Common Sense: Our Nicole

Congratulations to my friend and Conservative Party supported Assemblymember Nicole Malliotakis for being named one of nine Republican women nationally moving the Republican Party to the right. This was no small recognition coming from a major news website called the “Daily Beast,” which literally has hundreds of thousands of readers.

The full list of the nine women will give you some idea of how significant Nicole’s placement on this list represents. They are New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez; Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch; Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi; Congressmember Martha Roby; Saratoga Springs, Utah, Mayor Mia Love; former Miss America, Harvard attorney and Congressional candidate Erika Harold; first female fighter pilot and congressional candidate Martha McSally and Hawaii Congressmember Beth Fukumoto. And then, of course, our own Assemblymember Nicole Malliotakis.

The full citation on Nicole reads: “The daughter of Cuban and Greek immigrants, the 32-year-old Malliotakis is the only Republican woman elected to any office in New York City. The Staten Island-born Malliotakis still takes a distinctly New York City approach to her job in Albany, trying to save senior centers and bus routes for her district and introducing a bill to regulate day spas that are really fronts for sex trafficking. Her old-school legislative work has gotten her noticed as a young, rising talent nationally, making Malliotakis one of two women on the American Conservative Union’s ‘10 under 40’ list and landing her a coveted speaking role at the Conservatives’ annual CPAC confab this year.”

Nicole is a common-sense conservative who is firmly committed to protecting her constituents from higher taxes, fraud and financial abuse. She holds strong views on national issues, especially in the area of illegal immigration and communism, most likely stemming from her mother escaping communist Cuba as a teenager. She is doing a great job and we are lucky to have her represent us.

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Regardless of your view concerning U.S. intervention into Syria, President Obama’s handling of the crisis has been seriously flawed. The president should not have gone to Congress to request a vote on what he claims will be a limited engagement involving no ground troops.

The president, in doing so, telegraphed the United States’ intentions over the course of the Congressional debate, losing any hope of surprise and endangering American lives.

He also, by allowing for a Congressional debate, created an inappropriate political discussion over a limited military intervention, thus confusing our allies, with the result of reduced international support.

And in going to Congress, he appears to have partially relinquished his responsibility as commander in chief. Of course, the embarrassment that would result from the president losing such a vote would be immeasurable. Just look at how weak British Prime Minister Cameron looks these days.

The president’s first priority should always be what is in the best interests of our nation. His handling of this crisis in my opinion has not been.