The talk here so far has been about the NY-23rd district, where the conservative candidate lost but had a very strong showing. I argue this is a positive thing. The Democrat and Republican candidates were interchangeable. But the conservative third-party candidate captured 45% of the vote. This is fantastic! It shows that even in a liberal district like New York’s 23rd a candidate that smells of real conservatism is a desirable commodity.
But what isn’t being talked about is GOP wins in Virginia:
The GOP trounced Democrats in two states that Barack Obama won big just one year ago. Obama beat McCain in Virginia by 13 points; Bob McDonnell won it by 17. Republicans swept the statewide offices, reversing Democratic gains made over the last few election cycles, and are set to take at least a half-dozen Democratic seats in the legislature.
And New Jersey:
Chris Christie beat Jon Corzine by four points in a state that went for Obama by 15 points — and where a Republican hadn’t won in over ten years. Unlike Virginia, Obama campaigned heavily for Corzine, calling him his “partner” and putting his prestige on the line. Joe Biden made a couple of campaign appearances, too, and the White House supervised the campaign in the final weeks after Corzine initially fell behind. Obama made the argument for Corzine all about Obama — and New Jersey, one of the bluest states in the nation, rejected him.
These elections were being looked at by many as a litmus test for satisfaction with Obama’s policies to date. This claim is bolstered by Obama’s direct hand in the New Jersey election.
The voters made themselves clear, they’re feeling buyers remorse and they’re showing it at the booth.
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Close but no cigar, KD.
As anyone who has followed elections for an appreciable amount of time knows, the guy in the White House has only tangential bearing on the outcome of gubernatorial contests and 2009 was no different than, say, 1989.
The election in New Jersey, a state with which I am very familiar, was a referendum on a deeply unpopular governor and not a president whom, if he ran for re-election tomorrow, would do just as well in the Garden State.
Corzine, who doesn’t have a charismatic bone in his body, inherited a lot of problems and managed to make some of them worse. Christie, who is only slightly more articulate, is a moderate in every sense of the word and out of step with the lunatic fringe that has taken over the national Republican Party. The last two GOP gubernatorial candidates were substantially more conservative and they got crushed.
It is not being rash to predict that he’ll screw things up as badly as Corzine did.
Oh, and one other thing, KD: How many votes to Corzine and McDonnell have on health-care reform?
Shaun,
On Palin endorsing Hoffman and Hoffman losing:
On Obama campaigning for Corzine and Corzine losing:
If you were any more transparent I’d have you installed in my car to replace my chipped windshield.
uh, Shaun, your use of the word “cream pie” is (unintentionally, I assume) disgusting here. Palin isn’t a fool and she is making political strategy like anyone else, so yeah a setback for her, but hardly the End. A little respect is more useful than underestimation.
As far as a “good night” for the GOP (whi Kevin just reminded us are NOT the same as conservatives) – some perspective:
okay then. great job.
Aziz;
What a dirty mind, young man! Comedians have been throwing cream pies at people forever. Not cherry pies or lemon pies.
You are welcome to read into Palin’s political purity tests whatever you wish. Her positives are sinking like a stone even among Republicans and while she has some remarkable powers, including an ability to unashamedly and repeatedly lie while never taking the blame for the wreckage that she creates in her wake, I think that an Alaskan blogger summed her up nicely in giving her the moniker of Our Lady of Perpetual Meddling.
Aziz,
You’re missing the point of the New Jersey race. New Jersey is consistent blue state. The Messiah campaigned for the Democratic governor in a blue state and he lost.
The sheen is gone. Obama is poison to anyone he endorses. American’s are done with the man.
The moral of the NY-23 story is this:
There needs to be a place in the national conversation for conservatives, but not the kind who demand party purity, don’t even bother to try to understand what local voters care about, and excel only at empty sloganeering.
KD: Until you stop wrapping your precious widdle brain around these clowns or the sun starts coming up in the west, your “victories” will continue to be pyrrhic.
Shaun,
I’ve been looking over your “explanations” of the losses in Virginia and New Jersey, and Hoffman’s loss in New York and something funny occurred to me:
You’re giving the exact responses Rush Limbaugh said libs would yesterday.
I could almost set my watch by you!
Shaun, knock off the “party purity” nonsense. Dede Scozzafava had NOTHING in common with conservatives or the run of the mill Republicans. She endorsed the Democrat. If that is the kind of liberal that is to be purges from the party then I am 100% in favor.
And more to the point, guess what kind of candidate will be running in NY-23 for the Republican party next time from day one ? A conservative that will trounce Owens.
Oh and nice with the condescending “there needs to be a place in the national conversation for conservatives”. ROTFLMAO. You silly liberals. Thinking you are such a majority in the US that Republicans can only sit at the kids table for Thanksgiving. What a joke. If you actually read something that was not put out by Kos or MSNBC – sorry for the redundancy – you would know that only 20% of the country subscribes to your liberal fantasy. That Obama was able to lie his way through an entire campaign pretending to be anything but the most liberal member of the US senate and the media wasn’t completely in the tank and did nothing whatsoever to educate any of the public on what Obama really stands for – well if not for that, he wouldn’t stand a chance with the 80% of the country that doesn’t see the US the way you and Barack see it.
But, not to worry, they see it now. You are 100% mistaken to think Obama would win NJ right now. He would be lucky to win Illinois. And as we get closer and closer to the 2010 election, the liklihood of any of his progressive agenda passing – Cap and Tax, Obamacare, Card Check, etc. – will continue to shrink by the day. And November 2010 will eventually roll around with not a single bit of his agenda having been enacted, with the economy still in shambles and double digit unemployment.
Wow, quite the Liberal Democrat’s rosy scenario there! But hey, you keep on worrying about the Republicans and their “party purity” worries.
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