Center Goes Right

Full column: Obama Cedes the Center
by Michael Gerson

Both McDonnell and New Jersey's governor-elect, Chris Christie, were blessed with opponents who combined weakness and viciousness in equal measure. But the ideological atmosphere for the election was determined by Obama himself. When I interviewed McDonnell in September, he saw the first signs of an anti-Democratic backlash among Virginia businesspeople who were concerned about the "card check" bill (which would allow union organization without a majority vote). Then a broader resentment about the level of spending and new burdens imposed by cap-and-trade climate legislation. Then the summer of health care reform discontent.

The White House now dismisses Tuesday's losses as the reflection of "local issues" -- as though the Virginia outcome was determined by zoning disputes on the proposed site of a new 7-Eleven. When one of the primary concerns of the electorate is the direction of the economy, all politics is national.

By creating deficits unequaled as a percentage of the economy since World War II, by proposing to nearly triple the national debt in the next 10 years, by using the economic crisis as an excuse for the massive expansion of government authority over health care, Obama has become a polarizing figure. Of course, some Republicans thrive on ideological combat and would seek it even if unprovoked. But it is Obama's tax-and-spend ambitions that have united Republicans of every stripe in opposition, put fiscally conservative Democrats in an impossible bind, and ceded the economic center to Republican candidates in Virginia and New Jersey.

The Republican candidates who won on Tuesday were generally conservative, but not angry. They were supported by the Republican base, but spent most of their time reaching toward the middle. It was a center-right victory in a center-right country.

Romney 2012

*Agree: (The congressional race in upstate New York was too messy, too local, and too full of jumbly facts to yield a theme that coheres.) - Peggy Noonan

Peggy's column is also a good read, and a recommended one, from Free & Strong America: "The voters were being practical"

Add to all of this, today's big number: 10.2
See: Unemployment Rate Soars Past 10 Percent

High unemployment is likely to become a political liability for Obama and Democrats in Congress. ... “More debt, more spending … clearly has not worked — particularly in a time of double-digit unemployment,” said Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

Meet the USS New York

Built with 7 1/2 tons of WTC steel



She is a beauty!

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Complete with a 21-gun salute - (AP story here)

Never forget...

Romney on Kudlow Report

Interview begins at the 3:38 mark

via Kudlow's Money Politic$:

Here's former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney's take on last night's Kudlow Report discussing President Obama's handling of the economy, stimulus programs, healthcare and much more.

See: Romney: Obama economic stimulus plan is a failure

'Dignified'

Tweeted by Beachroses:

Thought the way Romney handled campaigning in NJ, VA & NY showed respect for the candidates, people in those states & his party. Dignified.

'The Voice of Reason'

The Fix says:

To our mind, former Gov. Mitt Romney (Mass.) may have come out of the special election in New York smelling the sweetest -- he avoided getting involved at all and now looks like the voice of reason.

*As Jeff noted below, he did give $5,000 to Hoffman

** (Jeff here) To be clear, the PAC gave the donation supporting Hoffman once he became the Republican Party's candidate. Mitt Romney really is the adult leader in the party.

Mitt Romney's Statment on Tuesday's Elections

Got this email update from Mitt Romney this morning... was excited to see that his PAC made a maximum possible donation of $5000 for Doug Hoffman in NY-23!

What a great election yesterday! It's exhilarating to wake up to headlines of conservative victories in the battleground elections in Virginia and New Jersey. The American people have sent a very strong message to the liberals in Washington, DC that big government is not the answer, and that conservatism is still alive and well.

With your help , we've been working hard at my Free and Strong America PAC to spread the core principles that are at the heart of making America a stronger nation and which fortify our party -- that a competitive America is one where taxes are low and government is small, that our military superiority must never be compromised, that our cultural values need to be cherished and that unleashing the power of the free market is key to our economic future.

We worked extremely hard on behalf of Bob McDonnell and the entire Republican ticket in Virginia, and helped him close strong with a full day of campaigning in the final week; in New Jersey, we endorsed Chris Christie early and made sure he had the resources to be competitive against his better-financed opponent; in Michigan, we raised money for Republican Mike Nofs, who captured a key State Senate seat previously held by a Democrat; and we worked tirelessly for our friend and ally Barbara Comstock, a leading fixture in the conservative movement, who won an uphill fight for a House of Delegates seat in Virginia, where she'll be a reliable vote for Governor-elect McDonnell's conservative agenda.

We didn't stop there. So far in 2009, my PAC has donated nearly $120,000 to candidates and conservative causes around the nation, including a last-minute $5,000 donation to Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman in New York's 23rd congressional district. I've given speeches at the Conservative Political Action Conference, the Club for Growth, the Values Voter Summit, the Heritage Foundation, the Foreign Policy Initiative conference and the AIPAC National Summit. Each of these events helped promote our shared conservative ideals and hopefully influenced the debate on the critical issues facing us.

We should be proud of what we have accomplished together; but this is no time to rest on our laurels. We must begin building upon these victories today to ensure that we have the resources we need to take back the Congress in 2010. Next year I'll also be traveling the country talking about my upcoming book, "No Apology: The Case for American Greatness," which will be published in March. I believe that the decisions we make today will determine what course America takes, and I want to make sure we remain the world's economic and military superpower.

Vote for Mitt in Bill O'Reilly's Poll

This is a great opportunity in a very high profile venue to weigh in on behalf of Gov. Romney.

Go to www.billoreilly.com and vote for Mitt on O'Reilly's website. The winner will be announced on FOXNEWS, THE O'REILLY FACTOR.

PPP says Christie Leads 47-41!

One more poll to get you motivated to start making some real change in 2009! From PPP again, the New Jersey Governor race is turning back to Christie in the final 48 hours.

Chris Christie leads Jon Corzine 47-41 in PPP's final poll of the New Jersey Governor's race, with Chris Daggett at 11%

Christie's advantage is due largely to his support from independents and because he has Republicans more unified around him than the Democrats are around Corzine. Christie leads Corzine 52-29 with indies, as Daggett's support with that group has declined to 16%. Christie is getting 82% of Republicans to Corzine's 72% of Democrats.

Corzine could still win with an exceptional Democratic turnout on Tuesday but there aren't a lot of factors in the race pointing to that as a strong possibility.

Follow Mitt's lead and go get out the Republican vote on Tuesday!

Latest NY-23 Poll - "Hoffman Primed for Dominant Victory"

Public Policy Polling just released the new poll on NY-23 and their headline is "Hoffman Primed for Dominant Victory"

They polled thru the weekend of one surprise event after another, but here's the net net:

The bottom line though is that Hoffman led by double digits during every segment of the poll, an indication that he may have been headed for a definitive victory regardless of Scozzafava's actions over the course of the weekend.

So much for Dede's little fit of pique.

Do you think she'll flip in the assembly to caucus with the democrats next? Unbelievable.

NY-23: Independence Party Chair Flips to Hoffman

Well the fireworks in the special election for Congress just keep on coming!

Just read in the NY Observer that Hoffman has picked up more Independence Party support. Another chairman up in NY-23 who was backing Scozafava is now backing Hoffman. Not sure what happens next, but John Rice is hoping that a lot of other Independence Party chairs will declare their independence.

Rice is the chairman of Franklin County, one of the major population centers in the district, so it will definitely add to Hoffmans margin of victory.

UPDATE: The newly elected NYGOP Chairman Ed Cox slammed the liberal republican's endorsement of the Democrat candidate as "betrayal" of the people in the district, and the party. How many candidates could take nearly a million dollars from the GOP and then endorse a Democrat?

Chris Christie for Governor Television Ad: "Changing Governors"

Hoffman's consolidating support, 20 points ahead of Owens

Public Policy Polling was tracking the NY-23 race right after the 3-way debate and found that Hoffman was crushing both opponents by 20+ points.

This was before Dede released her supporters, which at that point was down to 17% of voters.

Some folks have been hemming and hawing about where Dede's supporters might go. Fact is, even if they all went to vote for a liberal Pelosi democrat (seriously think even 50% might do that? are you kidding me?) Hoffman would win.

From the pollster Tom Jensen:

I'm not going to throw away the first set of interviews, but we'll provide a crosstab for when people got surveyed. I expect Hoffman will win easily now, but if our early numbers were any indication what Scozzafava did doesn't make much difference- he was going to win easily with or without her in the race.

If you are in NY now we have local elections Tuesday too. If you don't have a campaign close to home that needs your help, and are looking for a race where your efforts can really make a difference, head to New Jersey and go get out the vote for Chris Christie!

Romney Goes to Bat for Brown

SUN CHRONICLE
BY: JIM HAND

WRENTHAM - Former Gov. Mitt Romney Friday declared that Washington is being run by "neo-monarchists" and the country needs a second revolution to restore power to the people.

Romney, speaking at a fund-raising event for state Sen. Scott Brown, urged those in attendance to send Brown to Washington to help the revolution along.

The Republican and former presidential candidate compared the current political situation to the conditions that existed in 1776.

Back then, he said, monarchists believed in a "strong central leader" while revolutionaries wanted to hand government over to the people.

The people won and the result was a "stronger nation and the land of opportunity," he said.

Currently the country is being run by those who believe in "government telling us what to do," including government-run health care and deficit spending.

Romney said the first signs of change may come Tuesday in races for governor in New Jersey and Virginia.

Republicans are running well in both races, he said.

"We'll win there if there is no cheating," he said after repeating a joke that the races "are within the margin of cheating."

The former governor spoke at Luciano's at Lake Pearl in Wrentham to help raise money for fellow Republican Brown, who is running to replace the late U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy.

More than 200 people attended, some paying $75 for a general reception and others shelling out $1,000 for a private meeting with Romney.

Romney also attended an event for Brown earlier in the day in Needham.

Brown said the Senate needs more Republicans because Democrats now have the 60

Scozzafava suspends NY-23 campaign

Today the field has been cleared for conservative victory in New York! Doug Hoffman will now be able to consolidate the republican votes, and with the registration breakdown in NY-23 that means a certain win.

I was hopeful that this split could be settled before next Tuesday. As more and more heavy artillery started moving and backing Hoffman it became clear that he was going to win this race but it was going to be close.

Now instead of a nailbiter, Tuesday will be a landslide.

Thank you Dede, this was very gracious of you.

Everyone, get the message out that we are united behind Hoffman... at this point with 3 days to go, the ballot can not be changed to remove candidates who are no longer running.

GOP Headliners Hopscotch Virginia for McDonnell

Times-Dispatch: GOP headliners hopscotch Virginia for McDonnell

SolidPrinciples.com Interviews Harry Reid Challenger, Danny Tarkanian

>> Listen to SolidPrinciples.com's latest podcast here

Podcast 14 features Craig Edward’s interview with Real Estate Developer and Attorney, Danny Tarkanian.

Mr. Tarkanian is running for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate, hoping to challenge Obama enabler and tax collector, Harry Reid.

Click on over to solidprinciples.com to stay up to the minute on the all important 2010 mid-term elections.

Romney Interview with CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta

Embedded video from CNN Video

"Massachusetts is a model for getting everybody insured in a way that doesn't break the bank and that doesn't put the government into the driver's seat and allows people to own their own insurance policies and not have to worry about losing coverage..."

Former Mass. Republican Governors Endorse Baker

From WBZ:

BOSTON (AP) ― The four Republicans who held the Statehouse Corner Office for 16 years have endorsed Charles Baker for governor next year.

William Weld, Paul Cellucci, Jane Swift and Mitt Romney made the announcement Tuesday during a fundraiser for the Massachusetts Republican Party.

Weld hired Baker to be his secretary of administration, and says he'd back the former Harvard Pilgrim Health Care president if he were running for dog catcher.

Romney says Baker needs to be elected over Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick next year to restore fiscal discipline to Massachusetts.

The roughly 150 attendees chose between a general reception requiring a $250 donation to the party and a more exclusive roundtable discussion between the former governors. It required a $5,000 contribution.

Realpolitik of NY-23

Toady until November 3rd, there are a couple options for any Republican leader regarding the mess in NY-23...

• You can endorse the liberal republican candidate.
• You can endorse Doug Hoffman.
• You can do nothing.

Lets see what's going on on those fronts...

Endorsing a liberal republican: Yes, there are still people who are determined to go down with that ship. The liberal republican is currently polling in last place, but some folks decided they have nothing to lose taking this route. Some of these folks are liberal republicans themselves. True, Newt Gingrich isn't a liberal, but I can't for the life of me understand why he wants to burn political capital on a total disaster as this is shaping up to be. At least he's not defending her calling the police on reporters who ask tough questions at public events.

Endorsing Doug Hoffman: Sure, now that he's polling first place and has all the momentum and press going for him you might look like you're late to the party. But jumping on the winning bandwagon is ok with me. Switching teams late in the game is poor form but for uncommitted leaders, I'll echo what National Review's Jim Geraghty said yesterday... "You're late to the party but everyone's glad you came anyway." (UPDATE: Tom Cole, a NRCC chair, endorsed Hoffman today. UPDATE 2X: US Senator Jim DeMint, a major Romney supporter in 2008, just endorsed Hoffman)

Just do nothing: This is a valid option. If you're a national leader (compared with a leader who lives in upstate NY) it's not an absolute requirement you have to get involved in every single battle anywhere there's this kind of inter-party split. According to what Politico reported yesterday, Mitt Romney has no plans to get involved. He's got enough going on this off-cycle election with the NJ governor's race where he's backing reformer and corruption busting Chris Christie and the VA race where he's backing Republican Bob McDonnell.

November 4th, there will not be so much talk about who did what in this race, compared to the fireworks you're going to see where Mitt's team helped win two governor mansions that were held by democrats for years.

That's the Realpolitick of this NY-23 situation. 2010's election with the primaries and full field of candidates picked by the voters isn't that far off, and we can clean up any leftover messes then.

Doug Hoffman on yesterday's Glenn Beck show

Doug Hoffman was interviewed about why he's running for Congress on Beck's show yesterday.

Doug Hoffman is now Leading NY-23!

Doug Hoffman is now #1 in the three way race in WAY upstate New York!!!

The poll of 300 likely voters, conducted October 24-25, 2009, shows Conservative Doug Hoffman at 31.3%, Democrat Bill Owens at 27.0%, Republican Dede Scozzafava at 19.7%, and 22% undecided. The poll's margin of error is +/- 5.66%. No information was provided about any of the candidates prior to the ballot question.

Amazing!

Send Doug your support and help him finish strong!

PS: I swear it is just a coincidence that my post to NY for Mitt yesterday about this race went out while this poll was being conducted. And I have no problem with anyone else who wants to jump on the bandwagon!

What to do with the Mess in NY-23?

In about 10 days we are going to see yet another longtime Republican held seat where the Republican candidate loses. I don't even want to rehash all the details of how flawed the candidate was or how badly they campaigned. You can read about that all over the internet searching for the NY-23 tag.

What I want to know is what do you do in a situation like this?

The big difference compared to other races we've lost is in this contest there is a Conservative Party backed candidate (who's registered as a Republican) with a shot at winning. Doug Hoffman has been picking up major endorsements from conservative Republican leaders left and right, and money as well.

All that would need to happen is for the Republican candidate Scozafava to drop out out of the race. Could that happen?

Who knows? Pride and politics is a touchy business.

In the mean time, add my name to the list of conservative republican leaders supporting Doug Hoffman for Congress, sending Doug a campaign donation, and calling for Scozafava to hang it up.

At 25, a future Republican Superstar

Here is the comment I left at SolidPrinciples.com regarding Craig and Blog.AfroConservative.com’s Vanessa on their outstanding podcast. Please help us spread the word on why black conservative’s best interests are served by a rebuilt and much more conservative Republican Party!

~~John Cronin~~

From Solid Principles Blog:

1. John says:
October 21, 2009 at 7:09 am

I believe we have just discovered a future Republican superstar. This podcast performance by Vanessa from the BLOG.AFROCONSERVATIVE.COM blogsite is just outstanding.

Vanessa reminds me of a younger, female version of Dr. Thomas Sowell. So well read, so much a student of history, so much insight.

Craig and Vanessa, major kudos for a job well done. We have got to get this podcast widely distributed, so that these “conservative principles” reach as many liberals as possible and start the process of the re-examination of the leftist dogmas that have proved to be so ruinous to this country.

www.solidprinciples.com

Dems Go Nuclear

According to an editorial by Investors.com, the Dems have decided to use the “nuclear option” of using the budget reconciliation process rather than standard parliamentary procedures to pass a health care bill.

By using this method, they have put us all on notice that they intend to defy the will of the American people. I don’t know any other way to describe it. If the bill passes, we may be looking at an historic rout of the Democratic Party in the 2010 elections. Or as Rush Limbaugh put it, “The Democratic Party is committing suicide.”

I can’t imagine any middle class voter, regardless of party membership or registration, who will allow their Congressional delegation to hold their seats after voting for a bill that will, for all intents and purposes, wipe out the middle class.

We members of the vast American middle class are in the crosshairs of a rogue Congress and White House who are on the thresh hold of clearing the most destructive bill ever passed. I believe the voters will react to this attempted coup d’etat by sweeping Congress clean of the Members who vote YES on this bill. They will then send a large group of freshman Senators and Representatives to Congress with clear instructions to rescind this monstrosity of a bill and we will start this whole process over with a brand new Congress and finally get it right.

~~John Cronin~~


By: Investors.com

Health Care: Democrats seem set to use the "nuclear option" to ram their government health takeover into law. Bipartisanship already looked dead; now it looks extinct.

The health care revolution the Democratic Congress has planned — with its inevitable medical rationing, thousands of dollars in increased insurance premiums, and coverage of illegal aliens — may get placed on the familiar fast track used to spend hundreds and hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars this year.

Instead of the 60 votes needed in the Senate if proper parliamentary rules were followed, passing this reshaping of the medical system as a "budget reconciliation" measure would mean only a simple majority was needed.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., accused of cheating on his taxes, last week held a hearing to let the House version of the health reform bill be passed this way. As the Washington weekly Human Events reports, Democratic leaders "have apparently invoked the 'nuclear option' to shut out Republicans and ensure the bill is passed before the end of the year."

So all those "town hells" during the summer, where senators and congressmen were given an earful about passing secretly written thousand-page bills without reading them, will be ignored.

In the age of the Internet, Congress refuses to post for computer access the most consequential legislation in history, as far as its effect on human lives (and deaths) is concerned, before voting on it.

The people will have to wait until it's all signed, sealed and delivered before finding out exactly how this government-imposed monster will devour health care as Americans have known it for all their lives.

And why? Because both congressional Democrats and the White House are afraid of the power of the people. Just as they are both afraid to give the opposing party a seat at the negotiating table.

Rangel didn't allow Republicans to offer amendments in committee. Why not? Fear that Democrats might be embarrassed by having to reject a Republican amendment to protect Medicare, for one thing. And fear in general that the people might catch wind of a few bipartisan ideas that sound more sensible than their big government solutions.

The magnitude of what Congress is about to do is staggering. The federal government is about to begin dictating Americans' behavior regarding the most intimate and vital area of life — health.

You play ball with Uncle Sam and pay thousands and thousands of dollars for far more expensive insurance than what you're now used to, or you get slapped with fines. And as yet we don't know how heavy those fines will be — or if noncooperation with the new system will mean more than fines.

Read More @ Investors.com...

Team Romney Says Lazio Fundraiser No Rudy Snub

via RealClearPolitics:

PolitickerNY has the invitation for a fundraiser in New York next Wednesday for gubernatorial hopeful Rick Lazio, hosted by former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

Lazio, the 2000 GOP nominee for U.S. Senate, is currently the party's only candidate in the 2010 Empire State race. But Rudy Giuliani, a Romney rival for the 2008 presidential nomination, is also considering a run. The former New York Mayor is said to be weighing his options, with a major factor being whether Gov. David Paterson or Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is the Democratic nominee.

Eric Fehrnstrom, a Romney spokesperson, said not to read that much into the event.

"Rick Lazio was very helpful in raising money for Mitt Romney's campaign and he's now returning the favor," he tells RCP.

"Rick is seeking support from all quarters and is thankful to have Governor Romney's help with his campaign for sweeping, fundamental change in New York state," Lazio spokesman Barney Keller said.

Henry Kissinger and Dan Quayle are listed as honorary co-chairs of the event, with other guests heavy on Wall Street pedigree. President Obama will be in New York the day before raising money for Democrats.