I’ve been writing about New York politics since 1982, when Hugh Carey was governor, and I have not seen a more critical election for Long Island voters than this year. By any measure, the state has worsened during the tenures of the last seven chief executives, culminating in the sorry state of affairs under Kathy Hochul.
Known by taxpayers as the “Vampire State,” New York leads the nation in squeezing the most out of its citizens, with little to show for it from an Albany establishment that cares more about illegal immigrants, criminals, and maintaining the status quo than those who pay the bills.
Case in point is Legislator Nick Caracappa’s press conference Friday highlighting the terrible condition of Middle Country Road—State Route 25. He was joined by Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine, Brookhaven Supervisor Dan Panico, police and fire officials, and civic and business representatives, all stating the obvious: Long Islanders, who pay confiscatory state taxes on gasoline, oil, tolls, and nearly everything else, are getting ripped off.
Romaine makes the case even further when he notes that the three rail lines serving Suffolk still rely on outdated diesel engines—a supposed no-no for Green New Deal politicians who want to take away our gas barbecues while driving utility costs through the roof. They will laugh all the way to the bank with fat salaries, pensions, and investment accounts while the rest of us endure record outmigration of our seniors and young people, crippling taxes and fees, crummy roads, and looming power shortages due to grid mismanagement.
There is a glimmer of hope for change in November, when voters get a chance to boot Kathy Hochul and her Democrat regime, but it won’t be easy. Republican Bruce Blakeman already has the odds stacked against him in one of the bluest states in the union. As in Lee Zeldin’s challenge four years ago, just enough ballots will emerge from New York City to give Hochul an edge. I didn’t say votes—I said ballots—which operatives there are all too adept at producing. The rest of the state, Long Island especially, will have to make up the difference.
The new Democrat Socialist mayor of New York, Zohran Mamdani, is already asking for billions in state bailout funds to cover his wild promises: free transportation, government-run grocery stores, and upkeep for all the illegal immigrants his party invited in. This money would come from the rest of us, a tab that will go even higher as businesses flee Mamdani’s Communist utopia and leave the remaining taxpayers holding the bag.
Hochul budgeted $4.5 billion this year for immigrant services, money on top of billions already spent in this sanctuary state. The scam is both simple and blatant: buy votes and force everyone else to pay for it.
This is why Democrats are fighting so hard against the SAVE Act, federal legislation that would require voter ID and keep non-citizens from voting. As President Trump said, the only people who are against fair elections are the ones who can’t win without cheating.
The South Shore Press was at the GOP and Conservative conventions covering the candidates who will take on the entrenched elite. Get to know the names and their policies: Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman for governor, former federal prosecutor Saritha Komatireddy for attorney general, and Joseph Hernandez for comptroller, a businessman who vows to take politics out of the state’s investment portfolio. If results matter, anyone would be better than what we have now.