rssNY-23: What’s Doug Hoffman Thinking?
Thursday, November 19, 2009 at 11:27 am
- 10 Comments
So what is defeated Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman doing by casting doubt on the results of the NY-23 special election? The most obvious answer, suggested by that letter, is fundraising. It was an expensive race, and Hoffman put some of his own cash on the line, so that makes sense. Why, though, make claims that offend the Republican leaders in the district — accusing them, basically, of being unwitting accomplices to fraud?
I’d credit that to Hoffman’s greenness as a candidate if he wasn’t being advised by professional politicos like Rob Ryan, a veteran of George Pataki’s 1994 gubernatorial campaign, and Mike Long, chairman of the state Conservative Party. Throughout the campaign, Ryan tried to make the case that Democratic allies like ACORN and the Working Families Party were all set to commit vote fraud. It always seemed like a base-motivating gimmick — indeed, it worked so well that Hoffman backers I met saw an African-American GOP strategist walk by and started assuming, out loud, that he was an ACORN plant.
Why did Hoffman concede in the first place? That I’d credit to the campaign’s overconfidence. They went into election day planning for a clear victory. Hoffman bragged to me, and to other reporters, that he hadn’t even talked to Dede Scozzafava, the ousted GOP candidate, because he’d “win without her.” When votes started coming in far, far below their expectations, they lost hope very quickly. Hoffman himself was so devastated during his election night speech that he temporarily forgot to mention that he was conceding the election — Mike Long ran onstage with a note reminding him to — and he left the election party making no more statements to the press.
Simply put, I think Hoffman panicked on election night and is now honestly, frantically trying to undo a mistake. I don’t know if he or his team realize the long-term political damage of this.
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10 Comments
Comment posted November 19, 2009 @ 12:58 pm
As I watch Doug Hoffman talk I am reminded of a deer in the headlights. I would describe Hoffman as the neophytes neophyte, someone who got in far over their head and seems to be making less and less sense as each day goes by. Sure, go for it, demonize others for your own shortcomings, Doug! Why not? You seemed to have little or nothing else to offer the district, besides raw meat partisanship. We sure all need more of that, don't we?
What a bad joke this is turning into.
Comment posted November 19, 2009 @ 1:20 pm
Maybe he's “going rogue” and ignoring the advice of his advisers. Maybe he believed Ryan's campaign spiel about ACORN and now he can't be convinced otherwise.
It seems the conspiracy angle repeatedly backfires as a campaign tactic, because it creates a pack of radicalized true believers who make your political party look like Lyndon LaRouche's 30 million illegitimate children. If Hoffman totally believes the propaganda and wrecks his party's credibility, it wouldn't be the first time we've seen that outcome.
Nor would it be the first time a major candidate screwed himself by believing his party's message. Look at John McCain in 2008. It seems like he believed the GOP's message of anti-elitist populism so sincerely that he chose authentic regular people to represent his campaign, both in the choice of his running mate and with iconic characters like Joe the Plumber.
Of course, campaign populism is just a ruse: you try to frame your candidate as a regular joe who grew up in a log cabin, but everyone knows he is in fact an educated, intelligent and skilled politician, and that you wouldn't seriously put a random dude from the back woods in charge of the nation's economy. It seems like McCain bought his party's own hype, and then in an act of genuine populism he reminded the public that qualifications do matter.
Comment posted November 19, 2009 @ 1:51 pm
You morons do know 3 districts reported ZERO votes for Hoffman, right? Usually when ACORN and SEIU cheat elections they know to pull the lever a few times for the other guy as to not raise suspicions. Looks like someone forgot to cover up their tracks.
Here’s the count.
http://www.tcotreport.com/madisoneds.pdf
Comment posted November 19, 2009 @ 2:00 pm
Dipshit wingnut,
Why did the Republican officials sign off on this obvious fraud? Are they all in on it?
Jerry O. Eaton, Jefferson County Republican elections commissioner, called Mr. Hoffman's assertion “absolutely false.”
“No one has touched those ballots or has access to those ballots except Board of Elections staff — and in a bipartisan manner,” he said.
George J. Williams, Oswego County Republican chairman, said Mr. Hoffman's assertion “is not accurate.” He said he roamed the county on Election Day and saw no evidence of tampering.
“We're not going to take the blame because he didn't hold his concession speech,” Mr. Williams said. “If there's any doubt, I would never concede. I know things could happen. Did illegal things happen? No, I do not believe that.”
No one with a brain believes the lunatic accusations of deranged wingnuts with no evidence.
Comment posted November 19, 2009 @ 3:21 pm
Looks like another under-prepped right wing sock-puppet candidate trips on his own marionette strings. Oh noes!
Comment posted November 19, 2009 @ 3:25 pm
On the Ballot, Hoffman was not the GOP candidate, he was either an independent or Conservative because Scozzafava was still on the Ballot as the GOP candidate and she received some votes probably because people were voting for the party not the candidate.
Either way, even with no votes in 3 districts…the number of people voting in those 3 are very small…so I don't see foul play, I see poor decisions by the GOP Party officials to put up one candidate then renounce her and back another…
Either way, I don't see Hoffman winning as there is not enough uncounted ballots to give him the lead, and this whole fiasco won't help him in the next election…
Comment posted November 19, 2009 @ 3:27 pm
Looks like someone is casting conspiracies where none exist…
Comment posted November 19, 2009 @ 8:14 pm
Doug Hoffman is only hurting himself and confirming the doubts I think NY-23 voters had at the end. By Rob Ryan's own admission, their campaign was dead in the water until the Club of Growth came along. At that point, he became a media creation, and his support generated by outside money and ads. Along with the Scozzafava withdrawl and the shift of labor to Owens, a case could be made that voters had second thoughts about the lack of substance in the Hoffman campaign. His unwillingness to attend the Plattsburgh debate, though he was in Plattsburgh didn't help either Trashing candidates? stolen elections? All this is very foreign to NY-23 voters. It is liable to be a real turn off
Comment posted November 24, 2009 @ 7:02 pm
If Hoffman was already having trouble in NY-23 because he was perceived as an outsider, then it can't help him to start baselessly accusing the locals of incompetence or fraud in running the election.
Comment posted November 25, 2009 @ 12:02 am
If Hoffman was already having trouble in NY-23 because he was perceived as an outsider, then it can't help him to start baselessly accusing the locals of incompetence or fraud in running the election.
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