Open Letter to Ed Cox,
To reverse the downward spiral of the Republican Party in New York, I asked Rob Astorino and you, to clean up the Republican Party and denounce all Republicans in Name Only (RINOs), before the 2014 Gubernatorial campaign. In particular, Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos and Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb, must be called out for their past treachery to Republican/Conservative Party principles, including passage of the SAFE Act.
Shooting a cannon across the bow of disloyal, lame and parasitical RINO legislators and party leaders will send a clear warning and set the stage to energize and rally the new anti-liberal, anti-Cuomo/Silver voting base.
Conditioned to the politic of the past, you refused to deal with the RINO treachery saying you wanted “party unity.” Really? Well the great majority of Republican/Conservative voters and I don’t want to be united with RINOs like Skelos and Kolb, Reda and Mondello.
A ritualistic, underfunded Astorino candidacy doesn’t work for the rank and file. Playing the same old game and hoping for a miracle, instead of changing the rules and making it happen, illustrates how the Republican establishment has devolved to be so brazenly disrespectful of the rank and file. Rob is a good man and will be a great Governor someday, but not now. Republicans and the great majority of their County Chairs say they want Trump. Cuomo sends his surrogates to encourage you for a reason. He gets apoplectic when he thinks of Trump. The clock is running out for the people and the Republican Party in New York State. It’s the two minute warning.
If Donald Trump scares you and the establishment RINOs, he paralyzes the liberal bubble that is ready to burst. The national movement can start right here in New York.
Trump has no respect for or loyalty to the Albany game. He is deep on all the important fiscal and social issues but his greatest quality is not name recognition or money. It’s that leadership quality that sets a man apart to lead others. He has gut with a killer instinct. He doesn’t wimp out. He leads from the front. He is the first into battle. His business acumen and negotiating skill is unchallenged. He was born to lead. He’s a man unable to be intimidated.
At dinner, having known him for 15 minutes, I told Trump why I ran and asked him why he wanted to run for Governor? He looked at me intently and when he spoke, I saw the fearless soul of a man who knew he had that unique quality and ability do what others can’t do. I also saw in his eyes and tone a familiar sensitivity, an empathy for the plight of the masses, an opportunity to do something significantly meaningful for humanity, for his family, and for his dad’s memory–time to form his legacy. His hesitancy is an asset, not a negative or publicity stunt. He is certainly not the toxic caricature the media paints. He is a successful and likable man who will strategically deliberate on the challenge because he can.
From that conversation, I was confident that Donald Trump would run but it will be on his terms. His instincts will determine the pace, the time and the place of battle. He will not follow the rules or terms of an old politic led by the same narcissistic, self-serving establishment.
Even after hearing from the base, when I trounced Lazio with 64% of the 2010 primary vote, the RINO county chairs didn’t show up for me. Trump won’t let that happen to him.
After the 2010 Primary, a respected friend was sitting outside the conference room in New York City where you, Vinney Reda, Jay Savino and the other RINOs on the party executive committee discussed and planned “laying down” on my campaign because, if elected, I would bust up the Albany establishment. He heard the entire dialogue and drove all the way to Batavia to tell me. It was business. I didn’t take it personally.
Call it a draft, a rebirth, a reformation, a revolution. Whatever it is, Ed, it will be the beginning of a better day for the people of the State of New York. A supermajority weighted vote of the County chairs, representative of the will of the Republican/Conservative rank and file, want Trump as their candidate. Execute their will. Unite the party. Lead, follow or get out of the way. Denounce the RINOs and put the deal together to run Trump. If you don’t and you chose to play more games, the rank and file will no longer want you as their leader and I will re-consider all of my options. Don’t take it personally. It’s business.
To all New York State voters, feel free to forward this memo to your friends and family.
Sincerely,
Carl Paladino
2010 GOP gubernatorial nominee
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