Watch as conservative nutjob Doug Hoffman, running for the U.S. House of Representatives in New York’s 23rd Congressional district, folds like a lawn chair while talking to Glenn Beck:
While I’d ordinarily root for a Democrat to win over a far right fringe conservative like Doug Hoffman, I’m inclined to believe a victory for Doug Hoffman in the New York 23rd could end up being a victory for Democrats, as Stu Rothenberg notes:
In fact, Democrats might be better off were Hoffman to win the special election in New York. Yes, that outcome would prevent Democrats from expanding their House majority, but a Hoffman win might embolden the Club for Growth and encourage conservatives to take on other Republicans who aren’t entirely pure. And encouraging a bigger GOP civil war is something that could help Democrats win more than a single additional seat in the House.
If a Doug Hoffman victory tonight will help hasten a conservative civil war, then I’m all for it. After all, it’d be kinda neat to see far-right conservatives continue to fight to marginalize themselves on the fringe of what’s left of the Republican Party after moderates are cast out.
Ed. Note: Edited the last line for accuracy.
H/T to The Chief.
Conservatives are not a “party”. It’s a movement, and you shouldn’t really chuck those “nutjob” stones around casually, as I’m sure there are quite a few out-of-the-mainstream viewpoints on this website.
Besides, two out of three is not bad for conservatives, and looking at New Jersey, you jackals should be especially worried. Look up the data. Independents overwhelmingly went for Christie tonight. Why? NJ’s government is running into catastrophic problems whith their finances. Stop me when this sounds familiar. This, coupled with the fact that Chairman Zero made a shitload of appearances in NJ on behalf of the not-so-poor-former-CEO-of-Goldman-Sachs-and-ex-governor-of-NJ Corzine, maybe you should be more worried about the only asset that Obama has (his personality) is quickly tarnishing.
And to say Hoffman folded like a lawn chair? That one made me squirt milk through my nose. Given the (un)logic you demonstrate there, how do you explain the campaign of former VA gubernatorial candidate R. Creigh Deeds? Pretty sure President Government stepped up for him; pretty sure Deeds got his ass whupped. Although, Obama (a “progressive”) did throw Deeds (a Blue Dog) under the bus, so does this predict an internal war in your own party? I’d get my popcorn for that.
Eh, no one’s perfect. It is a conservative movement, but I still think we’re seeing the beginnings of a civil war within the conservative movement and within the Republican Party. I think if far-right conservatives within the GOP continue to push moderates out of the party, the GOP will effectively be marginalized.
LOOK AT HOW MANY INDEPENTENTS CHRISTIE WON IN A DEEP BLUE STATE THAT OBAMA STEPPED IT UP FOR!!! It was like 50-30. So much for your civil war.
In New York, there is a Conservative party and that was the party Hoffman run under.
I’ve got the original post in my RSS box and I don’t think you really made an error Zach, although maybe the current wording adds clarity.
Yeah, I just wanted to clarify what I was trying to say. I find New York’s system to be fascinating; I’d love to see more states with fusion tickets.
Hoffman might not win you know…
http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=547343
He didn’t. Close though. Polls suck.
Point is, conservatives pushed back against the RNC, NRCC, Gingrich all falling over themselves to endorse someone who does not even come close to representing the main supports of the Republican Party tent – limited government and individual liberty from it. Scozz endorsed the Democrat after she lost. So much for moderation. Meanwhile, $990k of GOP donor cash was pissed away on a candidate they knew damn well wasn’t worth a pinch.
What about Reagan’s eleventh commandment?
“Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican.”
It also needs to be pointed out that Scozzafava didn’t ‘lose’, she dropped out. If she “…does not even come close to representing the main supports of the Republican Party tent…”, why even vote for her in the primary?
Sounds like buyers remorse to me.
There wasn’t a primary, hence the big deal. The RNC told the local party who to pick. McHugh was moderate, but WAY to the right of the Scozz. She was totally an inappropriate selection.
“I’m impatient with those Republicans who, after the last election, rushed into print saying we must broaden the base of our party, when what they meant was to fuzz up and blur even more the differences between ourselves and our opponents.” –Ronald Reagan, 1975
I find it interesting some on the right are saying they aren’t surprised a (D) won in upstate NY. Even though a (R) held the office since 1993.
Quite frankly, it was more the whole selection process that got “the right” more motivated.
The district is moderate, so it should not surprise anyone if a Democrat won. McHugh was appointed Secretary of the Army by the President. Like I said, the Scozz was unnecessarily liberal. In fact, she would have probably joined the D’s eventually.
As they say, I trust the enemy I see, it’s the one I don’t that bothers me.