Thursday, March 09, 2006

Why Hillary will beat John Spencer:

Now obviously I’m a Republican but that doesn’t mean that as a Republican I can’t make certain observations when it comes to our respective candidates. Anyone who knows me well knows I live to play devils advocate. I’ve learned early, that groups and businesses that don’t play devils advocate are doomed to fail.

Looking at John Spencer you have to respect his dedication. The search for a GOP candidate against Hillary has so far been like a carnival with a “step right up and take your chance” attitude. His survival so far, unlike Cox and Pirro, definitely deserves him some credit. However just because he has been able to continue to land his ping pong ball in the goldfish bowl doesn’t mean he is going to win the grand prize against Hillary.

The reason I think Spencer is setting himself up for failure in New York can be found on his website. On his site he offers visitors to “compare and decide” with a photo of him and Hillary with a list of issues. The idea is great but the issues are completely out of touch with New York, hurting not helping his chances of winning.

Out of the five issues he has listed I can’t find one that will help his cause. The list is as follows:

Border Security: Spence supports, Hillary doesn’t. The problem with this one is that though Spencer can try and shape it to mean against terrorism, being New York, Dems will spin this as an attack on immigration which is a vote killer in the State.

Gun Control: Spencer opposes, Hillary favors.

Abortion Rights: Spencer Pro-life, Hillary Pro-abortion.

Affirmative Action: Spencer opposes, Hillary favors.

Special rights for Gays: Spencer opposes, Hillary favors.

Looking at this list these are five great leading positions if you’re running for Senator of Kentucky not New York. I’m not saying he should not believe in these issues or change his stance. What I’m saying is that if you’re John Spencer your goal is to win, which means putting yourself in the best position possible. Running in New York, Spencer should throw a blanket over these issues and focus on things that the majority of people in this State can relate too.

I would prefer his list to have things that included, the war on terror, low taxes, school vouchers (which most people in this State favor and would put Hillary in a bad spot because of her support from the teachers union), social security, I would even have a column that said “running for President in 2008 and abandoning my State”, with Spencer opposing and Hillary favoring.

These are just a couple and could think of more if I had time but my point is if Spencer plans on winning with that current list when its go time, he and the party are mistaken.