The new 3-party system: Republican Party, Democrat Party, Tea Party
UPDATE, 3:33p: Breaking per RedState.com: “Scozzafava possibly mulling party switch.” What a slap to the NRCC that would be. Wonder what Newt is thinking.
[HT: moderator Carder]
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UPDATE, 9:50a: Erick Erickson at RedState.com writes today about Newt’s endorsement of Scozzafava, “Today Newt Gingrich takes himself out of the 2012 running.”
[HT: Matt Lewis]
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Every election season the Republican establishment angers pro-lifers by supporting pro-abort candidates. While this year is no different, enter the tea partiers, who are boisterously organized in every state.
We often chatter about organizing a 3rd party. Apparently we have without really planning it. We now have the Republican Party, Democrat Party, and Tea Party.
I cannot believe the GOP establishment still doesn’t get it. Social conservatism cannot be ignored while touting fiscal conservatism. If the 3-way race in NY causes the Democrat to win, it will be the Republican Party’s fault for touting a pro-abort candidate who is simply a liberal in all areas. It didn’t have to be this way. When will they learn?…
Bravo to Huckabee, DeMint, Rove, and Thompson for bucking the NRCC, btw. It seems to me this sort of defection by such major names is a new development. From the Washington Times, today (and also read the Wall Street Journal piece):
Republican officials turned to a conservative icon and invoked an anti-tax pledge Thursday to salvage the slumping campaign of a NY congressional candidate competing with a more conservative 3rd-party challenger, part of an ongoing battle between the fiscally hawkish “tea party” movement and the Republican establishment.
The National Republican Congressional Committee secured an endorsement from former House Speaker Newt Gingrich for the party’s nominee, Dede Scozzafava, and got her to sign a “taxpayer protection” pledge to fortify her conservative credentials after polls showed her losing ground to Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman.
The Republican Party is desperately trying to hold on to the seat vacated by John McHugh, a 9-term Republican incumbent who resigned when he was selected by President Obama to be secretary of the Army….
“The special election for the 23rd Congressional District is an important test leading up to the mid-term 2010 elections,” Mr. Gingrich wrote in an endorsement letter. “Our best chance to put responsible and principled leaders in Washington starts here, with Dede Scozzafava.”…
A new… poll… found Democrat Bill Owens, a Plattsburgh lawyer and political neophyte, leading the race for the first time, 4% ahead of Mrs. Scozzafava and 10% ahead of Mr. Hoffman in the tightening 3-way contest….
Some rank-and-file House Republicans privately say they have written off Mrs. Scozzafava’s chances in the Nov. 3 special election.
The members say she is a weak candidate who can’t rally the district’s conservative voters, echoing complaints of Republican-allied activist groups who complain that the pro-choice Mrs. Scozzafava is more liberal even than her Democratic opponent.
Mr. Hoffman is tapping the anger of the tea party activists – the movement that gained national attention this summer with protests against runaway government spending and debt – by casting doubt over the conservative credentials of the pro-choice Mrs. Scozzafava, who supported Mr. Obama’s $787 billion economic stimulus.
The poll results indicate that his strategy is working. The Siena survey showed him with 23% of the vote, a gain of 7 points in just two weeks, while she fell 6 points to 29% . Mr. Owens’s support rose 4 points to 33%.
“With just 10 points separating the 3 candidates, this is likely to be a very tight – and fiercely fought – campaign right through Election Day,” predicted Siena pollster Steven Greenberg.
If current trends hold, Mrs. Scozzafava and Mr. Hoffman could split the Republican and Conservative vote and hand the election to Mr. Owens – in a district where Mr. McHugh won 65% of the vote just two years ago.
The dynamic of an establishment-endorsed Republican candidate facing an insurgent attack from the right is playing out in other states as well.
FL Gov. Charlie Crist has the backing of the NRCC in his run for the open Senate seat in 2010, but former state House Speaker Marco Rubio has stayed in the primary race and won support from such prominent conservatives as former AR Gov. Mike Huckabee, Sen. Jim DeMint of SC and political strategist Karl Rove.
In PA, Sen. Arlen Specter earlier this year defected to the Democrats in the face of a strong Republican primary challenge from conservative former Rep. Pat Toomey, a Republican and former head of the anti-tax Club for Growth, which is backing his run.
The same players are flocking to Mr. Hoffman, a businessman with no political experience. The Club for Growth is pouring $250k into his campaign and a pair of one-time Republican presidential hopefuls, Mr. Huckabee and former Sen. Fred Thompson of TN, have announced their support.
“I think it’s a combination of people seeing what the 2 major-party candidates are all about and what they’re seeing is business as usual in Washington,” Hoffman campaign spokesman Rob Ryan said. “The voters are tired of that and I think that’s why you have a 3rd-party candidate right in the middle of this battle making it into a horse race.“…
Rep. Pete Sessions, chairman of the NRCC, predicted Mrs. Scozzafava will woo back conservative voters with Mr. Gingrich’s endorsement and by signing a no-tax pledge from Americans for Tax Reform, a group that had criticized Mrs. Scozzafava for not signing….
Mr. Sessions pointed out that Mr. Hoffman initially pursued the Republican nomination before accepting the state Conservative Party nod.
“We selected the best candidate,” he said. “[Mr. Hoffman] just did not show as well. He did not have the best ideas, and Dede’s ahead.”
Still, one House Republican following the race expressed concern that Mrs. Scozzafava is not running on both the Republican and Conservative Party lines, as Republican nominees have done in the past.
“The conservative line means something in NY and it is troubling when the Republican nominee can’t get the conservative line,” said the lawmaker, who asked not to be identified because he did not “want to be in the middle of it.”…

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/oct/15/inside-the-ring-2059116/
“The president issued a little-noticed “presidential determination” Sept. 29 that delegated authority for determining whether missile and space exports should be approved for China to Commerce Secretary Gary Locke.”
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Slick willy did during his 2nd term as philanderer in chief.
Ostensibly, the Clinton administration through the commerce department approved a technology transfer that allowed the China to accuately place satelites in orbit. There is no way to limit this technology to commercial use. The Chinese had to use to orbit surveilence satelites.
Result China, the only comunist nation that is a serious threat to any developed nation, took one giant step forward in targeting technology for it’s nuclear missles.
yor bro ken
You’d think the Republicans learned the hard way that trying to be everyone’s friend will get them nowhere. I respected McCain for his service to our country but I was completely put off by his attempts to make all sides like him.
The advice and push for Republicans to “moderate” has been catastrophic for the Party and the country. Perhaps the Republicans will figure out that taking your opponent’s advice is not a winning strategy.
Until that time I will remain an Independent.
Ever since Alan Grayson opened his mouth and declared the Republicans knuckle-dragging neanderthals, we now have three candidates that have emerged from our local tea party movement to challenge him in next year’s election. I know for a fact that two of them are pro-life. The third one, I’m not sure. I’ll have to ask him.
So this situation is not unique to New York. It’s spreading. The Tea Party Movement is now officially a force to be reckoned with.
This is why I have ALWAYS been a member of the Constitution party and have NEVER been a Republican! Third party baby!
More breaking news: Looks like Scizzafava might switch to Dem.
Read it here:
http://www.redstate.com/erick/2009/10/16/breaking-scozzafava-possibly-mulling-party-switch/
Thanks, Carder! Posted!
The 20% who identify as Republicans will lose 3% to the third party teabaggers, keep 17%, and leave the Democrats and Independents with the remaining 80%. At that point, both the GOP and the teabaggers will be irrelevant.
B.S.
Who balances your check book and files your tax returns for you?
You assume that Indepedents who reject the republican party will embrace the democ-Rats.
I long ago rejected the republican party, but I have never embraced the insanity of the democ-Rats.
democ-Rats will soon be abandoning their own sinking ship when the obama chickens come home to roost.
The ‘misery index’ is the stench of the rotting stinking dead rat that is permeating the democ-Rat party.
The liberal plantation carries the same foul aroma of death as the slave ships of old.
yor bro ken
How the Republican party reforms itself will make all the difference. The Republican downfall was their “slobbering love affair” with big business & bankers, which made them indistinguishable from the Dems, except for medical ethics & yes, a different view on taxes that was loved by the very rich. TEA partiers know which party has been more heavy on taxes–the Dems, of course. If they pull votes, sure, it could be from bitter democrats. The TEA Party effect could be harmful or helpful to the Republican side, depending on the TEA Party platform details vs. the Republican.
The GOP created the teabaggers by indulging and engaging in the crazy hate talk extravaganza, and now their little Frankenstein monster is chasing them around the laboratory- how amusing.
B.O. upon hearing that he had been given the Nobel Peace prize, the CMA Country Artist of the Year Award, the Heisman Trophy and the Cy Young Award for the opening pitch at this years All Star game:
‘I feel very humble, but I think I have the strength of character to fight it.’
‘I am the humblest man I know.’
‘I get along fine with people as long as they do what I want.’ [You people’ know who you are.]
‘I once thought I was wrong, but I was mistaken.’
‘The founding fathers, who did not look anything like me, were just a bunch of angry white men clinging to their guns and their god and wrote a constitution which states what the government cannot do TO the people, but nothing about what the government MUST do for the people. I fully intend to rectify that oversight.’
‘I do not want my teenage daughters to be punished by my grandchildren therefore my first act as president will be to make FOCA law.
‘Not everbody hates me. I fooled enough gullible people into voting for me to be electd president and they learn slow and forget quick.’
‘I continue to warn them about global warming, while at the same time I pee down their legs and tell them it is acid rain, and they still believe me.’
‘I am a devout and committed christian who does not let my theology interfere in my ideology unless it futhters my progressive/liberal/humanist agenda.’
‘I do not support controlling our borders, but I do believe in constructing a wall of separation between god and government.’ [There are tens of millions of undocuemented/illegal aliens who I can entice to vote for me and god only has one vote.]
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I am just practicing to be a progressive/liberal/humanist journalist. Only the news that advances my agenda. If it is not out there, I just make it up.
yro bro ken
“Another way of putting it is when, you know, I’m busy and Nancy’s busy with our mop cleaning up somebody else’s mess — we don’t want somebody sitting back saying, you’re not holding the mop the right way. Why don’t you grab a mop, why don’t you help clean up. You’re not mopping fast enough. That’s a socialist mop. Grab a mop — let’s get to work.”
B.O.
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‘www.breitbart.tv/obama-dont-tell-me-im-holding-the-mop-wrong/’
OK, B.O., I will do as you request.
It really does not matter how the ‘socialist mop’ [to use your terminology] is being held or who is doing the holding. The ‘mop’ caused the mess and continues to contribute to the ‘mess’.
B.O. you probably have little or no experience with a literal mop.
‘Nancy’, because she lives and operates in the real world, would have both the experience and the expertise to equip her to clean up the ‘mess’ which the ‘socialist mop’ has created.
Unlike you, B.O., ‘Nancy’ is probably interested in actually solving the problem and remedying the situation.
Unlike you, B.O., ‘Nancy’ actually wants to fix what is broken, not raze the house to the ground build a shanty in it’s place.
Unlike you, B.O., ‘Nancy’ is not ashamed of the house, she is proud of it.
yor bro ken
Posted by: Bystander at October 17, 2009 8:36 AM
“The GOP created the teabaggers by indulging and engaging in the crazy hate talk extravaganza, and now their little Frankenstein monster is chasing them around the laboratory- how amusing.”
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B.S.’er,
How do you find your way home?
It is the actions and attitudes of B.O. and his progressive/liberal/humnist cohorts that ‘created’ the TEA Party [TEA=taxed enough already].
When more people show up in Washington, D.C. to demonstrate their disapproval of your policies than showed up to witness your inaugruation (and a lot of them are the same people), you cannot claim that Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh are responsible.
You progs and libs like to claim that Bush’s policies actually assist the Jew hating mass murderers to recruit new terrorists.
Surely you cannot deny that B.O. and his gang of democ-Rats talk and actions have not swelled the ranks of those americans who are displeased with the direction the government is headed. (Pelosi and crowd actually compared TEA partiers to terrorists and brownshirts.)
Glen Beck, Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh did not motivate over a million people to march on D.C.
B.O., Pelosi and Reid are the organizers of that TEA party.
yor bro ken
ken, normally, I ignore your rants, but I was struck by your 10:16 tribute to Nancy Pelosi, who was the “Nancy” the President was referring to in his “mop” comments, made at a fund raiser in SF. I wouldn’t have thought you would be such a fan of the Speaker, but appreciate your kind words.
What about the crowds, from both ends of the political spectrum, who were protesting BO in San Francisco of all places!! I believe it was at a Democrat fundraiser where people paid several thousand dollars a plate.
Now tell us Bystander, who conspired to have all these people of various political causes protest BO?
Ken,
Whenever a prog or lib wants to argue that we need only “understand” and reason with the terrorists, ask them if Black Americans could have stopped Ku Klux Klan lynchings, murders, and terror by simply sitting down with the Klan and reasoning with them. Was it the fault of Black Americans that the klan existed? What could Black Americans have done go make the Klan like them?
So simplistic isn’t it?
Every thinking person in the country should go the polls in 2010 and vote out the current establishment, some so-called “Republican” incumbents included.
The talking heads all say that the Dems will lose some seats in the mid-terms. Why stop at them losing a few seats? If we really believe we are on the verge of collapse we should strive for no less than veto proof majorities in both houses. It may seem unattainable, but then we have never faced such a disasterous presidency in the history of our republic.
Our M.I.A. Republican leadership does not get it. They float milquetoast candidates that are fence straddlers and party hacks. In Illinois they are clearly behind an Olympia Snowe type clone, Mark Kirk, that is pro-abort and voted in the House for the cap and trade legislation. Chairman Steele told local talk show hosts in Chicago that the party was backing Kirk but has since had to back off a bit when the backlash hit home.
People are really really upset with the direction in which our country is headed. There is a groundswell of political energy that could translate into huge Republican gains if only the party leadership would understand that we want candidates with real commitments to conservative principles. This is the conservative’s chance to take a majority control in the party, and the establishment Repubs are scared of losing their cush positions.
Yea, Jill! Great post about the race in New York’s 23rd District!
I am from upstate New York, and can tell you that every bit of the outrage about Dede Scozzafava is justified. In our state Assembly, she has voted for a bill that would make the morning-after pill available to girls OF ANY AGE without a doctor’s exam or prescription. She has also voted in supporting of giving state funds to groups such as Planned Parenthood for the purpose of conducting “comprehensive” sex ed in our public schools. As if that weren’t enough, Scozzafava has stated that she favors including an abortion mandate in the health reform proposal, and that she would not discriminate on the basis of income regarding the provision of abortions (in other words, she wants abortions to be funded by federal tax dollars). And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
The GOP has done itself and New York’s North Country a disservice by nominating a pro-abortion candidate for Congress. The good news is that the Conservative Party’s candidate, Doug Hoffman, is pro-life and has a shot at winning this three-way congressional race; currently, less than 10 percentage points separate the three candidates. Go Doug Hoffman!
There seemed to be nothing good come from the so-called “Tea Parties”. They were a flop because they were orchestrated by AM radio shock jocks and far right operatives(Dick Armey and the like). They had no meaning to anyone except those on the far right. They were disruptive and added nothing to a town hall meetings. They backfired, Obama and the health plan approval rates went up. But now we see one good thing has come from the “Tea Parties” the “makin’s” of a third party. It has happened in New York and we hear Sara Palin is now backing the third party candidate. A third party is the place for Palin, the GOP would certainly go down to defeat with her on the ticket. As the GOP moves futher right as directed by their defacto leader(Limbaugh)flushing and purging the Moderates and Rinos, more independents move away. The only way to take back the party is to rid it of the far right and let them go third party. Maybe then and only then can the GOP remake its image and throw off the yoke of obstructionism and the reactionary political ideology of NO(change). Ron Paul and Palin 2012.