Posted on 10/17/2009 2:45:43 PM PDT by ellery
An off year special election in upstate New York has received a lot of attention and created a bit of a spilt among Republicans. The vacancy was created when Rep. John McHugh was appointed as Secretary of the Army in September of this year. Controversy has since been brewing since the New York Republican Party choose to forgo a typical primary election and instead have the eleven county chairman within the district nominate moderate Republican State Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava.
Scozzafava policy positions, particularly her pro-abortion and pro-gay rights positions, quickly troubled conservatives within the district leading many to instead support Conservative Party nominee Doug Hoffman. A recent Siena College poll showed Hoffman earning the support of 23% of the voters nearly catching Scozzafava who has 29% support. This split of the conservative and moderate Republicans has given Democratic nominee the lead with 33% support.
The clearHoffman policy differences lead former Presidential candidate Fred Thompson as well as the fiscal conservative group Club for Growth to endorse Hoffman over the Republican nominee. “Doug is a conservative, who understands that our freedom is our greatest strength, that life is a precious gift, and that getting back to our founding principles will ensure our nation’s security and prosperity for us and for our children and grandchildren,” wrote Thompson in his endorsement from his political action committee FredPAC.
However, some Republicans, concerned about losing the seat in the U.S. House, are circling the wagons around Scozzafava. Up the this point, RNC Chairman Michael Steele has keep the Republican National Committee out of the race completely but yesterday, the New York newspaper Watertown Daily Times reported that the RNC is preparing to send “a big influx of cash” through the National Republican Congressional Committee. And this morning, rumored 2012 Presidential candidate and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich endorsed Scozzafava saying she represents “our best chance to put responsible and principled leaders in Washington.”
On the Arkansas angle, speculation has been mounting as to whether our former Governor Mike Huckabee, one of the leading contenders for the 2012 Presidential nomination, will weigh in on the special election. Huckabee is scheduled to speak to the Conservative Party of New York in Syracuse on October 27 leading many to question if he will endorse the Doug Hoffman at that event.
However, Sarah Huckabee, the director of Mike Huckabee’s Political Action HuckabeeARCommittee, HuckPAC confirmed to the Tolbert Report yesterday that HuckPAC “will not endorse anyone in this race.” She also confirmed this morning that he will not be making a personal endorsement, in spite of the speculation regarding his appearance on October 27 to the New York Conservative Party.
Huckabee appears to be walking a tightrope on this one. An endorsement of Hoffman would certainly rally conservatives and lend legitimacy to his third party challenge however doing so could upset the Republican establishment by openly supporting a Republican opponent. It remains to be seen if other Presidential contenders such as Sarah Palin, Mitt Romney, or Tim Pawlenty will follow Huckabee’s lead and sit this one out or pick a side in the race.
I can understand that, but with so few leaders taking that challenge, it seems to be over-thinning the field.
It’s not like Fred Thompson is going to run again in 2012.
Personally, given that this is a general election, and NOT a primary, and dede, for whatever horrid reason, IS the republican, and realising how I would feel if we had a conservative chosen and the RINOS jumped ship and endorsed an independent, I’m going to limit my contempt to those who actively endorse Dede.
Anybody who simply stays out of the race, I’m going to say that’s as good as saying NO to Dede, since she is the republican nominee and would normally EXPECT to get republicans to endorse her.
But that’s just my position, I’m not saying that you are wrong, just that I’m willing to cut republicans some slack at not actively opposing republicans in the general elections.
Polls don’t mean squat right now
“Polls don’t mean squat right now”
What an easy way to dodge responding to the points I made.
What points?
(1) Palin's not a declared presidential candidate
(2) The election is 3 years away
(3) Conservatives aren't going to support Huck or Mitt
The Huckster leading from the rear, I see.
Why would you assume taht someone who previously ran for President and will do so again would not have his finger on the pulse of all of these elections? Your assumption taht he is justified by his ignorance is a pretty lame defense for someone purporting to be a leader of the party!
That’s an awful lot of elections and NY is a long way from Arkansas. Besides, I’ve already pointed out that Huckabee has made several endorsements in the last month.
So what if he skips a NY race.
Maybe he knows something about the conservative that gives him pause. Or maybe he doesn’t think the conservative has a strong enough chance of beating the GOP candidate to waste political capital on. I don’t know, but Huckabee’s endorsement is his own. He’ll give it to whom he wants and withhold where he wants.
You think that's bad, eh?
It was just the beginning.
In 1985, tuition and fees at the University I attended were on the order of $1,500...per year, IIRC. Since then they have grown at approx. 8-10% per year.
Thanks to cheap credit (the creation of Federally-guaranteed student loans and later changes to the bankruptcy code that treated private student loans the same way as Federal student loans in bankruptcy), the Feds have created a generation of Americans that is largely in debt.
It's truly disgusting.
Bucking the party from the right is something too controversial for the Huckster.
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