HOFFMAN AND PELOSI

Things are really heating up in chilly Upstate NY. The 23rd district, to be exact.

Apparently there are some serious...anomalies in the vote results. According to an email sent out by Doug Hoffman, the Conservative Party candidate:

• his campaign received faulty information on election night,
• inspectors read numbers incorrectly over the phone,
• a loss in Jefferson county has turned into a 400+ lead,
• not one but four districts incorrectly entered his vote total as zero.

So far, a 5,000+ 'win' for Owens has trimmed down to 3,000+, with 10,000 absentee ballots to go. The odds are good that Owens will still end up the victor, since Dede Scozzafava was still on the ballot at the time they went out. Of course ACORN and the unions seem to be involved, according to the Hoffman campaign. No concrete proof yet, though, so the jury's still out on that.

What surprises me is that no one seems to be talking about the legitimacy of Owen's vote for PelosiCare - perhaps because even without his vote it would still pass. But it certainly does illustrate the desperate measures Pelosi and co. are willing to sink to, all the way to allowing an uncertified civilian to vote for Congressional legislation.

The fact that the State Board of Elections Communications Director John Conklin sent a letter to the House Clerk explaining there was no winner yet in NY-23, no matter what the press are reporting is getting zero play. What's next, Nancy swearing in some buddies for the day to pass amnesty and 'working out the details' of the vote's legitimacy later? She seems to be playing politics pretty fast and loose lately, no?

Taken alone, this incident could be considered a minor glitch. But combined with the hyper-partisan strong-arm tactics, the manipulation of the press, the demonization of dissent, the KSM kangaroo court they are planning on setting up and the utter lack of concern - nay, disdain - for what the majority of America wants, this is starting to really look like a dictatorship. I'm just not sure who the dictator is - Obama or Pelosi.

Is there such a thing as a co-dictatorship?

ELECTION RECAP

The final tallies are in and Republicans have taken the VA and NJ Gubernatorial races. Unfortunately, Conservative Doug Hoffman lost the NY-23 race in a four-point squeaker.

It's still a win of sorts, though, because it has (hopefully) taught the GOP a valuable lesson about what kind of candidates should be running - fiscally conservative, low tax, smaller government proponents. One can only imagine how much impact the $900,000 would have had if it had been spent on Hoffman, instead of Scozzafava. Not to mention the 5% of the vote Scozzafava got yesterday could have put Hoffman over the finish line even without the money.

The other bit of silver lining from this race is that we now know that independent candidates can be competitive, even in moderate areas. Which makes sense, really, because many conservatives I've spoken to are fiscally conservative, but more moderate on social issues (as long as they don't raise taxes or smack of socialism).

So although it would have been nice to have a clean sweep, overall I think the message has been sent to both parties.

BTW, Bill Owens, the democrat winner for NY-23 opposes the health care public option (and gay marriage, for that matter - hey, doesn't that make him a closed-minded bigot?), so he's still better than Scozzafava.

MISSING THE POINT Updated

I, like many conservatives, am anxiously awaiting the election results for NY-23. Democrats are saying the republican party is shunning moderates at their own peril, and some republicans are concerned that running a conservative like Hoffman as opposed to a moderate like Scozzafava will cost them seats. That theory of 'who cares how fiscally responsible they are as long as they have an 'R' after their name' has led the party to the minority they have today. And yes, I understand the idea that upstate NY conservatives are more liberal than most, Mr. Gingrich.

Just like in 2006 and 2008, Americans are being told that true conservatives cannot win; that moderates are the only way Republicans can win elections and take over a majority again. By the way, it's mainly democrats saying this, and, after all, they only want to help republicans win elections, right?

Is it just me or is there a whiff of desperation is those adamant cries of 'conservatism is dead'? Methinks thou doth protest too much...

I think the main issue that all conservatives, be they moderate or strict, are truly conservative about is taxation, spending, and the role of the federal government in our everyday lives. THAT is what this election is all about. And democrats know it.

What bothered me about Dede Scozzafava wasn't her pro-abortion, pro-gay marriage stance, it was the fact that she supported the stimulus bill. That denotes fiscal irresponsibility, in my view, and I think there are a lot of conservatives who would agree with me.

No matter what Joe Biden says, you just can't spend yourself out of bankruptcy.

But this is an election with specific issues that people are voting on, not just general party ideology. Doug Hoffman is up in the polls because his main platform is lower taxes, smaller government, and fiscal responsibility - things that are desperately needed right now. Happily, they are also the things that both hard-core and moderate conservatives can agree on whole-heartedly.

What got us into trouble over the past few election cycles was the profligate spending, taxing and rapid growth of the federal beast by republicans as well as democrats. Sure, those types of republicans might appeal to more left-leaning voters, but it also alienates them from their traditional base, so there is more of a cancelling out or even a net loss than a net gain in overall voters. No matter what the liberals might say (loudly, shrilly and a bit desperately, in my humble opinion) about this being an overwhelmingly liberal country, this Gallup poll shows just how wrong they are.

Democrats, with their earmarks and perks and special interests catering were making great strides in seducing the electorate with their overwhelming largess, to the detriment of the country as a whole. The democrat theory of governance is simple - throw money at the problem and eventually people will stop complaining about it. It seems the republicans have adopted that 'path of least resistance' ideology in an attempt at wooing voters with promises of perks and fiscal rewards, and that is one of the main reasons the country is at the brink of financial ruin.

Democrats want to paint republicans into one far-right leaning corner so they can trap them in the guise of 'old-fashionedness' - or the new buzz-word 'status quo', if you prefer - but moderate republicans chafe at that description. They also chafe at fiscal irresponsibility, and that is the heart of the matter. Once our economic house is in order, other conservative issues like abortion and gay marriage can be addressed.

I personally feel, much like Ronald Reagan, that we can all fit under the tent, as long as it is strongly held up by the support poles of low taxation, fiscal responsibility, and limited government. Without those things, the tent collapses, as the 2006 and 2008 elections illustrated.

So when the democrats warn that we will alienate moderates with the hard-core tea party rhetoric, they are completely missing the point. But what else is new when it comes to democrats understanding the Tea Party phenomenon? The tea parties were about reckless spending, taxation that has surpassed high and is now approaching the astronomically confiscatory stage, the massive expansion of the federal government, and profligate special interest payoffs.

Any republican who believes the democratic theory of alienation of moderates is first of all taking advice from their adversaries, which is just not a wise move no matter how you slice it, and second is showing how tone-deaf and out-of-touch they really are.

UPDATE: Dede Scozzafava has just confirmed what most conservatives who are backing Hoffman were saying by endorsing Democrat candidate Bill Owens. There was a lot of talk of her being far more democrat leaning than she was letting on, including speculation that she might change parties as well as her apparent connections to ACORN, and this certainly does nothing to change that opinion. At least her campaign manager is still a conservative and has endorsed Hoffman. It will be interesting to see what effect her endorsement has on the race, if any. 60% of her supporters identify themselves as conservatives and are most likely going to break in Hoffman's favor, but, because Owens and Hoffman are polling so closely (36-35% respectively), it is still anyone's game.

SARAH STEPS UP

The NY-23 race has heated up even more. Sarah Palin has endorsed Doug Hoffman, the Independent candidate.

This race was already garnering national attention due to the 'Republican' (I use the term loosely) candidate, Dede Scozzafava. She is in a bit of hot water after calling the police on a reporter from the Weekly Standard after he had asked her some pretty basic questions - the answers to which showed a rather far-left perspective. Some are calling for her to step aside and allow another Republican to run, and the lead she had been enjoying is slipping fast. The Democrat, Owens, is leading, but Hoffman is picking up steam.

Hoffman is a 9/12er who stands for fiscal conservatism, strong defense and lower taxes. He appeared on Glenn Beck's radio show today, and Rush Limbaugh was talking him up as well. Palin's endorsement is the cherry on top.

It will be interesting to see what happens now. The RNC and Newt Gingrich have endorsed Scozzafava, even made excuses for her bad behavior and liberal bent. It seems the 'R' after her name is more important than her actual beliefs. But now that the public is turning against her, they have a decision to make. Stick with a seriously flawed candidate who is slipping badly in the polls, get her to step down and replace her with a better option (not a good idea with only 12 days to go to election), or maybe throw their support behind the true conservative in the race.

This race is a major litmus test - will the republican voters migrate en masse to the Independent candidate, or will he end up splitting the ticket and handing the seat to the democrats? Is this a legitimate movement that can go the distance in the polls, or will it peter out before election day? Sarah, Glenn and Rush are betting it's the former. It's risky, because NY is notorious for their progressive republicans, but the polls are encouraging, and hopefully Palin's endorsement, in conjunction with Beck and Limbaugh, will put him over the top.

Sarah has a lot riding on this election now. She has thrown her lot in with an unknown Independent, and this first foray is vitally important. If he wins, she wins, too, and her 'brand' will be in even stronger demand. If he loses, she will be called voting booth poison and will be ridiculed on a whole new level.

It's a risky proposition for her, so why is she doing it?

I'd say the Huntress is stalking a RINO.

Lock 'n load!