Election Day May Have No Answers

Today is election day 2009. The two biggest races in the country are for the governor's mansions in Virginia and New Jersey. There are also mayoral races in Atlanta, Detroit, Houston, and other cities. Perhaps the most anticipated race in the country is for a rural congressional district in upstate New York.
New York's 23rd district is considered a very conservative district. It has been held by a Republican since 1993, but has been empty since September 21st when President Obama choose John McHugh to serve as Secretary of the Army. However, the split between traditional Republicans and the more conservative members of the party, the "tea-party" crowd, has manifested itself in upstate New York. Dede Scozzafava had been picked by state party leaders to run against Democrat Bill Owens, but the conservative voters of New York threw their support behind Doug Hoffman, who was running on the Conservative Party ticket. Consequently, Owens was polling above the more conservative candidates in the race. Then, shockingly, Scozzafava withdrew from the race this weekend and voiced her support for Owens, the Democrat.
This race has been touted by many as a litmus test for the tea-party movement. Do they have support of the majority of the Republican base, or are they more likely to cost traditional Republicans elections than they are to win them? Perhaps too much has been made of this one congressional seat, but it is a symbol of the shift that is occurring in American politics. Are these the natural growing pains that a conservative party must go through in a country that is moving left, as many people have claimed since the election of Barack Obama? Or are the tea-partiers right to say that the Republican party has lost it's way, and the way back to power is through a dramatic rightward shift? Honestly, tonight's result will not answer that question.
Let's say that the Conservative candidate, Doug Hoffman,wins. Will this lead to more conservative candidates being run in places that are traditionally considered center-right? Will this take-no-prisoners conservatism play nationwide? Probably not. Meaning that, much like Democrats have done for the last thirty years, the Republican party will have to be a big tent. Some districts may vote for more libertarian representatives, like Ron Paul. While others, like in the southeast, may favor more social conservatives, candidates who are pro-life, but also support social programs, like Welfare and Medicaid. This would certainly give them more of a chance with under-privileged African-American voters, who need those social programs, but who often do not agree with the more socially liberal attitudes of, say, northeast liberals who favor pro-choice and pro-homosexual policies.
Liberals also face a dilemma in this "conservative civil war." What if Hoffman wins? The Republican party could shift drastically rightward. Will Democrats do the same in order to win independents? Or will they move the other way, become more liberal, and widen the party divide that has already turned Washington into a partisan gridlock where good ideas go to die?
Or maybe this is good for the country. If both parties are more willing to accept views that don't conform to one national identity, then bi-partisanship may actually be possible. One thing is for sure, we need some kind of re-alignment in order to change the dynamic in Washington, to end 65 years of war-making and corporatism and 3o years of run away spending.