“Well Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?” asked Mrs. Powel of Benjamin Franklin outside Independence Hall when the Constitutional Convention of 1787 ended. “A republic, if you can keep it,” he replied.
Well, if you needed any further proof that the GOP certainly isn’t conservative, you got it yesterday. Bill Owens’ victory over Doug Hoffman in yesterday’s election for the U.S. House Seat in New York’s 23rd district is a shining example.
Let’s run down the story: the candidates were Democrat Bill Owens, GOP-endorsed Republican Dede Scozzafava, and conservative Independent Doug Hoffman. Things got tricky when conservatives, in part riding the recent Tea Party movement, began supporting Doug Hoffman. Scozzafava, calling herself a Republican, supported President Obama’s stimulus plan, opposed many tax cuts, and actions to save Social Security[1].
When Scozzafava realized she was being squeezed out, she wisely dropped out of the race. But then she did the unthinkable – she endorsed Democrat Bill Owens. In effect, the GOP endorsed and wasted valuable campaign dollars on a candidate who values keeping returned TARP money for government use rather than returning it to the people [2] and massive redistributive subsidies [3] over a successful business owner and fiscal conservative [4].
Additionally frustrating was Newt Gingrich’s deferment to the Republican leadership. When asked at a book signing why he supported the GOP endorsee, he said, “my bias is to be for the nominee of the local party, and I don’t second guess the local party” [5], but later eventually changed his endorsement to Hoffman [6]. Admittedly, Gingrich pointed out issues on which Scozzafava was conservative. But considering that Gingrich is a strong choice for the GOP presidential nomination in 2012, this is very concerning. Why can’ Republicans pick the truly conservative candidate the first time?
Interestingly enough, Gingrich also said at the book signing that “it is a mistake for the conservative movement to think splitting in the special election is a smart idea. If we give that seat to the Democrats, shame on us” [7]. We say – shame on the GOP. We may disagree about whether conservatism or liberalism is better for the nation, but the real problem is the integrity we give up when we play politics.
Today’s call to action: Recommend this website to two friends.
1. “Republican Scozzafava Drops Out of New York Congressional Race,” foxnews.com, October 31, 2009.
2. “Bill Owens on Health Care Reform,” billowensforcongress.com, November 3, 2009.
3. “Bill Owens on Jobs,” billowensforcongress.com, November 3, 2009.
4. “About Doug Hoffman,” doughoffmanforcongress.com, November 3, 2009.
5. “Video: Tea Party-er Confronts Newt Gingrich at Book Signing on Scozzafava Endorsement,” mofopolitics.com, October 27, 2009.
6. “Question Marks for GOP in New York District and Beyond,” cnn.com, November 3, 2009.
7. “Newt on Scozzafava,” dailymail.com, October 26, 2009.
