Common Sense: The Conservative Party

September 29, 2014 JERRY KASSAR

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Congratulations to Mike Long on his re-election as state chairperson of the New York Conservative Party and to Fran Vella-Marrone who was re-elected the treasurer of the state party. I was re-elected a state vice chairperson. Ross Brady, David Ryan and Liam McCabe from Brooklyn were elected to the state party’s Executive Committee.

Although it might seem like the entire state leadership of the Conservative Party is from Brooklyn there are actually 55- plus Executive Committee members from around the state.

The party state headquarters has been at 486 78^th Street in Bay Ridge since 1989 sharing space with the Brooklyn party. We have been fortunate to be able to maintain a fulltime staff resulting in the headquarters being open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and often in the evening and on weekends when we are involved in projects. The party’s phone number is 718-921-2158.

Mike — who has been state chairperson since December, 1988, was a city councilmember in the early 1980s representing all of Brooklyn in an at-large seat that is no longer used. And as many readers know, he owed a business on Fifth Avenue for many years. Fran, who is Congressmember Grimm’s Brooklyn manager, has been the president of the Dyker Heights Civic Association for a number of years. She is also a winner of the prestigious Bay Ridge Community Council’s Civic Award.

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Republican-Conservative gubernatorial candidate Rob Astorino campaigned in Bay Ridge last week with State Senator Marty Golden (whom I serve as chief of staff) at the 77^th Street and Fourth Avenue R station. Astorino, who is the Westchester county executive, was well received by commuters at the busy station which attracted a number of members of the press for the campaign stop.

Astorino and Golden then went by Conservative Party headquarters where they met with members of the Asian press conducting a lengthy and detailed interview on a number of issues.

Astorino has been running hard and is showing strength in many counties north and west of New York City. He will need to make ground on Long Island and in the city. He hopes to do this by increasing his visits significantly over the next few weeks and by talking about the issues that have made him a well-regarded county executive in one of the city’s largest suburbs – economic development, lower taxes, public safety and opposition to common core.

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Like most Americans, I strongly support the air campaign being conducted by the United States and a few allies against ISIS. I hope, but frankly am skeptical, that we can defeat or at least destabilized this terrorist group without boots on the ground. Possibly those boots can be provided by Saudi Arabia or some of our other Arab allies who are as concerned, if not more concerned, about ISIS. I seriously doubt that we can ever count on Iraq’s soldiers, who ran away leaving behind all sorts of armaments, to be of any value.

I do think the president has spent too much time telling the world all we will not do as he tries to make the case for all we will do to defeat this organized group of lunatics who murder, rape and pillage in a manner reminiscent of the barbarians from day’s past.

A powerful nation should leave some mystery on how far it will go to eliminate an enemy. Almost nothing should appear to be off the table.

In any event, I support the president’s first steps in responding to ISIS and how often can I really say that