By The Times-Ledger
The first lady is a carpetbagger who never did anything for New York.
Congressman Rick Lazio was the deputy whip to New Gingrich. (That's supposed to be really bad, but it only works if you remember who Gingrich was.)
Hillary loves old people, kids, schools and healthcare. So does Rick.
Ask the average person in Queens about the election to replace U.S. Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-N.Y.) and this is probably as much more than they know about the Republican and Democratic candidates, even though this is one of the nation's hottest campaigns.
This is both by accident and choice. Lazio entered the campaign late after Mayor Giuliani decided to focus his attentions on battling prostate cancer. Hillary spent six months touring the state and carefully avoiding interviews with the press. Now the little known guy from Long Island and the stealth candidate from Arkansas need votes in Queens. In particular, Hillary needs a big turnout in southeast Queens.
If the people of Queens are smart – and they are – they will hold the shifting feet of these candidates to the fire and let them know what they expect from the federal government. Moynihan was a great elder statesman, but he wasn't much at bringing home the bacon. On the other side of the aisle, Sen. Al D'Amato (former R-N.Y.) was a fighter and was darn good at bringing in federal dollars to New York, but nobody ever accused him of being a statesman.
The people of Queens deserve a senator who understands their needs and is willing to fight for them. They also deserve a senator who will serve with the dignity and statesmanship of a Moynihan. Neither party has an exclusive on these virtues.
Though candidates in any race would prefer to set the agenda, we think the following issues are of great concern to you and should be addressed the next time Hillary or Rick pass through southeast Queens:
