Alfonse D'Amato

Winning over the Republican Party, and the electorate

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No one ever likes to lose. Did Ted Cruz and John Kasich enjoy competing for months in a brutal primary, trying desperately to gain delegates before the GOP convention in Cleveland in July, only to have to drop out in May after failing to gain any traction? Of course not.

It’s not easy on the Democratic side, either. Hillary Clinton still has not been able to bury Bernie Sanders. She has begun focusing on Donald Trump, calling on the Republican nominee to release his tax returns.

My guess is that Trump will release his returns, because it would be unprecedented not to, but it’s his decision. Talk about hypocrisy, though. How about Clinton releasing the transcripts from her Goldman Sachs speeches or telling us exactly how much compensation she received for them?

Anyway, on the Republican side, it’s time to face the music. The entire Republican Party must come together if we have any hope of defeating Clinton and keeping the majority in the Senate. House Speaker Paul Ryan, who repeatedly denied that he himself would try to be the white knight at the Republican convention, said last week that he could not yet support Trump. His position signifies the divide the Trump nomination has caused.

The support of the House speaker is obviously important to Trump. To have the support of Jeb Bush and Lindsey Graham is one thing, but Ryan represents a significant piece of the GOP puzzle, and you need him to put forth a unified party.

Last Thursday, Trump and Ryan sat down in an attempt to dispel rumors or public perception that the party is divided. Trump was anxious to gain Ryan’s support, but he noted that unifying the traditional GOP isn’t necessarily the only way to the White House.

He’s right. This isn’t a traditional Republican Party, and it isn’t a typical election. Both parties are seeing higher primary voter turnout than 2012, and on the Republican side, turnout is the highest since 1980. When all is said and done, Trump could receive more votes than any candidate in history.

In New York State, close to 525,000 Republicans chose him. On May 11, more than 3,000 Long Island voters packed the Crest Hollow Country Club to hear him speak. I was one of them.

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