Wednesday, November 04, 2009

The Morning After   [Mark Steyn]

Jonah, I don't agree with David Frum's analysis and indeed find it eccentric (pining for Christie Whitman?). But I don't think it was a great night for the Republican party as a national brand: NY-23 was a screw-up by the GOP leadership from the original nomination of Scozzafava down to her last-minute endorsement of Owens; New Jersey was a referendum on an especially repellent and inept incumbent; and Virginia is back in the fold, which is nice but hardly portends a national resurgence.

As for conservatism, populism, tea parties, grassroots rebellions, and the rest, Doug Hoffman's defeat is a disappointment because his would have been the romantic victory. It's true he didn't live in the district, etc, which would certainly have caused problems in my neck of the woods, but the fact is the ending isn't the one the script called for. Still, if that's the way NY-23ers incline, I think it's healthier for the body politic to have Owens in Congress rather than Scozzafava simply because the latter stretches beyond credibility the two-party system.

Obama? Well, the post-partisan hopeychanger is just another 50/50 Mister Divisive. We're a long way from January 20. But, considering the spending and the health care and the summer of discontent, we're not quite as far as we should be. On the basis of these results, if I were the president, I'd be tempted to ram health care down the throats of America and figure I'd take a hit in 2010 but that it wouldn't be a wipeout, and that the payoff down the road would be worth it.   

11/04 04:39 AMShare