Faso Wins

"This is a historic moment for our party, the New York State Republican party," he said.

It is also a moment that the Democrats are no doubt welcoming. The idea of running Spitzer against a Republican candidate who opposes abortion rights, and who has very little name recognition outside of his admittedly solid base, probably doesn't have them dreading election day.

It makes sense, then, that Faso's speech emphasized small government, low taxes, Spitzer's connection to special interests who "want higher taxes." He said his first act as governor would be to "craft a fiscally responsible budget" and said "New Yorkers need to know that because of the promises Eliot Spitzer has already made he would be forced to raise taxes." He called such a prospect "frightening."

But Faso needs to be more than just fiscally conservative, he needs to convince Republicans who do not share his conservative social values that he can represent all of them in Albany.

"We have an opportunity to gain the great center of Republican politics," he said.

That will not be an easy task, especially since Weld vowed yesterday that "nothing" would keep him from seeking the Governor's mansion. After such a shocking upset, we'll now see if that is truly the case.

In his speech, immediately after Faso, he congratulated him and talked about climbing Mount Marcy the highest mountain in the state, rowing and "portaging" down a river,

In Weld's speech, immediately after Faso, he talked in Whitmanesque terms about climbing Mount Marcy, the highest mountain in the state, rowing and "portaging" down a river under the Adirondacks and driving up to the Manhattan skyline.

By the time he had offered his thoughts on the stagnation in European economies, rolled out his plans to cut taxes and add a contract with taxpayers, attention had waned in the hall.

-- Jason Horowitz