There were three races which most of the political pundits said were the most important of the 2009 election cycle: Governors races in Virginia and New Jersey, and the special election in New York’s 23rd Congressional District. Republicans won two out of three, but there’s a lot more to it than that.
According to an analysis by Gary Langer of ABC News “vast economic discontent marked the mood of Tuesday’s off-year voters, portending potential trouble for incumbents generally and Democrats in particular in 2010.” And no wonder. At a time when our economy is so weak and we’re still shedding jobs, the Pelosi/Reid Congress has tried to pass legislation which has been ineffective at best, and counterproductive at worst: a pork-laden boondoggle of a stimulus package, a bloated budget, a job-killing Cap and Tax bill, a government takeover of healthcare which would drastically raise taxes and cut Medicare, etc. No wonder the American people are fed-up.
The results? In Virginia, a state Obama carried 53% to 47% one year ago, went to Republican Bob McDonnell 59% to 41%, a 24 point turnaround. In New Jersey, a state Obama carried 59% to 42% went to Republican Chris Christie 49% to 45%, a 19 point turnaround.
Only in the New York Congressional special election was there a glimmer of hope for Democrats. In that race, 11 Republican Party leaders had gone behind closed doors (the proverbial smoke-filled room except that nowadays, one can’t smoke in public places anymore) and picked a very liberal Republican, Dede Scozzafava to be the Republican candidate. How liberal? Well, she was for gay marriage, abortion rights, Obama’s so-called economic stimulus package, card check (unionization by intimidation) cap and trade (cap and tax) and on and on.
New York has a longstanding Conservative Party and they endorsed a virtual unknown, Doug Hoffman. Most Republicans over time shifted their support from the liberal Dede Scozzafava to Conservative Doug Hoffman, and she ultimately dropped out three days before the election (after the Republican Party had sunk a million dollars down this rat hole). The thing which showed her true colors, was that after dropping out, she endorsed the Democratic candidate Bill Owens over the Conservative. The final vote: Democrat Bill Owen 49% Conservative Doug Hoffman 45% and Dede Scozzafava 6%.
So what does this show us? That the Republican Party needs to get its act together, and have an open process for picking candidates, not 11 party hacks behind closed doors.
2010 has the potential of being a very good, no, a great year, not just for Republicans, but more importantly, for Americans. The American people are fed-up with an Administration, and even more so with a Congress, that is pushing a liberal agenda of bigger and bigger government, out-of-control spending, bailouts, government takeovers, higher taxes, indecision, fecklessness…
It’s time for a change. And it’s coming.