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September 21, 2007
Saul Stands For Nothing But The
Bottom Line
Imagine a candidate for Congress who refuses to articulate
a single thing that he stands for despite declaring his
candidacy, launching a website, soliciting money, hiring three
full time staffers and opening a campaign office. That is
exactly what one Republican establishment candidate is doing.
Multi-millionaire Andrew Saul, who made a fortune selling
women’s clothing, says he wants the Republican nomination to
challenge Congressman John Hall (D, NY-19). In May, Saul told
the Journal News that, “In the next two to three months, I'll
talk about the issues, but right now it is about the voters and
understanding their needs first." This is politician- speak
for: “I have no core beliefs but I’ll say what I need to say
when I need to say it to get elected.” More than three months
have elapsed but according to a September 2nd report
Saul is still “developing his platform on the issues.”
Saul hired an army of high priced consultants to develop the
hollow slogan “An Independent Voice.” Independent? Saul is a
Bush and Pataki appointee who has donated suitcases of cash to
dozens of politicians; his first step toward running for
Congress was to go to DC and bow before the Washington
establishment.
Incredibly, Saul isn’t even certain where he lives. In March he
tried to buy the support of the Republican National
Congressional Committee with a donation of $25,000 using his
Manhattan address. Then in April he used a Katonah address to
make a contribution but used a different Manhattan address for
his May political donations. Why?
Federal Election Commission filings indicate that Saul is
equally unsure of which type of candidates he supports. Saul
raised more than $100,000 for President Bush and was rewarded
with a plum appointment to the Federal Retirement Thrift
Investment Board. But he has also donated to ultra-liberal
Senator Ted Kennedy (D, MA). No person of principle could
simultaneously support Bush and Kennedy.
Saul’s cavalier arrogance about our representation in this
district is stunning. According to a Journal News report, Saul
“would have liked to see his daughter, Jennifer Saul Yaffa, who
is chairwoman of the Manhattan Republican Party, pick up the
challenge, but she's too busy looking after her 5-year-old
daughter.” Evidently the Saul gang has to migrate up from the
city to save us from ourselves because we in the Hudson Valley
aren’t capable of sending one of our own to represent us in
Washington.
Saul and his inside-the-Beltway cronies cite his corporate
background and personal wealth as his qualifications to be a
Congressman. However, the most important issue of our time is
national security, a priority that Saul is wholly unconcerned
with when it affects the bottom line. As a member of the Thrift
Savings Board which administers the pension of federal employees
and the military, Saul opposed restrictions on investing in
terrorist states including Iran. Saul testified to Congress,
"As the board members, we are responsible only for the
participants' best interest, not for the best interest of the
United States."
Saul always wants to keep money in the hands of elites and out
of the hands of ordinary citizens. In 2005, while a member of
the Metro Transit Authority, Saul was one of only two members to
vote against spending the MTA’s $50 million surplus to cover
discounted fares for commuters.
My campaign of ideas and solutions stands in stark contrast to
Saul’s candidacy of carefully calculated issue avoidance. The
Marine Corps taught me to “lead from the front” and I am proud
to state where I stand: I am in favor of pro-active policies to
win the war on terror and understand that victory in Iraq and
effective border security are vital to our national security. I
believe in limited government and low taxes and I am a defender
of traditional values, particularly the right to life.
Unlike Saul, I don’t have New York City addresses nor is my
connection to the district a gated mansion in an isolated
enclave of the super rich. I don’t need a Hillary Clinton style
“listening tour” to find out what my friends and neighbors in
the 19th District think and need. I am right here every day
working shoulder to shoulder with regular people. Our interests
are ignored when we send to Washington out of touch, politically
connected aristocrats like Andrew Saul who stand for nothing but
the bottom line.
Kieran Michael Lalor, a former high school teacher and
Pace Law School grad, is a Republican Iraq War Veteran
aggressively exploring a run against Democrat Congressman John
Hall in the 19th District. (www.KML2008.com)
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