He has been a strong voice for New York, fighting for the state's share of education dollars and homeland security funding. As a freshman member of the Senate, and as a member of the Democratic minority, Schumer has found it difficult and frustrating at times to get meaningful legislation passed, but his body of work thus far matches up favorably with most Senate newcomers. And he works well with fellow Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton to make sure that New York gets its fair share of federal funding.
Schumer is a tireless worker who has been in the forefront of the fight for Medicare and prescription drug reform, recognizing that Long Islanders stand to gain hundreds of millions of dollars in potential savings. Thinking globally, he has led the fight for America to be more energy independent, and not have to rely to such a great extent on foreign sources of oil.
Now more than ever, America, and New York, need the leadership Schumer provides. With the war in Iraq raging and America's broader war on terrorism ongoing, the senator is a voice of reason. Saying that "because terrorists could strike here in our homeland, sometimes we have to act first," Schumer strongly favors an aggressive foreign policy. He supports the war on terrorism, but believes that President Bush has gone about it the wrong way. Schumer says that the president should have built a stronger coalition of allied countries in his fight against terrorism, so U.S. troops would not now be shouldering most of the burden in the Iraq war.
Howard Mills, Schumer's Republican opponent, is the deputy minority leader of the state Assembly. He was tapped by the Republican Party to run against Schumer because he is seen as an innovative thinker, advocating sweeping budget and legislative reform in the Assembly. If he wins election to the Senate, Mills has said, he will propose an ambitious $36 billion tax cut package to help lower- and middle-income New Yorkers keep more of the money they earn.
Although he is an energetic man and a forward-thinking candidate, Mills lacks Schumer's leadership skills - especially now, in a world full of uncertainty, when we need them most.
Schumer's other opponent is Conservative Party candidate Marilyn O'Grady, an ophthalmologist from Garden City who lost a bid for U.S. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy's seat in 2002. O'Grady's positions on such issues as abortion - she is adamantly pro-life - and on same-sex marriage - she favors a Constitutional amendment banning it - are way too conservative for most New Yorkers to identify with.
Senator Schumer has regularly made himself available to his constituents, and was the first New York senator to establish a satellite office on Long Island, thereby bringing a significant segment of those constituents closer to him. He says he will continue to work to reduce the tax burden on Long Islanders - their most frequently voiced concern, he says - and we believe he will not rest until he succeeds.
Schumer defines his overall, ongoing goal as improving the lives of average folks while giving them the sense that government is working for them and not against them. We believe he has done a more-than-adequate job in his first term in the Senate, and New Yorkers and Long Islanders can rest easier knowing they have someone fighting to improve their quality of life. On Nov. 2, Schumer deserves New Yorkers' votes for a second term.
