Last night was a great night for Democrats. At least if the only world you live in is the left-wing blogosphere.
Democrats won the 23rd District in upstate NY by 4 points in a race torn apart by a liberal Republican mistake named Dede Scozzafava, who took 6 percent of the vote after having dropped out a few days before the election. Democrats also took the 10th District in California, which is a liberal district which previously had a Democratic Congresswoman, but by a much smaller margin than the predecessor won.
That’s pretty much it for the Democrats. But it is great, great, great news to some because there is one (not two, as they suggest) additional Congressional vote for health care destruction legislation.
Outside of this little world, the Democrats got clobbered at the polls and on the health care issue. There may be a Democrat in upstate New York who will vote with the Democrats on health care issues, but don’t be so sure given the close race. And even if so, there are dozens of Democrats from red states who didn’t sleep last night, and several Democratic Senators who now will do anything to avoid having to vote on health care legislation, cap-and-trade, higher taxes, and a host of other Obama agenda items.
Virginia, a key swing state which Obama carried strongly in 2008, was a sweep for Republicans at all three statewide spots – Governor, Lt. Governor and Attorney General:
A social conservative who successfully ran on bread and butter pocketbook issues, McDonnell racked up huge victories in the key exurban counties of Loudoun and Prince William, which Gov. Tim Kaine carried in 2005 and President Obama won just a year ago. He also carried Fairfax County, which Obama won by 21 points.
The swing in the Governor’s race compared to the presidential election was 25% (Obama won by 7% in 2008, Republican Bob McDonnell won by 18% in 2009). While Obama backed away from the Democratic candidate in order to save face, that was only when it became clear that Republicans were going to win and that nothing Obama could do would change that reality.
New Jersey saw a Democratic incumbent in a very Democratic state, backed by repeat visits from Obama, go down to a 5% loss to a Republican, despite Obama carrying the state by 15% in 2008. Obama wanted this win so badly he had his campaign team take over the campaign for John Corzine. Obama was all in on this one, and the polls and pundits predicted a late surge by Corzine to edge out Chris Christie. Didn’t happen.
The results in the key states of Virginia and New Jersey were resounding defeats for Obama and Obamanomics and Obamacare and Obamamania and the “progressive” agenda.
I wish Republicans Hoffman had won NY-23. But I’ll take Virginia and New Jersey, because I live in the real world, not in fantasy land.
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Comments
But here it is … Republicans MUST return to the center to win. Scarafozzi (?) and her 6% are the difference between stopping the destruction of the USA which takes a priority to some fantasy of returning government to 5% of the USA economy. Conservatism is unappealing because it seems pig-headedly and heart-heartedly selfish; and it is … as well as being bad for the USA. The concept of taxing the wealthy to invest in human development … in the development of the poor toward effective, lawful, sober, and responsible lifetime citizenship and contribution to our economy and nation is a solid one, similar to investing in infrastructure per se such as highways – efficiently which requires we demand more from beneficiaries of tax outlays. To oppose this obsessively is encourage political oblivion but more substantively is thoughtlessly dogmatic. It was the same meme, interested parties, and fanatics who opposed anti-trust legislation: absurd. The point should be EFFICIENCY in government solution to problems that ought to be addressed with tax dollars. To make sure the funds actually do develop human infrastructure and are not, as in the hands of Democrats, precipitously counter-productive/destructive.
"Socialism," the armed forces, the police department, the fire department, public funding of education, temporary asssitance for hte poor, for example, is not per se bad for the USA; and conservatives must recognize that (Huckabee does a good job explaining this). Extremism is bad policy and the independent voter senses that well.
To gain ground even in pursuit of the conservative utopia some envision requires steps on occasions like these, not leaps.
McCain the moderate Republican and the only candidate other than Giuliani (my choice as long as he's viable) should have won in a hard year, but for picking the all time worst VP "to appeal to the base" and put a pretty face of conservatism. If he picked Lieberman, easy win; Giuliani, easy win; Romney, likely win; … even Huckabee a likely win … he is very charming and nuanced in his conservatism. Palin torpedoed his Obama-unexperienced Ace card. She was totally unqualified on every level to be president however much I do like her and agree with her. What's required is someone with Newt Gingrich's mind and experience with a Palin-esque "interface." But just Palin is not going to do it. The populace requires education on some of these Republican and conservative concepts; Palin is not the professor and in fact permitted journalists to portray rightly that she is neither the scholar.
There is so much to focus on for Republicans: the utter waste in the way we fund education and fund poverty amelioration. How the middle class suffers for 1) the loss of that money that could be spent on them; and 2) the taxes on the free enterprise system including the wealthy that undermine economic opportunity for them.
Progressively Defensive …
of the USA Way or in our on-going pursuit, better should we find it.
What's entertaining about this is that Owens campaigned against the public option.
Progressively Defense resides in that alternate universe of Denial that simply accepts mediocrity and tax enslavement.
Conservatism is how this country was intended to be run.
The Left is so far left that the only way to preserve our nation is to move even further to the right. Which really means, just returning to Right of Center.
Armed Forces is provided for IN THE US CONSTITUTION. Univeral Healthcare is Not.
Hoffman's marginal defeat is just a momentary ebb of an impending wave gathering in a sea of Conservatives and Independents voters.
There were other seismic shifts in favor of Conservatives throughout New York where were not as well reported as the outcomes in NJ and VA. 58% of Westchester County voters (myself included) threw out Democrat Andy Spano's 12 years as County Executive for new comer Republican Rob Astorino who easily won an audience on a platform which highlighted the county's escalating taxes.
It's a sign of things to come.
So far you are all missing the point to a degree …
PatrioticAmerican: Taxes are in the Constitution and unless you want to get rid of the U.S. armed forces, THE ALL TIME BARGAIN INDEED, some tax enslavement is inevitable. It's you who would accept mediocrity; we could be 100x more excellent would we tax collectively to incentivize more of the citizens to be excellent. Or shall we no longer fund, by whatever means, public education? Your post indicates you might also end that to lessen tax enslavement. Do you somehow think that would make us MORE EXCELLENT or ruin our populace even more? Well, we disagree, let's put it that way if that's the case. There is a benefit to the taxed to provide for public education somehow; or, if you disagree, write so, please.
Slavery was how the country was intended to be run, too. Presumably you would not return to the founder's intent perfectly in the case of slavery, but correct me if I'm wrong. Even if conservatism was the founder's intent, it's our USA now and a different world than theirs.
buzzz52490: You might be right regarding the unconstitutionality of forcing people to buy health insurance federally. But I think the federal government may create a public insurance program with the same power they create any welfare program. AFDChildren is not in the Constitution either by your reckoning, is it? I'm genuinely wondering if you think so? Again, however technically correct you might be regarding the public option and AFDC, it's absurd in 2009 … maybe 3009.
::: TN ::: You sound like the extreme dirigiste Democrats after Obama won … either that or the USA remains Reagan-TRoosevelt-FDRoosevelt-Clinton purple and will remain so until We the People become drastically more like either the, e.g., Zimbaweans (palor disregarding) or the Swiss (palor disrgearding).
Really what is best for us 310,000,000 should guide our votes … that may sound socialist but in fact We the People, etc. is a socialist document ruled by a socialist sovereignty – We the People; our liberties are licensed to us by us subject to our right to change our mind.
The question you ought to ask is whether what's best for 310,000,000 is a consideration that goes beyond civil liberties … whether it's more than that … whether in this world of WMD is it also survivalist for the USA? We would become as powerful as we can become to set the terms to the extent we can for what transpires tomorrow, next year, and so on
Progressively Defensive