Rockland Leader Forces Primary
Politicians enjoy blaming challengers for primaries but rarely is the party held responsible.
New York Republican Congressional candidate Anthony Mele may have narrowly lost a formal endorsement vote in Westchester County by .8 percent (50.4 - 49.6%) in the 17th C.D. -- but the Rockland County Tea Party organizer remains confident that he will challenge 11-term incumbent Eliot Engel in November.
Republican County GOP Chairman Vincent Reda is high on York Kleinhandler, the endorsed Republican in the 17th.
Kleinhandler is a Green Beret who served in Afghanistan in 2003 and 2009, with 29 years of military service, also having worked for the U.S. Marshals Service for 14 years and now a chief warrant officer with the U.S. Army National Guard.
The Rockland leader had decided on Kleinhandler before the interview and endorsement process started. It seemed as though the fix was in and Mele, a U.S. Army Veteran, had everything from his military record to his personal background questioned by Reda.
Mele had contended that Kleinhandler, who admitted to having 18 months remaining before retirement, shouldn't run for Congress due to military obligations. Kleinhandler has flatly denied any conflict or obligation.
Mele's supporters have also noted that Kleinhandler faces civil claims of fraud in a Florida Federal court over alleged predatory business practices against seniors.
Conservative journalist Raquel Okyay called Kleinhandler's machinations "Stealing Money From Grandma".
Conservative Misrepresentation
Now there is a story being circulated that I am due for a "Bronx beating" from Vinny Reda for calling him a liar.
The truth is that I exposed Reda misrepresenting that his candidate had Conservative Party backing. Conservatives have also questioned Kleinhandler's credentials, so there is a deeper issue than a Republican leader trying to usurp a Conservative endorsement.
When Reda first made this claim, his candidate had not yet met ANY Conservative leaders (Kleinhandler still hasn't met New York State Chairman Mike Long). Second, Reda used this false claim to influence Conservative leaders -- misleading them to believe other chairs were already supporting Kleinhandler.
I first objected as a local Conservative leader and then as Mele's general consultant. My disclosure of these facts on News Copy drew Reda's ire.
Reda responded by threatening to give me a "Bronx beating" and the the long-time Rockland boss, who is also the First Vice Chair of the New York State Republican Committee, gave my collar a quick ride and pressed me against the outside of Westchester County GOP headquarters when he thought I was ignoring him.
All this drama doesn't change the fact that Reda's candidate will be vulnerable in a Republican primary. Kleinhandler's credentials have been questioned by Conservatives. Kleinhandler supports abortion rights and describes himself as a "social moderate" -- and that won't help him win a Republican primary.
GOP Expanding Base
Kleinhandler may have received the Republican endorsement -- but that can't stop Mele from primarying him.
Mele is like so many other independent candidates throughout the United States getting. Mele's team of tea party loyalists aren't shy about carrying petitions. Bronx born, Mele is also Eliot Engel's worse nightmare -- a Latino veteran and tea party organizer with Bronx roots and a strong Rockland base.
It's a shame New York's primaries are so late in the election cycle. An earlier outcome might make New York's 17th a lot more compelling.
Look at the reversal of fortune for Raul Labrador in Idaho two weeks ago.
Like Mele, Labrador is a social and fiscal conservative Republican and incidently also a Hispanic tea party candidate rejected outright by party leaders.
Labrador's grass-roots operation defeated an NRCC-backed candidate, Vaughn Ward, by ten points.
Fluke?
Politico called these kind of wins the GOP's new hue.
“This is going to lead to more diverse candidates running,” said former George W. Bush adviser Karl Rove. “And their election and their performance will help further pry open these demographics.”
The country’s increasing diversity makes the issue a simple one of survival, said former Republican National Committee Chair Ed Gillespie. “Republicans can’t be a majority without minorities.”
Politico noted the strides throughout the country for women, minorities and young candidates.
"Our party is going to be led by younger and more diverse elected officials," crowed former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who lent his support to a number of the candidates, in an e-mail. "They are united in embracing a rollback of government’s power, American entrepreneurial capitalism and a zeal for reform."
The Wall Street Journal noted how newcomers have changed the political paradigm.
"If there's one thing I've learned in this election, it's that voters don't want someone in Washington telling them who to vote for," said Sen. John Cornyn (R., Texas), who is spearheading the Republicans' Senate campaigns.
Yet strategists in both parties say the fall campaign season, when less politically active and more moderate voters tend to first tune in to campaigns, will pose a test for many of these new candidates—and more broadly, of how conservative the U.S. has become.
"The challenge for these candidates is transitioning from an insurgent profile to a candidate who can be trusted not only to win but to govern," said Kevin Madden, a Republican strategist who worked for former presidential candidate Mitt Romney in 2008. "This is the test now for all these candidates."
This is the year of the outsider and Tony Mele may benefit from party boss Vinny Reda, the New York State GOP First Vice Chair, threatening to beat up his supporters with a baseball bat.
The Hill noted that Ward, an Iraqi war veteran, became the fourth NRCC recruit to lose his primary this cycle when he dropped the May 25 GOP contest in Idaho’s first congressional district to Labrador
"Ward was one of the committee’s top prospects but he failed to overcome a stream of damaging revelations that varied from him interning for a Democratic state lawmaker to giving a speech that borrowed liberally from then-Senate candidate Barack Obama’s famous address to the 2004 Democratic convention."
It's clear the Republican establishment is having as many headaches adjusting to tea party mania as the Democrats.
Bronx Beating Ahead?
In the 17th, York Kleinhandler not only panders but he is plagued by potential damage from what will be a jury trial in Federal court this summer over what is called "stranger-owned life insurance" (akin to a reverse mortgage for senior citizens who can't afford life insurance but then the broker collects later on).
Kleinhandler rationalized it's "not a big deal" and it may not be but he is doing an awful job of explaining what he does for a living. He calls it "nothing more than a contract dispute" -- "factually baseless" -- and not illegal.
"... You will conclude that the situation is baseless and without merit. With that being said, I expect this case to be resoloved accordingly in the very near future."
Mele and his supporters assert that just because the law hasn't caught up with Kleinhandler's sub-prime-like insurance policies doesn't mean it is right. It's been characterized as the sub-prime debacle for the insurance industry.
Mele isn't trying to win by subtraction. The Republican from Ramapo is undaunted. Like Labrador, the former U.S. Army veteran draws strength and support from local tea party groups like Rally For America.
Labrador credited tea party activists with helping to propel him to an upset victory.
“They helped tremendously,” Labrador said of the tea partiers. “When the tea party in Boise endorsed me, they saw what a lot of people saw: that I was a person who believes in core conservative principles, less taxes, less spending, less regulation. They were helping me to make sure people got out for me.”
Due to another upset or self-inflicted wound, Republicans in New York's 17th may need Mele on the ballot before the summer is over.
17th: Against All Odds
But Barack Obama won the 17th Congressional by 56 points. It covers sections of the Bronx that have never been won in modern times by a Republican.
This is Eliot Engel's fiefdom. Eleven elections where no Republican has barely touched him or made the liberal Democrat sweat. The only Republican who held his own in Rockland County had been Scott Vanderhoff in 2002.
Newsweek reported that Democrats seem in too many instances to welcome facing tea party candidates, as if they believe the Keith Olbermann induced delusion that tea parties are evil -- and surely fodder for failure in November.
Newsweek has already declared Labrador the loser on Election Day.
"Observers might be tempted at this point to say that the GOP dodged a deadly bullet by choosing Labrador over the near-unelectable Ward—and they'd be partially right. But the real beneficiary of the ID-01 primary is Minnick. Labrador flew under the radar for much of the primary contest, meaning he's almost completely unvetted. He trails Minnick badly in the fundraising department. And the national GOP, which knows almost nothing about him, may decide not to come to the rescue."
The news media and most Democrats continue to deny the effectiveness of tea parties.
Newsweek ruthlessly discounted the conservative Republican.
"Some local Tea Party groups support Labrador—but that may the most enthusiastic support he gets. There's a very real chance that Republicans will decide in the wake of Ward's loss that they've invested enough in ID-01, and that their money is now better spent elsewhere. In which case Labrador should enjoy the feeling of victory while it lasts. He may have an even steeper climb ahead of him."
In New York's 17th, The Riverdale Press reported that Kleinhandler has assumed the mantle as party pick.
He expects Mele to drop out.
“It’s unfortunate that Mr. Mele fails to realize that his continued protests put him in an untenable position. I hope he comes to realize what is best for the party.”
What the 17th does have in the Bronx is a lot of Hispanic/Latino voters, a doubling in population between 1990-2000 and as bigger jump for 2010 census numbers.
To say Mele is electable in many parts of the Bronx is an understatement.
To say Mele the tea partier is as electable in many parts of Westchester and Rockland should be an afterthought.
But Chairman Reda never warmed up to Mele's approach to civics nor have many other party leaders in New York still trying to sort out what is happening with tea parties.
Meanwhile, Eliot Engel is vulnerable for voting for the healthcare bill.
"Upon reviewing the bill, I am satisfied the bill has moved a great deal toward the House bill in terms of compensating my state and doing the right thing for health care," he said.
Engel wanted more money for Medicaid, a political play to the urban voters in the Bronx and the City of Mount Vernon in suburban Westchester.
Engel also refused to cut off Federal funding to ACORN, one of only 75 House members who felt compelled to support this money laundering operation,
Pamela Geller of Atlas Shrugs characterized the corrupt nature of Engel's vote:
"The overwhelming majority of Democrats voted with all Republicans to ram through the measure, which follows the Senate's passage of an amendment barring HUD from funding the community group, which specializes in social services, housing preservation and foreclosure mitigation."
Finally, Eliot Engel also sent out a healthcare piece to voters that looked like a political mailing -- paid for with taxpayer dollars. Such an abuse of franking privileges was obvious with Nita Lowey's last political mailing. The difference is that Lowey has a million dollars on hand against Republican nominee Paul Wasserman in the 18th.
Engel has barely $200,000 and Mele is on track to raise as much by July.
The problem is that Mele and Kleinhandler could spend all summer going after each other, rather than aiming at the 11-term incumbent Democrat.
Engel can only benefit from Republicans giving themselves a Bronx beating.
Lazio in the primary. Former Republican congressman Joe DioGuardi, who represented New York's 20th Congressional District, also failed to get GOP backing in his bid to topple Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand. He's also trying to get on the Republican ballot through a petition.
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