The Congressional race in New York’s twenty-third district is turning into one of those defining moments in political history. This Congressional seat has been held by Republicans since 1993 and probably wouldn’t have drawn nearly as much attention if it were not the subject of a special election one year after the election of Barack Obama. The former U.S. Congressman from the twenty-third district, John M. McHugh, resigned on September 21, 2009 to assume the office of Secretary of the Army in the Obama administration. Democrat Bill Owens, Republican Dierdre (Dede) Scozzafava, and Conservative Doug Hoffman entered the race for the vacated seat.
Since Barack Obama had won by a narrow margin in the general election of 2008, the Democrats suspected that they could possibly win the twenty-third district again. Some say that while McHugh was one of several qualified contenders for Secretary of the Army, that his eventual appointment to the cabinet was part of a strategy to remove an incumbent from that district to better the chances of a Democrat challenger.
The importance of a win for Democrats in the New York district became elevated as Creigh Deeds, a figure in Virginia politics since 1991, found himself pitted in a much closer race for Virginia governor against Republican Bob McDonnell than expected. As the battle for healthcare raged in the Senate, Deeds found himself trailing McDonnell in the polls and by October, the gap was already double digits. Incidentally, Deeds had only lost one election in his career and that was the 2005 race for Virginia Attorney General which he lost to Bob McDonnell by a margin of only three-hundred and fifty votes.
More bad news looms for Democrats in New Jersey as the incumbent Governor, Jon Corzine, finds himself locked in a three way battle for that election against Republican Chris Christie and Independent, Chris Daggett. Corzine was widely criticized for doubling taxes in New Jersey, bringing their rate to one of the highest in the nation. Even still, he held an early if not slim lead in the race but lost momentum as the economic forecasts worsened. As the recession deepened even further, people began to accuse the Obama administration for a lack of meaningful action, and since Corzine had aligned himself with the administration’s agenda, he slowly began to share in the administration’s pain.
As Election Day draws closer, Daggett’s numbers have been dwindling as his relatively few supporters realize the futility of his situation. As Daggett’s numbers droop, those that saw Daggett as a non-party alternative to Corzine shifted their support to Christie. Daggett still holds a minor percentage of the vote, mostly by those that are angry enough with government that they can’t bring themselves to vote for either party or by those that find Daggett’s environmental platform to their liking. This leaves Corzine and Christie in a statistical dead heat, with Christie leading by only one percentage point with one day remaining until the election. Since Daggett was an independent with an environmental twist, his supporters may bail at the last moment and support Corzine for a last minute rally or they may be so disgusted with the cost of Corzine’s tax policies that they may not vote at all. We will have to wait until tomorrow for the final word on this race.
In a move that surprised all but those that saw Scozzafava for what she really is, Scozzafava withdrew from the New York race yesterday and issued a statement urging her supporters to vote for the Democratic candidate, Owens. This infuriated Republican leadership and voters. Many stated that this was the act of vengeance for Republican leadership shifting their support to Hoffman when Scozzafava’s numbers proved disappointingly low and her third place position continued to drift further behind Owens and Hoffman.
This was no act of vengeance. Scozzafava is not a spoiled child throwing a tantrum at her lack of Republican support and to those of us that took the time to examine her; it was no surprise that she endorsed Owens when her own bid for that seat collapsed. Scozzafava is at heart, a liberal Democrat so why in God’s name did she join the Republican Party? Well, you can’t join a horse race with a giraffe and she lived in an area of New York that traditionally supported Republican candidates. Since her desire was to enter New York politics, she basically had two choices; join the Republican Party as a Democrat “spook” or move to an area that was more favorable to her ideology. She chose the former.
Her sneaky little plan worked and she was elected to the New York State Assembly in 1998. Dede was actually a good fit in her newly acquired seat since the New York State Assembly is widely recognized as one of the most dysfunctional state legislative bodies in the nation. Liberals in New York tend to blend in nicely earning reelection time after time regardless of their home district as each represents just one drop in the sea of liberals that flood that house annually.
This race was different in that the Tea Party movements had coalesced in their opposition to the radically socialist agenda that the President was trying to force through Congress. People were taking notice, not just at the wide support the President had in the extremely liberal arm of the Democratic Party, but in the ineffectual opposition that was launched by the Republicans. The idea that several so-called Republicans were actually considering supporting these bills troubled Republican and Conservative voters deeply, causing them to question their allegiance to a Party that was obviously disconnected from the conservative views of the constituency. Had the Republican Party lost its soul or was this some lame attempt to “remain in the game” when the Democrats held power in both houses of Congress and had a willing partner in the White House? They haven’t figured out that just because you negotiate the menu with a cannibal, it doesn’t mean you won’t end up as the main course anyway.
The Democrats are trying to chalk this up as deep divides in the Republican Party and that may be partially true. Tea Party patriots are demanding that the Republicans get back to their roots or risk losing the Conservative vote. They are willing to support Conservative third party candidates and even lose elections to the Democrats in certain areas to reinforce the message. The other side of the coin is that the Scozzafava’s in the party may find themselves being tossed out in future elections as the “grass roots’ go on a political witch hunt to drive these wolves in sheep clothing from the party. Either way, this election is just as much about the purity of the Republican Party as it is about the agenda of Barack Obama. The family feud that has the Democrats smiling now may bring them heartburn in 2010 as they find they are facing a unified and focused Republican Party for the first time since the days of Ronald Reagan and that my friend, is a change we can really believe in.
Paul
Since Barack Obama had won by a narrow margin in the general election of 2008, the Democrats suspected that they could possibly win the twenty-third district again. Some say that while McHugh was one of several qualified contenders for Secretary of the Army, that his eventual appointment to the cabinet was part of a strategy to remove an incumbent from that district to better the chances of a Democrat challenger.
The importance of a win for Democrats in the New York district became elevated as Creigh Deeds, a figure in Virginia politics since 1991, found himself pitted in a much closer race for Virginia governor against Republican Bob McDonnell than expected. As the battle for healthcare raged in the Senate, Deeds found himself trailing McDonnell in the polls and by October, the gap was already double digits. Incidentally, Deeds had only lost one election in his career and that was the 2005 race for Virginia Attorney General which he lost to Bob McDonnell by a margin of only three-hundred and fifty votes.
More bad news looms for Democrats in New Jersey as the incumbent Governor, Jon Corzine, finds himself locked in a three way battle for that election against Republican Chris Christie and Independent, Chris Daggett. Corzine was widely criticized for doubling taxes in New Jersey, bringing their rate to one of the highest in the nation. Even still, he held an early if not slim lead in the race but lost momentum as the economic forecasts worsened. As the recession deepened even further, people began to accuse the Obama administration for a lack of meaningful action, and since Corzine had aligned himself with the administration’s agenda, he slowly began to share in the administration’s pain.
As Election Day draws closer, Daggett’s numbers have been dwindling as his relatively few supporters realize the futility of his situation. As Daggett’s numbers droop, those that saw Daggett as a non-party alternative to Corzine shifted their support to Christie. Daggett still holds a minor percentage of the vote, mostly by those that are angry enough with government that they can’t bring themselves to vote for either party or by those that find Daggett’s environmental platform to their liking. This leaves Corzine and Christie in a statistical dead heat, with Christie leading by only one percentage point with one day remaining until the election. Since Daggett was an independent with an environmental twist, his supporters may bail at the last moment and support Corzine for a last minute rally or they may be so disgusted with the cost of Corzine’s tax policies that they may not vote at all. We will have to wait until tomorrow for the final word on this race.
In a move that surprised all but those that saw Scozzafava for what she really is, Scozzafava withdrew from the New York race yesterday and issued a statement urging her supporters to vote for the Democratic candidate, Owens. This infuriated Republican leadership and voters. Many stated that this was the act of vengeance for Republican leadership shifting their support to Hoffman when Scozzafava’s numbers proved disappointingly low and her third place position continued to drift further behind Owens and Hoffman.
This was no act of vengeance. Scozzafava is not a spoiled child throwing a tantrum at her lack of Republican support and to those of us that took the time to examine her; it was no surprise that she endorsed Owens when her own bid for that seat collapsed. Scozzafava is at heart, a liberal Democrat so why in God’s name did she join the Republican Party? Well, you can’t join a horse race with a giraffe and she lived in an area of New York that traditionally supported Republican candidates. Since her desire was to enter New York politics, she basically had two choices; join the Republican Party as a Democrat “spook” or move to an area that was more favorable to her ideology. She chose the former.
Her sneaky little plan worked and she was elected to the New York State Assembly in 1998. Dede was actually a good fit in her newly acquired seat since the New York State Assembly is widely recognized as one of the most dysfunctional state legislative bodies in the nation. Liberals in New York tend to blend in nicely earning reelection time after time regardless of their home district as each represents just one drop in the sea of liberals that flood that house annually.
This race was different in that the Tea Party movements had coalesced in their opposition to the radically socialist agenda that the President was trying to force through Congress. People were taking notice, not just at the wide support the President had in the extremely liberal arm of the Democratic Party, but in the ineffectual opposition that was launched by the Republicans. The idea that several so-called Republicans were actually considering supporting these bills troubled Republican and Conservative voters deeply, causing them to question their allegiance to a Party that was obviously disconnected from the conservative views of the constituency. Had the Republican Party lost its soul or was this some lame attempt to “remain in the game” when the Democrats held power in both houses of Congress and had a willing partner in the White House? They haven’t figured out that just because you negotiate the menu with a cannibal, it doesn’t mean you won’t end up as the main course anyway.
The Democrats are trying to chalk this up as deep divides in the Republican Party and that may be partially true. Tea Party patriots are demanding that the Republicans get back to their roots or risk losing the Conservative vote. They are willing to support Conservative third party candidates and even lose elections to the Democrats in certain areas to reinforce the message. The other side of the coin is that the Scozzafava’s in the party may find themselves being tossed out in future elections as the “grass roots’ go on a political witch hunt to drive these wolves in sheep clothing from the party. Either way, this election is just as much about the purity of the Republican Party as it is about the agenda of Barack Obama. The family feud that has the Democrats smiling now may bring them heartburn in 2010 as they find they are facing a unified and focused Republican Party for the first time since the days of Ronald Reagan and that my friend, is a change we can really believe in.
Paul
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