Hoffman still dodging question he's already answered
Doug Hoffman, the Republican candidate for the 23rd Congressional District, is still not being straight with potential voters about his plans to remain in the race even if he loses the GOP primary.
Mr. Hoffman, Saranac Lake, has made a verbal commitment to state Conservative Party Chairman Mike Long to stay in the race regardless of the result in the Sept. 14 primary, a fact confirmed Tuesday by Mr. Long and Rob Ryan, the candidate's spokesman.
But when asked if he would stop campaigning if he lost the primary on WPTZ-TV, Plattsburgh, last night, Mr. Hoffman continued to insist that was a "hypothetical" question.
"Well, we're 32 points ahead so I think that's a hypothetical question," he told the reporter. "We're going to work hard so two weeks from now we have that popular support. And people will select - and we will go on to fight and win in November."
Alison M. Power, the spokeswoman for Mr. Hoffman's Republican opponent, Matt Doheny, passed this video:
Here are Ms. Power's comments:
This confirms what Mr. Hoffman's plan has been all along: rule or ruin. It is clear that he would rather hand another victory to the Democrats than support a conservative Republican candidate who is chosen by the people in a primary election. He would rather hand Speaker Nancy Pelosi a key vote to maintain the Obama administration's failed economic policies, than work to return this district to the Republicans. Doug Hoffman's priority is Doug Hoffman.
A recent poll taken by National Review online showed Matt Doheny and Bill Owens in a virtual dead heat. It is clear from attacks on Matt from the Democrats that they want Doug Hoffman to be the nominee — they know they can beat him, they know that Matt is the only conservative Republican who can win on November 2. Doug Hoffman's plan to stay in the race no matter what the Republican voters decide makes him the Democrat's most effective operative."
