Worries about Winning

For the Nassau GOP legislators, winning would be a great prospect, right?
Not entirely.
If the Nassau GOP actually pulls off a win (doubtful) in november, they face the prospect of Majority Leader/Presiding Officer Peter Schmitt.
Who on the republican side can find a problem with that?
A few legislators who know having Schmitt as the Presiding Officer is as bad or worse than having him as Minority Leader.
Schmitt has a big mouth and when he opens it, he usually sticks his foot in it. His heavy-handed, highly partisan ways are from an era when Nassau GOP arrogance could be backed up by electoral prowess.
With 3 consecutive losses for the majority in the legisalture, the republicans are getting antsy for power but at what cost. When the republicans were decimated in the 1999 elections losing presiding officer Bruce Blakeman, Schmitt a machine ideolouge became the top dog.
Schmitt spent his entire adult life paying his dues climbing the party ladder. The machine elevated him and the machine remnants keep him on top.
One republican legislator who would be leader except for the "seniority" issue within the party feels uncomfortable with the prospect of Schmitt as Presiding Officer.
As Minority Leader, Schmitt has kept the troops in line only because the party itself leaves the threat of no re-election support hanging over legislators heads.
With every lie and mis-step, Schmitt embarrasses more moderate legisaltors.How bad will they fare if Schmitt takes Presiding Officer and continues to act like a child?
Schmitt as leader for the republicans is actually manna from heaven for democrats. He wages war when there can be concensus. He picks the wrong issues to go public with and gets spanked, most recently by republican DA Dillon.
The worried republicans want the majority but not with Schmitt in charge.The only thing they can hope for is for Schmitt to lose this election cycle, get the leader they want and then try to gain the majority in 2007.Schmitt represents the Margiotta/Mondello GOP machine of old and for the GOP legislators to survive, he will have to go.