Even though Hoffman lost, the conservative movement made a lot of progress

It's a shame NY23 didn't turn out the way we wanted. But a lot of good things came out of it. We showed the Republican party that we will not stand for RINOs. We will not elect someone just because they have an (R) next to their name. A third party candidate can gain enough popularity to be viable since this was a very close election. I imagine a lot of the Republican elite establishment are saying "I told you so" right now, but I'll say the same thing I've always said which is, what's the point of winning an election if you've sacrificed your principles to get there? Electing Dede Scozz would have been no different than electing the Democrat (can't even remember his name) so what would be the point in even electing her? She wouldn't have voted conservative or even right-of-center.

Palin being the first high-profile conservative to endorse Hoffman gave others enough courage to stand behind him as well. Of course, being the first to endorse showed that Palin isn't apologetic about her conservatism and it showed she's a trailblazer and a leader who's not afraid to stand up for what she believes in. Everyone who followed her was just that - a follower.

We learned where Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney stand - they both failed to formally endorse Hoffman. We learned how off-the-rails Newt Gingrich has become. We learned that Tim Pawlenty is weak and uninformed. We learned that the Republican party will stop funding RINOs if we insist on it. So a lot of good things came from this election even though our candidate lost.

Most of all, Palin is the one who stood her ground throughout and put her money where her mouth is. I really applaud her for trying to get a third-party conservative elected. She didn't lose anything by endorsing Hoffman.