Small "d".

Well, I don't know if any of you were following it, but my neighboring Congressional District - New York's 23rd - just experienced a national political dogfight reminiscent of the one we were treated to three years ago. In some ways, it was worse, actually. You may know the story. Long time Republican Congressman John McHugh was tapped by Obama to be Army Secretary, opening up a special election to replace him. Instead of being in essence a regional race for a national office, this became a clusterfuck grudge match between two wings of the Republican Party - the moderate-conservative and the lunatic-conservative. And the actual fighting took place not so much between office holders in the G.O.P., but among retirees, resignees, also-rans, and professional bloviators like Sarah Palin, Fred Thompson, Newt Gingrich, George Pataki, Rush Limbaugh, Dick Army, and so on. The G.O.P.'s-nominated candidate was apparently not conservative enough to please these... these.... objects, so they inserted themselves into a district of which they have no knowledge, to which have no connection, and in whose welfare they have no interest, just to score a point for their brand of reactionary politics. They supported the Conservative party nominee, pumped money into the race, and packed the airwaves with their endorsement messages and attack ads. And, well... they lost.

It's kind of comforting, actually, that a plurality of residents in the 23rd district was able to resist this kind of manipulation. This was pretty remarkably cynical, even for the modern Republican party. I mean, Fred Thompson - Mr. "wake me up when I'm president" himself - endorsing the Conservative Doug Hoffman by saying "he's like us". Like "us"? What, an ex-Senator? A Hollywood star? A somnambulant presidential wanna-be? Are there a lot of those in the Adirondacks? Before long, these fuckers were falling over each other to show who had the more genuine hard-right, tea-bagger bona fides. Even once-though "moderates" like Tim Pawlenty and George Pataki weighed in on the right, with Gingrich taking the Republican nominee's side. Strangely cartoon-like... these people were so over the top that Gingrich was "Mr. Reasonable" for a time. Not a pretty sight.

I won't join in with the chorus of voices speculating about the broader political implications of this race. I can only say that I sympathize with my northern neighbors of both parties. Three years ago, we were bombarded by vicious political advertising as the G.O.P. and, to a lesser extent, the Democrats poured millions into influencing the outcome of the race for a then-open seat. (We even got a visit by then-Vice President Dick Cheney, endorsing the Republican. Not sure it helped much.) It's the kind of thing that makes campaign finance reform seem a more urgent matter than either party is willing to admit. In that kind of atmosphere, it takes real effort to discern the actual political positions of the various candidates. Much of the advertising is intended to discourage people from voting, rather than changing their minds. I am a registered Democrat and received stacks of direct mail from the Republican Congressional Campaign Committee, all of them flailing away at now-Congressman Michael Arcuri, the Democrat, accusing him of pretty much everything short of the Kennedy Assassination. None of it stood up to the most cursory review, but who has time to do research, right? Again... very cynical.

I'm expecting very much the same next year, when Arcuri is up for re-election. My guess is that this will be considered a relatively easy seat for the G.O.P. to pick up. Something to look forward to, eh?

luv u,

jp