Scozzafava Endorses Democrat Owens

The special election to fill New York’s 23rd Congressional District seat vacated by the appointment of Republican John McHugh as Secretary of the Army has taken yet another bizarre twist.  Republican nominee Dede Scozzafava dropped out over the weekend, causing great celebration on the part of Republicans like Michelle Malkin, who termed her “radical leftist GOP candidate Dede Scozzafava” and chortled “don’t let the door hit you on the way out!”  Earlier, Malkin had explained why, in her view, “the GOP should be ‘purged’ of left-wing saboteurs.”

hoffman owens scozzafava
Well, now Scozzafava has endorsed Democrat Bill Owens over Conservative Doug Hoffman in a press release.

I am supporting Bill Owens for Congress and urge you to do the same.

It’s not in the cards for me to be your representative, but I strongly believe Bill is the only candidate who can build upon John McHugh’s lasting legacy in the U.S. Congress. John and I worked together on the expansion of Fort Drum and I know how important that base is to the economy of this region. I am confident that Bill will be able to provide the leadership and continuity of support to Drum Country just as John did during his tenure in Congress.

In Bill Owens, I see a sense of duty and integrity that will guide him beyond political partisanship. He will be an independent voice devoted to doing what is right for New York. Bill understands this district and its people, and when he represents us in Congress he will put our interests first.

Hoffman’s campaign dubbed her a “turncoat” and said “This afternoon Dede Scozzafava betrayed the GOP.”   But, um, Hoffman split from the GOP and was running against its candidate!

Malkin, happy a day earlier to purge the likes of the radical leftist Scozzafava from the GOP thinks she’s being ungrateful.

Hey, how did that six-figure RNC donation to the NRCC plus $85,000 to the New York GOP plus nearly half-million-dollar investment in advertising and other independent expenditures on behalf of radical leftist Dede Scozzafava work out?

She repaid the GOP by endorsing Democrat candidate Bill Owens. Some gratitude, eh?

But why should she be grateful for the humiliation of having out-of-state Republicans calling her names and openly campaigning for a third party candidate against the duly nominated candidate of their own party?

While I’m a Big Tent guy who thinks the Republican Party needs to accept the fact that winning seats in the Northeast will require backing candidates who would be considered “liberal” in Mississippi, I fully understand the thinking of people like Malkin who prefer an ideological party.  At some point, having an “R” after a candidate’s name doesn’t mean much if they’re going to work against your leadership.   But you can’t have it both ways.  Either the GOP accepts people like Scozzafava as candidates in liberal districts or it runs them off to become Democrats.

Nate Silver calls the race “nearly impossible to forecast.”

Special elections, with their low turnout, are intrinsically pretty difficult to predict. So are multi-candidate races. And certainly, races where there are substantial late-breaking developments — such as the Republican candidate dropping out four days before the election and endorsing her Democratic rival — present especial difficulties for forecasters. Here, you have all three of those circumstances, producing a perfect storm of uncertainty. Not only will I not be surprised if either Democrat Bill Owens or Conservative Doug Hoffman wins on Tuesday — I will not be surprised if one of them wins by a substantial, possibly even double-digit margin.

His gut says that it helps Owens (but then his heart is pulling for Owens).

Owens is probably in a better position than he was 48 hours ago. Endorsements don’t usually matter very much, but with Scozzafava’s exit from the race, you suddenly have as much as 30 percent of the electorate up for grabs and undoubtedly feeling very, very confused. Plus, the endorsement was unexpected (although perhaps it shouldn’t have been, since Scozzafava is much closer ideologically to Owens than to Hoffman), which might make it more impactful.

At least one poll — which Silver “respects” because of its good showing in recent races — shows Hoffman with “a commanding lead.”

In a three way contest with Democrat Bill Owens and Republican Dede Scozzafava Hoffman leads with 51% to 34% for Owens and 13% for Scozzafava. In a head to head contest with Owens Hoffman holds a 54-38 advantage.

Polling the race was a little haphazard in a weekend with many twists and turns but Hoffman showed a similar lead at all junctures. In interviews conducted before Scozzafava announced the suspension of her campaign Hoffman led Owens 49-31 with 17% going to Scozzafava. Poll respondents Saturday afternoon/evening and early Sunday afternoon were informed that Scozzafava had dropped out but that her name would still be on the ballot. During that period of time Hoffman led Owens 51-34 with Scozzafava’s share going down to 12%. After Scozzafava announced she was endorsing Owens the remaining Sunday respondents were informed of that and the race showed a little tightening with Hoffman up 52-38 on Owens and Scozzafava’s share dropping to 7%.

If Hoffman was at 51% with Scozzafava running, he’ll almost certainly win.  I’d guess almost all of those supporting the Republican candidate will wind up voting Conservative or staying home.  And I’d guess that, in a race where turnout will be extraordinarily low, Hoffman’s True Believers will be far more likely to actually show up.

But, as Silver says, with so many late-breaking developments, prediction is “nearly impossible.”

UPDATE:  Not shockingly, perhaps, but the WSJ editorial board sums up my thoughts exactly:

The voter revolt ought to be a lesson to the GOP’s backroom boys, especially in New York state, where the old Al D’Amato insider club has led the party to irrelevance. GOP state chairman Joe Mondello, now thankfully retired, and Beltway bigs misjudged public dismay against the Democratic agenda in Washington. Nominating a candidate who “can win” in the Northeast does not have to mean someone whose voting record is more liberal on taxes and unions than that of most Blue Dog Democrats.

But that lesson will be for naught if conservatives conclude that their victory is reason to challenge any candidate who doesn’t agree with them on every issue. The truth is that some conservatives are as bloody-minded and intolerant of all dissent as the hard left is at the Daily Kos. A majority political party requires a far more diverse coalition than the audience for your average right-wing blogger or talk show host. Some of those voices prefer having Democrats in power because it drives up their own ratings.

Democrats did themselves no favors by driving Joe Lieberman out of their party, and conservatives will do their cause no good by forcing GOP candidates in Illinois, California and Connecticut to sound like Tom DeLay. If conservatives now revolt against every GOP candidate who disagrees with them on trade, immigration or abortion, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid will keep their majorities for a very long time.

Striking that balance isn’t easy.  But it’s essential.

FILED UNDER: Congress, Public Opinion Polls, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
James Joyner
About James Joyner
James Joyner is Professor and Department Head of Security Studies at Marine Corps University's Command and Staff College. He's a former Army officer and Desert Storm veteran. Views expressed here are his own. Follow James on Twitter @DrJJoyner.

Comments

  1. PD Shaw says:

    Do people show up to vote for spite? I don’t think so. We’ll see.

  2. devildog666 says:

    I’m a Big Tent guy who thinks the Republican Party needs to accept the fact that winning seats in the Northeast will require backing candidates who would be considered “liberal” in Mississippi

    OK tovarish, I guess a Republican who supports same-sex marriage, abortion rights, card check and government takeovers of banking and industry are considered “big tent” conservative views around the beltway and New York.

  3. sam says:

    Hoffman’s campaign dubbed her a “turncoat” and said “This afternoon Dede Scozzafava betrayed the GOP.” But, um, Hoffman split from the GOP and was running against its candidate!

    What, you were expecting consistency from the denizens of Loonia? BTW, not that it really makes any difference, but Hoffman doesn’t even live in the 23d. I demand to see his birth certificate.

  4. G.A.Phillips says:

    Seeing I live in Wisconsin, if I fly to New York and register as a liberal that gives me the right to vote there right? Or do I have to join ACORN first?

    And if I do, How many votes do I get to cast?

    And how much do I get paid for each vote?

    And do I get paid for registering myself multiple time or does that only work for names I make up?

  5. James Joyner says:

    I guess a Republican who supports same-sex marriage, abortion rights, card check and government takeovers of banking and industry are considered “big tent” conservative views around the beltway and New York.

    To win across the country, the Republican Party needs to attract their base conservatives and as well as moderates. Those terms have different meanings in Atlanta than they do in Marietta, Knoxville vs. Soddy Daisy, and Birmingham vs. New York City. That’s just reality.

    If the alternative is a hard left Democrat and a moderately left Republican, I’d prefer the latter. For that matter, if the two candidates are otherwise identical in their views, I’d prefer the Republican because they’re at least a vote for Republican leadership and committee chairs.

  6. sam says:

    if I fly to New York

    The fact that you fly with a note pinned to your coat that says, “If found wandering, please return to airport security” counts against your voter eligibility, I’d think.

  7. Ohio Granny says:

    Not one person has noticed that THE PEOPLE of NY23 seem to be getting behind this guy Hoffman. Oh yeah, talk about who did or didn’t endorse him, and when was it, and if it was before or after Dede dropped out or before or after Dede showed her true colors, but no one seems to notice that Dougie was getting traction long before Glenn or Sarah or Fred. And Dede whining that she had to drop out because of “lack of funds” when she got a chunk of change to seed her run is lame.
    She was a poor pick and now we know exactly how poor. She is the Carolyn Kennedy of NY23, wax that melts, puddles, pools, and has no shape of its own.
    Thank God people stood up. If you are serious about getting it right (and “Right” heheheheheh), then stand up on a chair and shout HURRAY FOR THE GOP! HURRAY FOR THE TEA PARTY! HURRAY FOR PRINCIPALS AND NON-VIOLENT PROTESTS! And hurray for us that people would rather stand at the Alamo of principal than on the slippery slope to surrender monkeys.
    Maybe you don’t actually live far enough outside the beltway to have any street creds, Mr. Joyner. You got this one wrong on so many levels it is painful to watch.

  8. UlyssesUnbound says:

    THE PEOPLE of NY23 seem to be getting behind this guy Hoffman.

    If this were an election during a normal cycle–or even better, one during a presidential campaign–then yes, you could claim that THE PEOPLE are behind Hoffman (if the 51% polling data remains true come Tuesday). However this is an off-cycle election for a type of race that generally generates very low turnout. I’ll fix your statement for you.

    “THE MAJORITY OF THE VERY SMALL PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE WHO WILL VOTE ON TUESDAY seem to be getting behind this guy Hoffman.”

    When people on the far left or right claim that a candidate represents THE PEOPLE, usually they are ignoring all the intricacies and grey areas that are needed to define THE PEOPLE. Or they simply just don’t understand it.

    Usually people who gratuitously use Caps-lock simply don’t understand it either.

  9. Zelsdorf Ragshaft III says:

    Dr. Joyner, I disagree with you premise Republicans need to become or accept Democrat lite candidates as Republicans. That is exactly how we got to where we are now. Conservative principles are held by more people than liberal ones. America is a right of center nation. I prefer someone like Obama who tries a hard left turn to people who slowly lure the country to the left. This gets conservatives to pay attention. We would much rather just get on with our lives but there are those on the left whos agenda is to radically tranform this country, who believe America is bad and must be fixed. They must be purged.

  10. Ohio Granny says:

    So your gratuitous use of Caps-lock in repairing my statement means you don’t get it and will admit to it?

    I guess then that I can revise my own statement to “the people who actually care about who represents their core values will be” decided they did not want someone who was pro-union, pro-abortion, pro-tax and spend, pro-big government.

    I am one of THE PEOPLE who doesn’t want RINO’s or DIABLO’s (pardon my appropriate use of caps here) getting sent up for years to do as they please while we at home get ulcers and pull our hair out and wring our hands. Better to nip it in the bud.

    THE PEOPLE of whom I refer are OBVIOUSLY not the democrats, or the slightly right of center, or the ACLU (what? again with the caps, I use???). No, I’m speaking about the people who would have cared enough to show up in an off year election for a primary so they could choose who best represented them and their party.

    The outcome of the election is secondary.
    That Doug Hoffman, man from outside the district (gasp! oh horrors) speaks more to the folks of the GOP inside the district is telling. Sorry you couldn’t get all the nuances of that.

  11. odograph says:

    The answer is simple. Purge James. He is a RINO.

  12. sam says:

    HURRAY FOR THE TEA PARTY!

    Dear Granny, when somebody in the Tea Party movement stands up and says “We demand the repeal Social Security and Medicare,” I’ll revise my opinion that the TPers are nothing more than a bunch of populist rent-seekers, as someone once put it. Government largess for me but not for thee, right?

  13. JKB says:

    For that matter, if the two candidates are otherwise identical in their views, I’d prefer the Republican because they’re at least a vote for Republican leadership and committee chairs.

    I suppose it is possible that she’d dance with the one who brought her. However, it appears she was just looking for a date to the prom and would abandon her escort as soon as they arrived to party with her friends.

  14. G.A.Phillips says:

    The fact that you fly with a note pinned to your coat that says, “If found wandering, please return to airport security” counts against your voter eligibility, I’d think.

    lol, thank to Obama and Doyle and their naziesk cigarette tax I can’t afford a plane ticket or a coat or a pin or a note, so don’t worry gimprad your neocom master plan is working, be happy:)

  15. G.A.Phillips says:

    from Quiters, just in case you missed. it

    It is very telling that you claim ANYONE you might reach out to must AUTOMATICALLY be a liberal. This, of course, does not match reality, but that does not seem to matter much to my conservative friends.

    Ya, if you just want reach out to them I guess it’s OK, but as for letting them continue to ruin the Grand Old Party, its unacceptable.

    I don’t care if it ends up just being Triumph and I left as long as we still have principles!

    And if you want reality, going away from conservatism and God given laws of conduct is why we lose to fools scumbags and neocommunists.

    If you worship the planet I don’t what you in my party!

    If you believe reducing the population to save the planet you worship I don’t want you in my party!

    If you believe it’s not racist to support the murder of 1 out every 2 black babies by way of your belief in evolution or make back room deals with sorry*** mother******* who do because all they care about is their cushy*** job as a politician I don’t want you in my party!

    If you believe that lazy*** people who don’t work should be given money that some else has earned I don”t want you in my party!

    If you hate your country and only believe in rewritten donkypoop for history that you were taught in public schools and 95% of ****uped heathen universities I don’t want you in my party!

    Hell I could go on for days, but I think you get my intent.

    The moral of the story is if you support a thing or make deals with a thing then you pretty much are a thing….

    Posted by G.A.Phillips | November 2, 2009 | 07:36 am | Permalink

  16. Ohio Granny says:

    Yes, dump Social Security, dump Medicare, dump the Federal Reserve,get rid of all quasi government programs, go back to free markets, dump taxes that are progressive of all kinds. If you want to tax the people, tax all the people equally. Everybody pay 10%. Even the Avon lady. Even the paper boy. Got 10 kids? Not my problem. Want to give some touchy feely program to us old timers? Give it to everyone or give it to no one. If I want to sink, then I should be allowed to sink, to eat dog food in my old age, to hitchhike to the doctors office, to figure out how to pay for what I want.
    You want to hear Tea Party people say what they believe? They mean it, even if it hurts, even if it means them too. Because this progressive s**t is killing the country, killing the economy, and ultimately will be the knife in the back of the entire USA, and ergo, the world.
    Nobody wants to hear the hard truths. Everybody wants to vote for the guy with the biggest give aways. But folks (almost uttered the dreaded “people” thing again) want the truth. We are going to hell in a hand basket and nobody wants to tell us that around the bend is bankruptcy or total collapse or hyper inflation. So yes, we inside the Tea Party are ready to make those types of stands, or I am ready to take that kind of stand.
    If people are willing to take a bullet for liberty like they did in 1776, then why not do the hard thing now?
    Oddly enough, when Michael Moore or John Kerry or Bill Clinton wanted to tell us that we should do X and that it is the right thing to do, or they need more of other peoples money to spend on their latest and greatest new program, they always forget that the goody goody guys can give money all day long if they got it. But they don’t. They want to force all of us to give it, whether we support it or not.
    So if next time I post from under a bridge and post rummage through the bin in back of MickyD’s, then that is for the greater good.
    Interesting that Babs and Leonardo and Bradangelina can all live in mansions when they could take 100 extra people in to house, feed, support, and get some health insurance. Bill Clinton used to moan about the Bush tax cuts and how he didn’t need his $5 Grand but he kept it. He could have gotten together some other rich guys to pay for the things he wanted, if he was serious. But he was only serious about the scam to get ME to pay for it. And I needed my little sliver. My $300 bucks made a difference in my life.
    So if I just got to keep what I could earn, then I could take care of me. And that is the conservative way.

  17. floyd says:

    Isn’t it fair to say that Scozzafava was a sort of a poor fifth columnist,rather than a Republican, in this race, given that she intimated a switch to the Democrat Party if elected and let it leak?

  18. odograph says:

    Sure floyd, that’s a plausible story. The thing is though, the issues that got Scozzafava cast out just aren’t that important to moderates. I joke that James should be purged because he’s open to those same moderate positions.

    What’s the alternative? Do you need a party, nay a nation, that agrees with you about everything?

    Right now it looks like Republicans, still their “real American” self-identity, are going to hunker down until everyone does agree with them.

    Good luck with that (or not).

  19. Zelsdorf Ragshaft III says:

    Odo, not all conservatives agree on everything, but we do have certain principles which are outlined in the Constitution of the United States. They have to do with responsibility of people not government. When you use the government to rob me of mine to give to someone who is not doing what I am doing to get by. That is wrong. It was said “that which governs best, governs least”. Now one know what is best for me. Certainly not some dope educated to believe he knows what is best for all of us. Our Declaration of Independence says we were endowed by our creator with certain rights. I will not let government take those rights from me.

  20. floyd says:

    Odo;
    The real problem with Scozzafava IMO is the post election switch of party affiliation.
    Many voters are not cognizant of the degree to which the parties vote lockstep, making the candidate’s political philosophy secondary to the party fealty required to serve.
    This has become a primary concern for those of us who see the danger of political power becoming too concentrated in one party.
    Those who make the now archaic claim of voting for the candidate and not the party are deluding themselves or being deceived.

  21. mike says:

    You are missing one key point: the “R” is already meaningless. When the Republican Party oversees the largest expansion of government since FDR, and messes up two wars, what is it left with?
    It’s traditional areas of dominance are thwarted

  22. mike says:

    Ohio Granny: That is how it was in this country for over two hundred years. Guess what, the people hated it. We were constantly getting screwed so we changed our country, as is our right under the Constitution, and as our Founding Fathers wanted.

  23. Eric says:

    Odo, not all conservatives agree on everything, but we do have certain principles which are outlined in the Constitution of the United States.

    Zelsy, you do realize that the Constitution is a liberal document right? I’m serious. It’s a product of the Enlightenment and Enlightenment thinking and ideals–y’know, Humanism, human rights, all that fun stuff that conservatives endlessly pan as, er, “liberal.”

    A more appropriate source of your “principles” would be, say, Burke’s “Reflections on the Revolution in France.” But even then I’m not so sure, since Burke actually grounded his criticisms in rational thinking, which is not exactly a trait of modern “conservatism.”

    Just sayin’!

  24. Brett says:

    Yes, dump Social Security, dump Medicare, dump the Federal Reserve,get rid of all quasi government programs, go back to free markets, dump taxes that are progressive of all kinds.

    Assuming you are actually a “granny”, history shows you’ll have a rather difficult time getting health insurance without Medicare, and you’ll be part of the poorest segment of society without Social Security. Something to consider, I hope.

  25. Wayne says:

    IMO Dede is a good example the the GOP recruiting process has broken down. The GOP leadership wants candidates like Dede while many of the Party want candidates like Hoffman.

    According to the GOP leadership someone like Dede has a better chance of winning. The base finally had enough of Dem-lite candidates and went outside of the GOP infrastructure to produce someone that they can vote for.

  26. odograph says:

    Hmm. Those of you who answered me seemed to repeat that conservatives don’t like moderates.

    Were any of her “bad” views actually non-majority views in the US of A?

  27. Wayne says:

    Re “Were any of her “bad” views actually non-majority views in the US of A?”

    Are you saying she was trailing far behind even a third party candidate because she held popular views?

  28. floyd says:

    Eric;
    “”‘Who controls the past’ ran the Party slogan, ‘controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.'””
    – George Orwell, 1984, Book 1, Chapter 3

    Thanks for the miserable attempt at demonstrating this axiom!

    BTW; I don’t doubt that you believe what you “rote”!

  29. odograph says:

    Are you saying she was trailing far behind even a third party candidate because she held popular views?

    That’s entirely possible with a split ticket.

  30. Wayne says:

    ODO before you accuse me of not answering you, my understanding is she was pro abortion, pro gay marriage, pro stimulus/big government. First one may be close but not the other two.

  31. Wayne says:

    Re “That’s entirely possible with a split ticket.”

    If she was a third party candidate maybe. However if she was the best candidate on one of the major party’s ticket, she wouldn’t be that far behind.

  32. odograph says:

    Do you notice when you cast “not opposing” as “pro” Wayne? Be aware that this is something the center can distinguish.

    But on the numbers themselves:

    “For the first time in a nationwide survey, more Americans say they support gay marriage (49%) than oppose it (46%), according to the latest Washington Post/ABC poll.” That was from April of this year.

    The budget/bailout thing is trickier because no one really likes it. The important question is whether it was arguably necessary.

  33. odograph says:

    BTW, they are bailing out GMAC and CITI pretty much at this moment. Any movement to actually stop it?

  34. Has there ever been a better examplar than of, “I didn’t leave the Party, the Party left me,” than the nomination of Scozzafava to begin with?

  35. Our Paul says:

    When one looks at who is beating the drum slowly for Doug Hoffman it defines why the GOP has sustained such a rapid decline. Dede Scozzafava, with direct ties into the NY State legislature, long history of serving the district, and a moderate posture would have been a sure winner if the Club for Growth had not brought in its hired gun, Doug Hoffman.

    Hoffman’s qualifications? Why he is against same sex marriage, against abortion, against federal stimulus spending — there must be a big NO that I am missing. When he sat down with the Watertown Daily Times (the major newspaper of the 32nd District), he was unable to hold an intelligent conversation about problems within the district.

    The northern boarder of the district is Lake Ontario’s Thousand Islands and the Saint Lawrence Seaway. The issues Hoffman was unable to discus was the widening of the Seaway’s locks, and its effect on Great Lakes water run off. Tied into that is water level of Ontario Lake shore property, which on the US side runs all the way down from the North Country to Buffalo.

    Why would the Club for Growth need it’s own hired gun in this regional battle in the poorest Congressional District in NY State? There sure ain’t much money within its sprawling boundaries, to wit: a collapsing dairy industry, the tourist trade along Lake Ontario, Lake Champlain and the Adirondacks, the Northeast Power Grid and the ability to add to it through wind power, and that is just about it…

    Except, widening and deepening the St. Lawrence Seaway locks. That is where the money is, not for the 32nd District, but for the Mercantile Interest, and Club for Growth is aptly named. Lost in this hoopla is the obvious, New York will lose one Congressional seat to re-apportionment in 2010. Dede Scozzafava, with her (gasp) radical liberalist tendencies, was trying to protect the territorial integrity of her sprawling district in the face of re-apportionment.

    Will the Democrats carve the 32nd district out of existence in 2010, or will they go after a more appetizing fare (Chris Lee’s 26th District)? Will the GOP ever be able to shed the Hard Right theology of ant-abortion and anti-gay rhetoric? Will the unwillingness of Huckabee and Romney to throw a glove into this fight have a bearing on the 2012 Presidential race? Who knows, only the Shadow knows.

    Pssst 1#: I admire Ohio Granny (November 2, 2009 | 11:32 am) cri de Coeur, but was struck by this inconsistency:

    If I want to sink, then I should be allowed to sink, to eat dog food in my old age, to hitchhike to the doctors office, to figure out how to pay for what I want.

    If she is eating dog food and hitchhiking to the Doc’s office she is on the despised Medicaid/Medicare government programs, unless she expects charity from the Doc. For what its worth, Julia Childs would close out her program with “bon appetit”, and I wish her the same.

  36. Wayne says:

    Re “more Americans say they support gay marriage”

    Is that why it has gotten skunk every time it has been put on an actual ballet including in California?

  37. G.A.Phillips says:

    Zelsy, you do realize that the Constitution is a liberal document right? I’m serious. It’s a product of the Enlightenment and Enlightenment thinking and ideals–y’know, Humanism, human rights, all that fun stuff that conservatives endlessly pan as, er, “liberal.”

    Dude why?

    Try true Christianity, Jesus created human rights, Enlightenment from the ability to read the gospel for yourself without some king, Queen or pope indoctrinating you under the penalty of death into his or her divine right to rule you in Gods place.

    Come on man goggle something thats not written by some crazy progressive propagandist once in a while.

    Good golly!!!

    Do you even know what humanism is? Or what human rights are?

  38. odograph says:

    Re “more Americans say they support gay marriage”

    Is that why it has gotten skunk every time it has been put on an actual ballet including in California?

    Speaking of things that are consistent … that is consistent with it being a “wedge issue” which can drive higher voter participation. Yes, when the split is close but one side is more motivated, a minority position can win.

    I’ve got to give credit for political savvy there, at least in the short term. What happens next might depend on how the voter outlook changes. If the demographics (young voters) shift one way, and Republicans keep trying to drive that wedge, it may become counterproductive.

  39. Eric says:

    Try true Christianity, Jesus created human rights, Enlightenment from the ability to read the gospel for yourself without some king, Queen or pope indoctrinating you under the penalty of death into his or her divine right to rule you in Gods place.

    Um… sure. God did it. That’s the answer.

    Come on man goggle something thats not written by some crazy progressive propagandist once in a while.

    So… Jefferson and Madison and all the rest were just liberal propagandists, huh?

    Zelsy, why do you hate America? Why? If you hate America so much, why don’t you go live somewhere else? (Snicker…)

  40. Ohio Granny says:

    Folks, I don’t need to “eat dog food” or hitchhike to the doctors office or worry about free doctors because I look to myself. Currently I am not forced into Medicare because granny and 75 haven’t yet met. However, hubby was forced out of private insurance (lucky him, he was born soon enough to get back some of the money at 65 he put into the SS scam system, I have to wait until 2025) and onto Medicare because private insurance was forced out. We can’t buy insurance for him whether we can afford it (and yes we can) or whether we want it (and yes we did) because all insurance companies refuse to cover us. Medicare is considered “primary” in Ohio because of government interference.

    The dog food reference was due to the mantra of the democrats every time Social Security and Medicare were put under the spotlight as the Ponzi schemes they were. Oh, don’t touch! Don’t look. We’ll put the incoming funds in a lock box. We’ll keep the money separate form the general fund. We’ll not spend it for whatever will get us re-elected. Oh please please please let us keep the lie that granny will end up eating dog food if we don’t suck money out of every single pay check and business so we can dangle the good life to the elderly for votes.

    In Cleveland, if you are old and poor, the county will send a nice health care person to do your assisted living requirements to keep you out of a nursing home. And free trips to the doctors! yippee. And daily pickups to the senior center where you can get your government issued hot dog, orange, and chocolate milk. And then you can serf the net or hang with the other oldies. They even pick you up and drop you off. Health care professions show up once a month to do free BP screening. Sounds sooooo good, right? And so where is the personal responsibility? Where is the price tag? Where is the life planning? Because if we can get it free free free from Auntie Usa’s tit, then why plan for anything else? Sonnie, there are no free lunches. Someone is paying for it. Yes, it all sounds so good and wonderful but it costs the kids and the grandkids and somebody is paying for it. Sadly, Ohio Granny is still working away but her share of her labor and work is getting smaller and smaller while the governments share is getting bigger and bigger. Can’t even work harder or earn more because if I get close to that $250,000 mark, I end up taking home even less.

    Hoffman not winning isn’t the end. All you folks who weep for us and our shrinking minority, all you lefties who are soooo full of helpful advise, wait for it. Don’t cry for us because we aren’t going to need your crocodile tears.