NRA TOOLS
Touts gun reform, seeks to boot 7 reps
are Reps. Lee Zeldin (Suffolk County), John Faso (Columbia County), Elise Stefanik (Essex County in the Adirondacks), Claudia Tenney (Oneida County), Tom Reed (Steuben County in the Southern Tier), John Katko (Syracuse) and Chris Collins (Erie County).
The only two New York Republicans not targeted are Reps. Pete King of Long Island (photo inset) and Dan Donovan of Staten Island.
The Democratic strategist involved in the effort said that Cuomo continues the gun control fight even though he suffered politically among Republicans and voters upstate and in the Hudson Valley after passage of the SAFE Act, which “was the right thing to do.”
“So on the one hand, you have a governor who has taken on the NRA and passed the toughest gun law in the nation, and on the other hand you have the New York congressional members of the GOP — the straight ‘A’ students of the NRA,” the strategist said. “We love that contrast and that’s what this campaign will be reminding voters about from now until November.” Rebecca Fischer, executive director of New Yorkers Against Gun Violence, credited the SAFE Act as a “critical, lifesaving step forward,” and said the governor’s campaign “will continue to put much-needed focus and pressure on Washington. The gaping holes in our federal laws are deadly for the country and for New Yorkers.”
She added that there is also more that can be done on the state level, such as keeping guns away from individuals who are dangerous to themselves and others.
But state Republican Party spokeswoman Jessica Proud charged that the effort is designed more to help Cuomo run for President in 2020.
“He should focus more on cleaning up his administration and fixing the problems of the state — the worst economic outlook and the decimated MTA,” Proud said. “Stop meddling in national issues and focus on fixing the problems of the state.”
Chris Martin, spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, said that “voters have no interest in Andrew Cuomo bringing his liberal New York City values to their communities. “This is nothing more than a cheap political stunt to shift attention away from the ongoing federal trial of the most senior staff in his corrupt administration,” Martin said, referring to former Cuomo aide Joseph Percoco.