OPINION:
In less than two weeks, Proposition 1, a measure on the New York state ballot, may help drive turnout in battleground districts. Republicans hope voters will flock to the polls to defeat its progressive proposals.
The falsely billed Equal Rights Amendment is being promoted by Democrats as enshrining a right to abortion in the state constitution. State GOP leaders correctly argue that New York’s abortion law is under no threat of repeal and point out that the word abortion does not appear in the amendment.
What does appear is a way to provide constitutional protection for a radical wish list of policies, including opening the door to doling out financial benefits to illegal immigrants, allowing biological males to compete with female athletes, giving them access to restrooms and locker rooms meant for girls and women and even permitting minors to change genders without parental consent.
Far from promoting equal rights, Prop 1 is progressives’ latest attempt to impose their worldview on all New Yorkers, who over the past few years have been plagued by economic turmoil, crime and rising antisemitism.
Prop 1 is a catastrophic amendment aimed at duping reasonable New Yorkers into allowing left-wing legislators to mold the state in their progressive image.
But it could backfire.
Republicans hold a slim margin in the U.S. House of Representatives, and with New York clinching a greater share of GOP seats in the last election, the state’s battleground districts remain crucial to retaining and expanding the party’s control of the chamber.
As such, voters who reject Prop 1 may also be inclined to support Republicans such as Rep. Mike Lawler of New York, whose centrist approach to governing has earned him the respect of constituents across the ideological spectrum.
In a district with approximately 70,000 more Democrats than Republicans, Mr. Lawler won the 2022 election, narrowly defeating incumbent Sean Patrick Maloney, who was chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee at the time.
While Mr. Lawler is now locked in a tight race with former Rep. Mondaire Jones, who in recent months has attempted to shed his progressive positions, the specifics of Prop 1 in New York state may work to Mr. Lawler’s advantage.
Moreover, about 12% of the 17th Congressional District is Jewish, and Mr. Lawler’s consistent and meaningful engagement with its robust Orthodox Jewish community provides him with a dependable circle of support.
Those embracing the more observant stream of Judaism are also more socially conservative than the average American. Their traditional leanings conflict with the extreme mandates in Prop 1.
Mr. Lawler sponsored the Antisemitism Awareness Act, which requires the Department of Education to use the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism when investigating civil rights violations.
The bill passed the House with overwhelming bipartisan support, but Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer — the New York Democrat who touts himself as the “Guardian of the Jewish People” — has yet to bring it up for a vote.
Last year, Mr. Lawler introduced legislation with Bronx-based GOP Rep. Ritchie Torres that passed both chambers of Congress. The bill authorizes the State Department to create a new presidential envoy position for the Abraham Accords.
Mr. Lawler’s impulse to prioritize sound governance over partisan initiatives stands in stark contrast to the ideologically driven instincts of Empire State Democrats, who, secure in New York’s one-party leadership, disdain moderate or — God forbid — conservative constituents.
In repackaging Prop 1 as a benign measure to protect what is already codified as New York law, liberals aim to pull the wool over the eyes of New Yorkers, hoping we don’t have the critical thinking skills required to study the proposal and conclude that it’s a vessel of progressivism.
The combination of duplicitous branding with a shameless misreading of the electorate may bolster Mr. Lawler and other Republicans whose races are tight.
Prop 1 may be the electoral vehicle that delivers the House to Republicans with an expanded majority. The measure’s failure may also give Democrats an important lesson on the importance of governing with humility.
• Irit Tratt is an independent writer and co-chair of the Trump 47 Women’s Leadership Coalition. Follow her on X @Irit_Tratt.
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