Minnesota’s Michelle Bachmann endorsing Hoffman?
Yesterday on the Laura Ingraham show, Minnesota Rep. Michelle Bachmann made a good case for a Hoffman vote. Though she stopped short of a full endorsement, Bachmann has observed that a Hoffman vote is simply common sense, if you want a Republican to win the seat:
Hoffman is on the ascendancy … and we have to win this seat, and people need to get behind the winning candidate, and it looks like that’s Hoffman.
She makes a valid point. By now it should be clear that Scozzafava is not going to win. Neither Hoffman nor his supporters will back down — indeed many Hoffman supporters have already said they’d prefer Democrat Owens to have the seat over Assemblywoman Scozzafava. This means two things. First, that it is Dede, not Hoffman, who is the spoiler in this race. And second, that if Republicans actually want a Republican to win, their only hope is to vote Hoffman. Failure to do so lands an Owens victory squarely on the shoulders of Scozzafava and her supporters.
The GOP has made the mistake of believing that being “Democrat Lite” will win them power. It will not. Conservatives — regular Americans, in fact — aren’t concerned with the Parties’ ability to get or stay in power. They are concerned with what those people will do with it. Newt Gingrich doesn’t get it; Michelle Bachmann does.
A full endoresement for Hoffman, meanwhile, has come from former Majority Leader Dick Armey. And he, too, offers common-sense reasoning for his decision.
Finally, in a move surprising nobody, the National Organization for Marriage has endoresed Hoffman, while strongly condemning the Left-wing stance of Dede Scozzafava.
It would appear the writing is on the wall for the Scozzafava campaign. Nobody expects her to notice, but I have to wonder if the GOP does — and whether they plan to do anything about it, or go back to their 2008 strategy of blaming Conservatives for their failures.
NY23 update: More boots on the ground for Hoffman; updates from the liberals in the race
Last night, I received a call on behalf of the Susan B. Anthony List. The group — whose stated goal is getting “pro-life women” elected to Congress — is mobilizing to NY-23 in support of Doug Hoffman.
The caller informed me that the group is sending out volunteers and community organizers to hand out SBA literature and Hoffman signs, and to rally social Conservatives to the Hoffman cause. Hoffman’s campaign, he noted, is primarily concerned with TV ads (given the amount of time and limited finances), while grass-roots activism is being largely left up to individuals and groups like SBA.
Given the budget and time constraints of the Hoffman camp, this secondary support could well prove important to the campaign. In an email to supporters, Hoffman campaign staffer Daniel Odescalchi noted other grass roots groups coming out:
The regional Huck PAC folks have also offered to canvass the district on our behalf.
And a group of Patriots are coming up from Westchester, NY to help too.
GOP candidate Dede Scozzafava, meanwhile, held a meet-and-greet dinner in Lowville, where she was approached by a reporter asking questions about her stated policies, versus her various actions (such as her declining to sign the No-tax pledge until just before receiving Newt Gingrich’s endoresement). After supplying vague answers to the reporter, Scozzafava finally refused to answer any more questions, and staffers blocked the reporter from approaching her. Police were later called in (after the reporter had retired to his vehicle to write his article on the night’s events) to explain things to him and ask him to leave her alone.
Across the proverbial aisle, Bill Owens has also recently run into a spot of trouble — with the California Milk Processor Board. In a new ad, Owens ends up with a variation of the group’s now-infamous “Got Milk?” slogan — which then morphs into “Got Milk Money?” A clever idea, but one which was not, apparently, run by the CMPB first. They’ve issued a cease-and-desist order, which is being largely ignored by the Owens campaign, except to say that their usage consititues “fair use.”
Voters may well wonder if THIS is the fight the Owens camp really needs to be waging right now — and what that might portend as far as which battles Owens would pick as an elected representative.
You can contribute to the Hoffman campaig through his website, http://www.doughoffmanforcongress.com.
UPDATE: According to WaPo, intraparty polls are suggesting Hoffman is now in second place, behind Owens.
(Cross-posted at The Minority Report)
This registered Republican won’t be punching the (R) tab on Nov. 3
Over the past several months, citizens have risen up to protest the gross mishandling of our economy at the hands of liberal career politicians in Washington. Ordinary citizens, many of whom had never dreamed they would take the time out of their busy lives to make such a statement. Had never dreamed they’d find it necessary.
Folks across the country stood to raise their voices against the negligence of a government run amok – including citizens throughout New York’s 23rd Congressional District, in “tea party” protest from Canton, all the way to Albany.
And the eleven county GOP heads of NY23 heard those voices. And when the time came to act, they responded – by selecting for the Republican nomination another liberal career politician.
Dede Scozzafava is not the “change” we need in Washington, no matter what her admirably positive TV ads say. We are where we are because of big spenders. Because of people who aren’t shy about raising our taxes, or spending money we don’t have on a bogus “stimulus” package that puts money in the hands of those who need it least. Dede Scozzafava is more of the same: she voted over 190 times to raise taxes in New York – already among the most taxed states in the union (second only to New Jersey in total tax burden). She voiced support of the failed – yes, failed – stimulus plan, while refusing to sign a no-tax pledge (see above link). Granted, she recently did decide to sign that pledge, though after her honestly decent reasons for refusing, her change of heart is confusing at best, and makes me wonder what she won’t do to get elected.
Though she wisely chose not to pursue the (ACORN-affiliated) Working Families Party nod this time out, it’s important to remember that as a New York Assemblywoman, the (WFP) sits right next to the (R) and (I) behind her name. I think it’s safe to say that, were the WFP not poison to her self-styling as Republican in this race, they’d be proudly supporting her now, too. Especially given the comparatively Conservative leanings of the Named Democrat in the race, Bill Owens.
By contrast, Doug Hoffman is a no-nonsense, fiscally responsible Conservative. He signed a no-pork pledge, is vehemently opposed to more taxes and would never have voted for a bailout measure like the bank bailouts we saw at the end of 2008.
A vote for Hoffman carries import beyond the simple question of who will represent NY-23, however. The nation is watching this race, because it is, indeed, a referendum, not only on the Obama Administration’s handling of our country’s financial affairs, but of the Republicans’ aquiescence to bad policy like the Stimulus (in the Senate), the Cap&Trade, and others. This is a fight for the heart and soul of the Republican Party. Will it once again be the Constitutionally Conservative, Common-sense voice of stalwarts from Washington to Reagan; or will it continue to be the weak-willed, if occasionally contrary, twin brother to the Democrats?
When somebody as liberal as DailyKos endorses the Republican, it’s time to take notice
So it’s official, I’m rooting for the Republican to win. As a congresswoman, she could either move even more to the left to properly represent her progressive-trending district and be a pain in the side of the GOP caucus (they have nothing like our Blue Dogs), or Democrats can field a real Democrat to challenge her in 2010.
Markos fears Hoffman, and rightly so. His brand of liberalism demands purity of socialist standards, and he has given his approval to Dede. Read his whole piece. It’s most enlightening.
(cross-posted at RedState)
Hoffman collects two big Conservative endorsements in NY-23
Former Republican Presidential Candidate (and my personal pick for the job, if we’re to be completely honest about it), Fred Thompson sent out a letter to supporters of his political action committee, urging support of NY-23 Congressional Candidate Doug Hoffman.
In that letter, Thompson refers to Hoffman as the “True Conservative” in the race for NY-23 — an assessment with which, given the record of the “Republican” in this race, Dede Scozzafava, I have to concur –and sees the race as “an opportunity to send a message to Washington, to the Obama Administration, and to the politicians who have made careers of ignoring the will of the people they represent.”
Aside from Thompson, the Club for Growth has also thrown in for Hoffman. In a press release issued today, CFG President Chris Chocola all but denounced both Democrat candidate Bill Owens AND Republican pick Dede Scozzafava as being partisan liberals:
After months of runaway spending, bailouts, and record deficits, the last thing we need in Congress is another rubber stamp for Nancy Pelosi and the liberal Democrats.
The CFG also posted a poll of three hundred area voters which suggests the race is in a dead heat between the three candidates. Though that poll was pretty clearly partisan and probably not to be trusted as a true and accurate source, it is clear that Hoffman, though not running as a Republican, can count on Republican support as Conservatives seek to reclaim Congress.
With the date for the election now set for Nov. 3, I sincerely hope that all the Republicans in NY-23 will stand up for Real Republican values and vote, not for candidate-select Scozzafava, but for Conservative candidate and the REAL Republican in this race, Doug Hoffman.
As for the eleven who put their ignorant perceptions of “electibility” over policy and values… I propose we deal with THEM as soon as possible.
Preparing For Battle: Congressional District 23
Now that Congressman John McHugh has been tapped as Secretary of the Army by President Obama (and there is little doubt he’ll be confirmed), the race has begun for his seat in the House. Though Congressional District 23 is one of the largest districts (and most underrepresented) in the nation, in general, this isn’t one that people pay much attention to. Except, this isn’t like a normal race, is it? With the Democrats in total control of two of the three branches of government, Republicans are hoping to keep this seat, and perhaps even strengthen it. Dems, meanwhile, would love to tighten their hold on the House by replacing McHugh with one of their own. And, of course, for political junkies, it’s the only game in town. All of which is to say that the NY-23 race is, in fact, being watched on a national level.
For now, I’m not overly interested in what the Democrats are doing with this. Speculation is that State Senator Darryl Aubertine will be the (D) nominee. And, certainly, GOP leadership seems to be looking for a candidate who can beat him.
According to the Adirondack Daily Enterprise, the Republicans may select a candidate as soon as this week. Now, Republicans are touting the fact that they are keeping the candidate-selection process very, very open and ethical. Which, I suppose they are, at least as much as is possible without actually getting the voters involved. The primary selection will actually be made by a weighted vote by the GOPchairs in the district’s eleven counties. Because of this, it’s pretty hard for the average voter to get to know the candidates until after the selection is made and the GOP starts reformulating their message for the voting public.
More information about the candidates will be posted to this blog, hopefully within the next day or two. Even now, there are clear frontrunners, according to the media; and a source within the county GOP seems to confirm, at least for herself, that the two frontrunners are moderate Dede Scozzafava and the more evidently Conservative Paul Maroun. However, there are other options as well, such as the 26-year-old Josh Lynch. Though he’s young, and this would be his first elected office, the Conservative Lynch is no stranger to election politics, or even to Washington DC. Lynch worked with Sam Brownback as an assistant, and during Brownback’s presidential bid.
It would be, I suppose, too much to hope that the District GOP would flout what has become known as “conventional wisdom” here. I say that because, though actual conventional wisdom is based on what has been proven to work, recent GOP “conventional wisdom,” has been proven specifically to NOT work. It is this new “wisdom,” for example, which suggests we need a moderate to win and keep the seat. Since, you know, that worked out so well with McCain.
Moreover, we should not be merely thinking about winning this seat back, but about helping to effect change in Washington. It should be remembered that the overregulation we’re experiencing, the quickly-passed and worthless “stimulus” package and the overbearing and equally pointless “Cap & Trade” bills are the works of liberals and moderates. “Conventional Wisdom” can say what it wants; Common Sense says introducing more of the same to Washington will not bring about positive change and could, in fact, just make it worse.
This is going to be a tough battle for the North Country. North Country politics, as I’ve learned since my arrival here about four years ago, is often about short-term reciprocation rather than solid, long-term solutions. When talking with many voters in Northern New York, there appears to be a disconnect between stated values and the actual voting process. Person A may better fit the political values of a voter, but the vote will often go to Person B, who “has done a lot for the area.” Unfortunately, what is often unseen is how those good works in the name of the home county will actually effect the voters with regard to both finances and liberty. If a politician, for example, signed something that brought a hundred jobs to such-and-such county, a voter may not notice, or may even wilfully ignore that the same politician also signed a whole bunch of taxes and regs into law which prevented them from getting raises, decreased their benefit packages or even lost jobs for the county.
And it is this, in part, which gives rise to the idea that we need moderates in order to win. The GOP, clueless as usual about what goes on in the minds of voters, takes this willingness to see only the positives as a rejection of Conservative values. They allow Democrats and the media to define the narrative about what the voters want, without actually listening to the voters themselves. On the other hand, if the GOP leadership would listen — really listen — to the average voter, they would realize that results are important, but that the voters also need to be educated in what really happens in a way that the media — the outlet charged, in the minds of many voters, with that task — simply won’t do.
The fact is, here in District 23, the GOP can run a Conservative, and win. But they need to be willing to take on the Democrats who try to define the message. They need to show how what looks like a boon for the North Country isn’t always what it seems, and that though even liberal politicians can occasionally make good decision, these are far outweighed by those decisions which fly directly in the face of North Country values.