FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
The Democrats took a beating in the New Jersey and Virginia governors' races... but the far right got their clocks cleaned in that congressional race in upstate New York.
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/11/04/art.crist.jpg caption="Florida Governor Charlie Crist has been accused of being Republican in Name Only (RINO)."]
In defeating Conservative Doug Hoffman, Bill Owens will be the first Democrat to represent Congressional District 23 since the Civil War. Hoffman was aggressively supported by a bunch of the right wing's loudest voices - Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh.
They tried to make this race a symbol of how the Republican Party has strayed from its conservative values. Pressure from the right-wing of the party helped push the Republican candidate out of the race last week - because she just wasn't Republican enough. Some even saw this contest as a struggle for the soul of the GOP. At least the results don't suggest Sarah Palin won that fight.
Nevertheless, it seems like conservative activists are just warming up. They have their eyes on a list of so-called RINOs - or Republicans in Name Only - for the midterm elections, people like Florida's Republican Governor, Charlie Crist, who's running for the Senate.
And some warn that Sarah Palin could be entering dangerous territory if she leads the movement against well-established figures like Crist. After all - Florida is often a key state in the presidential election. And, there's the issue of Palin's ability to control a group of activists once they're fired up. You could make the argument Palin entered dangerous territory when she left City Hall in Wasilla.
Here’s my question to you: What does it say that the likes of Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh failed to get their candidate elected in the N.Y. congressional race?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Pat writes:
Who cares? They are patriots in name only. These blowhards would sell their own family to al Qaeda if they could make a buck for themselves. They are and have always been in it for the money and the power. They don't give a damn about the people of this country. It's just a big chess game to them.
C. writes:
It doesn't say anything about Palin, Jack, but it does say a lot about you. Calling people like us "the far right" shows your agenda. We are average working people who are tired of growing government intrusion into our daily lives. By the way, why do you always read so many more of the leftist comments than you do the ones from conservatives?
Jeff from Connecticut writes:
Absolutely no one knew who Hoffman was two weeks ago, yet he came very close to winning! That's amazing! This was a victory in spirit for conservatives!
Thom from Michigan writes:
It confirms that Americans are not the complete idiots I thought we were for listening to talking heads and giving any credence to their rantings. It confirms once and for all that they are mere entertainers to those who listen and are simply boors who do not care how they make a buck as long as it benefits them financially. The real losers are the sponsors who waste their money paying for their garbage shows day in and day out. Palin, Limbaugh and Beck are merely clowns in the circus of life. They are there for laughs.
Ed writes:
Mr. Hoffman believes in smaller government, less taxes, strong defense and individual liberty. And the Democrats call that "extreme". I think it’s the Democrats who are out of touch with Americans.
Simpson from Atlanta writes:
If folks would open their eyes and deal with reality, it would say the same thing it said in the last election. The fringe loves the fringe, but elections are won from the middle.
Shawn writes:
It tells me that Palin, Limbaugh and Beck are more "wind" than sail.