This pretty much is the definition of EPIC FAIL, guys. Teabaggers can't even win in one of the reddest House district in the entire country. On the other hand, moderate Republicans did win in New Jersey and Virginia.Erick Erickson on Oct 16th:
In New York 23, the conservative movement has made it a Hill to Die On. Here, in New York of all places, the conservative movement will tell the GOP that it will either win with conservatives or lose without them. Conservatives across the spectrum of conservatism from Fred Thompson to Mike Huckabee and on and on have told the GOP it is time to turn back to limited government and will fight the GOP in NY-23 for supporting a woman who embraces large government and destructive social policies.
Doug Hoffman concedes and here comes Erick Erickson tonight:
The race has now been called for Democrat Bill Owens.
This is a huge win for conservatives.
“Whaaaa. . . ?” you say.
There are two big victories at work in New York’s 23rd Congressional District.
First, the GOP now must recognize it will either lose without conservatives or will win with conservatives. In 2008, many conservatives sat home instead of voting for John McCain. Now, in NY-23, conservatives rallied and destroyed the Republican candidate the establishment chose.
I have said all along that the goal of activists must be to defeat Scozzafava. Doug Hoffman winning would just be gravy. A Hoffman win is not in the cards, but we did exactly what we set out to do — crush the establishment backed GOP candidate.
And make no mistake, despite the Beltway spin, we know for certain based on statements from the local Republican parties, that they chose Scozzafava based on advice from the Washington crowd.
So we have demonstrated to the GOP that it must not take conservatives for granted. The GOP spent $900,000.00 on a Republican who dropped out and endorsed the Democrat. Were we to combine Scozzafava and Hoffman’s votes, Hoffman would have won.
And Erick and Sarah Palin and Fred Thompson and Rush Limbaugh and Tim Pawlenty and George Pataki and the New York Post all endorsed Doug Hoffman and now the Republican Party (that Erick wants purged of nonbelievers) should listen to him because the teabaggers favorite son just lost a seat that Republicans have held for 140 years.
Somewhere, Dede Scozzafava is laughing her ass off. Will the Republicans learn the lesson of the Hoffman Effect?
Of course not.
EPIC FAIL.
Of course, if 2008 taught us anything it is that losses for the Republicans are GREAT news for John McCain!
ReplyDeleteIf this is how the conservatives plan to "win" in the future, well then have at it hoss! The Village will remain concerned about the state of the Democratic party and their chances for victory right up to the day that Republicans cease to exist as a party. It is unbelievable how myopic they are when it comes to political ideologies, and serves as a reminder of how powerful Republicans (and conservative branding) once were. Now, like the Númenorians of Middle Earth, their deeds and they framings they built are still around but the heirs are a shadow of their past self.
Minor correction, NY-23 has been Republican since 1993, not 140 years.
ReplyDeleteAnd if 5% of the voters who still voted for Dede went for Hoffman, he would have carried the district.
You may interpret it as epic fail for conservatives, the rest of us see it as a wakeup call to those in Washington who continue to embrace the unpopular policies of Obama and Democrats.
The 140 year thing is debatable, Doc. The fact that the GOP cut their own throats in the race isn't.
ReplyDeleteNice try though.
What's to debate Zandar? The district's alternated between Democratic and Republican representation since it was created in the 1840s. NY-23 has been Republican since 1993, not since 1869.
ReplyDeleteIn this case, the GOP party bosses in New York nominated someone who was more liberal than the Democrat and would not have been a reliable vote in the GOP caucus. When you have kos endorsing the Republican over the Democrat, that says something. What Republican do you know, if any, aligns with the political views of Markos Moulitsas?
Republicans don't want to vote for Democrats or RINOs, just like Democrats despise the Joe Liebermans and the ahem...Evan F'ckin Bayhs." So it's fine for Democrats to purge or blacklist their conservative moderates, but disastrous for Republicans to want representatives who mirror their views? Apparently it isn't only the "teabaggers" who are crazy...
I'm curious as to why you assume all 5% of Dede's vote would have went to Hoffman... if anything it looks like Owens picked up more of the votes, and even if he only got 1/5th of Dede's voters he still would have won. Districts change, yes, but this was still one where Republicans held a registration advantage. At the end of the day the GOP (and you can blame it on the wingnuts or the leadership) shot themselves in the foot.
ReplyDeleteNope. Still a valiant effort, but the fact of the matter is while the Republican party may have rejected Scozzafava, the voters in a safe seat Republican district rejected Doug Hoffman.
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York%27s_23rd_congressional_district
ReplyDeleteIn fact, if you go back 140 years you find 17 Democrats in that seat. But don't let the facts get in the way of a good spin.
Furthermore, if San Fran Nan thought she found another vote for the disaster that is ObamaCare, she's wrong. If I recall correctly, Owens campaigned against the public option, which seems to be the "be all, end all" for liberals' support for healthcare reform.
ReplyDeleteTo answer Paul, I did not say that the 5% that went to Scozzafavabeans after she dropped out, would have gone to Hoffman, but I believe that those Republican votes would have probably been split between the two candidates with more votes going to Hoffman.
Well yes, that was the point I first made. As long as the GOP is divided and both sides insist on putting up a candidate then the Democrats will be the ones to profit.
ReplyDeleteThis might be too simple for a great intellect like yourself, but Hoffman was a 3rd party candidate who went from 12% to 47%. After he wins the party nomination next year he'll win the seat.
ReplyDelete