Although the Westchester district attorney, Jeanine Pirro, has
been touted as the likely GOP nominee to face Senator Clinton in
her re-election bid next year, Mrs. Pirro will definitely be
facing competition in the Republican primary. When the name
Edward Cox appears, it is usually prefaced by the words
"attorney" or "Nixon son-in-law." After
spending an hour interviewing the native New Yorker, I suggest we
add the words, "a real contender."
I first met Mr. Cox at a dinner for visiting Dutch conservatives
at the Brasserie restaurant in Midtown. I've met him since at a
few benefits for organizations opposed to abortion, but I did not
connect his name to that of the man who married Richard Nixon's
daughter Tricia until rumors surfaced that he might challenge
Mrs. Clinton. He has not yet formally announced his candidacy,
but he formed an exploratory committee and is canvassing the
state. He has established a campaign office in Albany, but I
managed to secure a sit-down with Mr. Cox in Manhattan.
I arrived early for the appointment at an office building on
Lexington Avenue near Grand Central and signed in at the security
desk. After hearing that I was there to see Mr. Cox, the guard
broke into a grin and volunteered: "Oh, he's a great guy.
I'll vote for him." A great guy seems to be the general
consensus of many asked for their opinion on the undeclared
challenger for the Senate next year, but what I found refreshing
is that Mr. Cox is also a gentleman. Throughout the interview, he
made the case for his campaign without demeaning Mrs. Clinton
personally. He spoke on issues, on his qualifications, and on the
senator's record, which is fair game for debate. A lifelong New
Yorker and a genuine Mets fan, Mr. Cox was born in Suffolk
County, attended Trinity School in Manhattan, and is a graduate
of Princeton University and Harvard Law School. Why, I asked, was
he running for the Senate?
Mr. Cox answered, "I'm running because Mrs. Clinton has been
unable to address the problems of New York. New York has a lot of
problems, and Mrs. Clinton hasn't done anything to help resolve
those problems. In her 2000 campaign she promised 200,000 new
jobs for upstate New York, and that's the most important problem
in upstate New York: new jobs. She promised them, but she hasn't
been able to deliver, because she is not in power in Washington.
New York is represented by not one, but two, liberal Democrats at
a time when conservative Republicans are in the White House, the
House of Representatives, and the Senate. Looking at the results
of the '04 presidential election and what New York needs, it's
clear that Mrs. Clinton has to be replaced with a good, credible
Republican who can work with the majority in the House and the
Senate and the White House to get the results that New York
needs."
He went on to say Mrs. Clinton's policies and what she stands for
are diametrically opposed to what New York State needs. New York
is one of the highest-taxed states in the country, and because of
that, jobs and our children are leaving for other states. Mrs.
Clinton has voted against every one of the president's tax cuts,
he says, and New York benefits from tax cuts more than any other
state. The senator is always proposing as solutions big
government programs, which require an increase in taxes. We need,
he said, tax reduction, deregulation, and fiscal responsibility
to bring back the major industries that New York once had.
Mr. Cox was persuaded to enter this race by individuals, such as
the economist Lawrence Kudlow, who know that Mr. Cox has a
substantive record of more than 30 years' service in the national
and international arena. He has served three presidents and two
governors. He has traveled extensively, meeting world leaders
while accompanying Richard Nixon in his post-presidential years.
He's held leadership roles in education, job creation, and the
environment.
He's recently been on fact-finding tours of Israel, Saudi Arabia,
Lebanon, and Jordan. He's very familiar with the Middle East, and
he says that it is crucial that we recognize that the Osama bin
Ladens of the world are trying to break our will and drive us out
of the Middle East to convince the world that that America is an
unreliable ally.
Another senatorial candidate, former Yonkers Mayor, John Spencer,
claims that he is the only opponent of abortion rights who is
running, but Mr. Cox said he has been pro-life as far back as
1972, before Roe v. Wade.
I suspect the GOP bigwigs are pushing Mrs. Pirro because she's a
woman and Clinton seems unbeatable.
I predict that when they compare her experience with Ed Cox's,
they will rethink their support of her candidacy.