Make Them Feel The Heat

“There is a tide in the affairs of men which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune.” The genius of William Shakespeare is in his ability to clearly identify innate human truths which would otherwise be buried in our collective subconscious. In politics, as in all things human, standing up and fighting for what you believe in, though not always the easiest and most expedient thing to do, is surely the most rewarding. The National Republican Party is at a philosophical crossroads between a growing conservative movement and an antiquated conciliatory stance. Grassroots, conservative candidates are challenging Republican Party favorites in primaries throughout the nation. Many state party leaders have embraced this shift in momentum back to its Reagan roots. Many other states, however, are reluctant to follow suit. It is a difficult transition for any organization to disassociate itself from long held members of esteem and outdated modes of operation. The new Republican movement lacks the large cash reserves and political connections of the old party faithful. However, what it lacks in these categories it makes up for as a conduit of the public will. It expresses, through various social networks, rallies and literature, what many Americans are feeling in these discouraging times. The choice for the Republican Party in this midterm election cycle is a choice between short term political expediency and long term philosophical gains. The political drama now unfolding in the state of Florida is both revealing and emblematic of things to come.


Marco Rubio has emerged as the Florida Republican candidate of choice for the U.S. Senate. Rubio has had to contend with Florida’s current Governor Charlie Crist for the state’s party endorsement. With a strong display of principled, energetic and idea-driven leadership, he has achieved remarkable success. Rubio, a four term leader in Florida’s House of Representatives, has gained support with a consistent message of tax reform, school choice and American exceptionalism. Despite his disadvantage to Governor Crist in funding and political connections, he has earned the confidence and trust of Florida’s Republican base.


A grassroots, conservative movement is burgeoning in New York as well. Many New York citizen/activists are seeking to nominate their own versions of Rubio-Republicans. Though the State apparatus is yet to fully embrace these candidates, the response in Florida, with its large population of transplanted New Yorkers, may prove a harbinger of things to come. Smithtown’s own Mike Fitzpatrick has become Long Island’s adaptation of the Rubio-Republican. Fitzpatrick, a four term member of the New York State Assembly, has entered the race for Congress in New York’s 1st congressional district. Although Fitzpatrick now faces tough competition from candidates with large cash reserves, he has the most proven conservative record and the strongest popular appeal. With the support of a well run Republican machine, such as Smithtown’s, Fitzpatrick may certainly achieve a success akin to Rubio’s. Upon acquiring the Republican nod, Fitzpatrick’s message of tax cuts, pension reform and fiscal conservation is likely to resonate well with the people of Suffolk County and earn him a November victory.


Whether New York Republicans will go the route of their Floridian brethren is open to debate. The most important thing, however, is that the voice of the people be heard. The emergence of Rubio-Republicans, as a significant political force, is a direct reaction to the will of the people. Win or lose, these candidates will necessitate meaningful reform within the Republican Party. Registered Republicans, throughout the land, are energized and are mobilizing in support of conservative candidates. Everyday citizens are searching for new leaders who can better relate to their conservative points of view. They are seeking to elect men and woman who share in their traditional American values, regardless of party affiliation. The Republican leadership would be wise to respond to the calls of this constituency. After all, it was Ronald Reagan, father of the conservative movement, who said “when you can’t make them see the light, make them feel the heat.”


Jeremy Pitcoff
Smithtown Republican Committeeman

All The King's Horses

Attention New Yorkers: Our state is broken. Our shops are closing, our taxes are rising and our families are migrating south. Our weak national economy has exposed the inevitable consequence of reckless spending and blind obedience to special interests. The state legislature’s majority has bowed to demands of organized labor at the expense of the taxpayers. With unsustainable state pensions, systemic Medicaid abuse and a state judiciary akin to Santa Claus, is it any wonder that New York faces a $9 billion deficit? Our nation was built on principles of individual liberty and freedom of commerce. Yet, time and again, New York’s elected officials have enacted laws that prohibit private sector growth and stunt Wall Street investment. Our state’s practice of relying on business for revenue while regulating its ability to prosper is counterproductive, to say the least. You cannot create jobs by attacking the job-creators. You cannot reduce deficits by adding to the debt. While these facts appear to be self evident, the legislature’s Democrat majority would beg to differ. Attention New Yorkers: Our state is broken and we need to fix it. Here’s how.


We must start by cutting erroneous spending and waste. New York’s pension system of “defined-benefits” requires increased state spending in times of decreased earnings. When poor markets cause drops in pension benefits, the state makes up the difference; when the markets recover, the state breaks even. Unless these Wall Street busts are followed by record-breaking booms, the state’s and the taxpayers’ losses continue to grow. If New York’s pensions were changed from a “defined-benefit” to a “defined-contribution” system, akin to the 401K, its debt would steadily shrink and eventually produce net gains.


A state-run campaign against Medicaid fraud is another easy solution to reduce waste and save the taxpayers millions of dollars. A responsible state attorney general could launch this crusade with the flick of a pen. Although New York Attorney General Andrew Coumo appears unable to initiate such a project, perhaps his successor will not share in his timidity.


Our next step in fixing New York’s fiscal woes will entail promoting business and cutting taxes. Business and financial institutions, large and small, cannot long withstand the financial burdens being thrust upon them by higher state and local taxes. From Manhattan to Long Island and from Goshen to Oswego, proprietors are closing shop and patrons are leaving town. Taxes, from income to payroll and from corporate to M.T.A., are draining the life and profit out of New York industry. The companies that are still intact have managed this by cutting their workforce and raising their prices, neither of which augur well for their respective communities. By reducing the costs of doing business in New York, the state will invite private sector growth and with it, expanded job creation.


Last, but not least, is tort reform. With President Obama unwilling to stand up to the trial lawyer lobby, the states are left to fend for themselves. Fair and comprehensive caps on medical malpractice rewards, along with a concerted effort to curb erroneous lawsuits would exponentially lower the cost of healthcare in New York. This would help to alleviate the pressure on businesses and families alike.


These aforementioned steps, if adopted, would go a long way toward piecing our state back together again. They would pull countless New Yorkers off the unemployment line and place them back in the workforce where they belong. The sales taxes gained from a thriving New York economy would far exceed the revenues lost from an over-extended business community. People who have more will spend more. It’s that simple.


To enact these policies, New York politicians will need to rid themselves of their growing dependence on union bosses and special interest lobbies. New Yorkers must vote into office, at every level of government, people who will look out for them and disengage themselves from rival party factions. With proper leadership, New York State can take back its rightful place as commercial empire of the world. A new, conservative electorate can achieve this by cutting both taxes and spending and by curbing government waste, fraud and abuse. Our citizens can make all of this happen by electing into office true stalwarts of our state’s salvation. Attention New Yorkers: Our state is broken. But, we can fix it.


Jeremy Pitcoff


Smithtown Republican Committeeman

Mightier Than The Sword

They say that the pen is mightier than the sword, and this may be true. But is that same pen mightier than the nuclear bomb? Probably not. It now appears a foregone conclusion that the presidency of Barack Obama will be marked by a military expansion of America’s enemies. By November, 2012, Iran will have joined the ranks of nuclear nations, North Korea will have markedly increased its nuclear stockpiles and countless terrorist networks will have access to their respective technologies.



Amid this frightening reality, President Obama has used the pen to sign a nuclear proliferation treaty with Russia that limits America’s missile defense technology. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has made it perfectly clear that any attempt by the United States to lessen its vulnerability to nuclear attack, via missile defense, will void the terms of the Russo/American treaty. Medvedev has also affirmed that this treaty has absolutely no bearing on Russia’s tacit approval of Iranian nuclear development.


In addition to the Russian treaty, President Obama has radically shifted American military policy by limiting the scenarios in which the United States would launch a nuclear attack. To summarize: A global guarantee that nothing short of a nuclear attack on American soil would draw a nuclear response. A nation may actually go as far as attacking America with biological or chemical weapons without risk of nuclear reprisal. Although the administration leaves room for exception if the aggressor nation or network is considered to be in non-compliance with the rules of global nuclear watchdog agencies, its affects seem trivial. This said compliance, or lack thereof, would be difficult to determine in the midst of a sarin gas attack or smallpox outbreak in our cities. America is weakening its capability to defend and deter attack as its enemies are strengthening their capabilities to launch them. One must wonder if the pen that wrote this doctrine could withstand the strength of a twig, let alone a sword or a bomb.


With America’s nuclear policy on the road to impotency by the stroke of the President’s pen, I found myself wondering if there was anything more the Obama Administration could do to limit our nation’s capability to defend against nuclear, chemical and/or biological attack. Alas came word of a nuclear summit, brought to us by Barack Obama, proud sponsor of American mediocrity.


This summit, hosted by the United States, will prove a hotbed of Israeli hate-speech and anti-Western values. Many nations, resentful of American exceptionalism, will have their voices heard. President Obama will, most likely, apologize for the past ‘arrogance’ of America and its allies. A whiff of anti-semitism will permeate the air, mixed with an occasional haughty puff of a Hugo Chavez cigar. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not be in attendance to witness the verbal blitzkrieg cast on his nation’s right to exist. Perhaps he will be too busy pondering how to prevent the extinction of the state of Israel. As President Obama sits in a room with America’s enemies and writes proclamations of world peace and sugarplum realities, Israel, Poland and other recently abandoned American allies will be all too aware of one simple fact: The bomb, is indeed, mightier than the pen.






Jeremy Pitcoff


Smithtown Republican Committeeman

Recipe For Disaster

First, let it be acknowledged that President Obama is no friend to Israel. His recent diplomatic snubs aimed at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prove this, along with the administration’s persistence in throwing international temper tantrums in attempts to belittle long-established Israeli policies. To deny Israel the rights of a sovereign state, namely by condemning its attempts to construct apartments in its National capital, exemplifies a contempt for the people of Israel never before expressed by an American president. Further exacerbating the situation, all of this is happening as the Jewish people face their gravest threat since World War II.
Second, let it be acknowledged that President Obama is no enemy to Iran. His policies of appeasement and insistence in placating the Iranian government prove this, along with the administration’s apparent readiness to negotiate with a regime ideologically fixed on the destruction of our allies and ourselves. Passive threats of international sanctions have only emboldened Iran’s determination to develop weapons-grade nuclear technology. The perceived weakness of the Obama White House has given Iran the incentive to build a nuclear arsenal at an accelerated pace. With an Israeli attack unlikely without American support and Europe hesitant to act without Washington’s lead, it would appear that the Iranian government has a once in a lifetime chance to place itself on equal nuclear footing with the free world.
Third, let it be acknowledged that President Obama is no advocate of missile defense. His abandonment of an American interceptor base in Poland proves this, along with the administration’s general cuts in anti-ballistic funding. The President’s rejection of a Bush-era deal with Warsaw to lessen nuclear vulnerability in Eastern Europe, was the first of many steps taken by the administration to alienate traditional American allies.
All of this withstanding, the Obama administration’s foreign policy appears to have developed as such: 1) Distance America’s traditional allies while engaging its enemies, 2) Decrease America’s capability to defend itself while allowing for the increase of its enemies’ capability to attack. Though this would appear unconscionable to any fair-minded observer, the Obama administration seems unwilling to change its direction. The facts speak for themselves.
Iranian possession of nuclear weapons will necessitate an arms race in the Middle East. This will place America in a position of military parity with regimes based on Islamic radicalism, many of whom consider the destruction of the United States and Israel to be of paramount priority. These nations despise America and its allies, not for what they do, but for who they are and what they represent. No amount of Western concessions will change that. A nuclear armed Iran will, at the least, create a decline in American influence throughout the world. Iran’s capability for mass destruction will naturally diminish America’s capability to promote freedom. Even worse, however, is what history has taught us. When a nation obsessed with the elimination of the Jewish race is allowed to build its military arsenal with little to no resistance from the freedom-loving nations of the world, a holocaust could certainly follow. This is a chance that America simply cannot take. The Obama administration must soon change its ways or risk the possibility of a repeat of the worst kind of history. America’s current foreign policy is truly a recipe for disaster.

Jeremy Pitcoff
Smithtown Republican Committeeman