Yesterday’s New York Post announced its endorsement of Doug Hoffman for Congress.  Sounds like your basic news story–a newspaper endorsing a candidate–but there is a lot more going on here behind the obvious. 

Doug Hoffman is running for a Congressional seat in New York’s 23rd Congressional District.  Doug Hoffman is running as a Conservative.  The Republican candidate in that race, Assemblywoman
Dede Scozzafava, was not chosen in a Republican primary election, but in a behind-closed-doors meeting of Republican Party Big Wigs.  She is not only a social liberal, but a tax and spend liberal who supports card check and is supported by the Working Families Party (which is closely aligned with ACORN.  The choice of Assemblywoman Scozzafava was tone deaf in terms of what has been happening around the country for the past six months.  A conservative revolt against the runaway spending of the Obama Administration is not a surprise, but the revolt is beginning to include nonconservatives alarmed by the rapid growth of the federal deficit.

This district has historically been a Republican district, but this election could change that.  The Republican Party needs to decide whether it is willing to listen to its members or continue to act like the Democrats.  To me, there is no difference between Ms. Scozzafava and the Democrat candidate.  If the Republicans lose the seat, that’s too bad, but her voting record would not be any different than the Democrat candidate, so why support her?  Some Republicans have spoken out in support of Doug Hoffman, and I hope more will do so.  Until the Republican Party realizes that many Americans do not support unchecked growth of government, they will not have my support.