Wishful, and often hateful, thinking and Feeling is what is happening in such cases.

First and foremost, we have to ask if this wasn't a case primarily about resentment toward outsiders. Note the vote totals for Scozzafava, even though she quit the race. A protest vote — against what?

It was a special case. Interestingly, it isn't just an issue about the non-primary “selection” method of putting a candidate on the ballot. In the case of New York, it's the presence of the Conservative party for ages as recognition that Republicans there have been Dems Lite too much, too often. (“Rockefeller Republican” is rightly used as a pejorative.)

Regarding “Southern” imagery and related matters, it merits mention here as well that we shouldn't read too much into the Virginia elections insofar as it is a reversion to Religious-Right-dominated old-fashioned heavily Southern Republican (with a big Bible-Belt influence) caricature or stereotype the Left likes to use about the South or the GOP. That it's something of a model for the Sun Belt and the nation's future is obvious, but the picture is more complex than prejudiced lefties imagine (or contrive). Virginia actually has two large metro areas, one of which in particular (“northern Virginia” = DC metro) is known for electing Democrats, not only Republicans, and this change from the stereotype is what needs to be anticipated elsewhere in the South[east] and the rest of the Sun Belt “Red Nation” eventually.

For moderate Republicans, or peanut gallery liberals, to suggest that this is a repudiation of conservative electoral viability is to suggest you can't read vote tallies.

For conservatives to think they can readily set up a credible candidate of their choosing in races of their choosing is to suggest they have no grasp on time, money and logistics.

The Althouse blog has a few posts from NY 23 voters. Even after reading those, I still don't see any consensus. I suspect this election took place at a moment of cusp. Therefore too soon to tell whether the status quo gets to hang around and a more thorough shakeup is brewing.

It was national, not local, organizations that drove her out of the race.

Now, all Republican incumbents should anticipate primary challenges from Club for Growth style candidates. Even if they come from relatively liberal states, like New York.

Duh!

We got a chance to see how letting the party big shots choose the candidates would work out.

They chose the incumbent who been elected several times. What should they have done, given the laws on the books?