Keys to Conservative Success Found in NY-23 Loss

PAjamas MEdia ^ | November 6 | Lorie Byrd

[AJKauf]

The big topic of discussion this week is the role conservatism played in the wins in Virginia, New Jersey, and elsewhere, as well as in the loss of New York’s 23rd congressional district. Recent polls show that many more Americans self-identify as conservative than liberal, so it should not be terribly surprising that so many conservative candidates won Tuesday. It should not even be terribly surprising that some won big.

Though if that is the case, what is the explanation for Doug Hoffman’s loss in New York? There are many possible reasons — including the spectacle that the race turned into with Dede Scozzafava dropping out at the last minute and endorsing the Democrat — but one possibility proposed by Roger L. Simon and others is sure to be much discussed over the coming year.

Simon wrote that social conservatism was in part to blame...

[combat_boots]

Why?

ACORN, SEIU and fraud.

[Frantzie]

Do not also forget that we lost NY-23 because of Dede the DIABLO, stinnking GOP RINO bosses in NY-23 and stinking Newt Gingrich. We elected a Dem from the Democrat Islamist Party.

[truth_seeker]

Head, meet nail. Full article.

Also in NY 23 New Yorkers provided negative feedback about outsiders barging into their neighborhoods, telling them what to do.

Hoffman would have yielded an ACU rating of 90+ which is well above the Republican who successfully held the office for 16 years.

Mismatched. A combination that pleased internet echo chamber “true conservatives” much, and lost the district.

[wolfpat]

This was not a contest between conservatism and liberalism. It was conservative Republicans spanking the party for not doing as told.

[ansel12]

This was a conservative win, not a loss, a bigger win would have been taking the seat even after stopping Scozzafava and blocking the effort to slip her into a probably permanent position as a hard left congresswoman hiding behind and getting reelected because of an R fig leaf.

It was an immense mess of an election and the biggest of long shots lost by inches, we still won the strategic victory and we can take out Owens in 1 year, in the meantime we moved the national GOP farther right in a way that is bigger than one congressional seat.

[freeangel]

You can’t have fiscal conservatism without social conservatism. What’s so hard to understand about that? Social conservatism is all about personal responsibility. If people are not willing to take personal responsibility, then the taxpayers end up paying—to support peoples children, pay their medical bills, etc.

[DallasDeb]

Hoffman’s capital “C” Conservative campaign 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.

Tell that to the majority of voters in Massachusetts who turned down gay marriage.

[ABQHispConservative]

He went from low 20’s to near 50’s in a matter of weeks. Had he had support from the get go, he might have won in the mid 50’s.

If Hoffman decides to do it again, he needs to work on his public speaking skills (i.e. TV interviews) and bone up on local issues. He has the conservative base with him (his 46%), he needs at least four more percentage points to win this in 2010. By then, Owens would have shown himself as the lib that all rats are.

[Gondring]

ACORN, SEIU and fraud.

That's worth at least a Bronze Star. Have you been decorated yet for your service to the Ostrich Brigade?

[Gondring]

You're talking about true conservatism, not the brand we see today...where it's not personal responsibility, but Huckabee-style "if we don't like it, we'll outlaw it" and "compassion bought with the money of others." Today's "Social Conservatism" is statism--not at all conservative or focusing on responsility of individuals.

[combat_boots]

1) 18,000 absentee ballots were not going to be counted on election night. (How many people voted altogether and were registered?)
2) At least 4 areas/municipalities were not going to post figures until the next day (How many votes do they represent?)
3) Voting machines ‘broke down’ in several cities/voting stations
4) D Scozzafava’s husband is a regional guy in SEIU
5) Reports had ACORN, SEIU, etc. rolling into NY 23 big during the week before the election.

So, why did Hoffman concede that night? What happened?

If it’s not close, the Democrats can’t cheat. What does that say about people who call themselves our countrymen?

http://blogs.abcnews.com/george/2009/11/nj-dems-admit-robocalls-pushing-3rd-party-candidate.html

http://washingtonindependent.com/66380/ny-23-hoffman-accuses-democrats-of-stealing-the-election

NC: Election Update: Check your CHECK MARK!* (ES&S iVotronic with RTAL)
November 3, 2009 I clearly punched the box for Bill Knight for mayor. The check popped up on Yvonne Johnson’s name. I called for the precinct worker and he explained how to correct. I contacted the BOE and they stated they have heard similar reports today and it was related to machine calibration. If you’re paying attention you would catch this error before casting ballot.
http://www.busybeingbornblog.com/?p=399

NY: Glitches With New Voting Machines *
Broome County...In fact, district three has had some glitches with ballots all morning.

The district chair says the new machine is so sensitive it picks up defects in the paper, rejecting the ballot.

“And so because it picks up the defects, it doesn’t pick up what people are voting for, and we have to void it and give them another paper,” said Sweeney.

And it happened 16 times.
http://www.wicz.com/news2005/viewarticle.asp?a=11165

NY: Glitches with voting machines cause problems in Cayuga County *
November 04, 2009 Auburn, NY...The county experienced problems to varying degrees in several locations, including a machine that crashed at least twice in Fleming, printing on ballots that was smudged or had problems with toner that some sensitive voting machines wouldn’t read, and voter error, Democratic Elections Commissioner Katie Lacey said this morning.

“The machines weren’t all equally sensitive to the same problem,” she said. “We had ballots that would go in one machine and be rejected two or three or four times, and then you could take the same ballot to another machine and it would go right through.”
http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2009/11/glitches_with_voting_machines.html

NY: Madison County Voting Machines Impounded
Supervisor, council races in Brookfield, Cazenovia, Lebanon, and Sullivan may hang in the balance
...
Now local Madison County Board of Elections staff will have to wait until lawyers arrive before the results in those precincts will be known. The Bill Owens campaign (23rd U.S. Congressional District race) hired attorneys to file an injunction to keep anyone from touching the ballots, machines, or canvass sheets until legal representatives can be on hand to witness any interaction with the equipment or documents.
http://www.madisoncountycourier.com/cazenovia-new-york/madison-county-voting-machines-impounded-7451/

NY: Fulton County machines break; court order issued *
Fulton County (WSYR-TV) – NewsChannel 9 has learned voting machines in Fulton County, which is a part of the 23rd Congressional District, have been impounded, after the machines were not working property today, the Fulton County Board of Elections confirms.

The county was forced to switch over to paper ballots.
http://www.9wsyr.com/news/local/story/Fulton-County-machines-break-court-order-issued/dSY52Bssm0iYlGz06S7Chg.cspx

NY: Voting machine malfunction in Fulton County *
...An election official there told Teresa Priolo some marked ballots wouldn’t scan yesterday.
...
That election official told Teresa there are about 6500 total voters in the 11 affected districts — all of whom are in the towns of Bleeker, Broadalbin, North Hampton and Oppenheim.
http://www.cbs6albany.com/news/malfunction-1268107-fulton-voting.html

NY: Erie County. No major problems with new machines *(paper jams)
...

Ward said the largest number of calls that came in to election headquarters from poll workers were due to one of two plugs not being connected. There were also a number of calls for what Ward believed to be a higher number of poll workers than usual — four are expected in each election district — who fell ill.

The most common problem with machines in operation had to do with ballots getting jammed in the optical scanning machine, he said.
...

Mohr said three machines that had jammed were replaced as a precautionary measure to make sure they would be functioning at peak hours. Two of the machines were in West Seneca, and the third was in Lancaster, he said.
http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/story/849068.html

NY: Glitches may delay vote reporting in four St. Lawrence Co. towns *

NOVEMBER 3, 2009 St. Lawrence County Board of Elections officials said this evening that machine breakdowns earlier today may prevent them from having election results tonight in Louisville, Waddington, Rossie and Clare.

St. Lawrence County Board of Elections Deputy Commissioner Thomas Nichols said the new election machines had scanner malfunctions in some communities earlier today.
http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article/20091103/NEWS09/911039957

[Gondring]

Head, meet nail. Full article.

You're right...the full article nails it.

If Hoffman had stuck to fiscal emphasis, he would have won, even with the backlash against out-of-district interference.

[Gondring]

And the lefties are laughing at the right, who foisted those machines on them. Petard wounds smart.