Sunday, November 1, 2009

GOP Battles in the North Country

I've been so ensconced in our local races that I've had little time to take notice of the much more important race up north, although it's hard to avoid the negative TV ads. The upshot is that the GOP candidate is too liberal for the party, which ran a conservative wingnut against her and the Dem. The Dem is slightly to the left of the GOP candidate, although not on all issues. The GOP candidate was completely vilified, leaving only the Conservative and Dem still standing. This is a district that has gone Republican since time immemorial. Everyone and his brother has weighed in on the race, shining a spotlight on Watertown and environs that has never been seen before. Now Frank Rich touts it as a win for the Dems no matter what happens. PZ and I find that dubious. Yes, it shows a terrible schism in the GOP, but we knew that already. What it shows more clearly is that radical forces from outside can descend on a local election with dire results that have little to do with the will of the people. We'll see Tuesday which way the wind blows, but I can't believe anyone really wins here.

LATER: The Republican endorsed the Democrat. Whee!

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