Principle or Party in New York's 23rd Congressional District?
The three-way battle between Republican Dede Scozzafava, Independent Doug Hoffman and Democrat Bill Owens for New York's 23rd Congressional District seat will have ramifications far beyond who wins on Nov. 3.
The race has created deep divisions in both conservative and Republican camps. Depending on who is asked, the campaign is either about creating party unity or standing for conservative principles.
With former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin backing Hoffman, whose positions on wedge issues have endeared him to social conservatives, and former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich backing Scozzafava, whose 11-year fiscal conservative history as a state assemblywoman has been all but forgotten in the debate.
Some conservatives are calling it a battle for the heart and soul of the Republican Party. Others see it as a fight to unify the party. Everyone on the right, however, knows there are deep issues at stake in this contest.
It's not necessary to know all the ins and outs of the campaign. This is one of the few elections in which the broader issues dominate -- at least on a national scale. To help conservatives sort through the opposing perspectives on this campaign, I recruited stay-at-home mom and About.com contributing writer Katy Abram to explain why 23rd District conservatives should be supporting Hoffman.
From Abram's article:
Voting the straight Republican line accomplishes nothing for conservatives in the 23rd District or for conservatives in general. Voting the straight GOP ticket would send a message to the Republican National Committee (RNC) that the status quo is just fine. When rank-and-file Republicans march in lock-step with the party there is no incentive for the RNC -- or even local Republican Committees for that matter -- to rethink their endorsements. There is no incentive for them to change their ways.
I take the counterpoint in this discussion, offering several legitimate reasons why New York conservatives might want to consider Scozzafava's candidacy.
From my article:
Let's not forget: Hoffman ran for the Republican nomination in 2009. He lost, failing even to qualify in the top three. His conservative credentials apparently weren't enough to convince the 23rd District's Republican committee that he should be their representative for the next year. Remember, it is the people of the 23rd District who will have to live with this decision long after the national spotlight is gone.
After reading both these articles, it's possible conservatives won't be any closer to making up their mind, but at least they'll be more enlightened.
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Comments
Justin –
Interesting analysis. Good article.
“Remember, it is the people of the 23rd District who will have to live with this decision long after the national spotlight is gone.”
Exactly. This is a local race. FWIW, Scozzafava scores in the 58th copnservative percentage for the New York Republican Party. IOW, by NY Republican standards, she is a conservative.
“former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich backing Scozzafava”
I find it interesting that Newt is now a RINO, per Michelle Malkin, et al. An appelation that he should be proud to wear.
Your reasons for backing Scozzafava are pragmatic. BTW, they could also be used as an argument for Olympia Snowe.
Ummm, the link to Katy’s article appears to be broken.
Thanks for bringing this to my attention, RT. I’m working on fixing the link.
For now, you can read Katy’s article by clicking on the “Principle” link in the title.
Hopefully, this will be corrected in the next hour.
Thanks again.
The link has been fixed.
“After all, a liberal is a liberal, regardless of party affiliation.”
Ah, there’s the rub. Tis better to be pure in defeat than compromised in victory. Therefore, if the Republican Party is to rebound on a national level, its’ principles must be pure and untainted.
I’ve seen it before. In 1992, George H. W. Bush was ‘the last of the country club Republicans’. And it worked. There was a return to power in 1994, largely due to Democratic excess and missteps. Will it work again? I kinda doubt it. Barring Democratic gaffes, this looks more like 1968, when the left wing of the Democratic party took control and produced a 49 state electoral trouncing.
America may still be a center-right country. However, it is not a far right country. And a far right agenda is not going to appeal to a majority of Americans. Politics is all about compromise. Those who cannot compromise cannot play politics.
As for the 23th Congressional district of New York, they should elect whoever represents the district the best. Period. It is incorrect to represent this local election as anything else. Remember when the future of the Republican Party was Joe Cao, in another local Congressional election?
The majority of the registered voters in America are not interested in researching the candidates. They are more interested in voting for their party and moving on with their lives. It’s almost as if they would be doing something wrong if they actually compared candidates and went against their party affiliation.
Its analogous to sports fans. If you love your team, you will follow them for the majority of your life regardless of who is managing or playing on the team.
Here is the best example, Michael Vick. Eagles fans should have rebelled against that decision. But if you are an Eagles fain, then you will always be an Eagles fan.
That my friends is the problem with America today. It would be an interesting sociological experiment if we could have people vote on candidates without knowing which party the candidates are affiliated with. But that would imply people would actually have to do some research in advance of their decision rather than worrying about who is going to win the World Series, the Super Bowl, the Stanley Cup, etc.
Maybe someday our country will be filled with people making educated decisions rather than blindly following our party leaders off a cliff.