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This morning the Republican nominee for Congress in District 23 special election in New York dropped out of the race after weeks of contention, leaving the field to the Conservative Party candidate, Doug Hoffman, and Democratic Party candidate, Bill Owen. The story behind this situation is indicative of the condition of the Republican Party at the national level and forecasts what will happen if leadership of the Republican Party does not wake up.
According to Erick Erickson Restate.com, the Republican National Committee (RNC) and the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), pressured the Republican county chairmen who picked the Republican nominee when the incumbent resigned to serve in the Obama Administration into choosing Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava. Scozaafava is a pro-abortion, pro-gay marriage proponent of the tax-and-spend big government philosophy.
Doug Hoffman, an accountant who had also sought the Republican nomination, decided to run on the Conservative Party ticket. While Newt Gingrich and Republican congressional leaders endorsed the Republican nominee, Sarah Palin led what has become an avalanche of conservative Republicans, including Fred Thompson, Sean Hannity and others, to endorse Hoffman. In a matter of weeks, Hoffman went from third in the polls and was called a "spoiler" who would drain votes away and give the seat to Democrats, to being in a dead heat of 35% to 36% against the Democrat with Scozzafava in third place at 20%.
While Scozzafava says that she was not pressured to get out of the race by the RNC or NRCC, don't believe it. National Republicans who once called Hoffman a "spoiler" have now realized that if Scozzafava stayed in the race, she would play that role and the Democrats would pick up the seat, so they have forced her out in an effort to save the seat.
Which brings me to my point. When I served on the Republican National Committee, I heard over and over that evangelical Christians were to the Republican Party what the unions are to the Democratic Party; yet time and time again the Republican Party "pokes us in the eye with a sharp stick" by choosing candidates who don't support the basic issues of limited government, lower taxes and traditional values, then shake their heads in disbelief when the candidate loses.
When I was told years ago by a well known political consultant that "our folks have no place else to go," I responded that they will stay home if they have no real choice. Indeed, Obama did not have so much of an overwhelming victory last year as McCain could not get the same number of votes that George W. Bush got in 2004. Why was that? Many conservatives simply stayed home or voted for a third party candidate because they did not believe they had a conservative to vote for. That may be politically naive, but the Republican National Committee ought to take heed and make some changes if they want to see the party rise to power again.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
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3 comments:
Good Article Tim!!! Spot on. There a lot of us out here who are getting tired of being ignored by our own party and our own people who are in office. Keep it up buddy!
Robert Payne
Amen. But if they haven't got it by now, the existing leadership never will. The grassroots is reading Mark Levin's book, "Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto." If he's right, it's going to be a long haul back. We'll have to be patient until the right kind of people have worked their way into those leadership positions. But without God's grace, the Dems may have destroyed the republic by then.
"That may be politically naive but the Republican National Committee ought to take heed and make some changes if they want to see the party rise to power again."
It isn't politically naive to stand for principle and vote for the man or woman best able to perform the job and who convinces voters they will abide by the law (election law, contract law, military law, constitutional law - you know, the little stuff). Pragmatism has no proper place in the voting booth, as it is dishonest at best and commandeers God's will at worst. If we believe that a say in our government is something to be stewarded, then we MUST vote for the best person and let God work any miracles required to put that God-fearing person in office.
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