It was during the Pataki years that the great GOP decline began. Governor Pataki, a slacker who used his office to enhance his lifestyle, proved to lack a philosophical compass. To retain political power and perks, Pataki’s inner circle drove Bill Powers from office, installed a lackey, Sandy Treadwell, and adopted a “hide your conservatism” and “Democratic Lite” electoral strategy. Running to the left and pandering to special interest groups may have gotten Pataki re-elected in 1998 and 2002 but it had a devastating impact on the Republican Party. Between 1998 and 2008, on the state and federal level, the GOP managed to lose the office of governor and attorney general, a U.S. Senator, nine congressmen, 12 assemblymen, and their 42-year hold on the state Senate.
Locally, fiscal mismanagement and corruption led to the eviction of Republican county executives in their three major strongholds: Westchester, Nassau and Suffolk counties.
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