As Doug Hoffman has little chance, despite his late gains, of reversing the apparent outcome of the NY-23 election that put Bill Owens in Congress instead of him, what reason could he have for dramatically “unconceding” the race this week? We found out via our inbox this morning — money!
The DougHoffmanforCongress.com email we got — far from the district Hoffman sought to represent — says he is “writing you today” because “recent developments leave me to wonder who is scheming behind closed doors, twisting arms and stealing elections from the voters of NY-23.” He then gives the leading rightwing dog-whistles of the day:
We know this would not be the first time for the ACORN faithful to tamper with democracy…
This sounds like a tactic right from the ACORN playbook…
The people of NY-23 deserve to have their ballots counted properly, but we can’t let ACORN or the unions keep that from happening…
And inevitably:
Please donate now to help me ensure every vote is counted!
Dave Weigel says, “This isn’t the sort of behavior that wins over a skeptical electorate looking at a possible rematch between Hoffman and Rep. Bill Owens” at the 2010 election (this year’s was a special election). But we doubt a rematch is what he’s after, at least for now. Running for Congress costs money, and most campaigns end up in deep debt. As Hoffman relied on out-of-district conservatives to boost his quixotic candidacy, no doubt he expects national rightists looking to fight liberal perfidy wherever it occurs to send him checks. It’s the miracle of democracy!