Posted on 11/03/2009 1:27:56 PM PST by Servant of the Cross
Last night, the upstate wind was cool, with just a hint of the winter chill to come — the season when thoughts turn toward hockey. Doug Hoffman, the Conservative party candidate in New York’s 23rd congressional district, agreed. As the hour grew late and he made his final rounds of handshakes and hugs, something about the moment, and the cold air, stirred a memory.
“I think back to early 1980,” said Hoffman, as supporters buzzed around him. “That was around the time I first got involved with the Lake Placid Olympics.” As those games opened, Pres. Jimmy Carter was beginning his final, gloomy year in the White House. Ronald Reagan had just lost the Iowa caucus to George H. W. Bush and was jockeying for a good showing in the upcoming New Hampshire primary. And Hoffman, then a 27-year-old accountant, was working as a controller for the Lake Placid Olympic Organizing Committee, helping to supervise a $150-million budget. Hoffman, supporting a young family, had landed the job after a few years in the Army reserves and grad school.
It was a memorable experience, Hoffman said — and not just for him. Hoffman is by nature a low-key fellow; but he recalled those frigid days in February 1980 with a fire in his eye. Hockey, not politics, was on his mind. (snip)
Hoffman decided to run because he was unhappy with Scozzafava, who was handpicked by local Republican leaders to run for the seat left vacant by GOP congressman John McHugh when he resigned to join the Obama administration. Hoffman approached Mike Long — the chairman of the Conservative party in New York — about mounting a serious campaign against the pro-choice, pro–gay marriage, stimulus-loving, and card-check-supporting Scozzafava. Long signed on. (snip)
(Excerpt) Read more at article.nationalreview.com ...
Consistently voted as the greatest moment of the 20th Century in American sports. One of the first great stories of the 1980s — that’s for sure.
I got married in Lake Placid. Nice area. Had the high peaks as the backdrop.
Politically yes. Then there was a certain pass in Miami, the day after Thanksgiving in 1984.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.