Hoffman an idea whose time never came

It’s time for Doug Hoffman to take a hard look around him and realize his extended 15 minutes of fame are over.

The Lake Placid accountant has gone from obscurity to the national stage in his dogged but futile pursuit of the 23rd Congressional District seat. Twice, he has been rejected by his own party – once by the party organization when he sought the party line in last year’s special election, and most recently, at least apparently, by rank and file Republicans who almost certainly named Matt Doheny to represent the party in the November election for that same post.

Now, Mr. Hoffman should smell the flowers. If he loses the GOP primary, as he appears destined to do, where is there for him to go politically? He lost a special election to a Democrat, the first Democrat to represent the district since horse and buggy days. He lost a party primary to a mainstream Republican whose platform doesn’t differ much at all from his own. Voters looked at two conservative candidates, and didn’t choose Mr. Hoffman. So he has been rejected not just by the general electorate, but by those most likely to support his ideology.

This learning experience has come at considerable cost. Mr. Hoffman, briefly adopted by the radical right during the 2009 special election, has raised and spent a boat-load of money. In last year’s election, he spent $1.21 million. While reports have not yet been filed for the primary, that tab could reach another half million, based on cash Mr. Hoffman had available. All that was spent for naught.

There are any number of reasons for the failure of the Hoffman campaigns, and it is likely they will all be trotted out by the candidate and his supporters after his eventual concession speech. But perhaps it comes down, simply, to this: behind the excitement of the national furor caused by the likes of Glenn Beck and the Club for Growth (which backed him to the tune of nearly $385,000 in 2009, but gave nothing in 2010) there wasn’t much candidate there. Mr. Hoffman, who by every measure appears to be an exceptionally successful businessman, seems unable to capture the confidence of the majority of voters. Perhaps his conservatism is a little too far to the right for the north country. Perhaps he has been unable to articulate just why it is he should be in Congress. Perhaps his awkward, almost ungainly persona can’t ignite the fire needed to energize voters. Probably, it’s a combination of these things, and more.

It’s time for Mr. Hoffman to gracefully withdraw from this race so that his party’s platform can be presented to the voters unambiguously and without distraction. The party appears to have chosen Matt Doheny to carry the message, and he will likely not be successful if Mr. Hoffman campaigns on the Conservative Party line. Mr. Doheny may not unseat incumbent Democrat William Owens; voters may be satisfied with the job the incumbent has done over the past nine months. But the chances of him winning are diminished by a significant amount if it is a three-way race.

So if Mr. Hoffman really believes what he has been saying about changing the way the federal government does business, he should step aside and let Matt Doheny carry that message to the voters. As a politician, Mr. Hoffman is a good accountant. That’s something even he should by now realize.