So, what’s your plan Dean Skelos? Over the last few days, every newspaper in the state has devoted at least one editorial towards asking that question in the very least, lambasting the Senate Majority Leader at the very worst. Unfortunately for New Yorkers, it doesn’t really matter anymore what the Senate Republicans’ plan is to fix the economy because they’re out of power come January. What matters now is how far exactly the NYC libs will go to extend government control and secure a permanent grip on power.

However, fear not, I have a plan to solve our economic woes. Well, at the very least close our budget deficit and prevent future financial mismanagement. So, here it is. Seven reforms to save our state.

1) Eliminate or extensively reform the member-item system. While some projects do in fact serve a community purpose, the overwhelmingly majority of them are pet projects with the sole purpose of providing a positive press release for an incumbent at tax-payer expense. Just take a look at the member-items of representatives who have recently resigned. Members are expected to give their respective leaders six-months notice that they will be leaving office. That’s enough time for leadership to re-route member-item money to a incumbent facing a tight race. Does that sound like a good use of taxpayer money? At the very least, the system should be reformed. Eliminate the lump sum cash and replace it with line-item so taxpayers know which members are wasting their money.

2) Eliminate and consolidate the majority of public authorities. Originally devised by Robert Moses, public authorities have become an unaccountable financial albatross. Nobody even knows how many there are. That should say something. But J, don’t they serve a purpose? The answer is yes. They act as a Trojan horse for out of control state debt. At their inception, public authorities paid for themselves through the fees they brought in. Their revenues no longer equal their debt. In fact, it’s not even close. Revenues of public authorities are normally 10-15% of their appropriations. Yet, legislators love them because they can pay for government services off the books. New York, like most state debts, is mandated to balance their budgets and debt for capital projects must be approved by voter referendum. Public authorities allow for extensive debt to be incurred without voter approval. If we are going to fix our state, it starts with public authorities. Eliminate the majority that don’t serve a purpose and consolidate the others. Start with the canal corporation and the Thruway Authority.

3) Reduce or hold the line on wasteful social service programs. Enough said.

4) Cut school aid across the board. Property taxes continue to rise because there are no cost controls. Schools spend because they can. Reduce aid and schools will be more responsible with their spending. And don’t tell me that this hurts the children. New York spends more per student than any other state, and yet we continue to fall further behind our counterparts. In addition, no scientific study had yet directly correlated state spending on education and student learning. Look it up. Nevertheless, the main reason to reduce school aid is the fact that most of school spending goes towards salaries and benefits, not educating. Again, Google it. If schools refuse to reduce spending on administrative costs, then force accountability on them.

5) Reduce health care spending. Give actual power to the Medicaid Inspector General to root out the $4.6 billion in waste, fraud and abuse. For that matter, hire an entire independent, non-partisan panel to crackdown on fraud and special interests that attempt to influence health care policy.

6) Reform our tax system. Massachusetts, the liberal lion of the states, has a flat income tax. Even the socialist controlled legislature will not touch it because it works so well. If we can’t get the flat tax, then make sure our existing structure provides for an equal mix of progressive and regressive taxes. It’s like diversifying your portfolio. Progressive taxes are highly dependent on the economy, regressive not so much. A diversified tax system will ensure a consistent revenue stream no matter the economic conditions.

7) Hold a constitutional convention to reform state government and drastically reduce the power of the ‘three men in the room.’ New York has a top-down system of government in which individual legislatures are powerless to do anything but follow the marching order of their leaders. Those that do, receive favorable committees and their names included on big name legislation. Those that try to take on the system lose their member-item money and any hope of moving up on the legislative ladder. In the worst cases, they will face primaries from challengers funded by their leadership. Our committee system is also broken. No bill leaves committee unless leadership approves. Proxy voting means individual committee members don’t even have to show up. A constitutional committee will provide actual power to our committee system, allow for actual debate and instill democracy back in our state.

Unfortunately, these reforms aren’t enough to close the deficit or fix our state. New York has been hijacked from us, and it’s going to take years of reform before we can ever dream of a true democracy here in the Empire State. However, these seven reforms will be a good start if we are going to get us out of this economic crisis and back on the right path.

-J.Burke

New York is a very, very blue state and while it would be both politically expedient and fun to blame all of the state’s woes on the many dirty Dems who hold office across NY, it wouldn’t be totally fair. Sure Democrats have controlled the Assembly since Watergate, and now control all statewide offices and are set to take power in the Senate in January. 

However, New York’s problems run deeper than party politics and ideologies.  The problem with the Empire state is the amount of power wielded by the legislature, a body of elected officials who has continued to put the interest of unions, and other groups above those of the taxpayers. 

Albany’s dysfunction is deeply routed in the pay to play atmosphere that has been a long-standing practice for Republicans and Democrats who have wielded power.  To change this and make the state prosperous again, there needs to be a reform movement that looks to end the dysfunction in Albany. 

With the state facing a financial collapse, politics as usual can no longer be an option.  Systemic measures need to be implemented in order to limit the damage that New York politicians are able to inflict during good times and bad ones.  Rules need to be enacted requiring on time budgets that do not spend at a rate greater than that of inflation, eliminating member items and allowing for statewide referendums.       

Today’s legislative session will showed that Albany’s dysfunction continues.  If politicians can’t or are unwilling to solve the state’s problems than maybe New Yorkers should be given a chance to vote on real reform and tax relief.  Power to the People!

Thomas Fairweather

With the state facing a financial crisis of historic proportions, it would have been nice for someone other than the governor to stand up for the taxpayers today.  Instead, New Yorkers got a chance to witness their Legislative Leaders in action,  acting more like a comedy troop and less like the people we need to pull us out of this crisis.  Shelly Silver, Malcom Smith and Dean Skelos were all up to their usual Albany antics today, playing the blame game while NY sinks deepr into debt.  If they care, they didn’t show it.  But in all reality they proably don’t. 

Assembly Leader Jim Tedisco is the only exception here.  Under his Leadership, the Assembly Republican Conference has continued to raise the red flag over the growth of NY spending and have proposed needed measures to make real and lasting change to the budget process and state government.

Unfortunately, many of the Assembly Republican’s best ideas are snuffed out by  Shelly’s stranglehold over the lower house of the Leg. all but ensuring that good ideas and needed change don’t become a reality.

Even during these times of historic harship, it is import to remeber that Albany dosen’t want to change, and unless we have real leaders, it won’t.

Thomas Fairweahter

At 7 minutes till 2pm today, the wheels of my US Airways Flight touched ground at Albany International Airport and my fact-finding trip to the SouthWest officially ended.  Although, in the spirit of full disclosure, the so-called facts surrounding my trip to San Antonio began and ended at which BBQ joint had the best brisket and ribs (it was Rudy’s Country Store) and which Mexican Restaurant served the best margarita (The Original, located on the RiverWalk).  But the trip offered so much more than good food and drinks and a whole lot of history, although it had tons of that to, (Alamo, Texas Rangers Museum).  It was a also great opportunity, to see how the other half lives.  And when I mean “other,” I mean our red state brothers and sisters.

It wasn’t very hard to further my understanding of the Texan way of life.  Less than an hour after my flight landed, I made my way to the famous RiverWalk in downtown San Antonio to blow an hour before my fellow travelers arrived.  After I ordered my first margarita and a basket of tortillas, a group of three Texans from the table over inquired where I was from (apparently, I stood out like a sore thumb, even though I was wearing my “Goldwater” t-shirt proudly).  I yelled back that I was from New York, and, to my confusion, they invited me over to their table.  For the next twenty minutes we went on to discuss not only my itinerary for the week, but the past election, politics and life in general.  I’m happy to report, not surprisingly, they shared our concern with our next president.

Alas, I hadn’t yet comprehended how different Texas is than New York.  That came two days later, when a third group of local bar patrons invited my group mates and I to their table for an evening of food, drinks and of course, political ranting.  While I was confused by the first invite and surprised by the second, by the third time, I must admit, I all but expected perfect strangers to invite me over.  And that right there is the beauty of Texas.  I have probably been to every bar in New York, or at least it sometimes feels like it, and I can count the number of times strangers have invited me to join them for no other reason than to be hospitable, on one hand.  But, not in Texas. 

That’s the difference between us and them.  That’s what defines a red state from a blue state.  Residents of red states like Texas, want three things in life; guns, low taxes and neighbors to share their day’s journey over a beer.  New Yorkers?  Well, it’s pretty clear our priorities are just a tad different.  The majority of us have been raised to expect everything handed to us, and if it’s not, than to complain about it.  We are raised to put blind faith in government, to distrust others, and accept the highest taxes in the nation, because the tea and crumpets crowd says it’s the only way to achieve a “civilized society”.  

Well, Texas has the 8th lowest state and local taxes in the nation.  And you know what? They seemed pretty darn civil to me.    

-J.Burke

The current word on the street is that Hillary’s days as New York’s junior Senator may be over. New York Republicans will be more than pleased if President-elect Obama names Mrs. Clinton as Secretary of State, thereby removing her from NY politics and making way for Rudy Giuliani if he decides to run for U.S. Senate in 2012 instead of running for Governor in 2010.

 The possible departure of Mrs. Clinton from NY politics and David Paterson’s position as the appointed Governor means that Republicans have a fighting chance to regain ground in a state that has become very blue over the last few years. However, with Rudy only able to fill one of these positions, the question becomes, how many top ticket Republicans do we have in NY State.

 Weak Republican candidates at the top of the ticket have hurt the party and limited Republicans ability to rally around a strong figure that voters, regardless of party affiliation can support. While Republicans in NY will have much to celebrate if Clinton leaves, the question remains, do we have a farm team and the grassroots support needed to establish real and lasting footholds in the Empire State.

The answer may come soon when Republican County Chairs have the chance to elect a leader to State Committee and not some political hack.

Thomas Fairweather

Our constitutional right to bear arms has been under constant attack for decades as liberals repeatedly try to chip away at the legal foundation from the bottom-up. This past June, Nassau County passed Local Law #5, which would criminalize the possession and sale of so-called “deceptively colored handguns,” i.e. any handgun not black, grey, silver, steel, nickel or army green. Gun owners would have to surrender their alternative colored handguns without compensation and would be barred from trying to sell their property outside the county.

Thankfully, 2^nd Amendment supporters have fought back. Alan Chwick, Edward Botsch and Thomas Fess, three New York State pistol licensees, have filed a petition in Nassau Supreme Court to challenge the new law, under the premise that it is “preempted” by New York’s already extensive gun control laws. The suit also contends that the law should be overturned because it is “vague and ambiguous, lacks standards for consistent enforcement, and violates the right to keep and bear arms under both the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution and a similar provision of New York State Civil Rights Laws.

Sport Shooters? Don’t come to Nassau County for an event. You could face a year in jail and a $1000 fine.

Nevertheless, it’s the hidden agenda behind this local law that is the real concern. Ambiguous text, spun as providing more “leeway” in the interpretation, is incredibly dangerous when it comes to gun-control laws. Normally, legislators must toe a fine line between being too ambiguous and being too strict with the wording of legislation. Too much of either and you have ineffective public policy. However, when it comes to constitutional rights, ambiguous policy is a slippery slope indeed.

Of course, that is the intention of the liberals. If they can find an activist judge to uphold an ambiguous local gun control law, they have already won. The law sets a precedent and provides other gun-control nuts a springboard to challenging other gun rights elsewhere and go even further with the next piece of legislation.

It’s too early to tell whether the Nassau Supreme Court will shoot down this blatant liberal attempt to undermine our right to bear arms. For now, the law and the 2^nd Amendment is in limbo.

-J.Burke

No wonder Democrats oppose “choice” when it comes to education.  If you had a public education system set up so perfectly for indoctrination, wouldn’t you stand firm against any attempt to undermine it?

-J.Burke

My esteemed colleague J. Burke wrote an excellent post recently on how Republicans in New York and across the nation need to return to the core principals of Conservatism: smaller government, eliminating wasteful spending and of course, lower taxes in order to regain the publics trust and win elections.

I totally agree with Burke’s assertions and see conservatism as a strong foundation on which we must start rebuilding our party.

And the sooner we rebuild, the better. New Yorkers cannot continue to allow liberal policies to weaken the economy, drive people and jobs out of the state and leave taxpayers holding the bag of expensive government programs that have time and again shown that they are better suited for maintaining political power then helping the people who need it the most.

But how do we rebuild?

My solution? Start locally. I have been to counties all across the state and have seen weak and inefficient Republican committees, which are filled with men and women who believe that collecting petitions and putting up lawn signs is going above and beyond for their party.

Its not enough. We need young people in our committees who will be willing and able to go door-to-door for our candidates during election time, people who will make phone calls, and devote their free-time to a worthy cause—the goal of bringing real political change to the state and nation.

The party also needs an independent Republican State Chairperson, someone who is not tied to the State Senate, a future governor or anyone else. This chairperson must work to promote a conservative brand of Republicanism throughout the state, raise money for the party and aggressively work to register new Republicans.

Now is the time to expand the party but we must do so while staying true to the conservative principals that help to bring Reagan and the Congressional Republicans to landslide victories in the past.

-Thomas Fairweather

I wanted to wait a few days before posting my official reaction to the election of President Obama and the complete liberal takeover of New York. It’s an interesting feeling, knowing that we just handed over control of the free world to an inexperienced product of the Chicago political machine. Nevertheless, alas, we did.

However, now is not the time to whine. Like I said Election Night, conservatives act. Whining is the preferred liberal response.

So, where do we go from here?

Answer-into the political wilderness. We have been there before. Churchill went there. So did Reagan and Lincoln. In New York, while it was only a few days ago that Democrats officially took over all three branches, conservatives have been lost in what seems like a rainforest for the past hundred years.

Statewide, Democrats now have complete control, and with it, the responsibility of complete accountability. They have a $14 billion projected deficit and legions of special interests unwilling to relinquish any funding to their “priorities.” You think the SEIU is going to accept employee cuts or a reduction in any of the outrageous pension or health care benefits? Doubtful. You expect NYSUT to lay down their arms? How about the Health Care Association of New York? Riiight.

Massive cuts are needed to reign in our state budget; you think the liberals are going to be thrilled with that? The Democrats took control of the Senate for the first time this year, since their one-year reign in 1964. But, an Obama-less year in 2010, budget cuts and the loss of even more small businesses could spell doom to their dreams of a sustained majority.

However, New York is a true blue state, and Republicans are going to have to revamp across the state to give taxpayers a reason to vote for them again. Reagan made conservatism “cool” again by offering something different. Low taxes, less spending, efficient government, reform. Those are principles that even New Yorkers, marred in an economic malaise, can get behind. It’s time to get to back to our roots.

Nationally, the remedy isn’t much different. The Republican brand was put to the test, and it failed miserably. We need to restage. That’s going to take Republicans throughout the country getting back to the principles of smaller, more efficient government that it was founded upon. Government that protects its citizens from domestic and international threats but which does not intrude on the lives of individuals. We need new leaders, like Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana. Leaders from working class roots who embody the American dream and who can break from the typecast and connect with younger voters by expressing the benefits of lower taxes, smaller government, stronger national defense and individual responsibility.

Republicans must become the party of new ideas once again, while holding true to our ideals.  Conservatism has always been more of a set of principles to guide decision-making rather than an ideology.

From the ashes of this year’s elections, Republicans can regain their popularity by blending old-school conservatism with bold, fresh ideas. But we must also re-connect with our base and the larger independent electorate by regaining their  trust.

Corruption, government bailouts and wasteful spending cost us that trust. But, it’s not gone for good. Politics are cyclical and this is our opportunity. Let’s not waste it.

-J.Burke

The following is the official press release from the Coalition to Save Marriage in New York. Their website can be found at SaveMarriageNY.org.

“The Coalition congratulates the states of California, Arizona, and Florida on the passage of marriage protection amendments to their respective state constitutions. “The election results bring good news for families across our nation,” said Rev. Duane R. Motley,Executive Director of New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms. “The voters of California, Arizona, and Florida have spoken clearly by passing constitutional amendments that uphold the traditional, opposite-sex definition of marriage. These victories are an answer to prayer.”

In 2000, 61% of California voters cast their ballots in favor of the traditional definition of marriage. But in May 2008, the California Supreme Court overturned the will of the people by creating a constitutional right to same-sex marriage. Rev. Jason J. McGuire, Legislative Director, New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms, stated that the passage of Proposition 8 in California carried special significance: “Organizations such as ProtectMarriage.com and the National Organization for Marriage did a phenomenal job of helping the voters to re-establish the true definition of marriage.” Rev. McGuire added that “the election results bring the total number of states with marriage protection amendments in their state constitutions to 30. Every state that has attempted to pass a marriage protection amendment has succeeded. Many other states have enacted statutes that define marriage as an opposite-sex institution. In stark contrast, only two states have legalized same-sex marriage, and those states have had same-sex marriage imposed on them by activist courts. The national groundswell of support for traditional marriage was not unique to the 2004 elections, but continues to this day.” Rev. McGuire noted that support for traditional marriage is not a partisan phenomenon: “The voters of California and Florida passed marriage amendments on the same day that they cast their votes for a Democratic presidential candidate.”

Michael R. Long, Chairman of The Conservative Party of New York State, stated that “with the Proposition 8 victory, the people of California have sent a loud and clear rebuke to the four activist judges who redefined marriage by judicial fiat earlier this year. This is a reaffirmation of democracy.”

According to Coalition spokesperson Stephen P. Hayford, “the news from California, Florida, and Arizona shows that same-sex marriage is not inevitable. Americans continue to believe in the opposite-sex institution of marriage, in spite of the efforts of well-funded, liberal special interest groups to persuade us that marriage should be redefined.” Mr. Hayford added, “The same-sex marriage movement is just one example of the tendency to make laws that place adult preferences at a higher priority than the needs of children. This should never happen. We need a pro-child approach to family law, both here in New York State and across the country. Every child deserves a mother and a father.”