King Says GOP Should Stop 'Whining' and Focus on Winning New York 23

By Emily Cadei | June 4, 2009 11:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Peter King (Getty)

New York Rep. Peter T. King has a message for the Republicans knocking the the White House's tactic of co-opting moderate Republicans like Rep. John M. McHugh, who was just nominated to be secretary of the Army: Stop whining.

"I have no problem with this," he said of the appointment Wednesday night on MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews. "We as Republicans should hold onto that seat, if we don't it's our fault." McHugh, a nine-term incumbent, represents New York's 23rd District. His appointment precipitates a special election, and there is a chance Democrats can flip the seat, given President Obama's win in the district in the 2008 presidential race.

"I don't think we should be sitting around whining and saying Rahm Emanuel outsmarted us or President Obama outsmarted us," King added. "We should get good candidates, put them up there, and run."

With McHugh switching jobs, the Republican party is temporarily left with just two House members in New York -- King and freshmen Christopher Lee. King said a lot of the party's losses in the Northeast are "our own fault," adding that, "also demographics are changing."

As for his own political aspirations, King promised Matthews he would announce by Labor Day whether or not he will run for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand, and that he will do it on Matthews' show. No doubt he will be keenly watching developments in the Democratic primary as he makes up his mind -- if Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney can mount a competitive challenge to Gillibrand, it makes the race a much more inviting target for Republicans.

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