Once Upon a Time in New York




Here’s a strange tale straight out of the North Country of New York State.


 
The liberals in the Democratic Party absorb modern values like the air they breathe. Their belief in the Modern State is absolute. Their faith in diversity and pluralism is written in stone. Their doubt is nonexistent.
 
To a Republican gay marriage looks like a moral dilemma but to a modern day liberal it’s a sure sign of the dawn of enlightenment; even the old fogies are shaking free of the shackles of the past – which makes a Special Election in New York a conundrum. Because it’s the Republican not the Democratic candidate who’s flying the banner of gay marriage.
 
In fact, the Republican – Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava – doesn’t just support gay marriage; she was endorsed by ACORN in 2004 and 2008.
 
And the Republican Political Establishment in Washington is lining up behind her.
 
House Republican Leader John Boehner may be blasting ACORN in Congress but in New York he’s promising Scozzafava a seat on the House Armed Services Committee to help her get elected, and the official House Republican Campaign Committee is running ads to elect her.
 
Now out of sheer cold-blooded political expediency Washington Republicans may figure running a liberal in New York makes sense – but they missed a key fact. The 23rd District is not in Brooklyn or Queens or Manhattan – it’s in the Adirondack Mountains in a district that’s been electing Republicans since the Civil War and where Republicans outnumber Democrats by 60,000 voters. Nancy Pelosi’s got a whopping 50% Unfavorable rating in the district – so the Washington Republicans are running a candidate who’ll vote like Pelosi in Congress.
 
The good news is the New York Conservative Party – which elected Jim Buckley to the Senate thirty-nine years ago – didn’t turn out to be as amenable to abandoning its principles as the Republican Establishment.  It declined to endorse Scozzafava, then chose a local businessman (and lifelong Republican) as its nominee. 
 
Doug Hoffman sounds a lot like a Republican Horatio Alger story. He was raised by a single mother, started delivering newspapers at eight to help his family pay the bills and got a job pumping gas at fourteen.  He graduated from High School at the top of his class but there was no money for college – so a group of businessmen got together and raised the money to send him to North Country Community College, then to SUNY (State University of New York).
 
What’s more even before Hoffman’s run his first ad he and Scozzafava and Bill Owens (the Democrat) are locked in a tight race, separated by 11 points.
 
And then there’s Hoffman’s his first ad – staring Elvis.
 

 
Now what Hoffman’s got to figure out is how to raise enough money to match the Democrats and Republicans (who just spent $5.6 million in another recent Special Election in New York).
 
But there’re plenty of conservatives around the country who, right now, must just be wondering if the Republican Political Establishment hasn’t lost its mind, and who might just decide to send Washington a message by sending Doug Hoffman a contribution.
 
If they do – and Hoffman’s reaching out to them on the Internet – he may just follow Jim Buckley’s footsteps straight into Congress.
 
His website is www.doughoffmanforcongress.com. You can go there now and sign up.
 

 

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Carter Wrenn

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Once Upon a Time in New York




Here’s a strange tale straight out of the North Country of New York State.


 
The liberals in the Democratic Party absorb modern values like the air they breathe. Their belief in the Modern State is absolute. Their faith in diversity and pluralism is written in stone. Their doubt is nonexistent.
 
To a Republican gay marriage looks like a moral dilemma but to a modern day liberal it’s a sure sign of the dawn of enlightenment; even the old fogies are shaking free of the shackles of the past – which makes a Special Election in New York a conundrum. Because it’s the Republican not the Democratic candidate who’s flying the banner of gay marriage.
 
In fact, the Republican – Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava – doesn’t just support gay marriage; she was endorsed by ACORN in 2004 and 2008.
 
And the Republican Political Establishment in Washington is lining up behind her.
 
House Republican Leader John Boehner may be blasting ACORN in Congress but in New York he’s promising Scozzafava a seat on the House Armed Services Committee to help her get elected, and the official House Republican Campaign Committee is running ads to elect her.
 
Now out of sheer cold-blooded political expediency Washington Republicans may figure running a liberal in New York makes sense – but they missed a key fact. The 23rd District is not in Brooklyn or Queens or Manhattan – it’s in the Adirondack Mountains in a district that’s been electing Republicans since the Civil War and where Republicans outnumber Democrats by 60,000 voters. Nancy Pelosi’s got a whopping 50% Unfavorable rating in the district – so the Washington Republicans are running a candidate who’ll vote like Pelosi in Congress.
 
The good news is the New York Conservative Party – which elected Jim Buckley to the Senate thirty-nine years ago – didn’t turn out to be as amenable to abandoning its principles as the Republican Establishment.  It declined to endorse Scozzafava, then chose a local businessman (and lifelong Republican) as its nominee. 
 
Doug Hoffman sounds a lot like a Republican Horatio Alger story. He was raised by a single mother, started delivering newspapers at eight to help his family pay the bills and got a job pumping gas at fourteen.  He graduated from High School at the top of his class but there was no money for college – so a group of businessmen got together and raised the money to send him to North Country Community College, then to SUNY (State University of New York).
 
What’s more even before Hoffman’s run his first ad he and Scozzafava and Bill Owens (the Democrat) are locked in a tight race, separated by 11 points.
 
And then there’s Hoffman’s his first ad – staring Elvis.
 

 
Now what Hoffman’s got to figure out is how to raise enough money to match the Democrats and Republicans (who just spent $5.6 million in another recent Special Election in New York).
 
But there’re plenty of conservatives around the country who, right now, must just be wondering if the Republican Political Establishment hasn’t lost its mind, and who might just decide to send Washington a message by sending Doug Hoffman a contribution.
 
If they do – and Hoffman’s reaching out to them on the Internet – he may just follow Jim Buckley’s footsteps straight into Congress.
 
His website is www.doughoffmanforcongress.com. You can go there now and sign up.
 

 

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Carter Wrenn

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