Hoffman's back in the 23rd district
Tea party and Conservative favorite Doug Hoffman is officially back in the running for the House seat currently occupied by Plattsburgh Democrat Bill Owens.
The Lake Placid accountant, who became a conservative media sensation when he bumped Dede Scozzava out of the running, says he's the man to retake the seat. Here's his statement.
"I will champion the fight for less spending, lower taxes and shrinking the deficit. I will speak out about the need to defend our nation and the freedoms of its people. And, I will never back down from taking on the career politicians who conveniently forget that they represent and work for you; average American citizens, not the special interests who fill the back rooms of Washington with lobbyists and fill the campaign coffers of elected officials with money."
At least three other Republicans are considering a run. Should be an interesting primary.
In an article this week, the magazine Politico raised questions about whether tea party insurgents like Hoffman are the strongest GOP candidates.
The early results from tea party candidates, despite their focus on hot-button issues such as opposition to President Barack Obama’s health care reform bill and concern about budget-busting policies of both parties, have not been pretty.
But Hoffman won't be easy to beat in the primary. He'll be well-funded and will likely have plenty of media support on talk radio and the blogs.
Should be another fascinating race.
Labels: election10
posted by Brian Mann @ 3/09/2010 09:30:00 AM
23 Comments
23 Comments:
Leaving Hoffman's ideology aside, it's too bad that another NNY race will involve a candidate who remains willfully ignorant of NNY issues, more interested in pandering to the right-wing national media elite and who is heavily backed by oodles of out of state money and media. I wish NNYers could decide their own representation without outsiders massively meddling.
Snore.......
Go Carpetbaggin' Doug!
5 months have passed since the NY special election, but the anti-hoffman agenda of NCPR and its kool-aid brigade remains the same. A + to you for consistency.
Anonymous 10:38 -
Say a little more. What part of my post suggests hostility to Hoffman's candidacy?
--Brian, NCPR
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This post has been removed by the author.
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Brian, comments like anon are why I'm dreading Hoffman's re-candidacy. These commenters (often anonymous and out of the region) have nothing original to say; they just parrot generic national talking points. I would respect their differing point of view if anything they said suggested original thought, if they put it in their own words. If anything, your description of Hoffman's involvement as making the race 'fascinating' would suggest to an objective person the opposite of hostility to Hoffman.
But as you well know, Hoffman and the Tea Party brigade he appeals to are primarily based on grievance politics. You can't play the martyr card without mythical enemies supposedly oppressing you. And the 'media elite' (applied to anyone who dares call out their falsehoods) is one of the main targets.
The reason he doesn't explain it is because he feels he doesn't have to. For him, it's self-evident. You weren't gushing lovingly about Hoffman, therefore you are ipso facto hostile to the candidate.
Re anon 10:38 and similar:
To quote Law and Order: "Objection--assumes facts not in evidence." Comments that make flat declarations about the character and thinking of others should pony up some evidence. Otherwise, they are just graffiti, not part of a conversation. This is such a common practice online that I propose a handy shorcut acronym based on the TV lawyerese quoted above--OAFNIE. Kind of rolls off the tongue.
Dale Hobson
NCPR web manager
I'm a staunch conservative and former Republican supporter. Doug can go someplace else as far as I care. He's got no fire in the belly, made a mess of things and is a liability to any reform of this quasi-socialist direction we're headed.
I just want someone honest and real that intends to try and work for the good of us all and not for a career as a politician. My definition of "good for us all" may differ from others, but it seems there are more than a few others here looking for the same thing.
So will we actually hear any specifics as to why we should vote for him? I don't recall hearing any that last time. Maybe I missed it while he was parading around with all the special interests he claims to despise. Anytime a politician saddles up to a former politician now turned lobbyist(Dick Armey), your hypocrisy becomes quite apparent.
I am relatively conservative, but I just can't support Hoffman, he seems like he just has these national talking points. How does deficit reduction help the average person in the North Country?
Does he even really care about the North Country? I mean I love Lake Placid/Saranac Lake, but let’s face it; it is a wealthy bubble in a sea of poverty. I don't think he knows the issues.
Look, he's a true outsider. Not only does he live outside the Beltway, he lives outside the district!
I can only believe him if he goes to Ogdensburg and explains how the only way to cut spending and lower taxes is by closing places like the prison there. Then he must be willing to look people in the eye and say " no more COLAS" and tell schools that they will get less from the Federal government and the biggest one of all? Stand up and say that the fastest growing part of the Federal budget is not not social services but Military spending. It is the largest and fastest growing budget problem of them all.
If he has the honesty and courage to say that he will do all he can do something about problems like those, then I will believe him. Until then, it is all just more B.S.
Be specific and make the numbers add up, or be gone.
He probably does not know that there are two prisons in Ogdensburg, he may not know where Ogdensburg even is.
He probably does not know that there are two prisons in Ogdensburg, he may not know where Ogdensburg even is.
BM comment at 10:41 am:
first of all, let's say that BM is, as a general rule, an excellent reporter. now then....
my gripe is that brian hides behind a Politico commentary re: "tea party insurgents". in the next paragraph, he writes that these tea party types have had very little success.
why is that? could it be that a party that started only last year has tough sledding against incumbent parties that have been in existence since 17-what?
why not explain that the tea party entered the game somewhat behind and put this post in its proper context?
there's a subtle attempt here to create an aura with readers that doug has no chance and deserves no chance.
but don't feel alone. there are other media outlets doing the same thing with different phony linchpins (million dollar home, dredging in the st. lawrence river, alleged non-support of ft. drum, to name a few).
hopefully doug is not discouraged because as we saw with the debate last october in plattsburgh, without doug, this whole deal would be BOOOOORING.
BTW to brian f...i've probably lived in the north country longer than you've been alive.
So if the Republicans spurn him again, does he do like he did last time? Pull his support for the selected/elected candidate and run as a Conservative?
Then why not just run as a conservative....Why keep changing Parties. Just make up your mind. One day you are an R, then the next you are a C and now you are an R? Just pick one for Petes sake..
If he actually cared about the North Country I would vote for him. When you don't know the district it means you don't care enough about it even to fake it.
8:31 makes a darn good point. This constant "Tea Party" slam that goes on is both readily apparent and wrong. Once the TP types got a little attention they were branded, incorrectly, as white supremacist, anti-government, tax dodgers. All patently untrue and incorrect. Yet that stigma sticks to this incredibly diverse group. No one ever bothers to look at the various groups and what their views are. All the 2 major parties care about is that the TP movement has legs and may be a threat. The Repubs try and embrace them when they're a bigger problem than the Dems and the Dems ridicule and dismiss them as no more than hicks with torches and pitchforks.
I agree with the sentiment that Ol'Dougie is going to have to put up or shut up. Go to Oburg and explain the hurt is just starting, that it's necessary to spread the suffering across the whole State and that this is just the first round. Explain that we've overspent for decades, that State jobs have become just another entitlement and that we simply have to cut spending. But he also needs to go after the bureaucrats and upper level people. Do it through attrition and retirements, do it smart and do it as gently as possible. Cut costs at the prisons themselves- streamline and do away with some of the cushy garbage the convicts get. Do it across the board at all State agencies. When I first got on with my State agency
things like flashlight batteries, pens and tires were strictly watched and people were treated harshly when they were wasteful or careless. You didn't get a new uniform on a whim. They used to inspect your clothing and if it could be worn you were told in no uncertain terms to take care of your gear or you'd be in the Captains office explaining why you were such a careless person with your gear, and maybe losing some vacation time. I admit my agency was far more paramilitary than most other State agencies, but the same idea can be applied across the board. We used to catch people using State cars to do things like transport their kids to various colleges. The fur used to fly when a phone call to that persons supervisor was made. It should still be done that way.
It isn't going to be easy, but until Dougie and the rest of the politicians get serious about simple things like loss prevention and until they get honest about simple financial realities then we'll continue down the road to ruin.
Read an interesting article concerning the Tea Party phenomenon.
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/23723
But back to topic- my first reaction upon reading Brian's post was "Say it ain't so!" Just when The In Box had returned to civility.
Interesting article Pat. Not much meat, but it does show one side of the TP. If found it disingenuous for the reporter to be dissing the place, the atmosphere, the money, when the Democrats and Republicans do even more of the same. A persons social status or financial status shouldn't preclude them from wanting smaller gov't, lower taxes, etc. That's just class envy and ego.
What I did note is that the reporter at least noticed it wasn't a homogeneous group of redneck with torches and pitchforks. It's people looking for an answer to their concerns. I don;t see anything wrong with that.
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