Republicans ready for rumble? As the state convention opens, the GOP tradition of party unity is threatened by a gubernatorial primary
By JIMMY VIELKIND, Capitol bureau First published in print: Tuesday, June 1, 2010
NEW YORK -- State Republicans are set to open their convention today as a house divided.
The questions facing delegates as they arrive at the Sheraton Hotel & Towers in Manhattan range well beyond the relatively simple question of who to support. Will the party stand a chance in the fall if it spends the summer split into factions over its nominee for governor? Or will its members recall Ronald Reagan's commandment-- "Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican" -- and unite behind one candidate?
That prospect seems far off, as four candidates vie for the spot at the top of the party's ticket: former U.S. Rep. Rick Lazio, who has been criticized as a lackluster campaigner and fundraiser; Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy, an enrolled Democrat suddenly facing new obstacles; controversial Buffalo developer Carl Paladino; and Myers Mermel, a Manhattan real estate consultant who formally entered the race just last week.
To make things even more interesting, several Republicans are grumbling privately about a possible vote of no-confidence in Levy's strongest backer, State Chairman Ed Cox..........>>>>............>>>>..............Read more: http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=936518#ixzz0pbOeQzfK
Well.....guess the reps aren't gettin' it together anytime soon, huh?
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
The Regional Republican Divide (Jacob Weisberg) "One way to understand the divisions in the Republican Party is as a clash of regional philosophies. Northeastern conservatism is moderate, accepts the modern welfare state, and dislikes mixing religion with politics. Western conservatism is hawkish, hates government, and embraces individual freedom. Southern conservatism is populist, draws on evangelical Christianity, and plays upon racial resentments. The big drama of the GOP over the past several decades has been the Northeastern view giving way to the Southern one. To see this transformation in a single family, witness the shift from George H.W. Bush to George W. Bush."
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. John Kenneth Galbraith
Logged
Are you ready to rumble? Apparently not in NY. 
