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The proper way to describe my emotion is schadenfreude. While the fighting on the right could result in electing the Democrat, Bill Owens, I’m just not going to feel much joy because he won. As a progressive, adding one more extremely conservatives Democrat to the House caucus really has a small-to-marginal benefit.
Owens is more likely than a Republican to occasionally vote in a way I would like. In subsequent years, he could draw Republican money away from races I care about. In the unlikely scenario Democrats lost almost enough seats to lose control of the House, but holding on to the NY-23 allowed them to maintain control, I will be really glad Bill Owens was elected.
What little joy I may feel from adding another conservative Democrat to the House pales in comparison to the happiness I get out of watching conservatives tear each other apart. Even if the Democrat ends up losing, if the Conservative Party candidate is elected, my disappointment will be double-edged. If Doug Hoffman’s win encourages a dozen other teabaggers to run as third-party candidates against Republicans, it would probably fill me with a bit of Machiavellian glee.
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Not sufficiently conservative? Heck, Ms. Scozzafava is an outright liberal. She is more liberal than almost half the Democratic members of the NY State assembly! Pro-abortion, TARP, stimulus, cap and trade. Even the Democrat is more conservative than she. Daily KOS endorsed her, for crying out loud.
Enjoying the schadenfreude here-
Democrat blasts White House for anonymous sniping
Posted: October 23rd, 2009 06:39 PM ET
From CNN Political Producer Peter Hamby
The president last campaigned for Deeds in August.
WASHINGTON (CNN) – A well-known Democratic strategist in Virginia is blasting the White House for placing anonymous quotes in the Washington Post in a pre-emptive effort to blame Creigh Deeds for what might be a loss in the state’s upcoming gubernatorial election.
David “Mudcat” Saunders, who gained political fame helping Democrat Mark Warner reach out to rural voters during Warner’s successful 2001 gubernatorial bid, told CNN Friday that trying to blame Deeds is “bulls**t” when Democrats around the country are “just tired of politics.”…
It’s kind of a freebie. NY-23 isn’t likely to exist after the 2010 redistricting. NY is scheduled to lose a seat and it’ll probably come from upstate. So winning here just makes the
Judean People’s FrontGOP look bad, and Owens is a goner by 2012, tops.If 20% of Americans identify as Republicans, and the GOP is tearing itself apart for 2010 and 2012, might there not be room for a real progressive party sometime in America’s future? If the corporatist Democrats and the progressive Democrats split the remaining 80% evenly, both of “our” parties are still bigger than either of the crazy parties.
Just sayin’ — it could happen.
Markos said he wouldn’t mind seeing her elected. That’s not an endorsement.
Democrats around the country are tired of “Mudcat.”
They tired of Tim Kaine too? How about Paul Goldman?-
…Deeds said he was puzzled by the comments from unnamed Obama administration officials who said that he had virtually no chance to defeat Republican Robert F. McDonnell and that such a loss would reflect on Deeds’s failings rather than on Obama’s popularity.
They said that Deeds, who has been trailing in the polls, coordinated poorly with the White House and failed to adequately reach out to the constituencies that helped Obama become the first Democrat in 40 years to win Virginia.
“It is frustrating to read, because that’s not what we’ve been hearing from anybody over there,” Deeds said. “I’m just not sure where the talk is coming from. It just doesn’t make sense. . . . There’s been no disagreements between us of which I’m aware.”
The Democratic National Committee, under the leadership of Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D), has invested heavily in the race, and Obama will rally with Deeds in Norfolk on Tuesday.
Kaine called the remarks “not helpful.” …
Paul Goldman, a Richmond activist and former chairman of the Democratic Party of Virginia, called the tactics “bush league,” an attempt to send a message to Democrats about crossing the White House without regard to the damage it might cause the state party and its candidates.
“It’s take-no-prisoners,” he said. “It’s exactly the kind of thing we voted out of office.” …
Point taken.
Hey, I have an idea – run an actual Democrat instead.
Morning Jane!
Although the infighting is a great blood sport the thought of the teabaggers gaining seats and there by “gravitas” is very scary in the long run. Fascism is a real danger in this country. It is likely to start small but once it gains a foot hold could grow very rapidly. So the fight is fun to watch but it raises a real danger to the country.
Deeds hasn’t been covering himself in glory. He and Corzine in NJ were in similar electoral boats six months ago. But Corzine ran to the left and capitalized on Chris Christie’s scandals, whereas Deeds is running to the right and failing to capitalize on his opponent’s scandals. Corzine’s going to win, and Deeds is going to go down in flames, which is a position unchanged from six months ago.
“describing the sordid tale”
I beg to differ. It’s high comedy. There is noting sordid about Hubris.