Republicans have themselves to blame

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On election night, the Republican Party continued its political nosedive on Long Island. Why? It comes down to the three C's of local Republican politics - corruption, lack of competence and cluelessness.
Make no mistake, Tuesday's election results had more to say about the losers than the winners. That's usually the case when a major political shift occurs.

Local Republicans suffered politically breathtaking losses on Tuesday, and had no one to blame but themselves.

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Meanwhile, defeat swamped Republicans in Suffolk County. The county legislature went from an 11-7 Republican majority to a 10-8 Democratic edge, following Democrat Steve Levy's win two years ago to become county executive. Even the Republican stronghold of Brookhaven crumbled. The Democrats gained control of town government by winning the supervisor race plus three seats on the town council. All of this happened in two counties where Republicans still hold the edge in voter registration. This brings us to the three C's.

Regarding competence, Republican failings had grown obvious even to the most stalwart party supporters. Patronage and power had long been the party's focus, rather than serving taxpayers. The cost of government skyrocketed island-wide, and yet Republicans exhibited absolutely no interest in change and reform. Going along with this lack of competence was corruption - most evident, of course, in Brookhaven. Though a longtime problem in a town known as Crookhaven, indictments and convictions became even more commonplace of late. Brookhaven Republicans had long played by their own rules, rather than by sound ethics and the rule of law. It caught up to the party on Tuesday.

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Finally, and perhaps most important, Long Island Republicans proved clueless regarding any kind of distinctive ideas or governing philosophy. Above all else, if Republicans can't be the party of prudent government spending and lower taxes, then why does the Republican Party even exist?

rest of the article
Raymond Keatings
http://www.newsday.com/news/columnists/ny-opkea104506086nov10,0,5878741.column?coll=ny-news-columnists