Getting it wrong

     The CW is wrong. Contemporary Wisdom says the party-backed candidate beats the independent every time. But not in New York's 23rd District. Not only has the independent candidate forced the party favorite out of the race, but it looks like Doug Hoffman may be the first Conservative candidate to win a congressional seat.
     The problem is, this isn't what the GOP thought would happen. They didn't expect it, for they, like the Democrats, have become used to the apathy of American politics. They've become used to single-lever supporters, who, like me so many times in the past, reach for that party-line lever, instead of voting for each individual on the ticket according to their stand on the issues. This is what the GOP thought would happen, when the New York party bosses chose a liberal RINO as its standard bearer.
     But this isn't a normal election year. This is the Year of the Tea Parties. This is the Year of Referendum. This is the Year of Stopping Obama. And this is the year when people stopped being single-lever supporters, and started acting like Americans.
     When it comes to politics, we stopped acting like responsible Americans long ago. We became apathetic. Party was everything, no matter the principles relinquished. And that's where the GOP got it wrong. No longer are Americans content to choose whichever candidate the party masters provide. Doug Hoffman is but the forerunner of a greater movement. Presented with two options, neither of which was particularly palatable, Mr. Hoffman did what all Americans could and should do. He presented himself as another option. So now, in one district, Americans do not have to choose the lesser of two evils, they can look to their principles, and choose a candidate that exemplifies them.
     Even Newt Gingrich doesn't get it. This is how politics is supposed to work. Candidates are presented, and it is the responsibility of all Americans to look hard at the positions of the candidates, and then to vote upon their principles. When neither candidate is acceptable, two options are available to every American - sit by and watch, or create another option out of whole cloth. This is what Doug Hoffman has done, and whether he wins or loses, his actions have set in motion a fundamental shift in conservative voters actions.
     This is where the GOP gets it wrong. Doug Hoffman is a good thing for American politics, for his candidacy, and those voting for him, and the resulting removal of the party favorite, is the best of American political responsibility.