County Executive Steve Levy fought hard for the GOP nomination for this years' governor's race, but in the end it was just not to be. Both Levy and former Congressman Rick Lazio would make a great governor, but after the dust settled it is Lazio who will face Attorney General Andrew Cuomo this November.
If Mr. Levy wants to show that he is really a Republican and a fiscal conservative then what better way is there to prove it than to throw yourself one hundred percent behind Rick Lazio?
The County Exec reportedly said that he might still remain on another line to "get the message out." I hope he doesn't go there.
So why not Cuomo? First of all he has no record. An attorney general is not a policy making role. Compare that with being a Congressman. We know little of Cuomo's ideology, which is a problem in itself, but if the apple didn't fall far from the tree and he is anything like his father, he is far to the left of Lazio. We don't need any more Obama, Pelosi, and Reids here in New York State than we already have. Levy can help drive that home. As a former Democrat he can explain how he was never a Democrat's favorite Democrat and he can give witness to how most of them are so beholden to the unions and the government workers that they could never make the tough decisions our next governor will surely have to make.
There has been some speculation that Levy may just wait for Lazio to lose and return again in four years with his four million dollar war chest. Wouldn't it be refreshing for a politician to do the right thing for a change.
Andrew Cuomo certainly does have a record. He was the senior official at HUD. It was his plan (with Barney Frank and Chris Dodd) to increase Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac participation in the subprime market. He is one of the main people responsible for lowering the lending requirements so that people could get 100% mortgages and not have to provide income. Quite a record and we are all living with the results of his efforts. And he continues to get away with it while Lazio seems to be mum on the subject.
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