A recent MSNBC report revealed that journalists donated campaign cash to the Democrat Party by nearly an 8–1 margin. Since the New York Sun does not restrict such donations, I am free to report that I gave $25 to the Republican National Committee back in 2004. The donation was because I wanted George W. Bush re-elected, not because I’m committed to his party. Ever since then, I’ve been on the RNC mailing list and now I’m getting weekly calls for donations. No way am I giving any dough to this party until it gets back to the basics of the Grand Old Party.

This was the party that originated the civil rights movement, and look who was picked to head the RNC—a working Senator with better things to do then to fund raise — Mel Martinez. Was this selection supposed to mean something to Hispanics, now the largest minority in the nation? Well, half of us are not eligible to vote, so why not appeal to the Americans who can vote, the black community? An excellent candidate would have been Michael Steele, who ran a close race for Senate from Maryland against Benjamin Cardin until actor Michael J. Fox stepped in with emotional ads exploiting stem cell research. Mr. Steele’s life story is an inspirational one that would reach out to a community that has been taken for granted and patronized by the Democrats, but, no, the head honchos once again misjudged the conservatives that form its base. But it’s not just this misguided decision that’s behind my antipathy towards the national party; it’s the complete dismissal of New York State as a potential vote magnet. New York State is not just New York City, the bedrock of the liberal elite and where Democrats outnumber Republicans five to one. For the past nine years that I have been writing op-ed essays, I’ve met and written about dozens of Republican candidates running local and state races without much backing from the RNC. With one exception, they ran tough, valiant races, only to lose to a candidate with millions of dollars in the campaign chest.

It’s obvious that the national party is unaware of the excellent candidates they have on hand, because they’ve regarded New York as unbreachable territory. This is a flawed and foolish policy, because with the proper support, there are several up and coming young Republicans who are able to win the races and make a red dent in this deep blue state.

Italo Zanzi was the Republican candidate for United States Congress in 2006 in New York’s 1st Congressional District, Eastern Suffolk County. First-time candidate Zanzi earned 39% of the vote against a two-term incumbent, the most of any Republican challenger in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and 7th highest nationwide. Here’s a Hispanic candidate (from a Chilean background) with Hollywood good looks who’s against any immigration reform that does not address border security enforcement.

At lunch at Michael’s, where he turned heads, Mr. Zanzi told me that Suffolk County is actually quite a conservative county, even though that’s where the Hamptons are situated. In fact, Democrats have to run on centrist and conservative positions to win there. Currently Mr. Zanzi, 33, serves as Chair of Development & Marketing for the Suffolk County Republican Party and assists the National Republican Senatorial Committee in its fundraising efforts.

When Daniel Donovan won the district attorney office of Staten Island in 2003 he was the first Republican ever to win that seat in the borough. Prior to his administration, the borough had a very low conviction record. According to newly released statistics, Mr. Donovan’s office led the entire City of New York with the highest conviction rate for felony indictments in 2006. The Staten Island D.A.’s office has, in fact, led the City of New York for each of the three years of District Attorney Donovan’s administration.

But the high conviction rate is just one of his achievements. For the first time, Staten Island has a witness protection program. This district attorney’s been trying to get lawmakers to enact legislation that will put some teeth into orders of protection. He has proposed using Global Positioning System technology to put real protection behind that order of protection. Mr. Donovan’s also cracked down hard on drunk drivers. Much of what drives Daniel Donovan is crime prevention and protection of the innocent, especially children.

These are just two individuals to whom the Republican National Committee should be paying attention. If the party would only return to its conservative basics instead of fawning over billionaire Republicans in Name Only, then maybe I’d stop shredding their letters to me.