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Dems, incumbents get wake-up call
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Wobble
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Posted By: Kurt | November 04, 2009 at 01:08 PMReport Abuse .Nancy "Police-State" Pelosi is a collectivist. Individualists do not want her in government. America is all about Individualism. The sleeping giant of American Conservatism is rankled and will purge the Commies now that they have revealed themselves in their subterfuge. . Watch and see.
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Here's a good synopsis from today's NYT about what happened in NY23:
In Republican District, National Party Takes a Hit
By CARL HULSE
Published: November 7, 2009
It is not often that a political party puts more than $750,000 behind a candidate in a high-profile Congressional race, only to see the intended beneficiary endorse the opposition.
But that is exactly what happened in the race for New York’s 23rd District, a convoluted contest that turned into an Election Day disaster for the National Republican Congressional Committee.
The initial backing of Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava in a solidly Republican district cost the House Republicans’ campaign arm a significant amount of cash, considering that she bowed out of the race under conservative pressure just days before the election. Then Ms. Scozzafava publicly threw her support behind Bill Owens, the eventual winner, who was sworn in Friday as the 258th Democrat in the House and will be a crucial vote in the health care debate.
While the traditional view among Congressional campaign veterans is that special House elections like the one in New York last Tuesday are given political significance beyond their true import, this one had some notable fallout.
Besides tapping the group’s treasury on behalf of a defector, it also raised questions about the capabilities of the Republican organization, which had already lost a special election in a Republican-leaning New York district earlier this year. It has now been beaten by Democrats in five consecutive contested special elections — the political version of going one on one.
Democrats and others contend that leaders of the Republican group badly misread the landscape in upstate New York and were slow to recognize the threat posed by an aggressive challenger, Douglas Hoffman, who entered as a third-party conservative.
Officials at the organization dispute that and say they quickly realized they had a problem when Ms. Scozzafava balked at signing a no-tax-increase pledge that is a staple of House Republican campaigns. And they pointed out that most of the money for advertising went toward commercials to weaken Mr. Owens.
They saw few options, citing a New York law that allows special election nominees to be selected by county party leaders rather than through a primary. They say a primary would have spared them the fight between Ms. Scozzafava, a decidedly moderate Republican, and Mr. Hoffman, who became a cause célèbre for national conservatives.
Representative Pete Sessions of Texas, chairman of the Republican campaign group, said New York’s “candidate selection process lacks openness and transparency, and should be changed to a primary system so voters can have a say in who their respective parties nominate.”
In the aftermath of the election, the House Republican leadership says it sees no reason to shake up the campaign committee as they head into an election season they see as promising.
“Staff over there did a good job given the hand they were dealt,” said Representative John A. Boehner of Ohio, the Republican leader. “What it does show is that New York has a flawed process.”
The loss in New York had a significant psychological impact. It prevented an off-year Republican triumph that would have sent Democrats into a tailspin after a summer of angry town-hall-style meetings and boiling “tea party” demonstrations.
Instead, Democrats saw the only two national seats up for grabs — the New York seat and a second House seat in the Bay Area of California — end up in their hands. Losses for governor in New Jersey and Virginia became causes for concern rather than full-blown panic.
The race also illustrated again that Democrats built a formidable House campaign organization during the 2006 and 2008 election cycles, one that was able to win tough special elections in Louisiana, Mississippi and the Illinois district of the former Republican House speaker.
While Republicans may have been victims of odd developments in upstate New York, the race was no accident. Democrats planned to make mischief in the district from the moment Rahm Emanuel, the White House chief of staff, approached John M. McHugh, who held the seat, about becoming Army secretary. Democrats smelled opportunity.
They put in place an extensive field operation that has become a hallmark of the House Democrats. Operatives say the party, which spent $1.1 million on the race, had workers knock on more than 101,000 district doors and make more than 108,000 phone calls. The White House dispatched Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. to help in the campaign.
When Ms. Scozzafava dropped out of the race just days before the election, Democrats moved to secure her endorsement for their candidate. They then pressed for the endorsement of the Watertown newspaper, winning a crucial stamp of approval in a central part of the sprawling district. The twin endorsements provided momentum in the closing days of the campaign and allowed Democrats to pull out a victory.
“This was just good blocking and tackling, basic campaigning,” said Representative Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “We got out our vote and also won the independent vote.”
Republicans say they hope to reclaim the House in 2010 with a sweep that would return the lost New York district to their column. But this month’s results show that political plans can quickly go awry and that House Democrats are not about to surrender any territory.
In Republican District, National Party Takes a Hit
By CARL HULSE
Published: November 7, 2009
It is not often that a political party puts more than $750,000 behind a candidate in a high-profile Congressional race, only to see the intended beneficiary endorse the opposition.
But that is exactly what happened in the race for New York’s 23rd District, a convoluted contest that turned into an Election Day disaster for the National Republican Congressional Committee.
The initial backing of Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava in a solidly Republican district cost the House Republicans’ campaign arm a significant amount of cash, considering that she bowed out of the race under conservative pressure just days before the election. Then Ms. Scozzafava publicly threw her support behind Bill Owens, the eventual winner, who was sworn in Friday as the 258th Democrat in the House and will be a crucial vote in the health care debate.
While the traditional view among Congressional campaign veterans is that special House elections like the one in New York last Tuesday are given political significance beyond their true import, this one had some notable fallout.
Besides tapping the group’s treasury on behalf of a defector, it also raised questions about the capabilities of the Republican organization, which had already lost a special election in a Republican-leaning New York district earlier this year. It has now been beaten by Democrats in five consecutive contested special elections — the political version of going one on one.
Democrats and others contend that leaders of the Republican group badly misread the landscape in upstate New York and were slow to recognize the threat posed by an aggressive challenger, Douglas Hoffman, who entered as a third-party conservative.
Officials at the organization dispute that and say they quickly realized they had a problem when Ms. Scozzafava balked at signing a no-tax-increase pledge that is a staple of House Republican campaigns. And they pointed out that most of the money for advertising went toward commercials to weaken Mr. Owens.
They saw few options, citing a New York law that allows special election nominees to be selected by county party leaders rather than through a primary. They say a primary would have spared them the fight between Ms. Scozzafava, a decidedly moderate Republican, and Mr. Hoffman, who became a cause célèbre for national conservatives.
Representative Pete Sessions of Texas, chairman of the Republican campaign group, said New York’s “candidate selection process lacks openness and transparency, and should be changed to a primary system so voters can have a say in who their respective parties nominate.”
In the aftermath of the election, the House Republican leadership says it sees no reason to shake up the campaign committee as they head into an election season they see as promising.
“Staff over there did a good job given the hand they were dealt,” said Representative John A. Boehner of Ohio, the Republican leader. “What it does show is that New York has a flawed process.”
The loss in New York had a significant psychological impact. It prevented an off-year Republican triumph that would have sent Democrats into a tailspin after a summer of angry town-hall-style meetings and boiling “tea party” demonstrations.
Instead, Democrats saw the only two national seats up for grabs — the New York seat and a second House seat in the Bay Area of California — end up in their hands. Losses for governor in New Jersey and Virginia became causes for concern rather than full-blown panic.
The race also illustrated again that Democrats built a formidable House campaign organization during the 2006 and 2008 election cycles, one that was able to win tough special elections in Louisiana, Mississippi and the Illinois district of the former Republican House speaker.
While Republicans may have been victims of odd developments in upstate New York, the race was no accident. Democrats planned to make mischief in the district from the moment Rahm Emanuel, the White House chief of staff, approached John M. McHugh, who held the seat, about becoming Army secretary. Democrats smelled opportunity.
They put in place an extensive field operation that has become a hallmark of the House Democrats. Operatives say the party, which spent $1.1 million on the race, had workers knock on more than 101,000 district doors and make more than 108,000 phone calls. The White House dispatched Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. to help in the campaign.
When Ms. Scozzafava dropped out of the race just days before the election, Democrats moved to secure her endorsement for their candidate. They then pressed for the endorsement of the Watertown newspaper, winning a crucial stamp of approval in a central part of the sprawling district. The twin endorsements provided momentum in the closing days of the campaign and allowed Democrats to pull out a victory.
“This was just good blocking and tackling, basic campaigning,” said Representative Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “We got out our vote and also won the independent vote.”
Republicans say they hope to reclaim the House in 2010 with a sweep that would return the lost New York district to their column. But this month’s results show that political plans can quickly go awry and that House Democrats are not about to surrender any territory.
