Does it snow in Mexico?
If you live in Mexico, NY, in the heart of New York’s CD-23, yes it does. A lot. Lake effect snow. That cold, wet, heavy heart attack snow than can drop three feet in 24 hours. So why are we writing about Upstate NY and the special election in CD23 there?
State Rep Chuck DeVore chided me in comments on this blog a couple of years ago for not understanding military ethos because I have never served in the military (even though I grew up in an Air Force town in Central New York). I noticed that US Senate candidate DeVore has joined a chorous are hard core right wingers in New York State’s CD-23 which is perhaps the largest district in Upstate NY by geography. Chuck is simply doing what he can to polish that right wingnut position with hardcore righties bu joining people like Sarah Palin and Dick Armey in endorsing a hardcore conservative to the seat.
Well, I actually lived in this district from 1986 to 1988; political change occurs slowly in Upstate NY and this district was represented by Former Rep. John McHugh (an alum from my college, who like a fellow Utica College alum, former Rep. Sherwood Boelhert, was a moderate Republican), who has since become the secretary of the Army. The move for McHugh makes total sense, given the home of the 10th Mountain Division in Watertown, NY, thrived under McHugh’s work in the House. It also gave a massive economic shot in the arm to the area largely stripped of it’s manufacturing base.
DeVore’s statement says it important for conservatives to win. Well, Chuck doesn’t know upstate New York like I know upstate New York. The economy there is very tough. Real estate is downright cheap, and finding a job to pay your mortgage and taxes isn’t easy. The people of the district certainly didn’t benefit under George W. Bush’s reign. But to classify these voters as conservative would be wrong; it’s very moderate, like most of America.Â
More after the jump:
Here’s Chuck’s statement:
California State Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, candidate for the Republican nomination for United States Senate, today endorsed the candidacy of Conservative Party nominee Doug Hoffman in the November 3rd special election for New York’s 23rd Congressional District. In a statement, DeVore said:
“I unreservedly endorse Doug Hoffman as the best choice to represent New York’s 23rd Congressional District. This race is a bellwether for the 2010 elections, so it is tremendously important that we return a strong conservative to the United States Congress — not just for the sake of the district, but for the nation. There are important battles to be fought in Washington, D.C., and Doug Hoffman has the right principles, the right fortitude, and the right qualifications to fight them.
“I am proud to join a long list of strong conservative Republicans in endorsing Doug Hoffman. Fred Thompson, Sarah Palin, Tim Pawlenty, Erick Erickson, Dick Armey and so many others have come out on his behalf — despite the presence of a liberal Republican nominee in the field. I join them for the same reasons they joined Hoffman: because principle matters more than party, because conservatism is the only way back for our country, and because an unresponsive D.C. Republican establishment needs to start working for us — the conservative, small-government, low-tax grassroots — again.
“What we see in NY-23 is all too familiar to us in California. In New York, national-party bosses back a big-government liberal in Dede Scozzafava. Here in California, national-party bosses back a big-government liberal in Carly Fiorina.
“The fight in NY-23 is the fight of every conservative against every liberal for the heart and soul of our Republican Party. In one week, I urge all Republicans and all conservatives to do the right thing for their party, their district and their country — and send Doug Hoffman to the United State Congress.”
Sorry Chuck, the district isn’t conservative. It’s very middle of the road. And Democrat Bill Owens has a strong chance of taking the seat outright with two Republicans splitting the vote. It wouldn’t surprise me if a Republican wins here, given McHugh’s success for more than 25 years and that only 14 percent of the population in this district is under 40. But polls show anywhere from 14 to 22 percent of the race still undecided with only a few days to go.
As as far as New York’s Mexicans go, Mexico, NY is home of some of the best apple orchards and cider mills in the state. If you can find them, I highly recommend Grandma Brown’s Baked Beans.
