Is 2010 the last gasp for NY’s GOP?

Typo corrected: Thanks, folks.

Could New York’s Republican Party go down with a whimper?

There are rumblings out there that the last generation of GOP heavyweights — George Pataki, Rudy Giuliani and John Faso — are leaning toward not running next year.

Those three represent their party’s best shot at retaking the governor’s mansion, a US Senate seat, and the NY-20 House seat won in an upset by Glens Falls Democrat Scott Murphy.

The problem, of course, is that Republicans don’t have much of a bench. These titans are pretty much it.

Pull them out of the mix and you’re left with Rick Lazio.

If one or all were to run, victories next year might give the party a shot at rebuilding.

Fundraising, influence, recruiting — everything gets better when you have someone, anyone in power.

What’s more, Democrats would have complete autonomy when it comes to redistricting. They would control the political battlefield for the next decade.

But without those Big Three, it’s hard to see who steps in to help hold the line.

Heck even a David Paterson re-election begins to look plausible — if he can keep Andrew Cuomo from challenging in the primary.

New York’s Republican Party has been on the skids for a long time — and they’re poised to take another nasty black eye in the NY-23 special election.

But if the GOP reaches the point when they can’t even field solid, plausible candidates, we’ve reached a new (and by no means a better) era for New York politics.