen by many as a way to stop a Republican from filling the seat of soon to be departing Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, who is expected to be confirmed as President Trump’s Ambassador to the United Nations. If the legislation passed, Hochul could also delay a State Senate special election where a Republican is expected to win.
Current New York law says that the Governor has ten days to declare a special election for a vacant seat in Congress and an additional 80 to 90 days to hold the election.
The seat is in a solidly Republican district and the new Congressperson will be a Republican.
With a slim margin in the House, every seat the Democrats can keep vacant for any extra day, they see as a win and a hardship for Republicans and more importantly, Trump.
“Regardless of party, this is a wholly un-American effort’ said Party Chairman Gerry Kassar.
“A lot of us on Island and Brooklyn are thinking, that the backside of this is the 22nd Senatorial District in Kings County, where the current senator is likely to get elected to the city council, causing a special that would take place in an extraordinarily strong Republican State Senate district that President Trump probably won two and a half to one at the beginning of June,” added Kassar.
Congressman Mike Lawler (R,C- Hudson Valley) and NY Senate Minority Leader Robert Ortt (R,C, IP-Lockport) all spoke strongly against this effort on behalf of their colleagues.
“I am going to be requesting that the Department of Justice open up a RICO investigation into New York State because this is as corrupt a state as we have seen,” said Lawler.
Ortt said, “This is just the latest in a long brazen attempt the last several years going back to the redistricting fiasco. Democrats don't like how some of the local elections are turning out. They don't like that they're getting their ass kicked in Nassau County. They don't like that they're getting their ass kicked in Suffolk County. They don't like that they're losing seats on the city council in New York City. That President Trump is doing better. They don't like that they lost their supermajority in the Senate.”
“So what do you do?,” Ortt said. “You break the law and fiddle with election dates to confuse the voter and leave New Yorkers unrepresented. That’s all they have.”
Many expressed the common sentiment that Democrats’ failed policies have lost them ground, but they double down on them anyway. Since they don’t want to change their policies, they have nothing left but to cheat the voters.
While the bill has not yet been dropped, Kassar and others are getting ready to file a suit. Kassar made it clear that the Conservative Party is ready to fight. “There is a lot of precedent in the federal courts system around congressional special elections. Anything that involves Congress could very likely end up in federal court, so let’s just keep that clear that we’re willing to litigate no matter what.”