Letter to Stephen J. Minarik III

Dear Mr. Minarik:

Nice try. No cigar.

I wrote in November of last year that you’re the state GOP’s own worst enemy. Like Steve Perry suggested, glad I didn’t stop believing.

You wrote an “Another Voice” column for today’s News, (which I’m sure was submitted to every newsdaily from…well Schenectady to Niagara Falls).

In it, you blast Eliot Spitzer for having the gall to say, and I quote from your quote, “If you drive from Schenectady to Niagara Falls . . . it looks like Appalachia.”

You spend the first four paragraphs of your piece fumbling over a minimally appropriate Santayana quote, and regurgitating something Ed Koch said about Upstate back in 1982.

The Republicans in New York have been tripping over themselves to blast Spitzer for that Appalachia comment. As the head of that party, you tripped hard:

Appalachia, a vast mountain region that stretches from the Deep South to the Mid-Atlantic region, shares little in common with the upstate that millions of hard-working New Yorkers call home. Largely isolated from modern urbanized areas, the Appalachian Region is known for its underdevelopment, harsh coal-mining practices and widespread poverty. Using the term “Appalachia” only proves that Spitzer is out of touch with upstate New York

I guess you’re lucky you’re not running for any sort of office in Appalachia, because I’m sure they don’t appreciate that sort of broad-brush stereotype any more than Buffalo enjoys being known as a snowy, boring tundra.

You’re from the Rochester area, so you represent:

Upstaters live in a vital region rich in history, culture and entrepreneurship. While there’s no question that upstate New York is encountering some economic struggles, it is disingenuous and offensive to compare our region to one of the most poverty-stricken areas of the country. The area from Schenectady to Niagara Falls is made up of strong families, skilled workers and a spirit of optimism, all struggling to cope with the heavy tax burden imposed by Albany.

“Some economic struggles“? And Big Ben is just a clock.

Mr. Minarik, we’ve had a Republican governor since 1/1/95, and the State is still in the shitter. Especially upstate. We continue to bear the highest per-capita taxes in the US; our utilities are more expensive than elsewhere; the Thruway Authority nickel and dimes us at every turn; Authorities in general ream the people with impunity; Charlotte, NC has become the new “South Buffalo”. That’s the Pataki legacy; ten years of empty promises, stagnation, and dysfunction.

(And, by the way: you can blame Shelly Silver and the Unions and the Democrats all you want. But if they were the real problem, then Pataki and the Republicans have had 11 years to do the real communication and display the real leadership needed to turn things around. I know the state motto is Excelsior! How do you say Failure! in Latin?)

As upstate New Yorkers work diligently to improve and advance our economy, we need another leader like Gov. George E. Pataki who will fight to lessen our tax burden, ensure that we receive our fair share and make us proud to be New Yorkers.

BWAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh, my God. Excuse me for a minute while I compose myself. Wow, that’s funny. I thought I was going to pee my pants reading that.

Pataki will do what to lessen our what, now? If the Republicans are going to run on Pataki’s record, then Spitzer’ll win in a bigger landslide than even I first imagined.

A candidate for governor should offer leadership, not insults. He or she should offer a vision, new ideas and a burning passion for reform. You can be assured that under my watch as chairman of the New York Republican State Committee, our party and our candidates for governor will work tirelessly to promote and advocate for upstate New York. Our people deserve nothing less.

But, Mr. Minarik – you just got through insulting Appalachia, which has, incidentally, outperformed Upstate New York in every meaningful economic criterion, including job growth, economic growth, population growth, etc. The insult was to Appalachia, my friend. Not to upstate.

You can tout Pataki and the feckless leadership in Albany all you want, but the Republicans have had 11 years to prove that they could do something meaningful to grow New York, and they flubbed it. They dropped the ball.

At one point, you say:

Upstate New York is a special place; for a candidate to win upstate, he or she must understand its culture and values. To mock upstate, or to refer to upstate with condemnation and disdain, is to act at your peril. Just ask Koch.

But 2006 isn’t 1982.

For a candidate to win upstate, he must understand its problems and pains. To dismiss upstate, or to refer to upstate as a Patakinomics-blessed Shangri-La which bears only “some economic struggles”, is to act at your peril.