Monday, November 23, 2009

Ho-hum: Another day, another 'Doug Hoffman, far-right extremist' spin

Yesterday at Hot Air, I pushed back against this misrepresentation of the Hoffman campaign. And now we see the same misguided claim being promoted by a writer for the Raleigh (N.C.) newspaper:
The N.C. Republican Party has been channeling its inner Jesse Helms lately, and not just because a portrait of the late conservative icon was unveiled last week.
At a GOP banquet Saturday night in North Raleigh, one of the main speakers was to have been Doug Hoffman, the New York conservative congressional candidate who was the favorite of Glenn Beck & Co . . .
Doug Hoffman's stated political positions place him squarely in the conservative mainstream of the Republican Party. The attempt to depict Hoffman and his supporters as rabid fringe fanatics is either (a) liberal propaganda or (b) faulty analysis by people who've been misled by liberal propaganda.

Hoffman did not lose because he was ideologically outside the mainstream. He lost because (a) he started with zero name recognition outside of his Lake Saranac hometown, (b) his campaign was badly underfunded until mid-October, (c) the national GOP wasted nearly $1 million propping up the doomed campaign of Dede Scozzafava, and (d) Scozzafava dropped out and endorsed the Democrat the weekend before Election Day.

Circumstances (c) and (d) are unlikely to occur again anywhere anytime ever, much less in North Carolina. For so many political "experts" to try to extract from the NY23 campaign the lesson that Hoffman was too right-wing, and that conservative Republicans are therefore generally doomed to defeat, is a case of wishful-thinking theory without adequate factual support.

11 comments:

  1. I have had many an argument with democrats - all who spout the 'far right extremist takeover attempt' of the Republican party crap. These people are the same people who characterize Scozzafava as a 'moderate'.

    It's crap. I mock the democrats who give advice about who the Republican Party should be running. It's laughable to think about taking a leftist's advice on what a conservative candidate looks like.

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  2. lol. Doug Hoffman a far-right extremist? I don't know that he even deserves to be called a conservative. A CINO, perhaps.

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  3. First vote I ever cast was for Jesse Helms. Are you suggesting that I am "rabid" Sir?

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  4. So the pundits have learned the wrong lesson about NY23. Is that such as bad thing?

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  5. Is this the newspaper that promoted the Fake Rape Hoax and racism. That was the News and Observer. Yes. The same. This is an extremist mouthpiece, is it not. Isn't promoting Fake Rape Hoaxes extreme? Isn't racism extreme? Isn't promoting racism extreme?

    Is the News and Observer promoting another hoax?

    Have they cleaned up their own house? I have seen no sign of it.

    Why don't they stop making stuff up? Would that leave them with nothing to publish?

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  6. Robert you are missing the point, to the MSM Hoffman HAS to be Far right and out of the mainstream...he is the PALIN CANDIDATE.

    The attacks on Hoffman have nothing to do with Hoffman, it has everything to do about Palin.

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  7. Can we PLEASE stop taking advice from people that have never, would never, and have no intention for voting for a Republican or a conservative candidate? The mere fact that they have an opinion on the matter that they feel they have to convey is a big red flag. They're scared to death of Sarah Palin. Instead of listening or even considering advice from them, let's just view it as clues to what they fear the most.

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  8. Can we PLEASE stop entertaining the "opinions" of people that would not, in their wildest dreams, vote for a Republican or worse yet, a Conservative. They are telling us, in their own way, who they fear while trying to sway the weak-minded to adhere to their advice. For example they're scared to death of Sarah Palin. They KNOW, as it stands right now, she could beat Obama hence the all out attack on her. They "doth protest too much" is an understatement when it comes to Palin. They WANT her to be the nominee because it INSURES an Obama victory. Really? Why would you even say that if that were true? Wouldn't you stop your attacks on her to prop her up like you did with John McCain in the last three election cycles? She scares the crap out of them because they know, as it stands right now, she'll beat the "loved one."

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  9. How I saw it..

    The backlash was because NY 23 was given a choice of a shit sandwich.. one on Brand 'R' bread and the other on Brand 'D'. And the Brand 'R' shit sandwich was endorsed by Kos himself.

    What is the point of voting if those are your choices?

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  10. I apologize for the "double post". We all deal with computer problems and that's what happened. However, after reviewing some videos on Guantanamo and the true nature of our enemies I can't re-iterate enough how important it is that we vote Sarah Palin into office or at least vote someone she supports and represents into office. I have read that she is dumb and is speaking in general platitudes but I found the complete opposite. Did she back off from her position on Israel? Did she back off from her support of the Generals that want troops and have a strategy? Did she accept fault for her missteps during the election? She's the one. I could care less what lefty liberals write about her, what right wing elitists think of her, what the MSM says about her. She's a natural born leader with guts, has a clear picture of what is going on, is not hindered by "elitist double-think" that costs us time and prohibits us from action. She supports the military, law enforcement, and others despite how the MSM tries to attack her for it. She knows what us
    "common folk" know, think, believe in, and has the courage to bolster what our founders wanted, despite how it affects her. She stands up to the elite thinkers that believe closing Guantanamo is a good idea because she knows and recognizes how stupid these idiots are. She, like Michele Bachmann and a few others have the guts to stand up for liberty in opposition of the tyranny that is taking place right now. I'm telling you right now that she will win an election against Obama if it comes to that providing that the right gets on board and foresakes their own personal agendas. David Brooks calling her a joke? Go F..k yourself you elitist bastard! I'm guessing you thought a conservative thinking actor was crazy for running for office. David Frum telling us that she's using some type of "sexual vibe" to gain support? Shut up you dummie! You, in no way, get it. She's popular because she's one of us, she's effective because she knows how to and has the courage to stand up for what we believe in and she's a doer and not a talker. Our country is on the brink and we need her or someone like her. I've been a cop for four decades and I see the leadership ability, common sense, and sense of duty she has to our country. Go spew your crap to those that are willing to listen and publish. We, the unclean, see her in a different light. She's more qualified to be President than the idealogue that can't make a decision who occupies the office right now. He's been the worst President that ever existed, and that includes Carter. His Achilles heel is the belief that he is untouchable and wants to be loved by everybody but the schmucks that he's supposed to represent. She'll beat him in an election. I'm sure of it.

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  11. That meme about Hoffman was manufactured at places like DU. And just to echo Dave, I think the best quote I have seen today, that I am going to steal is "Obama is a POLITICIAN, not a leader; Palin is a LEADER, not a politician." I think it is perfect.

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