Yesterday’s Voting Brings First Conservative Momentum in Years

Posted By Kevin Tracy at 3:04 am on November 4, 2009

Here’s a quick recap of the major races and agenda items we’ve talked about with regards to the November elections.

1. Bob McDonnell (R) wins the Governorship of Virginia – a blue state in 2008. Republicans swept all three state-wide office elections in the state.

2. Former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie (R) defeated incumbent New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine (D) who enjoyed the endorsement and campaign assistance of President Obama himself.

3. RTA is defeated in Porter County, IN by a vote of : 12,255 to 3,122.
- Officially, the RTA was a non-partisan issue, but grassroots conservatives led the effort against it

Although I was rooting for McDonnell quite a bit, the best news probably comes from New Jersey for the GOP. The Republican Party had managed to make the Garden State a battleground state in 2004. Ultimately, John Kerry won the state but damage was certainly done there as well as other liberal strong holds, such as California. The fact that a Republican was able to win the Gubernatorial race yesterday suggests there is finally light at the end of the tunnel following the 2006 disaster for the GOP.

I ultimately didn’t vote in the RTA election here in Porter County for personal reasons and I didn’t make much of an effort because I knew it was going to be defeated by a pretty wide margin. I am glad to see the referendum defeated by such large margins, however. It’s opponents deserve a pat on the back for raising awareness of the issue. Although I don’t agree with how everything was handled, they successfully and effectively defeated the RTA in Porter County.

Comments (10)

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Comment by LD Jackson on November 4, 2009

Actually, didn’t Bill Owens defeat Doug Hoffman? All of the news reports I have seen say he did.

Comment by daltonsbriefs on November 4, 2009

And actually I don’t think the RLC or Patriots did a whole lot to defeat the referendum … the RTA referendum went down because Porter County residents for the most part have voted for the last 7 years against all growth initiatives. I agree that the bill was a total mess, and deserved to go down in a blaze due to inept late nite games in Indy … but eventually Porter County will need to step into a leadership role for NW Indiana.

Commissioner Harper will stand in the way of any such effort, no matter the form or collaborative benefit.

Comment by Laurie on November 4, 2009

Am I missing something? From the election results I read, New York’s 23rd went to the Democrats, and the GOP/conservative vote seemed to be split by ideological in-fighting egged on by Hoffman’s self-confessed mentor (Glenn Beck) and the rest of the right wing spinners. Despite having dropped out of the race, the Republican candidate still pulled 6% of the vote. Given her endorsement of the Democrat, would those votes have swung Dem or GOP? Nobody knows.

What we do know is that a seat held by Republicans since 1857 is gone. Regardless of how permanent/temporary the arrangment, this is hardly current, good news for Republicans.

Comment by kevintracy on November 4, 2009

You’re right on NY-23. Somebody sent me e-mails about a 5 point “victory” for Hoffman that threw me off. I should have confirmed that, but people have again proven they are too stupid to be trusted. One of these days I’ll learn. I’m fixing the post now.

Comment by kevintracy on November 4, 2009

Dalton,
I think those groups likely played some sort of role in defeating it by the margin it was defeated. I happen to agree with you about the need to eventually step up to the plate, but when that happens, it needs to happen very intelligently. The referendum yesterday wasn’t that opportunity.

Back to the original point, voter turnout was only 15% so I doubt they brought many new people to the polls – but they did play a role in convincing on the fence voters to think twice about it. It was defeated almost 4 to 1.

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Comment by briand on November 4, 2009

The congressional election was very important in determining future vote totals on health care reform and cap and trade. The loss of a congressional seat that has been in Republican hands since the civil war is hardly to be taken lightly or as a sign that the tide is changing. The only positive being that a liberal Republican was thrown under the bus and that some big name conservatives had the guts to back a true conservative. In my town every last tax levy was approved and every last state ballot spending initiative was approved. It is hard for me to see a big change from here. I wish to God some people would put their *&%^# Tea Party signs down, and turn off Rush Limbaugh for ten minutes and look at a local issue every once and a while. We can have a big impact on a local level. Can we try to walk and chew gum at the same time?

Comment by Kevin Tracy on November 5, 2009

Brian,
Part of the problem is that people don’t think for themselves anymore. If our Democracy fails, that’s ultimately what’s going to be the death of us.

The truth of the matter is that one vote isn’t going to matter terribly much in Nancy Pelosi’s House and I’m confident we’ll see NY-23 back in Republican hands next cycle. People really just don’t like voting for 3rd party candidates and I have a feeling a lot of Republicans just stayed home instead of voting for Hoffman.

Granted, that is likely also because the GOP spent a ton of cash in NY-23 for the Republican candidate instead of the conservative and by the time the Republican pulled out and endorsed the Democrat, it was really too late. The fact that a “Conservative Party” candidate could come so close to pulling this off is enough to suggest momentum at national levels.

With regard to the local ballot measures… find and kidnap the people who voted for them, drive them to Boston Harbor, and throw them in!

Comment by BrianD on November 6, 2009

Corzine is a former CEO of Goldman Sachs. I think there are more than a few people who are pissed at what the profits they have reaped, not from producing anything tangible, but by government handout and sending the bill to the taxpayer.

Comment by kevintracy on November 6, 2009

New Jersey is not a state Democrats should have been able to lose unless there was momentum in our court. I realize things didn’t go well in Georgia, but the GOP is poised for a comeback in 2010.

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Yesterday’s Voting Brings First Conservative Momentum in Years

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