Failing to Run Better Candidates, Orange County Republicans Settle For Frivolous Lawsuits Instead
Filed under, "Things That Make You Say D'oh," we look at a bill passed earlier this month by Republican members of the Orange County Legislature.
Listen.
Despite being a Democrat, I am NO fan of New York State Governor Kathy Hochul.
I am also no fan of the New York State Democratic Party because of stuff like this.
As far as I’m concerned, most — but not all — Democrats coast to easy election wins here and across America for one simple reason.
It’s because all they need to do is point to their opposition in the Republican Party and say:
Instead of running better candidates, the Orange County Republican party decided to join a lawsuit to … *checks notes* make it harder for people to vote?
Really?
Ok. I guess I know what we’re talking about today.
New York State Politics For Dummies
The New York State 42nd District State Senate race is a great example of this national phenemonon.
Do you vote for the Democrat and incumbent, Senator James Skoufis, who took $20,000 from two members of a hate group, and an additional $50,000 from their friends?
Or do you vote for a compulsive liar that has the endorsement of a January 6th booster and local antivaxxers, Dorey Houle?
At the time of this writing, those are your choices.
I’m going to have to vote for Skoufis, and you know what? That sucks.
Because:
Like in most races across New York and the United States, if the Republicans had a normal candidate, they’d probably hand Democrats like Skoufis their ass because Democrats (usually) only do the minimum required to stay in office.
And in New York, that’s true all the way to the top.
Let’s take a quick look at Governor Hochul.
Readers of The Monroe Gazette know that, while there’s nothing wrong with LLCs, there is something wrong with the way LLCs are used and abused in Southern Orange County. Often to cover up crimes or shady real estate schemes.
So, there was a law that found its way to the Governor. To his credit, Skoufis supported this law.
But when it came time to sign it, Governor Hochul watered it down at the last possible moment.
The law would have provided everyone in New York State a publicly accessible database of LLC owners. Something the public wants given all the bad landlords throughout the state that hide behind LLCs.
The governor decided at the last minute, that only law enforcement can access this database.
Why?
Because the Governor is in the pocket of real estate interests, and that’s who she actually works for. Governor Andrew Cuomo before her? Same deal.
Both Democrats. Both corrupt. Both working for the wealthy and doing the absolute minimum because their electoral opposition consisted mostly of crazy losers.
It’s worth noting here: Hochul did not win her election by much. Had the Republicans not run someone trying really had to be Dorito Jesus’s new best friend, she probably would have lost.
The New York State Democratic party works for the wealthy. The Republican party does too, but the difference is, their candidates can often be described as crazy losers who support policies that will actually harm you.
We shouldn’t have to be in this position where the only reason to vote for a Democrat is because the Republican is actively dangerous.
Dorey Houle included.
Just ask Dorey Houle about her stance on vaccine mandates, since she refuses to answer questions from the media about it. This will be particularly relevant when we’re all dealing with a possible bird flu outbreak this Fall.
As you’ll recall, Dorey Houle lost by 1,400 or so votes, and now is using an antisemitic dog whistle on her campaign website.
That claim isn’t true. “That last town’s results shifted the outcome.” That’s not a claim that could be verified by the Orange County Board of Elections. I checked. What Dorey is playing on is that, before Palm Tree became a Town, Kiryas Joel’s votes were often counted last. So what she’s implying here is that “the Jews” cost her the election.
What Dorey also doesn’t mention is that she tried to sue and block absentee ballots from being counted, which has become a common Republican tactic, and another reason to suggest that their candidates are often dangerous, and crazy, losers.
So if you’re a member of the Republican Party, you really need to ask yourself a question here: Are you going to continue to run a bunch of losers against easily beatable Democrats?
The Orange County Republican Party answered this question with a big, fat, “Yup!”
Orange County to Sue New York State Over Even-Numbered Year Voting
If you skip to 39:51, you can listen to the Orange County legislature debate a resolution that would allow Orange County to sue New York State over moving certain local elections to even numbered years. This New York State legislation was passed with the idea being that voter turnout is higher in years where there are multiple races going on, including state and federal ones.
You can view the Orange County resolution authorizing the lawsuit here on Page 8.
This resolution had the full support of every Republican member, including Monroe’s Peter V. Tuohy (District 7- Village and Town of Monroe.)
Is the New York State legislation perfect? No. I think the concern shared by some Republicans at this meeting — that putting local elections on the same ballot as state and federal elections could mean those local elections can get lost in the shuffle — is valid.
I also understand their concern about Albany “meddling” with County and Local government affairs, given stuff like the Faith-Based Housing Bill.
But at 40:36, you can hear Orange County Legislator, Genesis Ramos (District 6- Newburgh City and Town) lay out why the Republican lawsuit is a waste of everyone’s time, and of tax payer money and resources. She did such a great job laying out facts and statistics that I think you should listen to her statement in its entirety.
So go, take a moment to do that, and then come back here because I’m going to ask you a simple question, and it cuts to the heart of a lot of the issues covered by The Monroe Gazette.
Are You Serious About Stopping Hanhallah?
Pretend for a second that politics don’t matter. You’re not a Democrat. You’re not a Republican.
You live in South Blooming Grove. Or Woodbury. Or Monroe. Or Cornwall.
And what you see is a small group of well connected, wealthy assholes bullying you and their followers in order to further enrich themselves.
This bullying includes putting everyone, followers and non-followers, in danger by ignoring the laws of New York State and the federal government concerning things like clean drinking water.
Because remember, religion ain’t got nothing to do with what’s happening in Southern Orange County,
This is all of us, together, versus hanhallah.
The fact that hanhallah happens to be part of a religious group is meaningless.
You might be asking yourself, “How can I help stop them?”
And one of the answers is voting.
And not only voting, but making it easier and more accessible for everyone to vote.
Because the truth is, not enough of us vote.
And that’s because voting is a chore in America. And depending on where you live — Even in “Blue States” like New York — It’s not always easy to do.
So, is the even numbered voting legislation perfect? No.
But if you’re serious about stopping hanhallah, we have to make it easier for the rest of our friends and neighbors to vote.
The more of us that are empowered to vote. The more convenient and easy it is for people to vote. That’s how you start taking some of the power back that’s been hijacked by the wealthy and the well-connected in America.
So this Fall, it’s worth remembering which Orange County legislators decided to waste time and resources on making it harder for people to vote.
And you should all be asking them, “Why are you trying to help hanhallah win?” Because when we don’t vote?
When it’s harder to vote?
That’s how the bloc wins.