It looks like Doug Hoffman, the Conservative Party candidate in the three-way NY-23 special election, doesn’t actually know much about the district’s local issues, the Watertown Daily Times reports.
Hoffman is opposing Democratic nominee Bill Owens and moderate Republican Dede Scozzafava on issues like abortion, gay rights, the stimulus bill, and other national hot-button topics. But at a Daily Times editorial board meeting, he couldn’t answer questions about local transportation projects and other economic issues.
A flustered and ill-at-ease Mr. Hoffman objected to the heated questioning, saying he should have been provided a list of questions he might be asked. He was, if he had taken the time to read the Thursday morning Times editorial raising the very same questions.
Coming to Mr. Hoffman’s defense, former House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas, who accompanied the candidate on a campaign swing, dismissed regional concerns as “parochial” issues that would not determine the outcome of the election. On the contrary, it is just such parochial issues that we expect our representative to understand and be knowledgeable about, if he wants to be our voice in Washington.
