OVER THERE - BLUE DENIAL!
Wednesday, November 4, 2009 at 10:02PM Following on from Mahons post earlier I thought I might offer an alternative take on what happened in NY-23, with a Democrat Bill Owens narrowly beating the conservative GOP candidate Doug Hoffman.
As some readers will know, the GOP chose to run the radical leftist Dede Scozzafava and spent almost a $1 million on her useless campaign. Hoffman came from virtually nowhere to eventually get the GOP nomination and finish within two points of Democrat Bill Owens. Had the GOP selected Hoffman in the first instance and put the cash behind him - rather than radical Dede - I am sure he would have won. They didn't and it is THEY, not Palin or the Tea Party folks, who carry the can for this result. However the broad message is clear - things are moving towards the conservative position and those such as Newt Gringrich need to reflect on this. The GOP needs cleansed of those RINO's who ultimately will betray core values. Those such as Scozzafav should crawl off to the Dems where I am sure they will find a warm welcome. I suspect that those who think that this result shows the folly of the Palin position may find that it more accurately shows an unwillingness in some quarters to accept the fact that the GOP will have to connect to the Conservative energised base. The days of the RINO are over.
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Reader Comments (6)
Lets hope so David because if the Rino's are done so is the whole republican party
Hoffman was not the GOP candidate. He was the Conservative Party candidate, having failed to secure the GOP nomination. He remained the Conservative Party candidate and did not "get the GOP nomination." Nothing wrong with a third party candidacy per se, but it is a mistake to indicate he was the Republican nominee.
He did come from virtually nowhere (and to nowhere may he return) which made him ideal for the forces that championed him. However, he failed to convince the majority of voters in a district that should have gone for him that his brand of conservatisim was good for the population as a whole. You see, our elections are about who will be the best candidate for all the people, not just a select political group. The results are not always successful, but that is the goal.
In the end, the voters in that district decided that they didn't want to select an outsider (he doesn't live there) championed by other outsiders.
Mahons
I accept that your elections are about who will be the best candidate for all the people and the results in Virginia and New Jersey undoubtedly reflect that. Odd thing is, when I heard David Axelrod being interviewed, he seemed to have missed your point in that regard.
I concur, David.
If the Republcian party continues to go democrat-lite - they are going to lose every time.
The weird thing is: Scozza isn't even democrat-lite - she's a frigging radical lefty. The Republican party gave her almost a million dollars. For what? For her to endorse the democrat and siphon off 5% of the vote.
Another piece of information that we can take away from this is that a 3rd party is a bad idea. Conservative libertarians need to wrest the party of small government away from those who seek to taint the message with their statist desires. This is what got the GOP into trouble in the first place - conservatives/libertarians refused to vote for McCain as a result of their disgust with the republicans who spent like drunken sailors under the Bush administration. I disagreed with the radical approach - a refusal to vote is what got us Obama. But possibly they were correct in what they did. It is a bitter and painful medicine, but it might be the only one that will stop the RNC in its current madness.
What difference would it had made if Scozza had been elected? She would have voted with the Democrats despite the R by her name. She would have voted for the ObamaCare Bill, Cap n Trade. Better to have a Democrat in that place making those votes - than give the Democrats some cover under "bipartisanship" with a RINO.
RINOS need to become an extinct species.