Voting for Nobody in New York
If you’re a Republican because you’re a social conservative and not because you’re an economic conservative, a libertarian conservative, or you just enjoy joining clubs, Doug Hoffman in New York’s 23rd district is giving you the perfect opportunity to apply the principles of voting nobody to force the Republican Party to start tilting your way again. Looking at the record of the Republican’s hand-picked candidate, there’s practically no downside to voting Hoffman; even if the Democrat wins because of your vote, the Democrat won’t vote any differently on social conservative issues than Scozzafava.
Now, I say this as someone who doesn’t see Scozzafava’s most-complained-about positions as bad. I’m not a Republican; I tend to vote that way because I support effective self-defense and sane economic policies. Scozzafava has the support of the NRA and has apparently built a strong record in support of effective self-defense. I think that Republicans need to move away from being the party of “no” on gay marriage; either support it or support getting the government out of the business of approving who can and cannot be married. Scozzafava appears to be a pretty good candidate; if she also supported ending prohibition, she’d be a great one.
Some bloggers have been asking, “why doesn’t Sarah Palin get involved in this race?” I think the answer might be similar: on issues that matter, Scozzafava isn’t a bad candidate. Palin is against abortion, but she’s never been in favor of putting women in jail for having abortions. She supports traditional marriage, but vetoed anti-gay-marriage legislation in Alaska when it was unconstitutional. So though she obviously disagrees with Scozzafava on some issues, if she’s going to go against her party (and she’ll probably have to at some point) this is probably not the race to do it.
But the rest of you? If you want the Republican Party to listen to you, vote Nobody. This is your opportunity.
- October 31, 2009: Follow the Other McCain for excitement in New York!
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It’s hard not to be excited watching the House race in New York 23. Just the idea of both Republicans and Democrats getting a wake-up call is thrilling. Also, Hoffman looks a lot like a guy I went to college with and not at all like a guy I’d expect to take on two career politicians. To run a race as a third-party candidate against two entrenched major parties? It’s amazing, but what’s more amazing is that he’s running neck-and-neck to win.
If you want to keep up-to-date on the campaign, The Other McCain is the place to do it. He’s traveled there twice during the campaign on reader donations, and is using his experience both in Washington and as a grass-roots blogger to report and hypothesize on the candidates and players in this election.
New York
- Dede Scozzafava for Congress
- “It’s official. The campaign to replace John McHugh in Congress is on. I am confident that my platform of creating more good-paying jobs, reforming health care, and fighting for our seniors, is reflective of the peoples’ priorities. I will continue to travel the 23rd Congressional District to introduce myself to voters, and to articulate why I am the right person to represent us in Washington.”
- Doug Hoffman for congress
- “I’m running for Congress because I sense the America I love is being taken away from us. I want to tell Washington: No more bailouts. No more taxes. No more trillion dollar deficits. That's what I'm fighting for.”
- NRA Endorses Dede Scozzafava: Chris W. Cox
- “Based on your tested and proven record in the New York Assembly, as well as your responses to our federal candidate questionnaire, you have earned an ‘A’ rating from the NRAPVF. On November 3, we urge our members, gun owners and sportsmen in New York’s 23rd congressional district to vote for you for Congress.”
- Project Vote Smart: Assembly Member Dierdre K. ‘Dede’ Scozzafava (NY) at Project Vote Smart
- I’m seeing a lot of no votes on gun control, and yes votes on gay rights.
Nobody
- Make a difference as a voter
- The National Rifle Association knows how to ensure that their members make a difference when they vote.
- Super-Liberal ”Republican” Dede Scozzaflava Calls Cops on Weekly Standard Reporter: Ace at Ace of Spades HQ
- “Honestly, there’s no downside for us here in supporting Hoffman. If he wins—which he just might; Scozzaflava’s supporters apparently animated by the notion that she ‘can win’ will abandon her when it’s clear she can’t—awesome. And even if he doesn’t win, and the Democrat wins—still good. Still sends a message about the candidates we’re willing to support and the ones we’d rather actively work against. It’s the right message to send, win or lose.”
Sarah Palin
- NY23 UPDATE: Why is Sarah MIA?: Robert Stacy McCain at The Other McCain
- “Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman is in the fight of his life against the GOP establishment’s hand-picked RINO, in a crucial election that Hoffman’s media coordinator Rob Ryan says is ‘a referendum on the future of the Republican Party.’”
- Sarah Palin must choose her battles carefully: Josh Painter at Texas for Sarah Palin
- “Some other candidates shouldn’t present such a problem. In New York’s 23rd District, for example, Sarah can set herself apart from Newt Gingrich by giving her support to Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman, as have Fred and Jeri Thompson.”
- Support Doug Hoffman: Sarah Palin
- “Doug Hoffman is committed to ending the reckless spending in Washington, D.C. and the massive increase in the size and scope of the federal government. He is also fully committed to supporting our men and women in uniform as they seek to honorably complete their missions overseas. And best of all, Doug Hoffman has not been anointed by any political machine.” (Hat tip to Robert Stacy McCain at The Other McCain)
More Nobody
- Voting for a candidate supports that candidate’s positions
- Politics has meaning; your support of a candidate is support for that candidate’s policies. If you vote for candidates who move “your” party in a direction you don’t approve, no one knows that but you. Everyone else sees your vote as approval for moving the entire party in that direction.
- Make a difference as a voter
- The National Rifle Association knows how to ensure that their members make a difference when they vote.
- Nobody wants immigration reform
- “Immigration is not a problem to be solved.” A confident and successful electorate could understand that issues are more important than who you hate. Unreasoning partisanship, however, is a problem that often seems as if it has no solution.
More Republicans
- Voter canvass on the proposed 2011 Republican Congressional majority agenda
- June 7: If I’m going to give money to generic Republicans, I want to see results. I don’t want to see “proposed” agendas. I want to see a successful checklist of things done.
- Republican Party: show some initiative
- Even their online forms are more for show than results.
- A fragile alliance
- The tea party and the Republican party alliance is a fragile one: it requires support on both sides. The media and tea partiers recognize this. Republican party leadership needs to figure it out yesterday.
More Sarah Palin
- Who is the fiscally-sane candidate?
- Which of the Republican candidates is most likely to help turn this country back on the path of fiscal sanity?
- Going Rogue: An American Life
- Unlike politicians who have to fall back on their ancestors for middle-class anecdotes, Palin lived them. In the seventies, her father took them from rural Idaho to greater opportunities in Alaska, but it wasn’t her father who built their family business: it was Todd and Sarah.
- Governor Perry and the role of government
- The Perry Gardasil flap is a very good example of the discussion needed for the role of government; the people trying to divert attention away from Perry’s decision and instead fight an army of strawmen are doing Republicans and independents a disservice.
- The endless campaign
- Should we have endless political campaigns? That’s the Barack Obama plan, but is it right for American politics?
- Sarah Palin’s Gordian Knot: Slicing crony capitalism
- “Real hope isn’t in an individual. It’s not in a politician, certainly… don’t wait for the permanent political class to reform anything for you. They won’t. They can’t. They can’t even take responsibility for their own actions.”
- 15 more pages with the topic Sarah Palin, and other related pages
More Doug Hoffman
- Doug Hoffman, Conservatives, and the Dangers of Unreasoning Partisanship
- Effective politics means supporting candidates who share your principles, not who share your party. If your support reflexively goes to a single party all the time, that party won’t care about your principles.
- Career politicians game the system in NY 23
- Take a look at those claw marks torn out of New York’s 23rd congressional district!
Disclaimer: I say this as someone who donated money to Hoffman’s campaign. I don’t feel too bad about it because Hoffman also seems to be a good candidate on some important issues, but I have learned to be more careful getting involved in local elections I’m not familiar with.
October 22 2009 update: Added a link to Palin weighing in on Hoffman’s behalf. I know some people have been complaining about her taking so long, but I really don’t think she can be faulted for giving a decision like this serious thought. It looks like she’s basing her decision on the fiscal conservatism of the candidates, and I agree that fiscal sanity is something we desperately need today.