Dear Editor:
When it came to his post-election analysis, Mr. Kadinsky had a hyper-partisan take that was not based in facts - sort of like his pre-election candidate piece. He says people voted for candidates, not party, but the results show many people just voted for Democrats without any regard for the candidate. But he also has some false statements as well.
He claims that Daniel Rosenthal won by 35,000 votes. In reality, it was just under 3,500. That is also figuring in Rosenthal outspent his opponent 100:1, an opponent who didn’t even campaign hard. If Mr. Kadinsky researched into local politics, he would know the Queens GOP chose Mr. King against the wishes the local County Committee members, who had picked a frum woman to run against Rosenthal and had financial backing. Had that happened, there is a very good chance we would have a different assemblyman, as the 11367 Zip Code is what delivered the victory to Rosenthal.
He points out Grace Meng won, and turns it into some sort of resounding support for Meng. However, from public filings, Meng outspent Zmich 72:1, and had a large staff, to Mr. Zmich’s five people. What’s more is Meng had only a 27% name recognition in the district in a survey conducted, meaning a properly-funded Zmich campaign had a chance, had the GOP not pulled his funding in the summer. Did you know that the new district had a 7-point shift to the Democrats’ favor from the old, as the GOP areas were taken out and some of the most progressive areas added? If we look at the data from the old district boundaries, had the GOP still had Glendale and other areas in the district, Mr. Zmich is estimated to have gotten 44% on his meager budget. The fact he pulled in 37% (not the 35% he claims), up from 33% last time (better than any Republican had against her), with that 7-point shift in Meng’s favor, shows she is not that popular.
Additionally, while all the other Democrats Mr. Kadinsky mentioned won, these were the closest races they’d ever had, and in no single race did the Democrat spend at least 2x as much as their Republican opponent. Lastly, in the Amato race, he pushes her narrative about the counting, with all her slanderous claims against retired US Army Colonel Thomas Sullivan, alleging he was trying to suppress the military vote, without providing any context nor Colonel Sullivan’s response. Colonel Sullivan pointed out his 25 years of military service, and his post-military career of fighting for veterans to counter her claim, while pointing out the Mrs. Amato has routinely fought against bills to help veterans.
Maybe QJL needs a second writer, who isn’t basically a Democrat Party PR person, to act as a counter to Mr. Kadinsky. If you can have only one writer, maybe have one who is more balanced, sticks to actual facts, and knows what’s going on in local Queens politics outside of the Democrat Party machine.
Mike Aronov
Dear Editor:
The old “Jim Crow South” discrimination against people of color has moved north to discriminate against whites. Caucasian American sign language interpreter Keith Wann, for the Broadway production of the Lion King, was fired by the non-profit Theater Development Fund. They are responsible for providing staff to perform Broadway shows American sign language interpreters. They claim that only an African American interpreter was appropriate for this play. Skin color should never be used in the hiring or firing of employees. The same holds true for ethnicity, age, sex, religious, or political beliefs. Can only Jews appear in Fiddler on the Roof, Mormons in The Book of Mormon, or Italians in The Godfather?
Senator Schumer proudly boasted in campaign TV commercials that he brought New York several hundred million federal dollars as a result of COVID-19. These funds were supposed to protect both Broadway theaters from closing and its employees losing their jobs. They were never meant to be used in discrimination by the Lion King producers and Theater Development Fund. Will Schumer speak out on behalf of Wann, whose only crime was being born white? What about Attorney General Merrick Garland, along with the city, state, and federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commissions? Both Albany and City Hall offer taxpayers subsidies worth several hundred million to Broadway. Will Governor Hochul and Mayor Adams say anything? The late Civil Rights icon Reverend Martin Luther King said, «I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” He would have never approved of reverse discrimination based on race.
Sincerely,
Larry Penner
Dear Editor:
I will concede to Mr. Hecht that some Republican candidates were not very good. However, he overlooks an extremely important point: The laws in some battleground states were changed in 2020 due to the pandemic. It was clearly unconstitutional. The Supreme Court refused to take up the case in Pennsylvania. Even Republican governors and/or state legislatures refused to do anything about the changes.
Article II Section I Clause II states that it is the state legislature that is tasked with making election law, not rogue governors during a pandemic. Ballot drop boxes, ballot curing, ballot harvesting, and over 30 days of early voting all played into the favor of Democrats. It’s very hard for a Republican to win when they’re down 30 points on election day and don’t even know it.
Democrats keep screaming that Republicans are a “threat to our Democracy.” You know what’s a threat to our democracy, er Republic? Refusing to debate your opponent so the electorate can’t see where you stand on the issues. Kathy Hochul, Letitia James, Katie Hobbs in Arizona, and John Fetterman in Pennsylvania all refused to debate their opponents. Hochul and Fetterman both finally agreed to one debate after early voting began, so hundreds of thousands of votes had already been cast before the people got to see where each candidate stood on the issues. That’s another reason why Republicans didn’t do well in the midterms.
I don’t know why Mr. Hecht thinks the Republican wins in New York were a “big shock.” The Democrat gerrymander of the state was so egregious that it was struck down in court and a special master had to come in and redraw district lines that were not partisan. The results showed that to be the case. Four very close races were won by Republicans. Had the Democrats not gone power-hungry and drawn ludicrous district lines in the first place, the outcome might have been different.
New York Democrats aren’t losing any elections. We are stuck with a corrupt governor who doesn’t care about the regular citizens of the state. She, like the President, has a war on energy. She clearly doesn’t have any intention of keeping us safe from criminals. This was our best chance to get rid of her and we couldn’t. We are now stuck living with that choice.
Shalom Markowitz
Dear Editor:
Thank goodness the elections are over. At this point, I don’t think we care who won or who lost because at last, we are free of those endless insipid political commercials where each candidate carps the other. It came to the point where I preferred the “music” played while waiting for my bank, insurance company, or doctor’s office to respond to my call to those hideous commercials. (By the way, stop asking me if I’m having a wonderful day after I’ve spent 30 minutes waiting for you to answer my call.)
I now ask myself how TV commercials could get more annoying. Well, my answer came quickly. In second place to the political commercials are the Medicare and reverse mortgage commercials featuring some aged actor (i.e. Tom Selleck). Am I supposed to believe this octogenarian celeb who assures me that taking out this mortgage is perfect for me? Will he back up his promises with his wallet if I lose my shirt and my home?
Third prize goes to all the law firms that promise great returns if I, G-d forbid, get into an accident, get hit by a car, have been to Camp LeJeune (wherever that is), or have used talc powder. Am I supposed to believe those people who claim to have made 10 times more than their insurance companies have paid them?
The bottom line is I’m better off watching the new season of The Crown or rewatching Shtisel. Actually, I should be learning or reading a book because before I know it, those darn political advertisements will be back on TV, featuring President Biden, Donald Trump, Governor DeSantis, and everyone who has lost the 2022 election.
Debbie Horowitz