October 27, 2004
Peter Hort, Stealth Republican
by Joy Garnett
[Hans Haacke Star Gazing; image source]
reBlogged via NEWSgrist:
I've been following some troubling blog posts regarding the campaign of Peter Hort, a native New Yorker and Republican, who is running against incumbent liberal Dem Jerrold Nadler, for Congress.
Please read/refer to the following ruminations (via bloggy):
The Arts Community and Peter Hort;
The House and Peter Hort (jameswagner.com);
Peter Hort: A "progressive" running on the Conservative Party line?;
Peter Hort, stealth Republican candidate for Congress;
and On Peter Hort, a clarification.
Integral to Hort's campaign is a promise to support arts funding in New York. He is the son of uber-collectors Susan and Michael Hort, has a strong record in support for the arts, and is the founder of the Rema Hort Mann Foundation. He apparently enjoys the support (PDF) of local community arts groups as well as a growing list of artists, gallerists, curators, etc. According to bloggy, his campagn implies that the incumbent, Jerry Nadler, doesn't care about the Arts, which is not accurate.
The fact is Hort is running for Congress as Republican but if you go to his website, nowhere is there mention of his party affiliation. Among other important points I agree that there is "a problem with Mr. Hort's campaign literature not stating that he is a Republican. I also believe that anyone running as a Republican these days in a place like New York City needs to explain why a vote for them is not a vote to keep Dennis Hastert and Tom Delay in power. I think it is the hurdle any Republican running for the House has to get over before they can be considered a candidate that any proponent of gay rights, abortion rights, or the health of urban centers like New York can support."
Here's a typical newsbyte regarding this peculiar omission:
Peter Hort Looks Strategically to Oust Nadler, 09/27/04
Hort, the Republican Party candidate up against Democrat Jerrold Nadler in U.S. Congressional District 8 is running a generic campaign in which his literature omits his party affiliation and bills himself as "socially progressive, fiscally conservative." (Newsday)
and:
CONGRESSIONAL CAMPAIGN, Bid in Democratic stronghold, GOP candidate eyes seat of incumbent with strategy that blurs his affiliation and stresses 'ideas not ideology'; [CITY Edition]
WILLIAM MURPHY. STAFF WRITER. Newsday (Combined editions). Long Island, N.Y.: Sep 27, 2004. pg. A.16
Another point via bloggy: "When I wrote about his campaign for Congress [...] I hadn't realized that he was also running on the New York Conservative Party line. The Conservative Party is anti-choice and anti-gay. Not only are they opposed to gay marriage, they are opposed to civil unions. Their Senate candidate, Marilyn O'Grady, is running a television advertisement portraying Senator Schumer and his Republican opponent as gay grooms atop a wedding cake."
and finally, via bloggy:
"I can think of two explanations of why people in the art world would support Peter Hort.
"The first one is that they are being naive. They buy into the idea that politics can be about individual politicians, and not their parties. I wish that were the case, but to support someone running on the Republican and Conservative Party lines for Congress against a Democratic incumbent is a vote to empower Tom DeLay and his ilk. I wish there were moderates in positions of power in the GOP, but there are none.
"It doesn't matter if Mr. Hort professes decent positions in person. I am told by several people that I should talk to him personally, and that he is pro-choice and pro-gay marriage. It doesn't matter. A vote for him is a vote for the GOP agenda.
"The second explanation is the cynical one. Mr. Hort's parents, Susan and Michael Hort, are among the most important collectors in New York right now. Peter Hort runs a foundation named after his late sister, the Rema Hort Mann Foundation, which gives grants to artists.
"When important collectors ask people in the art world to support their son's candidacy, many of them feel they have no choice but to do so. To do otherwise would be bad for business or bad for one's artistic career. Maybe most of them realize that he is unlikely to win, so "no harm done" is their rationale. Besides, in general they are privileged enough to feel that the GOP agenda won't directly cause them any harm, while opposing Peter Hort's campaign may do quite visible harm to a career or business.
"I find it inconceivable that any person who cares about culture or the state of our nation and planet would vote for a member of the party of George W. Bush."
Articles + Releases:
Republicans in New York City, by Beth Fertig(WNYC Newsroom)
New York Art Community Rallies Around Peter Hort (PDF) (Peter Hort For Congress Press Release)
Local Dems take on Bush, rally their own, BY CURTIS L. TAYLOR (Newsday)
Tribeca Republican Takes On Nadler, By Elizabeth O’Brien (Downtown Express - Gay City News)
Snapshots from the convention, By Josh Rogers (Downtown Express - Gay City News)
Posted by Joy in 2004 Elections, Art
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Say it loud, say it proud!
Here in Silicon Valley, a staunchly liberal enclave, we're seeing much the same thing. In my district, Steve Poizner (republican) is running against Ira Ruskin (a dem) for a vacant seat in the state assembly.
Nowhere in his campaign does Steve stake out his conservative views. All his mailings emphasize his (few) liberal positions, and some of those mailings have been massive. They don't even mention he is republican, in any obvious way.
It took some real work to dig out his actual positions on labor, privacy, etc. Once you saw these, you realized that outside of a couple of social issues, this is a very conservative guy. I doubt any significant amount of voters will both to dig this deep.
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Comment by: carlosmorales at October 27, 2004 01:46 PM