RSS Feed MenuFrom a story in the Oct. 23 Watertown Times:
In a nearly hour-long session [with the paper's editorial board], Mr. Hoffman was unable to articulate clear positions on a number of matters specific to Northern New Yorkers …
Regarding the proposed rooftop highway across the top of the district linking Watertown to Plattsburgh, Mr. Hoffman said only that he was open to studying the idea ….
Mr. Hoffman had no opinion about winter navigation and widening the St. Lawrence Seaway … He was not familiar with the repercussions of a proposed federal energy marketing agency for the Great Lakes ….
A flustered and ill-at-ease Mr. Hoffman objected to the heated questioning, saying he should have been provided a list of questions he might be asked.
Dick Armey, shepherding Hoffman through the interview, “dismissed regional concerns as ‘parochial’ issues that would not determine the outcome of the election.”
I wonder if Armey ever told voters in his district that their concerns were parochial?
Cforchange // Oct 29, 2009 at 12:34 pm
Seems appropriate so I’ll repeat.
Everything about this election tampering should bother all voters. Outside interference is toxic – even the candidate is an outsider. Really disappointing is how the Republican candidate’s record has been sliced, diced and miscategorized by members of her own party. When the Watertown Daily endorses the Republican they say this:
“She has been a leader in protecting the rights of women, children and crime victims. Her chairmanship of a task force to protect women and children from domestic abuse and sexual violence raised awareness of the problems and resulted in legislation.”
Hmmm, remember those issues. Oviously a low priority for the GOP. The spin on Dede has not revealed any of this, nor does it appear to of importance to this New Majority. You can count on the GOP to be absent of women for an entire generation for all besides those involved in the Right to Life crusade. Here you have the fatal flaw of the GOP. Selecting a beautiful unqualifed VP opened the door wide open for the last standing bright and successful moderate female to leave the GOP complete with the door hitting their ass on the way out. But winning elections without them will be very difficult.
Otto is right, cleverly deceptive marketing has been exercised before but this time the audience is looking for it – this is not a social con market. Hence, the interloping candidate, campaign workers and outside endorsers. MFarmer is right on – the public is tired of the manipulation. You would think the majority of voters have brains for themselves. Most likely they do and they will vote for the Dem. If they are really smart, they will vote to save the 2 party system and that would be a vote for Dede.
Oldskool // Oct 29, 2009 at 1:09 pm
Dick Armey will also tell you the health insurance industry is fine like it is. Their money pays his bills of course, so I’d be more concerned about the reasons he supports someone than what the candidate has to say.
Demosthenes // Oct 29, 2009 at 1:23 pm
Armey is a sleazy lobbyist for various industries who pretends to be a grass roots organizer. He gives me the creeps.
LFC // Oct 29, 2009 at 1:30 pm
Dick Armey, shepherding Hoffman through the interview, “dismissed regional concerns as ‘parochial’ issues that would not determine the outcome of the election.”
Shorter Dick Armey: Screw the constituents, as long as he votes as he’s told.
DFL // Oct 29, 2009 at 2:11 pm
Typical of Armey and many libertarians. They have no ties to the soil and the people of wherever they may temporarily call their residence. Armey came to Washington to represent the Dallas suburbs and never returned. Hundreds of Armeys, from Vin Weber to Newt Gingrich to Jack Kemp to Bob and Elizabeth Dole to George Mitchell to Tom Daschle to John Breaux, inhabit Washington today. They couldn’t stand being parochial and live amongst the people who sent them to the Capitol.
MI-GOPer // Oct 29, 2009 at 9:08 pm
It’s good to see the far left Democrat trolls here chatting up each other in their little, unrealistically detached echo chamber. Way to go keyboarders! Give that bad ol’ man Dick Armey a few of your words! Cowards.
Oldskool // Oct 29, 2009 at 9:32 pm
“It’s good to see the far left Democrat trolls here chatting up each other in their little, unrealistically detached echo chamber. Way to go keyboarders! Give that bad ol’ man Dick Armey a few of your words! Cowards.”
Who here is the person least likely to have the balls to say those same words to someone’s face? That would be you, mr tough guy.
sdspringy // Oct 30, 2009 at 12:40 am
Since when do Dems care where the representative live. Was Hilary a permanent resident of NY before getting her seat.
What about Rep. Wexler (D), 12 years was elected to the house yet never lived in his district.
Frumm can you be anymore hypocritcal, and that goes double for the rest of ya, especially if your a Dem like Frumm.
LFC // Oct 30, 2009 at 10:16 am
Since when do Dems care where the representative live. Was Hilary a permanent resident of NY before getting her seat.
No doubt she opportunistically swooped in to grab the seat, but I guess the real question isn’t if she lived there, but if she represented the interests of her constituents. I read a few years ago that she did quite a bit to help businesses in upstate New York, where work was desperately needed. That would be understanding their problems and using your position to help them. Other than that, I have no idea if she represented them well or not.
It sounds like Hoffman doesn’t even know the local issues. Now if he wins, he could learn them and be a very good representative for his district (or he could c0mpletely ignore their needs), but that’s what the people there have to decide. Do they want to take that chance and vote for him based upon his national views?
mlindroo // Oct 30, 2009 at 2:58 pm
> Since when do Dems care where the representative live.
> Was Hilary a permanent resident of NY before getting her seat.
As others have pointed out, the issue here is not that Hoffman isn’t from NY-23.
The problem is he does not seem to know anything about basic bread-and-butter political issues facing local voters in the district! In contrast, Bill Owens apparently has a track record of working for groups such as the Plattsburgh Inter-municipal Development Council to create private sector jobs after the USAF abandoned Plattsburgh AFB. Representatives are supposed to look after the interests of their local districts aren’t they?
I suppose none of this matters if Hoffman (like Dick Armey) does not propose anything tangible apart from cutting taxes and government spending at every level, though.
MARCU$
Setting Chaos in Motion « Just Above Sunset // Nov 1, 2009 at 8:12 am
[...] House leader, the Texan, leapt to Hoffman’s defense – the newspaper’s questions were parochial. Yes, there are more important things than what the people in that off corner nowhere think are [...]