Posted on 11/09/2009 7:01:39 AM PST by Wolf13
Doug Hoffman’s narrow defeat in New York’s 23rd Congressional District special election was one of few blemishes in a nearly flawless Election Day for Republicans. But Hoffman’s strong showing — coupled with the successful uprising against Republican nominee Dede Scozzafava’s candidacy — will embolden some conservatives to consider abandoning the GOP and initiating a broader third-party movement.
As a staunch conservative Republican whose political action committee invested much in Hoffman’s campaign, I believe nothing would hurt the conservative movement, or the GOP, more. National Democrats would love nothing more than for conservatives to start looking for third-party candidates all across the country, because third-party candidates almost always lose.
Third-party talk has become a perennial post-election pastime among some conservatives. Republicans faced a similar scenario during the 2008 campaign, when many values conservatives were dissatisfied with the field of Republican candidates and threatened to leave the party and vote for a third-party candidate. Today, Hoffman’s success and the deep sense of political alienation felt by many Americans might make it seem like the right time for another third-party revolt.
At the national level, while third-party candidacies can be an important way to draw attention to issues that the two major parties are ignoring, they always fail. In 1992, Reform Party presidential candidate Ross Perot focused his campaign on the out-of-control federal deficit. And within a few years, the budget was balanced. But no third-party presidential candidate has won a plurality or a majority of the popular vote in a single state since 1968.
(Excerpt) Read more at politico.com ...
I am sorry to say that if Sara did do run as a third party she would lose badly.
>> “Give us back power and we’ll sink the good ship America slower than the democrats.”
That’s a darn good way of putting it. And, no, it’s not the solution.
“It’s as simple as that.”
in most cases there is a primary. In most cases whoever gets through the bloody primary will get my vote - its as simple as that. I vote for the most conservative person in the primary. if he gets through awesome if someone else gets through i support them in most cases. why? because more often than not the R is going to be closer to my philosophy than any D. are there exceptions? of course. like that schmuck Lincoln Chafee (liberal former R) and good old Dede Scumfazza or whatever her name is. If it was between one of them and Zell Miller (D conservative from GA) than i would vote for Zell. In most cases though i go with the R that got through the primary perfect or not.
We only need to close our primaries in order to have more conservative nominees. That should be the goal of conservative activists. It’s long passed time we stopped allowing independents and crossover democrats to nominate a “lite” version of the dem.
The New York race shows that the GOP leadership would rather lose elections than let conservatives win. It also showed that the Demopublicans will close ranks for the same objective.
But if they continue to ballot RINOs and Democrat style candidates, then how does voting party line 'reform' them? I will vote 'conscience'; not party. And if that means for a viable third-party candidate, so be it.
Scozzawhatever is no RINO. We are the RINOs. Conservatives have never controlled the GOP, and never will. The real Republicans will never let us. I’ve been in those trenches fighting that battle, and I know how much the real Republicans hate us.
Third parties are a tool. A club to get the GOP’s attention. Can’t clean up the mess without tools.
I understand the dynamics of NY23. But does voting for the GOP candidate just because they’re on the ticket solve anything? That’s how we’ve arrived at this disastrous point. The GOP has become a carbon copy of the DNC. And we’d allowed that to happen by being their ‘sheeple’. We can cry and moan about the GOP all we want, but it’s our fault (our passivity) it’s happened. Now, when we say we’ve had enough, we rail against third-party activism? No, I don’t think I will. If I see a viable third-party candidate with fine, conservative credentials, that person will get my vote, unless the GOP has someone of equal credentials on their ticket. Period.
But we have the power to frustrate them. We can keep them out of power.
I can see you’re pushing for an Obama second term.
“But we have the power to frustrate them. We can keep them out of power.”
No problem. They will do that to themselves. The GOP has proven time and again that it would rather lose elections than let conservatives in.
There are also about twice as many self-identified Independents as there are self-identified Republicans.
Gary Bauer and those like him are living in the past, trapped in a tired old paradigm of their own making.
The one party system hasn’t worked.
Probably more fun to be in the out of power party. No pressure, but all the perks. We’ve got to take their perks away.
I can see you figured out the game yet.
GO 3RD PARTY SARAH, WE’RE WITH YOU ..,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, HELL NO!!!! Only if they agree to a run off!
“We’ve got to take their perks away.”
Do you happen to have a plan for that?
New tagline.
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Exactly right.
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