Becker for Congress

Yogi Berra used to say that “it feels like déjà vu all over again,” and so with the reprise of the GOP primary between Frank Scaturro and Fran Becker we have a repeat of 2010 when the two squared-off for the Republican nomination to challenge incumbent Representative Carolyn McCarthy in the 4th Congressional District.

Mr. Scaturro is one of those bright young Long Island boys who by dint of brains and hard work got himself an Ivy League education and then a four year stint as Counsel on the Senate Judiciary Committee dealing with constitutional and judge-appointment issues. Like many an ambitious Washington staffer, Mr. Scaturro’s eyes turned towards being elected to Congress and so he came back here after many years away and sought the Republican nomination. Coming home he opted to play (and still play) the outsider role, declining to work with the party’s leadership and rank-and-file – preferring to go the primary route than the “go-along, get-along” approach. In this vein, he has assiduously alienated dedicated lifelong Republicans by asserting that they are “party hacks,” hurling chares of “bossism” and “cronyism,” and so forth.

What Mr. Scaturro has failed to adequately comprehend is that any party and every party runs on local district, town, village and neighborhood organizations and these organizations typically have elected leaders. In our area many of these leaders are also the people’s elected representatives on the Town and County level. These folks have been elected time and time again because they’re been doing a good job for their constituents. There’s nothing nefarious about it. But Mr. Scaturro, because he was not given the nomination by acclamation by the party by virtue of his descending on us locals from the august heights of Washington and his Ivy League credentials chooses to run an insurgent campaign to make an end-run around the party, burning as many local bridges he can along the way, like Sherman in his march across Georgia.

To Mr. Scaturro, that he’s never held any kind of elected office whatsoever on any level is immaterial. That he’s also never held any kind of significant appointed office aside from working as an attorney in D.C. also doesn’t matter. It’s all ideology to him. He’s on a Quixotic crusade. He’s bright, young, personable and very conservative, so send him to back to Washington. Ambition mixed with a heady dose of entitlement. No sense of needing to pay any dues and get some experience before heading to Congress. It reminds us of the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, and look where that’s gotten us.

We have another view – a view that says legislative experience matters. That constituent service matters, that community service matters, that a lifetime living in the district matters, that longstanding family roots matter.

Francis X. Becker (or Fran as most people call him) is as local as local leaders get. He has devoted his life to the people of Southwest Nassau. He’s no fancy-pants Ivy Leaguer. He’s a graduate of Lynbrook High School, Nassau Community College and Hofstra. Becker has been elected 10 times (the last time in November 2011 by over 70 percent) to the Nassau County Legislature and is in his 19th year serving the residents of Lynbrook, Valley Stream, East Rockaway, Malverne and parts of Oceanside and Rockville Centre. The hometown folks who know him best keep sending him back to Mineola with overwhelming margins and its not because he’s lacked challengers – it’s because Becker delivers for his constituents and because Becker can be counted on and because Becker’s word is his bond.

Becker is not a lawyer, he’s a financial planner and studied business finance. We think that’s exactly the right kind of skill set necessary to help get America out of the ongoing financial disaster we’re facing with trillion-dollar-plus annual deficits. We don’t need someone to lawyer things to death – we’ve got Obamacare for that — we need someone with a sharp pencil to make spending cuts.

In 2010 in his run for Congress against Carolyn McCarthy, Becker repeatedly visited every nook and cranny of The Five Towns and we got to know him pretty well – Becker is a man of deep convictions and integrity who has his fingers on the pulse of the area. Every local GOP officeholder endorses him for all the reasons we state above and that’s why we also endorse Fran Becker for the Republican and Conservative Party nomination to face Carolyn McCarthy in November for New York’s 4th Congressional Seat. We urge you to get out and vote on Tuesday and make your voice heard.

Another reason to vote for Becker — We saw this posted on Facebook this week:
Did you know that if you sell your house after 2012 you will pay a 3.8 percent sales tax on it? That’s $3,800 on a $100,000 home, etc. When did this happen? It’s in the Obamacare bill and goes into effect in 2013. Why 2013? Could it be to come to light after the 2012 elections? So, this is “change you can believe in?” Under the new health care bill all real estate transactions will be subject to a 3.8 percent sales tax. If you sell a $500,000 home, there will be a $19,000 tax. This bill is set to shaft the retiring generation who often downsize their homes. You weren’t aware this was in the Obamacare bill? Guess what, you aren’t alone. There are more than a few members of Congress that aren’t aware of it either. That’s right. We’re finding out what’s in Obamacare. Rep. McCarthy voted for it and supports it. And don’t forget you pay that 3.8 percent even if you have no gain on the sale. And if you do have a gain, your capital gains tax is going up from 15 percent to 20 percent plus the aforementioned 3.8 percent federal home sales tax.