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Hershey: Dem triumph would delight mother-in-law

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By William Hershey, Staff Writer 12:26 AM Sunday, November 8, 2009

Somewhere up on a celestial dairy farm, the Holsteins are mooing, and a quiet smile is creasing the face of my late mother-in-law, Ruth Lawrence.

Ruth, who died at 81 in 2001, would have been delighted last week on Election Day.

In a U.S. House race that attracted national attention, a Democrat was elected in New York’s 23rd District, a district so staunchly Republican that no Democrat has represented big parts of it since the 19th century.

The district, the largest in the state, covers most of northern New York, stretching from Lake Champlain in the east to Lake Ontario in the west.

Ruth was a Democrat, and her husband, Walter, who died in 2003 at 82, was a Republican. She voted for John F. Kennedy in 1960, while he cast his ballot for Richard M. Nixon.

Their mixed marriage proved that the two parties can get along. They raised 14 children, nine daughters and five sons, on their dairy farm, including my wife, Marcia. Marcia was number five.

The farm was in St. Lawrence County, which has not been represented by a Democrat in the U.S. House since 1854, the year the Republican Party was formed.

Ruth didn’t shout about her political preferences, but they ran deep. I got her a photograph of John Glenn in 1984, the year the former Ohio senator and astronaut ran for president.

She appreciated it, but Glenn was not her choice among the Democrats. She preferred Jesse Jackson. Ruth liked the way Jackson stuck up for poor people, my wife said.

This year, Ruth would have voted for Democrat Bill Owens, the winner in the House race.

Owens’ victory was unlikely and about the best news Democrats had last Tuesday, Nov. 3, as Republicans picked up governorships in Virginia and New Jersey.

President Barack Obama caused the special election in New York.

Obama appointed longtime Republican incumbent John McHugh as secretary of the Army, leaving the seat empty.

The district’s Republican leaders picked Dede Scozzafava to succeed McHugh, and that’s when the fun started.

Scozzafava supports gay rights and abortion rights. Her candidacy drew angry blasts from Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and others on the right.

Sarah Palin, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, a presidential hopeful, and Fred Thompson jumped behind Conservative Party candidate Douglas Hoffman.

Scozzafava quit the race on the Saturday before the election and endorsed Owens.

The fiasco should remind both parties that it’s risky to ignore their bases as Republican leaders did by initially picking Scozzafava, political scientist Larry Sabato of the University of Virginia said in an e-mail.

Also, it’s not a good idea for either party to alienate the mushy moderates who often hold the balance of power in any election. Moderate Republicans in the district didn’t much like the bludgeoning Scozzafava took from outsiders such as Palin and Limbaugh. Lots of them voted for Owens.

Still, Republicans probably should recapture the seat next year.

“That assumes the GOP can actually pick a strong candidate to unite the party,” said Sabato. “Can’t you see problems developing there?”

Also, Owens will have all the advantages of incumbency.

It’s too bad Ruth won’t be there to vote for him.

Contact this reporter at  (614) 224-1608 or whershey@ DaytonDailyNews.com.

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Young man, let your mother in law rest in peace. If you are happy about the outcome of the Congressional race, say so. But do not used a deceased person as cover; it is unseemly. You, her children or grandchildren she most likely cares about. Who represents the district that she lived in when on this earth, not so much.

Ruth Moabite
11:15 PM, 11/8/2009

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To quote Raymond Chandler: "What did it matter where you lay once you were dead? ... You were dead, you were sleeping the big sleep, you were not bothered by things like that." May your MIL rest in peace. However, it is doubtful she gives one hoot about the congressional election now that she has passed over to the other side.

Al Chicago
10:02 PM, 11/8/2009

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It's going to be interesting to see how many more candidates the far right wing nuts, like Palin and Fred Thompson, try to purge from the GOP. Gov. Crist could likely be next on the hit list. If the GOP leadership allows the ignorant (like Sarah Palin and Michelle Bachman) to move the party further into Wackoland, they will be doomed for a long time.

Jim
8:39 PM, 11/8/2009

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since most new yorkers are fat as hell, and probably likely canidates to needs lots of healthcare, i can understand why they would put Owens, oooops, Obama, in the 23rd district seat... Unfortunately, there will be plenty of "blue pills" for all you fat, lazy, non-working morons to have.. don't be dissapointed when they lie to you too! Good luck, and better get a treadmill! Oh, by the way, your mfg jobs are never, ever coming back.. Get over it!

jman
4:22 PM, 11/8/2009

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Another typical story from the religious right. Puleeze, why do you push this concept of an afterlife on us? I'm sorry that the writer's relative was unhappy during her time here, and if it helps the writer to imagine there is happiness after death, then fine. But why push this poppycock on the rest of us.

Phil Dayton
2:35 PM, 11/8/2009

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