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Young Orthodox State Senate Candidate Displays Woeful Ignorance of Politics

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The ‘Magenta Yenta’ Sparkles, But is There Substance Behind the Style?

She may get top marks for enthusiasm, but the young Orthodox woman seeking to unseat State Senator Kevin Parker is scoring rather poorly when it comes to contemporary political knowledge.

In the last couple of weeks, 22-year-old Mindy Meyer, dubbed the “Magenta Yenta” in the media, has drawn a great deal of media attention with her vibrant youthful personality and surprising selection by New York State’s Conservative Party to run as their candidate in the fall. However, a couple of her latest interviews have revealed that Meyer – a Touro College graduate with a degree in political science – appears to be alarmingly unaware of commonly known aspects of political life.

For example, while she pointed to former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani as her political idol, she was not able to cite any of his positions on serious issues. And when Capital New York, a website covering political matters, asked her what she thinks about New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo, Meyer replied, “Honestly, I’m not really familiar with him.”

When she was subsequently confronted with her apparent ignorance, Meyer responded that she was misquoted, and does know about the state’s chief executive. Pressed to name an issue that Cuomo is identified with, the ambitious but factually challenged candidate commented that she knew the Governor was “trying” to pass a gay marriage bill to which she is opposed. “People can be gay. I just don’t feel it’s a platform for marriage,” Meyer said. When the interviewer informed her that Cuomo had already signed the bill into law, Meyer responded as saying that she would not attempt to repeal it.

Meyer’s response to the question of why she chose to seek the state Senate position did not exactly enhance her image. “I was actually, you know, considering running for City Council,” she said, “and then I realized, you know, this year is the Assembly district, you know, elections on the senatorial elections so I figured why not just start from state Senate?”

Even setting aside her diminished political astuteness, many observers are pessimistic about Meyer’s chances of victory, given that she will only be on the Conservative ballot – she registered too late to make it onto the Republican line – and the district she is aiming to represent is heavily Democratic. Nevertheless, Meyer continues to think big. “I want to ultimately maybe one day run in the presidential elections,” Meyer told the Forward.

Her reference to the presidency inevitably causes the quixotic candidate to stumble once again. “I voted against Obama,” she said in regard to the 2008 national election, but she could not name the candidate she chose. Meyer did know about that year’s Republican vice-presidential candidate, but was dismissive of that person. “Sarah Palin is not one of my role models,” she said. “She’s just so oblivious to the issues.”

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