New Yorks' New GOP Chairman Speaks

This is excerpted from today's New York Post.

N.Y. REPUBLICANS: NO MORE 'ME, TOO'
By JOSEPH MONDELLO
December 1, 2006 -- EDITOR'S NOTE: The following is excerpted from yesterday's remarks by Joseph Mondello after being elected the new chairman of New York's state Republican Party.
 
LET me make it clear that during my tenure decisions about the future direction of our party will not be made by a small consultant-dominated group devoted to the candidacy or career of one elected official or their own private gain.

Instead, our party's future course will be decided by a leadership that seeks and encourages input from its grassroots activists, a leadership devoted to advancing the fortunes and success of every single Republican elected official and candidate for governor in a little over 1,200 days.

That's why we must begin today to recruit young, dynamic and energetic candidates to run for statewide office four years from now as well as to mount aggressive challenges for every elected office, in every corner of New York, that is now held by a Democrat.

I pledge to bring the same tight-fisted, fiscally conservative business principles to the running of state committee that have been the foundation of my success as a county chairman. I've always believed that every dollar saved on consultants and administrative overhead is another dollar that can be put to use directly in support of the campaign of a Republican candidate.

While I firmly believe that a renewed emphasis on fundamental grassroots politics is the essential foundation upon which our party's renewal must be based, the Republican Party's future can't be based simply on refining the time-tested political skills of the committeeperson, block captain or district leader.

To attract the support and votes of a majority of New Yorkers, many of them new immigrants to our nation who have chosen the Empire state as the place to build a bright future for themselves and their families, our party of Lincoln, Roosevelt and Reagan must once again be a party of ideas; a party that offers our citizens a real choice between two very different sets of ideals, principles and values.

Simply put, if we are content to espouse a "me too" philosophy that gives voters little choice between our candidates and the Democrats, we can never hope to forge a new majority that will consistently elect Republicans at the statewide level.

I don't know about you, but I am not content to devote myself to building a party that elects a Republican governor as an aberration, only once every generation or so, and that must rely on scandal or voter fatigue from an administration that stayed around one term too many, as the necessary ingredient for victory.

In the weeks and months ahead we must renew our commitment to a party that presents a clear and consistent platform that attracts men and women from every walk of life, from every color, creed and ethnic background, because of its unwavering commitment to smaller government, lower taxes, less government regulation, robust private entrepreneurship and an unshakeable commitment to keeping our homeland safe and secure.

New York already has a party of big government and runaway wasteful spending - they're called Democrats.

As Republicans, we need to offer New Yorkers a clear choice by returning to our roots as the party that fights for the hard-working, middle-class taxpayers of our state who believe that all people are deserving of a good job, quality education, affordable health care, safe and secure communities and freedom from oppressive taxation.