Robert Hornak
Robert Hornak is a veteran political consultant who has previously served as the Deputy Director of the Republican Assembly Leader’s NYC office and as Executive Director of the Queens Republican Party. He can be reached at rahornak@gmail. com and @roberthornak on X.
We are about to kick off a new year, and the tradition is to make resolutions for the upcoming year that will hopefully make your life better. Typical resolutions would be to eat healthier, get more exercise, or lose weight. But this year you should consider adding something new to your list; get more involved in local politics.
American politics has always been a mud-slinging contest way more than it’s been the Lincoln- Douglas debates. Personal attacks and accusations have been the norm, as have dirty tricks and false flag operations to undermine your opponent’s support.
But in recent years, especially with the rise of social media, the political environment in our country has taken a sharp turn to the nasty and divisive. And not just between the right and the left. But also, be- tween very ideologically opposed factions within both parties.
The fight on the left is more evident, with Zohran Mamdani’s election as mayor of NYC the socialist left is emboldened and ready to take on the more moderate, pro-America pro-Israel Democrats. Democratic Socialist candidates are preparing to run primaries against a number of elected Democrats in NYC this year or are running in open seat pri- maries where the incumbent chose to just walk away from this divisive battle.
And on the right there is a growing divide between the Tucker Carlson, Candice Owens faction that appears also to support Russia and also is anti-Israel and increasingly antisemitic, almost mirroring their counterparts on the far left. This effort is more about creating doubt in mainstream Republicans while simultaneously hoping to see these Republicans lose to the left in the short term, opening the door for their political rise, while allowing hucksters like Carlson and Owens to make big money on their fringe podcasts in the meantime.
The only way to fight back against this is, first, to reject the anti-American, anti-free market movements on the fringes of both parties before they become the mainstream. Second, is to get more involved in your local politics to just overwhelm these haters with people of good conscience.
They say all politics is local, and that really is the truth. Political consultants always hear people just getting started say they want to run for congress. My response is always, run for city council or state assembly. Some people want to help candidates, and they too often look for congressional candidates thinking Washington is the place to change.
But the place we can, and most need to, affect is our local legislatures that have far more influence over our everyday lives. And, of course, the people who draw district lines try their very best, regardless of state, to draw them as uncompetitively as possible.
This means a challenger needs to be able to reach a large percentage of the voters, individually, one by one, and convince them to vote for you or your candidate. The larger the district, the more time, volunteers, and money it will take to start to make a dent in the electorate. It doesn’t hapen by ideological osmosis.
It’s not easy, but if it was every- one would do it. But we can’t just sit on the sideline and say, oh, it’s too difficult, it’s too much work, it’s too nasty. When the majority of people of good conscience are convinced of that, then we get what we see happening now, where the fringes begin to take over the mainstream.
On both sides there are good political clubs, worth joining and attending their meetings. This is where it all starts. The standout on the Republican side in NYC is the Whitestone Republican Club, led by Councilwoman Vickie Paladino, who has led a charge against radical left for the last four years. This club, started after her losing run for state senate, led to her successful run for city council in 2021.
It’s a high energy club with excellent speakers and good people, and welcomes moderate, common sense Democrats and Independents. This is an example of how to make a difference, and where to get started. So, for New Years, make a resolution to attend one of this club’s meetings, and get involved in local politics. You won’t regret it and it’s easier than going to the gym.
