Judge Ignores Facts to Disenfranchise Conservative Voters, Cox Vows to Defend Conservatives’ Demand for a Fair Primary
SMITHTOWN, NY - Aug 20, 2010 In a continuing effort to ensure the rights of the hundreds of enrolled Conservatives who demanded that their Party hold a primary, Chris Cox, the real conservative Republican in the First Congressional District contest to unseat a liberal Democratic incumbent, reiterated his vow to protect their right to have a say in choosing a true conservative to be their standard-bearer in November.
Cox promised to appeal the outrageous ruling by a judge, who despite clear bias, refused to recuse himself after repeated requests. He then ignored the facts and invalidated the historic Opportunity to Ballot (OTB) petitions.
“When we sent our OTB petitions to the Board of Elections on July 22, I said that democracy works. I said it again when the Conservative Party chose to go to court to deny the rights of their membership to have a fair say. In light of today’s biased ruling to deny those rights, I am declaring our intention to appeal this ruling,” said Cox.
“As required by law, more than five percent of the enrolled Conservatives in the First Congressional District signed vowing to defend democracy and the rights of those hundreds of Conservatives who, with courage and conviction, signed the OTB petitions and sent a message to the party bosses,” declared Cox. “They want the right to choose their candidate, to choose a true conservative to defeat Timothy Bishop.”
The successful OTB petition initiative achieved what no Suffolk political observer can recall having been done before - Cox forced an open Conservative Primary over the no-holds-barred opposition of the Party’s leaders and its millionaire designee. Now, with the help of judicial ally, the Conservative leaders have spit in the face of their own membership and real grass-roots conservative voters from the Suffolk County 9-12 Project and the Conservative Society for Action, two of the area’s largest Tea Party groups.
“In an August 15 press release, Suffolk Conservative Chairman Edward Walsh denounced the good men and women of the Suffolk County PBA (Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association) who tried to enroll in his party by saying: ‘This isn’t the first time and won’t be the last that America’s citizens have come under the attack of organized intimidation to try to prevent political freedom.’ Unfortunately, his words can be applied more accurately to the intimidation and invective he has hurled at our grass-roots effort, added Cox.