Wednesday, April 20, 2005
It is a little early, I know, but the blog Blue State Conservatives has started discussing the 2006 congressional elections so this blue state conservative thought he'd weigh in a bit too. Blue State was discussing which senatorial seats might be open for successful GOP bids--they suggested Minnesota and Vermont. I think New York's will be. You should all know by now that I don't share my fellow conservatives' dread that Hillary Clinton is all but inaugurated and the only hope of a failing Republican Party is dear old Condi Rice who must come and save us from a fate worse than death. (Although I do agree that Condi would be a very strong candidate.) Frankly, I just don't think Hillary is that strong. Her old enemy Howard Dean is now in charge of the DNC, thus all but ensuring that the likes of John Kerry and Ted Kennedy continue to dominate the Party. The Clinton machine is breaking down, not that it couldn't be revitalized in time for a successful Hillary presidential bid in 2008 (let us not be cocky).
What does this mean for the New York Senate seat race in 2006? Well, first of all, since it's only a New York race and Condi is busy running the State Department (and doing a fine job too, I might add), she's not an option. But the names I'm hearing bantered around sound like they would be very strong candidates to oppose and possibly defeat Hillary in her re-election bid. Colin Powell is one: a very popular "centrist" Republican with broad support and a character nobody, not even the British, likes to attack, he could certainly dodge a lot of bullets and put paid to Hillary. Rudy Giuliani is another: he is very popular in the city as well as the state. George Pataki, our current governor, is yet another. I don't like him much, but he is very popular in the state at large (he's been elected governor three times) and I'd vote for him in a heartbeat over Hillary Clinton. Now, there is something to notice: these men are all RINO's (Republican In Name Only), and as such would doubtless be challenged from the Right by a Conservative Party candidate, much as Howard Mills was this past time (did anyone besides me vote for him?), ensuring Chuck Schumer's landslide victory. If either of these three men throw their hat in the ring against Hillary you will see this page cease to criticize him, and I will push for his election with might and main, as a Hillary defeat in 2006 will further undermine her already tenuous presidential ambitions. I think the liberal hegemony in the northeast is crumbling and a determined push by the Republican Party could restore some two-party balance to the region. After all Bush finished with 40% of the vote in New York this last year, up significantly from the year 2000. In 2000, may I add, he was running against a southerner not against a neighbor, and still he did better in New York. In Massachusetts Bush finished up six points from 2000, even though in 2004 he was opposing a native son (anyone remember the native son's name?). He lost Pennsylvania by roughly 2 percentage points in 2004, up again from 2000, showing that his hard work there nearly paid off. He also made a minor push in New Jersey and again increased his vote count, in what has been described as "the bluest state in the Union" and which Al Gore, who couldn't even win his home state, carried by 16 points in 2000. We northeasterners are fed up with living in a liberal wonderland and I think it is self-defeating that Republicans are not actually making an effort to win and hold senate seats in this region. Take the battle to the enemy, for heaven's sake, before they take the battle to you. Run strong popular candidates and watch the voting numbers swing. Make liberals fight to hold onto the northeast, and they won't have time, energy or money for continuing their incursions into the south. I believe Hillary's defeat in 2006 is of utmost importance for conservatives, and I don't really believe it would be all that hard. My pick? Rudy Giuliani.
What does this mean for the New York Senate seat race in 2006? Well, first of all, since it's only a New York race and Condi is busy running the State Department (and doing a fine job too, I might add), she's not an option. But the names I'm hearing bantered around sound like they would be very strong candidates to oppose and possibly defeat Hillary in her re-election bid. Colin Powell is one: a very popular "centrist" Republican with broad support and a character nobody, not even the British, likes to attack, he could certainly dodge a lot of bullets and put paid to Hillary. Rudy Giuliani is another: he is very popular in the city as well as the state. George Pataki, our current governor, is yet another. I don't like him much, but he is very popular in the state at large (he's been elected governor three times) and I'd vote for him in a heartbeat over Hillary Clinton. Now, there is something to notice: these men are all RINO's (Republican In Name Only), and as such would doubtless be challenged from the Right by a Conservative Party candidate, much as Howard Mills was this past time (did anyone besides me vote for him?), ensuring Chuck Schumer's landslide victory. If either of these three men throw their hat in the ring against Hillary you will see this page cease to criticize him, and I will push for his election with might and main, as a Hillary defeat in 2006 will further undermine her already tenuous presidential ambitions. I think the liberal hegemony in the northeast is crumbling and a determined push by the Republican Party could restore some two-party balance to the region. After all Bush finished with 40% of the vote in New York this last year, up significantly from the year 2000. In 2000, may I add, he was running against a southerner not against a neighbor, and still he did better in New York. In Massachusetts Bush finished up six points from 2000, even though in 2004 he was opposing a native son (anyone remember the native son's name?). He lost Pennsylvania by roughly 2 percentage points in 2004, up again from 2000, showing that his hard work there nearly paid off. He also made a minor push in New Jersey and again increased his vote count, in what has been described as "the bluest state in the Union" and which Al Gore, who couldn't even win his home state, carried by 16 points in 2000. We northeasterners are fed up with living in a liberal wonderland and I think it is self-defeating that Republicans are not actually making an effort to win and hold senate seats in this region. Take the battle to the enemy, for heaven's sake, before they take the battle to you. Run strong popular candidates and watch the voting numbers swing. Make liberals fight to hold onto the northeast, and they won't have time, energy or money for continuing their incursions into the south. I believe Hillary's defeat in 2006 is of utmost importance for conservatives, and I don't really believe it would be all that hard. My pick? Rudy Giuliani.
// posted by The Pendragon @ 1:25 AM 
