Let's all give a hearty round of applause to the teabaggers, who took what would've been a very good night for Republicans and ruined it by helping Democrats pick up a seat they hadn't held since the Civil War.
Glenn Beck? Thanks!
Sarah Palin? Thanks!
Tim Pawlenty? Thanks!
Club for Growth? Thanks!
Ironically, the NRCC, the RNC, Newt Gingrich and the smartest Republican in the world, Tom Davis (former NRCC chair) were right -- the Republican Party needs to be more of a big tent to successfully compete in the Northeast and other non-Southern parts of the country.
So let's sit back and watch the teabaggers go to war against the GOP establishment, even though it was the national and local GOP that knew how to best hold the seat.
While the Virginia and New Jersey losses hurt, governor races usually revolve around local issues. if the question was "are voters angry at the direction of Congress and want Democrats stopped", then the answer is clear -- Democrats won both congressional races, including the über-reliable NY-23. Even in conservative districts (at least those outside the South), people don't want what the teabaggers are selling.
Update: Neither NY-23 or CA-10 have been called as of this posting, but both races are over.
Update II: Nate has the county breakdown in NY-23. Biggest wildcard is 6,000 absentees, but in a three way contest (Scozzafava was still in the race for much of the absentee period), there's little chance that Hoffman picks up the 4,000+ votes he needs.
Update III: Fox has called it for Owens. I don't think anyone else has...
Update IV: Hoffman concedes, and Dick Armey's "tip of the spear" ... kind of flaccid.
Thanks again, crazy conservatives, for giving us Dems something to cheer about in an otherwise rough tonight -- especially in the one race that seems to have true national significance.
