Saturday, October 24, 2009

Hoffman and Palin: 'Get Back the Soul' of the GOP

From National Review by Robert Costa

Doug Hoffman, the Conservative Party candidate challenging liberal Republican Dede Scozzafava and Democrat Bill Owens in New York’s 23rd congressional district, has had quite a week. Within the last 24 hours, he has raised nearly $120,000 in online donations. Conservative leaders from Sarah Palin and Dick Armey to Steve Forbes and Fred Thompson have endorsed him. One wonders how he’s handling the national spotlight.

“I’ve been overwhelmed by all of the national support,” Hoffman tells NRO. “Sarah stands up for what she believes in and is a commonsense conservative, a Reagan Republican,” says Hoffman. “I feel like I’m an average citizen. Sarah reflects those kinds of values.”

Hoffman says that both he and Palin are moving towards “a defining moment for the party.” Republicans, he says, “see the meaning of my race. We’re trying to get back the soul of the Republican party, to reclaim it.” The endorsements, and the money pouring into his campaign, “have given me the confidence that we can win this,” he adds.

Hoffman says that one thing people don’t always realize is that he is a “lifelong Republican.” The party, he says, “left me and others. I want to get it back and reclaim its values. [Scozzafava] does not reflect those values. We don’t need another Arlen Specter or Olympia Snowe in Washington.”

When asked what he would say to Republicans hesitant of endorsing him, Hoffman was clear: “We’re fighting for principle over party,” he says. “Some people have it the other way around, putting the party ahead of principle. We have to stand up for what we believe in to get the Republican party back to its conservative roots.”

One prominent GOP leader who endorsed Scozzafava was former House speaker Newt Gingrich. “Newt wasn’t told the entire story on this,” says Hoffman. “I’ve been a Republican all of my life. I served 15 years on the Republican committee in my county, and in five of those years, I was chairman of my village and town Republican party. If he’s saying that I’m not a Republican, then he has the wrong information.”

Hoffman, a certified public accountant, says that the main issue in his race is the economy and jobs. “That’s what I’m fighting for,” he says. Though he sees this year’s campaign as one based on fiscal issues, he does say that he holds “socially conservative stances.”

Hoffman, a certified public accountant, says that the main issue in his race is the economy and jobs. “That’s what I’m fighting for,” he says. Though he sees this year’s campaign as one based on fiscal issues, he does say that he holds “socially conservative stances.”

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