GOP’s Scaturro: McCarthy Rubber-Stamps Pelosi Agenda

Frank Scaturro, a Republican candidate for the Congress in New York’s 4th Congressional District, offered scathing criticism of incumbent Democrat Carolyn McCarthy, saying she's been little more than "a rubber stamp for Pelosi and that agenda."

“She’s nowhere to be seen in the district. We really don’t have a representative to speak of,” Scaturro tells Newsmax.TV. Scaturro also says he  is concerned about revelations that McCarthy may have received illegal donations from the lobbying firm PMA Group.

PMA's founder Paul Magliocchetti recently was indicted on charges of providing hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal donations to members of Congress who pushed through earmarks for PMA clients.

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"The congresswoman was one of the top, if not the top, recipient of money from that firm, and she secured millions of dollars of earmarks that are only explainable as favors to that firm," Scaturro says. "It shows at a minimum you’re dealing with a member who’s more loyal to special interests than to her own constituents.”

As he takes his own campaign into the final days before next week's GOP primary, Scaturro says he feels Republicans like himself have a good shot overall in this year’s midterm elections. “This is a very unusual cycle,” he said.

“We’re facing potentially a greater Republican wave than in 1994. Voters are taking to the streets because they’re more profoundly dissatisfied with their representatives than ever before. I think you’ll see a lot of seats turning that were previously in the Democratic column.”

In Tuesday’s Republican primary, Scaturro is running against Francis Becker and Dan Maloney.

Among the top issues that hit close to home for Scaturro is the proposed  Muslim mosque planned near ground zero, something that hits close to home for the 38-year-old. “As a constitutionalist, I respect everyone’s right to erect a house of worship, but location does matter when you’re talking about the discretion municipalities have to determine zoning matters.”

Scaturro compared the controversy to battles he has waged as a Civil War battlefield preservationist.

He was part of the opposition to a proposal to construct a theme park and shopping center on or near Civil War battlefields.

“It wasn’t because we thought the people didn’t have the right to construct the project,” Scaturro said. “It’s a matter of context, location. You’re talking about hallowed ground where great human sacrifice occurred.”

And it’s the same thing for the mosque. “If this project moves forward, it will be seen as a public relations victory by too many of our enemies across the globe,” he said. “They will be viewing it in context as a monument to conquest, and that’s not something I want to see happen there.”