Conservatives promise Hoffman support in NY-23
Jude Seymour has an interesting behind-the-scenes story in today’s Watertown Times about last fall’s 23rd Congressional district race. He reports Conservative Party chairman Michael Long approached Alexandria Bay businessman Matt Doheny to oppose moderate Dede Scozzafava:
“The answer I got was: ‘No, he doesn’t want to alienate the Republican Party,'” the chairman recalled Wednesday. “He was in the mix as one of the guys I would have supported against Dede Scozzafava. He chose to play the inside baseball game.”
Instead, Long went with Doug Hoffman, who went on to become a national darling of the conservative movement.
Now Long is vowing that Doheny doesn’t get a second chance. He says the Conservative Party line is Hoffman’s, whether he wins the Republican nomination or not.
If the GOP chooses Doheny in the primary, that sets up another three-way race.
And you gotta know that makes Bill Owens smile.
So Mr. Long speaks for the entire Conservative party in the North Country? But, but isn’t that what Mr. Hoffman railed against during the last election? How can he possibly except the nomination given such a shocking turn of events? He will turn it down since he’s such a man of character and honor, right?
Good for Mr. Long. Good for Mr. Hoffman. The Republican Party will have to learn that you don’t win elections by pandering to the center.
Ask Dede how it worked out.
Hoffman never had a chance of getting the GOP nomination. He is the male Sarah Palin. If she/he already is the candidate, republicans will convince themselves they are a great candidate. But, given a choice, they would never be nominated.
JDM: Ask Owens how it worked out.
short term thinking blackus.
The only vote of consequence was the health care vote, and it turns out that there were enough votes without Mr. Owens to get it passed.
Other than that, the few months that Mr. Owens spends in office will be inconsequential if the Republican party trades center-left candidates like Dede for conservatives.
JDM,
I don’t see how the conservatives are making good political decisions here. Look at who is in office: the Democrat. Scozzafava backed out of the election, leaving the entire right-half of the electorate for Hoffman to take. Even with that, he lost.
Left-liberals and right-conservatives need to learn that pandering to the base only gets you so far.
Also, Owens is now an incumbent, and can tap into the national party’s money. That is not ‘inconsequential’. Incumbents always have an advantage over the challenger.
“Good for Mr. Long. Good for Mr. Hoffman.” So it’s good that Mr. Long is the only one to decide that Hoffman gets the conservative nomination? How is that a good thing given Hoffman complained about “a small minority of Republicans” determining Dede got the republican nomination last year? Wouldn’t it now be hypocritical of Mr. Hoffman to accept the nomination given one man determined he should get it? Seems to me that says a great deal about Hoffman’s character and honesty. Or rather, a lack there of.
It’s funny how Hoffman and his backers ran an anti-“elitist” campaign raging against the “insiders” that “anointed” Scozzafava… and here Hoffman is dependent on Grand Poobah Long (who I believe lives in NYC or Long Island) who presumes to single-handedly decide who gets the Conservative nod in NNY.
I just want to know what Reagan would do so I can vote.
Let it play out folks. The Conservative party doesn’t speak for all conservatives, or even right learners in general. Lets see what happens. Personally I think Hoffman was a lousy candidate, like McCain. Lets see if the Republicans blow things, again, and what the Conservative party has to show.
I honestly think in the North Country we still vote the person over national political planks. This would bode bad for someone like Hoffman who I still don’t think really knows or understand the North Country outside of Lake Placid. Owens is much more liberal than I would prefer but I will vote for him over Hoffman, I don’t know anything about the other guy and neither does anyone else.
Hoffman’s 5 minutes are over. He never had a chance. He was never chosen by anyone in any sort of democratic way to run for anything. To top it off, his ship sank when he accused ACORN of stealing the election last year.
I guess I just wonder how anyone can take Hoffman seriously at this point. He’s a hypocrite if he accepts the conservative nomination and he’s yet to name one specific thing he’d do differently than the status quo if elected (unless I’ve missed it). On top of that he’s about as exciting and riveting as watching paint dry. Beyond the usual right wing talking points, there isn’t any substance there. Is he truly the best the conservatives can offer?