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Are New York Tea Partiers Really Willing to Sell Out?

By: Erick Erickson (Diary)  |  May 10th, 2011 at 03:04 PM  | 

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There’s a special election happening in New York’s 26th Congressional District and tea party activists up there look increasingly like they are either being duped or selling out.

There are three candidates in the race, a Republican, a Democrat, and a self-described tea party candidate named Jack Davis. As Democrats are doing more and more around the country, it appears they are setting up Davis to be the spoiler so a Republican can’t win a Republican seat.

Even a cursory look at Davis makes you wonder why the hell anyone would consider him anything related to tea party material.

Davis ran as a Democrat in NY-26 in 2004, 2006, and 2008. His big issue has been trade and protectionism. In fact, Davis’s big plan is imposition of major taxes to rectify trade imbalances. In fact, Davis adopts in large scale ideas from Paul Krugman.

It’s not just that. Davis has been caught on tape yelling at tea party activists who question him, telling them to shut up.

I cannot believe tea party activists in New York would fall for this guy, but many apparently are despite his record and his rhetoric. The irony is that while Davis cannot win, he could be the spoiler to get the Democrat elected. If that happens, the media will use this race to claim voters are rejecting the tea party movement.

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COMMENTS

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  • Paul Seale

    I believe the media will use the matter as a way to leverage a narrative that the GOP is split and not united – thus being weak and unprepared to do battle with President Obama and Democrats.

    The reality is, Rush, is right RE: People who vote for third parties. The result, in this case, will be the election of a Democrat.

    People need to be smart enough not to vote for someone because of their “label”, be it GOP or TEA party and look at the person’s actual policy and positions.

    Similarly, that means that people who are fed up with the bad policy Republicans should continue the rebirth which took place in 2010.

    Real change takes time and a bit more effort than a single smash-mouth election.

    Thank God that election took place last year. We must now continue to sustain said momentum in policy – intellegently.

  • victrola

    We are still losing elections we should be comfortably winning because of the 3rd party nonsense in this district, and Democrats are laughing all the way into office.

    As much as I was disgusted with Scozzafava and the NY GOP, I think it was a mistake for conservatives to actively promote a 3rd Party candidate in the general election. We’re still paying a price in that district, and that kind of nonsense can spread out like wildfire. I would much rather deal with the RINO problem in a Republican primary instead of a general election. We could have dealt with Scozzafava in the next primary instead of handing a seat to Democrats.

    Conservative in the primary, Republican in the general. Any other strategy just puts liberal Democrats in office.

  • carolina

    and can not get the word out?

  • carolina

    and can not get the word out?

  • williamjameson

    well as they should. Davis sounds like Scozzafava 2.0 but with sites like RS, the word shall get out as the info is passed on.

    There’s something about some, not all northeastern conservatives that makes them sort of wishy washy with their political choices. They fell for Carl Levin for governor…..talk about a mistake! Scott Brown isn’t as good a choice as he was on election day.

    I didn’t think Christine O’Donnell was a bad choice, but far better choice than the Bearded Marxist. Though neither Senate candidate had the experience required of a senator but people choose them and they didn’t question their resume.

    It seems some fall for questionable candidates. Perhaps they fail to scrutinize candidates and certainly they aren’t researching them. So they need to find sources to Vet candidates. But at the same time they fall for the rino who reflects what conservative values exactly. Such people rarely get by southerners, some who do begin to flake apart after the election.

  • NeoKong

    Look at California. They vote themselves right down the drain every time. Look at Detroit. The place is an urban wasteland that could be the back drop of an apocalypse movie and yet they always vote for Democrats.
    People say they want one thing and then vote for the exact opposite.

    Go figure.

  • GregInFla

    Also, Third Party gave Obama Indiana and North Carolina, IIRC.

  • GregInFla
  • gekster
  • voltron

    I used to live in NY district 25. I was very active in the tea party movement there up until about 6 months ago when I relocated to TX. (for obvious reasons) I was there during the whole Scuzzyfava thing. I have talked to everyone I know in the various groups around NY and NO ONE is fooled by this guy. I can’t really explain why the polls say what they do, but I would say its a little unfair to deride the active Tea Party members in NY as they are probably the most informed constituents of any.