One more day

For conservative activists across the country, Doug Hoffman’s rise is a cause, a crusade. The push to turn out a massive vote on Tuesday will be epic.

Actor, activist and former US Senator Fred Thompson will join Hoffman in Watertown today.

For Democrats, the NY-23 race offers a rare chance to pick off a district that has voted Republican since the Civil War.

Labor groups and Democratic activists are all-in as well, with Vice President Joe Biden is also arriving in Watertown later this morning.

Residents of the district have been barraged, buried, battered by mailings, robo-calls and radio and TV spots.

Whoever wins tomorrow, it’s been a remarkable political journey, sparked by former Rep. John McHugh’s appointment as Army Secretary, driven by the summer’s tea party zeal, and culminating in this weekend’s topsy-turvey weirdness.

Once the votes are counted, I’m guessing a lot of unanswered questions will remain. What’s the future for moderate Democrats like Bill Owens in these “purple” districts?

And what will the post-Obama GOP look like? Ultra-conservative? Or is there room for moderates like Dede Scozzafava?

One thing is certain. After Tuesday, those ideological debates will shift far away from our rural towns and our local meeting halls.

We’ll get back to more familiar politics, where it’s all about neighbors and people we know and the future of our own North Country.

I for one am looking forward to it.