Wrong Priorities

Matt Rooney | October 25, 2009


I'm tired of hearing about NY-23, Save Jerseyans.

Execute a quick Google search. Enter "NY-23" into the search field and you'll quickly find almost 100 million links from which to choose. Impressive. Now try the terms "Corzine" and "Christie" together; they collectively garner fewer than 2 million results. What is going on here? Amazingly, a single congressional race is being treated as if it was more important than the election of one of the most constitutionally powerful governors in one of our nation's most populous and wealthy states!

Defying logic (and confounding the minds of Save Jerseyans everywhere), the formally-reliable conservative blogosphere and new media pundits across the country continue to myopically focus on NY-23 instead of New Jersey's extremely close gubernatorial contest. A single congressional contest's outcome, decided by way of a three-way race similar to our current Garden State experience, certainly can't tip the balance of power in Washington no more than it can serve as a bellwether of future political events. Furthermore, with just a week left to go until decision day, the conservative candidate (Hoffman) continues to trail the RINO (Scozzafava) by a substantial margin. The Dem now leads both of the other candidates, so I would certainly cease patting yourselves on the back, conservative bloggers. You're merely participating in yet another mass exercise in symbolic action.

To say I'm disappointed in an understatement; how can I avoid concluding that the conservative movement's priorities are still distressingly disjointed a full three years since the 2006 midterm election disaster officially ended the '94 Revolution. A Chris Christie victory, however, could completely turn President Obama's 2010 electoral map on its head. Why can't commentators and grassroots leaders wake up, appreciate the possibilities and act accordingly?

A combination of factors are at play here, Save Jerseyans. Take it from a Northerner who spent four years in Washington: there's definitely a strong anti-New Jersey bias held by many red state Republican operatives and, to some degree, a lack of confidence in the New Jersey electorate's willingness to vote Republican. I also know that a leaderless GOP is dangerously vulnerable to cults of pessimism and, worse still, a certain political puritanism among the chattering class. It's become much easier for conservative activists to rail against something than it is to stand for a set of principles, simply due to the fact that there isn't a nationally-recognized, very articulate, exceedingly charismatic conservative leader to rally around. In short, we don't spend enough time selling conservatism yet we waste far too many hours debating whether other Republicans are worthy of its usage.

Without a leader or pragmatism to guide them, the conservative punditocracy roams the web in search of "RINOs" to rough-up. Rather than focus on a once-in-a-decade opportunity to turn a blue state red, many of my fellow conservative bloggers are infuriatingly content to hold a perpetual "tea party of the mind" while the world burns all around them.

In light of this information, I don't expect the calvary anytime soon, Save Jerseyans. On Tuesday November 3rd, New Jersey Republicans have the opportunity to make history and deal a devastating defeat to the Obama Administration's increasingly radicalized agenda. Unfortunately, we will do so (or fail to do so) without the help of many like-minded Americans who should be standing shoulder-to-should with us. And what will the conservative blogging corps' obsession with NY-23 ever accomplish? As of today, the most likely outcome is the convincing election of Democrat Bill Owens. He's another head for Pelosi's caucus and therefore yet another vote for the Dems' big government agenda.

So was losing N.J. worth it, conservative activists? Let's hope we never have reason to demand an answer from our wayward friends....







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Posted by Matt Rooney at Sunday, October 25, 2009 4:00 AM
Categories: uncategorized

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  • Sunday, October 25, 2009 10:00 AM PJ Blogger wrote:
    The problem my friend is that most Conservatives perceive Chris Christie as another NJ Rino and nothing more .His campaign has been woefully inadequate given that Corzine has about the worst track record in modern political history. We may all want to vote out Corzine but Christie has not convinced enough people he can make a difference.
    Reply to this
    1. Sunday, October 25, 2009 10:45 AM Matt Rooney wrote:
      A political "party" is an organic entity. It is, by definition, a coalition that is no more than the sum of its many parts.

      Stop bitching and start getting involved! Run for school board, county committee or town council. You can't complain about what the GOP has become unless you're willing to get your hands dirty and restore her to the legacy of Lincoln and Reagan.

      And please... Chris Christie isn't Rush Limbaugh, but he's certainly a breath of fresh air when compared to our current failed governor. Leave the purist ridiculousness at the door and help us defeat the bad guys! New Jersey's economy can't survive another 4 years of Corzine. This is no time for symbolic "message-sending." All hands on deck!
      Reply to this
    2. Sunday, October 25, 2009 2:49 PM Rooney Right wrote:
      DEAD ON, Mr. Rooney! Been waiting for someone to stand up and say this. This crap is how Obama won... conservatives needs to rediscover pragmatism. There's a lot of blame to go around in the conservative community for ignoring N.J. if Corzine wins reelection.

      Keep it up, Save Jersey!
      Reply to this
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