Author Topic: Surprised that there's not more post about the NY-23rd  (Read 485 times)

Colossus_500

  • Getbig IV
  • ****
  • Posts: 3993
  • Psalm 139
Surprised that there's not more post about the NY-23rd
« on: November 04, 2009, 09:06:26 AM »
I totally disagree with the author of this article.  If the RNC had been on board with Hoffman from the getgo, or even if there was another week before the election, Hoffman would have won by a landslide.  As it is, Owens squeaked by with Scozzofava getting 6% even though she dropped out AND endorsed the Democratic candidate.  


Election 2009: The Strange Case of NY23
pajamasmedia.com

November 3, 2009 was a great day for the Republican Party with resounding wins in Virginia and, improbably, New Jersey where Bruce Springsteen blared as Chris Christie began his victory speech. (I wonder if Bruce will sue.) But in the midst of the welter of re-upped GOP glory only one year after ignominious defeat, there was one outlier – New York’s Twenty-Third Congressional District.

Now I realize that the surprise loser there, Doug Hoffman, ran as a Conservative, not a Republican. But I submit in this case that was a distinction without a significant difference because virtually all the Republican establishment had lined up behind Hoffman by the day of the election.

So why – in what was clearly a Republican year – did Hoffman lose? Well, there are several reasons and, yes, the Democratic victory was narrow, thinner than the five or so percent that went to withdrawn Republican nominee Scozzafava who herself endorsed the Democratic candidate. Still, the 23rd is a safely Republican, even conservative, district. In a year where the GOP racked up a 20% margin in Virginia and coasted easily in Jersey, a state in which Obama romped in ‘08 by 16%, what was the problem?

Well… I might as well say it… social conservatism. America is a fiscally conservative country – now perhaps more than ever, and with much justification – but not a socially conservative one. No, I don’t mean to say it’s socially liberal. It’s not. It’s socially laissez-faire (just as its mostly fiscally laissez-faire). Whether we’re pro-choice, pro-life or whatever we are, most of us want the government out of our bedrooms, just as we want it out of our wallets.

Hoffman’s capital-C Conservative campaign, however, tried to separate itself from the majority parties by making a big deal of the social issues. He was all upset that Scozzafava was pro-gay marriage, seemingly as upset as he was with her support for the stimulus plan. He projected the image of a bluenose in a world that increasingly doesn’t want to hear about these things. Hoffman’s is a selective vision of the nanny state – you can nanny about some things but not about others. I suspect America deeply dislikes nannying about anything.

There is, of course, a message in this for the Republican Party going forward. You can choose to emphasize the social issues or not. Today may show the former is a losing proposition.

BM OUT

  • Getbig V
  • *****
  • Posts: 8229
  • Getbig!
Re: Surprised that there's not more post about the NY-23rd
« Reply #1 on: November 04, 2009, 09:12:04 AM »
Loosing the seat sucks BUT getting rid of a filthy lib disguised as a republican is great.We need to weed more out like scuzzbagafano.

Colossus_500

  • Getbig IV
  • ****
  • Posts: 3993
  • Psalm 139
Re: Surprised that there's not more post about the NY-23rd
« Reply #2 on: November 04, 2009, 09:40:21 AM »
You're right, Billy.  Here's more detailed info about the 23rd.  Based on this article, it will be interesting to see if Scozzovava will end up with a job under the Obama administration.  hmmmmmm

http://www.tcotreport.com/election2009.html

shootfighter1

  • Competitors
  • Getbig V
  • *****
  • Posts: 5674
  • Competitor- NABBA Nationals Overall Champ
Re: Surprised that there's not more post about the NY-23rd
« Reply #3 on: November 04, 2009, 10:29:51 AM »
We talked about this in another thread somewhere.  The local republican party completely blew it by nominating a liberal (who really should be a democrat if you read what she supports).  The base rejected her and nominated a super conservative that wasn't necessarily a great or well thought out candidate.  The republicans lost the election rather than the democrat defeating them.  Sounds like the people would have voted for a republican if there was a consistant candidate from the beginning.

Purge_WTF

  • Guest
Re: Surprised that there's not more post about the NY-23rd
« Reply #4 on: November 04, 2009, 11:40:27 AM »
  This sucks. I was hoping for a third-party victory.  >:(