By Larry Gordon
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman said last week at an event to benefit the Lee Zeldin for Governor campaign that this is a historic moment. He added that New York State, as well as the whole country, never needed a Republican victory as much as it does today.
Congressman Zeldin spoke passionately to a packed house in North Woodmere last Wednesday at an event arranged by local residents Av Rodin and Dr. Avishai Neuman. The community came out in force to emphasize their intention to vote for the GOP candidate and bring vital changes to a broken system in New York State.
Polls are prognosticating a variety of potential results. Some show Democrat incumbent Kathy Hochul slightly ahead of Zeldin, while other shows a small Zeldin lead. As the reader knows, New York traditionally votes Democrat by a large margin, so at this stage of the electoral process, it bodes well for Zeldin that this race is predicted as so close.
Dr. Neuman and Mr. Rodin pointed out that the ample turnout in support of Mr. Zeldin’s gubernatorial run demonstrates that their community, largely composed of young families, has arrived. “It’s an exciting night for this community,” Av Rodin said. “This is a big turnout and our community members, as well as Five Towns residents overall, are important players in a vital political process.”
In addition to the candidate, others who spoke were Mr. Zeldin’s choice for lieutenant governor, Alison Esposito; Nassau County Republican Party Leader Joe Cairo; and former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman.
In his remarks, County Executive Blakeman said, “It’s all or nothing this year. The fact is that in New York State criminals have more rights than victims. This is the year we can turn things around, but that will only happen if we go out to vote and get our friends and family to vote.”
The election of Blakeman and Nassau County DA Anne Donnelly were early signs that voters in Nassau County as well as around the country may have had their fill of radical leftist politics that favor criminals over their victims and citizens in general.
In his remarks, David Friedman said about Zeldin that he was the first congressman to commit to attending the ceremony in Israel that marked the formal inauguration and opening of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem. Friedman said that in his estimation, the race for governor of New York might be the most important one in the midterm election cycle.
In fact, there is an earlier race to take place next week in upstate New York to fill a congressional seat for an area that includes the Catskills region. In that race, Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro is running against Democrat Pat Ryan. This election will be closely watched around the country as a bellwether race indicative of the mindset of the country.
A Democrat victory in the 19th District congressional race will signify that the Supreme Court overturning of the national abortion law is foremost on voters’ minds, while a Republican victory will be a signpost that inflation is the premier issue on voters’ minds.
At the North Woodmere fundraiser for Mr. Zeldin, which was well-attended by an exuberant crowd looking to change a poorly run state political system, the candidate fired up the crowd by opening his remarks with, “Are you ready to fire Kathy Hochul?”
As voters have observed, Hochul, who replaced the scandal-plagued Andrew Cuomo just a year ago, has been pandering to the state’s radical leftists and a most damaging Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg who has been releasing violent criminals without bail on a regular basis. Those released, often with long criminal histories, are, with rare exception, turned back onto the streets to commit more crimes and hurt innocent people who deserve to be protected by government.
For his part, Mr. Zeldin said that on his first day in office he will replace DA Mr. Bragg.
Zeldin’s lieutenant governor candidate, former police officer and police executive Alison Esposito, said that the North Woodmere event organized by Five Towns political activists like Mr. Rodin and Dr. Neuman was inspiring. According to the organizers, over $50,000 was raised that evening.
On Friday at a Five Towns NORPAC event, senatorial candidate and author J.D. Vance was in town to promote his close race in Ohio with longtime Democrat Representative Tim Ryan.
At stake here is the majority in the Senate and the vital need for Republicans to retake control of the governing body, which is currently tied at 50 seats for each major political party.
Like the congressional race in upstate New York next week, almost any election in Ohio is a strong indication of national sentiment on the issues that are important to Americans across the board.
J.D. Vance is a product of severe poverty in mid-America Appalachia where hardworking U.S. citizens have struggled to survive for generations. The Vance story, told through his bestselling book and then film, Hillbilly Elegy, brought international recognition to the plight of this segment of the U.S. population.
Vance, 38, managed to advance and eventually received a scholarship to attend Yale Law School where he graduated with honors. Of special interest to the NORPAC gathering was that Vance visited Israel for the first time a few weeks ago as part of CPAC Israel.
Among many other issues, there is a sense today that slowly but surely there is an anti-Israel tilt being introduced into Democrat Party politics. And that is just one more reason why it is so critical to hand the Republican Party a majority in the next senate. That has the potential to save both Israel and the U.S.
The senate seat in Ohio is an open one created by the resignation of longtime Republican Senator Rob Portman. At the NORPAC event, where comments by candidates are mostly off the record, Vance indicated that his race against Ryan can be won if he can just manage to marshal the resources to get the word out to the electorate about what is at stake in this election.
Vance managed to win his primary earlier this year after he came back to take the lead in the polls only after he was endorsed by former President Donald Trump. Vance said that he was not originally a Trump supporter going back to 2016 but that position has apparently changed.
Vance said that in the aftermath of his visit to Israel he came away with a sense that there are similarities between life in Appalachia and Israel. “It’s a matter of values; Israel has a strong army, and they watch out for their own.”
There is an array of political races around the country that can define the very future of the country. The Biden administration, the people with whom Biden surrounds himself, and the balance of power in Congress has plunged America into a steady downward spiral.
Whether it’s for the Congress seat in upstate New York, governor of New York, or a Senate seat in Ohio, these vital races require our involvement. The future of America is on the line.
Read more of Larry Gordon’s articles at 5TJT.com. Follow 5 Towns Jewish Times on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for updates and live videos. Comments, questions, and suggestions are welcome at 5TJT.com and on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
