Two of the leading Republican mayoral candidates seceded tonight from the National Republican Party, a sign of how bad the Republican brand, in its current form, is among Independents and minority groups.
At a Mayoral Forum on Sustainability -- hosted by NYLCVEF and the Cooper Union Institute for Sustainable Design -- and moderated by Brian Lehrer, Joe Lhota, who joined for the first time all the Democratic candidates on stage, sought to separate himself from the National Republican party, especially on environmental issues. "I disagree with the Republican party not only on social issues but also on environmental issues," he said. "I think the party itself has lost its way tremendously It was President teddy Roosevelt who created the national park lands. It was, believe it or not, Richard Nixon who created EPA. The fact of the matter is, done properly, environmental issue and sustainability can also be about new jobs, new technologies and expanding the economy."
To which John Catismatidis, who describes himself a Republicrat, added: "The NYC Republican party is different than the National Republican Party. I urge the Republican party to have its own caucus in the North East."
George McDonald described himself as an outsider who would not abide by party affiliation, but lead in providing employment for New Yorker, just as he did with the homeless.
Again Joe Lhota has the edge here. Running with the endorsement of the Libertarian Party actually provides Lhota with a solid doctrine on which to campaign where his cohorts will simply look like lost sheep.
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