Posted on 10/24/2009 8:51:21 AM PDT by cc2k
Atlanta
Pitting conservative purists against party pragmatists, a growing number of national Republican figures are bucking the party standard and backing a third-party candidate in the sole congressional election scheduled this year, upstate New York’s 23rd congressional district.
Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, former Senator Rick Santorum, former House Majority Leader Dick Armey, current Minnesota Rep. Michelle Bachmann, former Tennessee Senator and presidential candidate Fred Thompson, and former presidential candidate Steve Forbes have all backed Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman over Republican Dede Scozzafava.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty — a potential presidential candidate in 2012 — suggested Friday on ABC News that he’s strongly considering backing Hoffman, as well.
“Our nation is at a crossroads, and this is once again a time for choosing,” Ms. Palin, author of the upcoming book, “Going Rogue,” wrote Thursday on her Facebook page. “This is the game-changer,” added Dick Armey, whose Freedom Works organization has supported the Tea Party movement.
Palin, et al. represent what can only be called the Tea Party insurgency, whose adherents point to mainstream Republicans — including party philosopher Newt Gingrich — and their support of Ms. Scozzafava as another sign that the GOP has strayed from its core principles.
(Excerpt) Read more at features.csmonitor.com ...
Perhaps, perhaps not. It will really depend on where Scozzafava finishes. If she is solidly in third place, well behind Hoffman, then she is the one who pulled votes from a “candidate who could have won.” Conservatives will not likely take a back seat in that case. The “leadership” will either acknowledge that fact, or be faced with the prospect of running RINOs and DIABLOs against conservative third party challengers and losing a lot more.
Kimberly GG wrote:
In some respects, true. If Hoffman looses, will we be hearing screams about how his supporters divided the party,
| From the desk of cc2k: |
I support Doug Hoffman for Congress (PayPal). Please, spread the word about this important election on November 3, 2009 in New York’s 23rd congressional district. |
I don't think it matters. If Hoffman wins, we all win because we have a real conservative in our House. If Hoffman loses the election, he will have received significant support to show true conservatives are here . . and we want a say in the GOP.
If the Dem wins, it is the same as if the liberal RINO wins. Same same.
Folks, this NOT the only congressional election this year. There is a special election for the 10th congressional district of California between rat John Garamendi and Republican David Harmer. This seat had been held by rat Ellen Tauscher until she joined Zero’s team.
Harmer is within reach and could convert another seat from blue to red. Consider sending your support.
Yup - we need to see how much movement he has made in the next poll.
Do we have any updates on his fund raising?
I get Syracuse TV stations and saw a Club for Growth ad for Hoffman that was aired twice during prime time.
I will grant you that Sarah Palin is leading a big contingent of support. But in the week before she made her endorsement, Hoffman got $210,000 in donations from the internet. Conservative bloggers and others who have been spreading the word by email and even on forums like this have brought Hoffman to life and put him where Sarah noticed him.
norwaypinesavage wrote:
Sarah was out in front on this one. I hope the Beltway RINOs are quaking in their boots.
Also, give some credit to the Thompsons, Dick Armey, Michelle Bachmann, and several others who endorsed Hoffman before Sarah Palin discovered him. Groups like the Club for Growth also deserve some recognition. They were trailblazers as well.
| From the desk of cc2k: |
I support Doug Hoffman for Congress (PayPal). Please, spread the word about this important election on November 3, 2009 in New York’s 23rd congressional district. |
Does this mean a New York republican is most likely a democrat dressed up as a republican with a democrat clown nose, big gov’t shoes and sad eyes due to the makeup?....
This is the first I have heard of this race. I’m doing a bit more research now. Do you have any info about this to share?
BigBobber wrote:
Folks, this NOT the only congressional election this year. There is a special election for the 10th congressional district of California between rat John Garamendi and Republican David Harmer. This seat had been held by rat Ellen Tauscher until she joined Zero’s team.
Harmer is within reach and could convert another seat from blue to red. Consider sending your support.
Fund raising updates: “The Most Important Number in Politics Today,” reported $210,000 to Hoffman in the week before Sarah Palin’s endorsement. Also, there have been reports of $116,000 raised Friday, the day after the Palin endorsement. I’m not sure if that includes SarahPAC money, or just individual donors.
Lundy_s Lane II wrote:
Do we have any updates on his fund raising?
I get Syracuse TV stations and saw a Club for Growth ad for Hoffman that was aired twice during prime time.
About the Club for Growth ads, are they finally mentioning Hoffman by name? The latest DailyKOS/Research 2000 poll showed Hoffman with the highest "no opinion" in the favorable/unfavorable section. That usually indicates a name recognition issue. The first Club for Growth ads just attacked Scozzafava and Owens by name, not mentioning that Scozzafava was the Republican, and never mentioning Hoffman at all. I hope they have improved their ads.
| From the desk of cc2k: |
I support Doug Hoffman for Congress (PayPal). Please, spread the word about this important election on November 3, 2009 in New York’s 23rd congressional district. |
Can’t a whole lot of us just drive in and vote.
Vote early and often.
Give a vote for some dead relatives too.
The dems do it. XD
There are people that just pull the R lever instinctively. These people can be educated and change their mind.
Certainly the strong conservatives in the district are already in Hoffman’s camp.
I doubt one can pull the support for Bill Owen much below that 35% level. In many ways he is to the right of Dede.
Since this is not a primary not sure why Democrats would say they were for Dede. It is not a question of getting the most liberal Republican on the ballot.
In any case this race is winnable.
Va Va Va VOOM.
Yes -
it was this one:
http://www.youtube.com/user/club4growth#p/a
The picture of Doug Hoffman looks a little dorky - but other than that it was a good solid short ad. IMO
played twice.
But also saw an ad for Scozzafava and for Owens.
I’d like to see what the numbers are now that Palin and the others have tossed in their support.
I agree the Conservative Republicans have to continue to send the message to the RHINO Newt’s that we are not going in the direction that the RHINO’s have been leading our party. The Reagan Conservatives are returning it back to it’s origins. I don’t even like Dick Armey. I think he is one shy of being a RHINO....I wish RUSH, HANNITY and some of the credible talk show/conservative media would start pointing out what conservatives we should support and which ones are on the fence and need to be kicked over to the other side!
Curious how it is Republicans who are upsetting the apple cart by supporting the conservative, but Markos Moulitsas endorsement of the Republican is overlooked.
It's critical that Hoffman's supporters man every single last polling place from dawn to dusk to make sure that every Republican voter knows that their real choice is between two Democrats and a conservative.
With her record it appears he is spot on.
Well, first let's get the language straight. There's nothing "pragmatic" about kicking your base in the face and nominating a stupid jerk who is more liberal than the Democrat just because some operative owes her a favor. Pragmatic means sensible, and this nomination was nothing but STUPID.
Second, there's nothing finicky or "purist" about opposition to abortion and gay marriage and big union worship. Would the Democrats sit still while their party bosses nominated a candidate who said that he hated gays and wanted to murder them? Well, we won't sit still when they nominate a woman who wants to help Obama kill more babies, or force gay activists on the military, or push for gay marriage.
This was a basic mistake on the part of the Republican leadership, local and national. They've done this sort of thing repeatedly, and eviscerated the party as a result. It's time to tell them "enough." This woman must lose, whether or not the Conservative candidate wins. And everyone involved must go.
Yes the new poll numbers should show a shift towards Hoffman.
The question is how big that shift is going to be. Also not sure of the credibility of those polls. Most pollsters will structure who they poll to get the result that they want.
So Hoffman needs a strong ground game to energize the vote and not give up even if they are 8 points down on the 2nd.
It is the final vote that counts.
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