aTypical Joe: a gay New Yorker living in the rural South

Saturday, June 18, 2005

NY GOP woes

While Pataki dawdles, the NY GOP squabbles:

With Mr. Pataki lying low, the intraparty tensions have largely centered on the strategy of his handpicked and relatively untested state party chairman, Stephen J. Minarik III, a blustery conservative with a knack for bruising egos. While some party officials say they are energized by Mr. Minarik’s opinionated style, others see worrisome shades of Howard Dean, the Democratic national chairman, in Mr. Minarik’s remarks linking Democrats to terrorism and suggesting that some Republicans are B-list politicians.

I’ll let the Dean swipe pass (NY Republicans should be so lucky) and move on to Jeanine:

Privately, some Republican officials have also expressed concern about Mr. Minarik’s enthusiasm for Ms. Pirro, whose standing in Westchester has been increasingly uncertain. They say she could lose crucial votes from conservatives because of her support for abortion rights and gay rights, not to mention the previous conviction of her husband, Al Pirro, on felony tax evasion charges.

They also wonder if powerful Republican consultants have used their clout to aid Ms. Pirro, mentioning Kieran Mahoney, a longtime adviser to Mr. Pataki who is now working for Ms. Pirro. Mr. Mahoney lost a contract with the state party last year, however, so it is unclear how much influence he has there. Mr. Mahoney declined to comment for this article.

They’d do well to pass on Pirro.