Toady until November 3rd, there are a couple options for any Republican leader regarding the mess in NY-23...
- You can endorse the liberal republican candidate.
- You can endorse Doug Hoffman.
- You can do nothing.
Lets see what's going on on those fronts...
Endorsing a liberal republican: Yes, there are still people who are determined to go down with that ship. The liberal republican is currently polling in last place, but some folks decided they have nothing to lose taking this route. Some of these folks are liberal republicans themselves. True, Newt Gingrich isn't a liberal, but I can't for the life of me understand why he wants to burn political capital on a total disaster as this is shaping up to be. At least he's not defending her calling the police on reporters who ask tough questions at public events.
Endorsing Doug Hoffman: Sure, now that he's polling first place and has all the momentum and press going for him you might look like you're late to the party. But jumping on the winning bandwagon is ok with me. Switching teams late in the game is poor form but for uncommitted leaders, I'll echo what National Review's Jim Geraghty said yesterday... "You're late to the party but everyone's glad you came anyway." (UPDATE: Tom Cole, a NRCC chair, endorsed Hoffman today. UPDATE 2X: US Senator Jim DeMint, a major Romney supporter in 2008, just endorsed Hoffman)
Just do nothing: This is a valid option. If you're a national leader (compared with a leader who lives in upstate NY) it's not an absolute requirement you have to get involved in every single battle anywhere there's this kind of inter-party split. According to what Politico reported yesterday, Mitt Romney has no plans to get involved. He's got enough going on this off-cycle election with the NJ governor's race where he's backing reformer and corruption busting Chris Christie and the VA race where he's backing Republican Bob McDonnell.
November 4th, there will not be so much talk about who did what in this race, compared to the fireworks you're going to see where Mitt's team helped win two governor mansions that were held by democrats for years.
That's the Realpolitick of this NY-23 situation. 2010's election with the primaries and full field of candidates picked by the voters isn't that far off, and we can clean up any leftover messes then.
5 comments:
Exactly. Hope Mitt stays out of this race. I like his efforts in Virginia in particular! He was the first to endorse McDonnell. He's been there raising money and campaigning for him all along. This is a HUGE victory for the GOP.
...I believe that who you support in the NY23 race should not be a litmus test for establishing a baseline for who can identify themselves as a “Republican.” Is someone who supports gun rights, is against cap and trade, opposes most aspects of Obamacare (including the public option), wants to make Bush’s tax cuts permanent while supporting a repeal of the death tax, supports earmark reform, voted against the Paterson budget, and has a decidedly conservative voting record on fiscal matters worthy of being identified as a Republican?
It’s one thing to oppose Scozzafava because there’s a better candidate in the race. It’s something totally different to slime her as a radical leftist when she clearly is not.
http://rightwingnuthouse.com/archives/2009/10/27/yes-to-hoffman-but-no-litmus-test-please/
Guest Author: Local Columnist from Watertown, NY Gives His Opinion on Scozzafava:
Fast forward to today and our goofy 23rd Congressional District Race, which includes a Democrat candidate who is not a registered Democrat, and a Conservative candidate who doesn’t live in the congressional district.
For the past decade, the Republican Scozzafava has stood up for every women’s rights, victims’ rights and children’s rights legislation in this state. Her fingerprints are everywhere.
...getting a bachelor’s degree from Boston University School of Management...
...earning a master’s degree in business administration from Clarkson Graduate School of Management...
http://themoderatevoice.com/51099/guest-author-local-columnist-gives-his-opinion-on-scozzafava/
Dede Scozzafava: Setting The Record Straight (NY-23)
...many conservatives have flooded the blogosphere with basically falsehoods about Dede Scozzafava, the GOP candidate for NY-23,
The conclusion I draw from looking over numerous pieces of legislation is that Scozzafava on most issues is nothing more than your average Assembly Republican. Most of the votes that she did support the Democratic (or progressive) positions came when the whole Assembly voted unanimously for a bill. Scozzafava’s conservative positions are not reflected in the mainstream media, where she is labeled a “liberal” because of her stances on two social issues that, while important, should never define any candidate and should never be the sole indicator of a candidate’s ideology.
I see Scozzafava as someone who is far from the Glenn Becks of the world. But that doesn’t mean she is not conservative. The modern-day conservative is a different breed, but a lot of what Scozzafava stands for resembles an old school conservative.
Would she be a Susan Collins-type, as Markos suggested? Probably not. Her record has shown that she hasn’t really been willing to buck the GOP party line on big issues (unless the whole GOP goes along with it). There are worse Republicans than Scozzafava, but she isn’t someone I would depend on to cross party lines and vote on a Democratic (and/or progressive) issue.
http://hiphoprepublican.com/general/2009/10/21/dede-scozzafava-setting-the-record-straight-ny-23/
The Watertown Daily Times cited Scozzafava as the most able candidate to represent the district, based on her knowledge of local issues and her moderate record.
The paper also called the attention heaped on the race "exhilarating, frustrating and slightly irrelevant."
the paper said that Scozzafava's brand of politics best fits her district.
"For more than a century, this part of New York state has been represented by a member of Congress who attended to the practical concerns and real needs of the region and its people," it said. "Neither ideologues nor hard-line partisans, they understood their district, how Washington works and how that knowledge could be used to benefit Northern New Yorkers."
The paper also slammed Hoffman for living outside the district and having inferior command of local issues.
"When asked a series of questions about the district last week, Mr. Hoffman drew blanks in several areas. We cannot wait for Mr. Hoffman, who has been co-opted by the right-wing national politicians, to do his homework," it said.
Another paper, the Syracuse Post-Standard, backed Owens. The paper is published outside the district but is widely read in upstate New York.
It also slammed Hoffman for declining to be interviewed and his lack of knowledge on local issues.
"Getting elected to Congress should never trump the obligation to be an engaged, knowledgeable district representative," it said.
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/65387-scozzafava-earns-district-newspaper-endorsement
Hmmm: Hoffman ducks debate with Scozzafava and Owens
He was wary of taking questions from an adversarial outlet? That sounds like Obama’s argument against Fox News. Or … was he worried that he’d be asked more questions about local issues that he couldn’t answer, so he decided to minimize the risk by skipping tonight’s debate and focusing on tomorrow’s instead? I’d still vote for him over Scozzafava but I’m starting to see why party bosses might have felt uncomfortable nominating him instead of her.
http://hotair.com/archives/2009/10/28/hmmm-hoffman-ducks-debate-with-scozzafava-and-owens/
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