Posted on 11/03/2009 10:24:33 PM PST by nutmeg
The race has now been called for Democrat Bill Owens.
This is a huge win for conservatives.
“Whaaaa. . . ?” you say.
There are two big victories at work in New York’s 23rd Congressional District.
First, the GOP now must recognize it will either lose without conservatives or will win with conservatives. In 2008, many conservatives sat home instead of voting for John McCain. Now, in NY-23, conservatives rallied and destroyed the Republican candidate the establishment chose.
I have said all along that the goal of activists must be to defeat Scozzafava. Doug Hoffman winning would just be gravy. A Hoffman win is not in the cards, but we did exactly what we set out to do — crush the establishment backed GOP candidate.
And make no mistake, despite the Beltway spin, we know for certain based on statements from the local Republican parties, that they chose Scozzafava based on advice from the Washington crowd.
So we have demonstrated to the GOP that it must not take conservatives for granted. The GOP spent $900,000.00 on a Republican who dropped out and endorsed the Democrat. Were we to combine Scozzafava and Hoffman’s votes, Hoffman would have won.
Secondly, and just as importantly, there has all of a sudden been a huge movement among some activists to go the third party route. We see in NY-23 that this is not possible as third parties are not viable.
Third parties lack funding and ability for a host of reasons. Conservatives are going to have to work from within the GOP. The GOP had better pay attention.
For all intents and purposes, NY-23 is a trial run for Florida. And in Florida, the conservative candidate is operating inside the GOP. If John Cornyn and the NRSC do not want to see Florida go the way of NY-23, they better stand down.
Do you fail to see that the Dems had the seat either way even if Hoffman did not enter the race??????? Scuzzy was a Dem all along, as conservatives pointed out. Good riddance to her. One year with the Dem, and a real conservative will take the seat back.
ABSO freaking LUTELY!!
Good point. It's not like we would have had conservative votes from Scuzzy. Might as well hang the unpopular liberal votes around the neck of the democrat than around a RINO claiming to be Republican.
LOL. Seriously, it is just inexcusable that Newt didn’t do his homework concerning Scozzafava. What the heck was he smoking when he endorsed a pro-Card Check, pro-gay marriage, etc. “Republican” candidate?? I’ve really lost respect for Newt over this one...
>>Conservatives are going to have to work from within the GOP. <<
I strongly disagree with the author.
“America is at that awkward stage. It’s too late to work within the system, but too early to shoot the bastards.”
- Claire Wolfe, 101 Things to Do ‘Til the Revolution
I agree with Rush Limbaugh, that conservatives need to take back the GOP (the way Reagan did)... NOT form a third party. So, I guess that would involve conservatives working from within the GOP...
Add that Scozzafava endorsement of Owens to that list.
Yeah I didn't think that endorsement would amount to much either, but the fact remains that Hoffman was ahead in 2 polls from Sunday night, up 17% in the PPP poll, and up 5% in the Siena poll. So why did he lose?
I think those 2 polls were taken before the full effect of Scozzafava’s Owens endorsement had come through. It would appear that Scozazafava, like any local politican, has some hard core supporters, over whom she has some influence. They just switvhed their votes from Scozzafava to Owens when she told them to. That together with some of the undecided's probably pulled Owens over the finishing line.
Hoffman will win in the Nov 2010 race. He will be congressman, just a little later than we had hoped for.
Had Scuzzy won, she would have been voting with the Dems, but would have been tough to remove, as the Repubs would not support any conservative challenger in the primaries, telling us all to hold our noses for the good of the party. Screw that!! It would have been better for Hoffman to win over Owen, but it would have been worst of all for Scuzzy to win.
Why did he concede then?
Good points, Defiant.
Scozzafava is more liberal than even the Democrat, so it wouldn't have made any difference even if the Republican had won.
>>So, I guess that would involve conservatives working from within the GOP..<<
Correct. If you choose to do it Rush’s way.
My thoughts: The US and the entire world is going down fast. The Republicans and Democrats are so similar as to be virtually indistinguishable. Neither is remotely part of the solution here.
If you are familiar with Atlas shrugged, I have the attitude closer to John Galt, while those that want to change the republican party are more like Dagney Taggart. They still think there is a workable solution within the current system.
Alas, by the end of the book even she realizes that the only solution is to get to Galt’s Gulch, let the system implode, and then come back and try to build a life from the ashes.
To make sure Democrats know how many extra votes they need to "find" to defy the will of the employed (doesn't apply to this election).
I agree...Hoffman can continue the campaign either as a Republican (if the GOP is smart) or a 3rd party option, continually gaining momentum till next November. There’s plenty of time for him to compare the differences between himself and the JACKASS party as well as what illustrate that there is no difference in the DUmocrat and what would have been if voters chose the RINO instead.
For him to pull off what he did with a split vote - 30 days into a campaign without the party backing him says alot. If nothing else, the victory was sending the RINO packing in shame while giving the GOP a shot across the bow as a warning to what will happen nation wide if they choose to back RINOs instead of conservatives in 2010.
I actually was more interested in the NY congressional race than the VA and NJ gubernatorial races because it’s at the federal level. Congressmen can do more to stop Obama’s march toward the annihilation of freedom better than governors can. Now, as a bellwether of eletoral sentiment, it’s a good night, no question. AND, even though the results don’t put any direct obstacles in front of the Pres__ent, that bellwether effect will also get noticed by RINO’s and Dems from conservative districts, and make it harder for him to ram through any more Marxism. So I agree, all in all, a good night.
That’s funny. Your lack of understanding doesn’t surprise me in the least.
That’s funny. Your lack of understanding doesn’t surprise me in the least.
Hildy, you cheer for Republicans.
You wouldn’t understand those of us who are interested in something larger and more meaningful.
Giving DUh-bama the "bi-partisanship" he's been longing for in order to pass the blame to Republicans later.
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