Win or Lose, Election Day Leaves Little to Celebrate

By Bonnie Chernin Rogoff
Rightgrrl Contributor
Founder, Jews For Life

November 7, 2001

It is Election Day, so by the time you read this, we will have a new Mayor of New York City, and new Governors in New Jersey and Virginia.

If you are a conservative who believes morality and religion matter, this election may be a sad turning point.

Mayor Schundler has lost, and it is no surprise. He was rebuffed by his own party, at all levels. Had he won, it would have been a miracle, and it would have been due to the efforts of conservatives. It is this group of voters, the conservative base, whose interests have been ignored by the Republican establishment.

Whether it is Mayor Bloomberg or Mayor Green won't make much difference. That race is a waste of time. There's nothing worse than a former liberal Democrat who wears the Republican label. That leaves Michael Bloomberg out for those of us who still believe moral issues are important. As for Mark Green, there's a guy who could benefit by those famous "sensitivity-training courses." His claim to fame is being obnoxious, and using vicious campaign smears against his opponents. It's easier to give up chocolate and sex than find a single good thing Mark Green has ever done for New York City.

The New Jersey gubernatorial race is much more interesting. Here was an opportunity, especially after Mayor Brett Schundler's sizeable win over former Rep. Bob Franks in the primary, to get a real Republican as Governor of New Jersey, for the first time in years. You know, a social and religious conservative.

To win an election, you need money, and a support team backing you. This, Brett Schundler lacked, because he is anathema to the so-called "moderate" wing of the GOP, or Gone On Principles party. He is a religious conservative who believes unborn babies should have the right to be born, parents should have the right to choose schools for children already born, and living people should have a right to remain alive by protecting themselves in accordance with the Second Amendment.

Those traditional beliefs - the right to be born, the right to educate your children as you choose, and the right to bear arms - don't go over well with the morally-bereft left. The Republican establishment in New Jersey doesn't like him. They gave Mayor Schundler a tepid response. Former Governor Whitman has been chilly. Governor DiFrancesco has been icy. It didn't end there. Former NJ Republican chairman Chuck Haytaian called Schundler "a bad Republican." The Republican National Committee deprived Mayor Schundler of desperately needed funds to run a decent campaign.

Who are the "bad Republicans" here?

A gubernatorial election has implications for a potential Presidential run. Is the RNC telling conservative voters that they will hide their wallets from a future conservative religious Republican Presidential candidate? It seems that's the message.

That kind of "neo-conservative-moderatism" embodied in Sen. John McCain has made headway into the higher state and national Republican ranks. It only adds fuel to the fire of liberals like Mayor Jim McGreevey, who make careers of bashing conservatives on social issues.

All through the campaign, McGreevey attacked Schundler's conservative values as "extreme." It is now "extreme" to be a Christian who believes in the resurrection. It is "extreme" to believe that partial birth abortion, in which an unborn baby is stabbed in the back of her head and has her brains suctioned out, systematically slaughtered for "choice," should be outlawed. It is "extreme" to protect and defend your life with a gun, or for parents to want the right to choose the appropriate education for their children.

McGreevey, who supports the "choice" to kill unborn children, does not support your right to choose their schools if they are born. As for guns, the control freaks can say what they want. Had a pistol been handy in the pocket of an airline passenger on September 11, thousands of people may be alive today.

Jim McGreevey is a man who can more accurately be described as an extremist. However, the Democratic Machine is fine tuned, and the Woodbridge mayor received huge contributions from the DNC, from the powerful unions and teacher's groups, and from special interest organizations supporting abortion on demand and gun control.

It would have been helpful had President Bush, whose job approval ratings have soared to 88% in New Jersey, showed up in the state on Mayor Schundler's behalf. Instead, he sent a taped message. While the President's time is very limited due to the war, he has made other appearances throughout the United States. So, why did he not arrange one short visit on behalf of Mayor Schundler? The election of a conservative Governor in an important state should motivate national leaders to rally for him. That includes the President.

Last minute stumping by Mayor Giuliani and Governor Pataki did not cause the miracle upset Mayor Schundler was seeking. The future of the GOP is being modified, from the top down, to a so-called "mushy middle" that no longer heeds its conservative base or the moral and religious values that go with us. That's why Mayor Schundler was questioned endlessly in interviews about the appropriateness of his strong Christian commitment. Senator and former Vice Presidential candidate Joe Lieberman is held in awe because he is an observant Jew. But then, he's also a Democrat who supports partial birth abortion and much of the liberal agenda.

So, had it been Governor-elect Schundler today, it wouldn't have mattered tomorrow. Instead, it's Governor-elect McGreevey, and you know who is to blame.


Copyright 2001 by Bonnie Chernin Rogoff. Not to be reproduced in any fashion, in whole or in part, without written consent from the author. All rights reserved.