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McDonnell, Christie, Hoffman, and Tea-Partiers

Submitted by aberman on Sun, 11/08/2009 - 06:32

I normally don't abuse myself by reading Frank Rich's New York Times column, but I was up in the middle of the night and my thought-processes were still asleep.

Rich claims that the Tea-Partiers showed their weakness, and compared Hoffman's candidacy to Christie's and McDonnell.  What many don't understand is that the key isn't the differences between the three candidates, but their similarities.

All three are small government low-tax conservatives.  Does anyone think that the Tea-Partiers stayed home in Virginia or in New Jersey?

Though they did not mention Tea-Parties by name as part of their campaign message, Christie and McDonnell directly addressed the concerns voiced by the Tea-Partiers.  They combined these concerns with an understanding of their State which Hoffman--new to politics--did not have.

Message to Tea-Partiers:  I've never been to one, and I don't even know where the website is.  Nor have I ever watched more than 5 minutes of Glenn Beck.  But God Bless You All, and Thank You for helping rid my state of Jon Corzine.

 

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NY Times: Rahm Emanuel outfoxed GOP in NY-23...

Submitted by mlindroo on Sun, 11/08/2009 - 09:06.

This interesting article by Carl Hulse claims the NY-23 drama pretty much was anticipated by Democratic strategists, who were able to exploit multiple levels of incompetence among the NY Republican party as well as rank and file conservative activists. Frankly, I was not very impressed by Hoffman or the arguments posted by his ardent supporters in this forum...
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There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that Nancy Pelosi's majority will shrink somewhat after next year's elections. But with less than a year to go, the GOP still continues to lose special elections and it seems Tea Party activists would rather "eat their own" even in those districts where a Democrat will win if they do. So I very much doubt that the Republicans will become the majority party next year. Maybe 2012, if the economy (and Obama) really tanks, but not yet.

MARCU$

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/08/us/politics/08cong.html?_r=3&hp

While Republicans may have been victims of odd developments in upstate New York, the race was no accident. Democrats planned to make mischief in the district from the moment Rahm Emanuel, the White House chief of staff, approached John M. McHugh, who held the seat, about becoming Army secretary. Democrats smelled opportunity.

They put in place an extensive field operation that has become a hallmark of the House Democrats. Operatives say the party, which spent $1.1 million on the race, had workers knock on more than 101,000 district doors and make more than 108,000 phone calls. The White House dispatched Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. to help in the campaign.

When Ms. Scozzafava dropped out of the race just days before the election, Democrats moved to secure her endorsement for their candidate. They then pressed for the endorsement of the Watertown newspaper, winning a crucial stamp of approval in a central part of the sprawling district. The twin endorsements provided momentum in the closing days of the campaign and allowed Democrats to pull out a victory.

As I've argued before, this seat was lost in August

Submitted by Ironman on Sun, 11/08/2009 - 11:17.

Credit Rahm Emanuel for anticipating that the local GOP chairmen would nominate the one candidate who a) would provoke a full-blown challenge from the NY Conservative Party and b) would fail to raise cash from even establishment Republicans due to her card check position.

Let's assume the national Right left the New Yorkers to their own devices. Scozzafava would still have had no cash, lost a minimum of 5-7% to the NYCP, and therefore, Owens would have won a low turnout election with a percentage in the 46-48% range.   My guess is he would have won Clinton County by an even larger margin against Scozzafava then he did Hoffman.

Perhaps the silver lining is that unlike the usual quiet special election loss, this one was so open and notorious as to cause the powers that be to face reality instead of spinning away yet another lame nominee unappealing to party voters.

 

For all of you who want to pretend that the governor's

Submitted by John Smith on Sun, 11/08/2009 - 10:02.

 races were MASSIVELY, EARTHSHATTERINGLY important while the two House races can just pass without comment, a question: what was the margin by which the HCR bill passed last night?