Today’s article is a guest post by Kieran Lalor from www.iraqvetsforcongress.com.
The most competitive Congressional race in the country you probably never heard about is unfolding in New York.
The 22nd District stretches from the Mid-Hudson Valley cities of Newburgh, Poughkeepsie and Kingston before darting west along the Pennsylvania border to Binghamton, then north to Ithaca. It is a liberal bastion gerrymandered to include poor upstate cities and college towns while excluding many of the more conservative middle class suburban and rural towns.
Since 1993 NY-22 has been represented by Maurice Hinchey a progressive career politician who was a state Assemblyman for seventeen years before being elected to Congress. Hinchey wants to nationalize the energy industry, supports a vast single-payer federally run healthcare system and is the driving force behind the effort to silence talk-radio via the so-called fairness doctrine.
Even though the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have not been particularly popular in the Empire State, New Yorkers are especially sensitive to the issues surrounding the War on Terror. Despite this, Hinchey’s national security positions are well outside the mainstream. Hinchey voted to defund our troops while they are fighting al Qaeda and the Taliban and voted against multiple defense appropriation bills. He has accused US troops of intentionally allowing Osama bin Laden to escape, repeating the accusation again in a debate just two weeks ago.
Hinchey was one of only six Members of Congress to vote against sanctions on Iran while they are on the verge of developing nuclear weapons. He even supports the Ground Zero mosque which is opposed by a margin of 2-1 among New Yorkers.
But for nearly twenty years these hard Left positions served Hinchey well in a district that includes the site of the 1969 Woodstock music festival. In 2006 the GOP didn’t even run a challenger against him and in 2008 Binghamton high school teacher George Phillips lost to Hinchey 66%-34%. But Phillips didn’t back down and his 2008 campaign continued into the 2010 cycle.
And 2010 is shaping up to be a singularly unique election cycle where a conservative like Phillips could win in a deep blue district. Phillips, who has never held political office, spent 2009 and 2010 improving his campaign skills, building on his name recognition and developing a network of campaign contributors. As of the October 13th Federal Election Commission filing, upstart Phillips had raised nearly $400,000 and still had $100,000 in the war chest for the homestretch. Hinchey raised $750,000 but only had $75,000 to spend.
Adding to Phillips’ financial advantage, Karl Rove’s American Crossroads has pledged to pump $300,000 into ads intended to expose Hinchey’s record as a tax and spend liberal.
And it is not just the right that has come to Phillips’ aid. Former New York City Mayor Ed Koch condemned Hinchey for his failure to recognize the threat Iran poses to the free world. Koch recently crossed party and ideological lines to endorse Phillips, a fiscal and social conservative.
Further indication that the Dems are worried about holding the seat was the appearance of former President Bill Clinton at a recent Hinchey fundraiser. The Hinchey team tried to downplay the Clinton visit but the Phillips campaign wisely pointed out that the biggest draw in the Democrat party doesn’t stump for incumbents in safe seats.
A poll last month had Phillips just outside the margin of error and Hinchey is showing signs of feeling the pressure. When asked by a reporter to explain the connection between one of his earmarks and a piece of land he owns, Hinchey told the reporter to “shut up.” According to published reports the reporter said Hinchey, “put his hand on my throat” and then “realized what he had done and walked away.” This is hardly the behavior of one who is coasting to victory.
Phillips has developed a reputation as a relentless campaigner who is the antithesis of the slick politician. Other than a much better climate for Republican candidates, the single biggest reason Phillips has put himself in a position to pull off the mother of all upsets in 2010 is his work ethic.
To travel the district from north to south takes four hours by car. It was not uncommon throughout the campaign to for Phillips to give a speech in Newburgh at 9 pm before driving himself home 250 miles to Binghamton. He’d be standing tall at the head of the class teaching early the next morning, teach all day and repeat the cycle later that evening.
People of all political stripes appreciate a worker and most in the district can identify with the stamina, sleep deprivation and sacrifice that goes into tackling a monumental task to ensure a brighter future.
While many challengers in this election cycle are show horses, George Phillips is the ultimate work horse who will achieve victory on November 2nd, albeit by the narrowest of margins.
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