Farewell. The Flying Pig Has Left The Building.

Steve Hynd, August 16, 2012

After four years on the Typepad site, eight years total blogging, Newshoggers is closing it's doors today. We've been coasting the last year or so, with many of us moving on to bigger projects (Hey, Eric!) or simply running out of blogging enthusiasm, and it's time to give the old flying pig a rest.

We've done okay over those eight years, although never being quite PC enough to gain wider acceptance from the partisan "party right or wrong" crowds. We like to think we moved political conversations a little, on the ever-present wish to rush to war with Iran, on the need for a real Left that isn't licking corporatist Dem boots every cycle, on America's foreign misadventures in Afghanistan and Iraq. We like to think we made a small difference while writing under that flying pig banner. We did pretty good for a bunch with no ties to big-party apparatuses or think tanks.

Those eight years of blogging will still exist. Because we're ending this typepad account, we've been archiving the typepad blog here. And the original blogger archive is still here. There will still be new content from the old 'hoggers crew too. Ron writes for The Moderate Voice, I post at The Agonist and Eric Martin's lucid foreign policy thoughts can be read at Democracy Arsenal.

I'd like to thank all our regular commenters, readers and the other bloggers who regularly linked to our posts over the years to agree or disagree. You all made writing for 'hoggers an amazingly fun and stimulating experience.

Thank you very much.

Note: This is an archive copy of Newshoggers. Most of the pictures are gone but the words are all here. There may be some occasional new content, John may do some posts and Ron will cross post some of his contributions to The Moderate Voice so check back.


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Friday, August 29, 2008

Enthusiasism and English

By Fester:



The National Republican Congressional Committee is determined to not be surprised by a tough challenge in Western Pennsylvania again.  The NRCC and other leading Republican groups thought that Melissa Hart (R-Bradford Woods) had enough incumbency and cash advantages to hold onto PA-4 in the 2006 cycle.  She lost by a decent margin to a political novice Jason Altmire (D-McCandless).  Rep. Altmire is in a rematch with Ms. Hart, but he should win this race again. 



The NRCC is dropping more than $800,000 into an ad campaign for Rep. English (R) who represents the 3rd Congressional District in Pennsylvania. 



Right now PA-3 is on the radar screens of national and local Democrats.  It is not a top tier race, but it is race of interest that will definitely benefit from the coordinated campaign's GOTV work for Obama and potentially see some outside liberal groups playing up there. If there is anything that resembles an implicit plan, it would be to win the ground game and not get crushed on the airwaves. 



And that is where enthusiasm comes into play.  Door knocking, phone banking and all of the other little steps that need to be done for a successful ground game is tough work.  A campaign either needs a ton of money and a willingness to spend it on field, or it needs numerous motivated volunteers.  It prefers the motivated volunteers for once they are trained up, they tend to be better than the paid canvassers.  Motivation matters a lot as it fuels passion and conviction. 



The Democrats are counting on a wave from Obama's GOTV groups and I think that probability is real.  75,000 people went to see Obama speak last ngiht, and he could have doubled the seating and still spoke to a full house.  On the other hand; John McCain's campaign is still trying to fill a 10,000 seat gym for a combination birthday party and Vice Presidential announcement.  That should be a big deal and that should be an easy draw.  But as of 24 hours before the event, the GOP is still scrambling to find people who want to come. 



Enthusiasm won't win a blow-out; just ask the Paul voters from this cycle or fellow Deaniacs from '04.  It will push a lot of races closer, and move close races over the top. 



If the NRCC is dropping a decent chunk of its cash on hand to PA-3, it is very worried that it will be swamped by enthusiasism and the ground game. 



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