Well, things don’t look so good for either of the two principled Dougs out there – Doug Bennett fell behind early and ended up coming in last in the race for city councilor. It was a tough campaign and we came a long way but I guess it just was not enough. And Menino won mayor again. Given these developments, I solemnly believe it is doubtful that there will be any real change to the way things are here in Boston.
As for Doug Hoffman, the most recent polls had showed him out in front by a substantial margin. However, he’s way behind his rival Bill Owens now so Hoffman’s prospects look just about as grim as Bennett’s. The local Republican Party nominated Dede Scozzafava but she was a disappointing candidate for so many people that Hoffman, the Conservative Party nominee, won more support than either of his opponents. Eventually his rising poll numbers forced Scozzafava from the race and she actually had the nerve endorse the Democratic nominee over Hoffman, who was supported by National Chairman Michael Steele, Former Governor of Alaska Sarah Palin and a host of talk radio hosts. Although Hoffman would have been really good as a Congressman, there was far more at stake here than just one more seat out of 435. This was supposed to be a valuable lesson for the Republican Party not to give in to Conventional Wisdom and play the safe card with nominees like Scozzafava. Now we can only hope her betrayal is noted and she is never considered for a political office again.
However, a lot depends on how you spin something. Sure, Hoffman did not win, but perhaps his performance will still be a statement. He did come close to winning and a third party candidate totally displacing a major party candidate is not something to be taken lightly. This situation can be spun as proof that Scozzafava should have been uncontested and supporting Hoffman was a mistake for everyone who did. That would be bad. Or it could be spun that even though Hoffman did not win, his above expectations performance is proof that the Republican Party should return to its roots and that is how they can gain ground in the 2010 election cycle. I think that it will be spun in the latter direction since the Republicans took back governorships in the key states of New Jersey and Virginia. These both voted for Obama in 2008 and their voting in Republicans is an indicator that America is not blindly signing into Obama’s agenda. Of course the real statement of whether or not that is the case will be in the next Congressional elections in 2010. However, this is likely to affect the trend shown by the media. But neither of directly affect the current in Congress – that’s why it would have been nice to have Hoffman in there. But the good news is I see a definite trend in favor of Republican gains. It would be an awkward way to spin the results of the 2009 cycle to say that even though two candidates for Governor won that the Republican Party is either on the decline or has to accept a more Democratic agenda.
Lastly, tonight there was the ballot question in Maine about gay marriage. It appears that voters in Maine have gone the same way as their counterparts in California and voted against the recognition of gay marriage. Although I am opposed to using the term “marriage” to refer to same-sex relationships, I think it was really too bad that the voters of Maine voted the way that they did. I think it would have been a good statement if Maine voted to allow such unions to continue and proved that activist courts are not necessary to overrule the will of the people if the LGBT activists want to get their way. Even though the legislature legalized gay marriage legitimately in Maine, it would have been a further step in the direction of the will of people and individuals if the people of Maine had reaffirmed the decision of the legislature. LGBT activists may become frustrated and discouraged now and further resort to using illegitimate judges who impose their will above the law in order to accomplish their agenda.
