Campaign Crawlers
It’s Up to You, Upstate New York
NY23: Hoffman’s three-way fight ignites the right.
Rob Ryan’s hoarse voice rumbled with laughter Tuesday afternoon as he reacted to reports that liberal Republican Dede Scozzafava had called police on a reporter who asked too many questions after her Monday speech.
“The only thing the police need to investigate in this race is if Dede Scozzafava is impersonating a Republican,” Ryan said in a telephone interview yesterday.
Yet the media coordinator for New York congressional candidate Doug Hoffman was less jocular when discussing the Conservative Party campaign’s most pressing need in the crucial 23rd District special election. “We need money and we need it now,” he said. Fundraising has been “picking up every day,” Ryan said, and the Hoffman campaign is “getting donations from across the country.”
However, Hoffman is battling against major party candidates, with the national GOP spending hundreds of thousands of dollars for Scozzafava — angering conservatives like Michelle Malkin — while the Democratic Party pours cash into the campaign coffers of its candidate, Bill Owens.
With high-profile supporters including Fred Thompson, Dick Armey, Bill Kristol and the Club for Growth, the Hoffman campaign has become what John Gizzi of Human Events calls a “national conservative crusade.”
Conservatives have had their eye on the Hoffman campaign for weeks, but now major national media are finally taking notice. “The race the nation should be watching is a special election in upstate New York,” Newsweek magazine’s David Graham wrote yesterday, saying the outcome would show “whether Democrats can hold on to voters who went for Obama in 2008.”
The question that has puzzled conservatives for weeks is how someone as far left as Scozzafava — who has in the past been supported by ACORN — managed to get picked by the state GOP in this conservative district. Hoffman has said Republican “party bosses, the lords of the backroom, made this selection.”
Online activist Michael Patrick Leahy similarly summarizes the process. “The nomination of Scozzafava was orchestrated by two powerful liberal members of the local Republican Party organization,” Leahey wrote at TCOT Report, “and was aided and abetted by several politically inexperienced local county leaders who failed to grasp the tactical significance of shunning the Conservative Party and did not fully understand the details of their nominee’s record, or her potential vulnerabilities.”
Some observers consider it possible that Scozzafava will finish third in the Nov. 3 vote, which would be a sharp rebuke to the GOP leadership in Washington that twisted arms in a failed effort to get more Republican support for the party’s liberal nominee.
The sprawling, rural 23rd District has in the past several elections voted by 2-to-1 margins for Rep. John McHugh, a Republican with a 74 percent rating from the American Conservative Union. Obama’s appointment of McHugh as Secretary of the Army created the vacancy that will be filled by the only congressional election this fall.
In a three-way contest in this staunchly GOP district, Hoffman’s strategists believe a plurality victory is clearly within their reach. Exactly how close they expect it to be was signaled yesterday, when the Hoffman campaign asked Obama to send Justice Department election monitors to the district. The campaign warned of the dangers of ACORN-related vote fraud highlighted by a recent upstate New York election.
“Hopefully, they’re not going to steal the election from the voters of the 23rd District,” Hoffman said in a telephone interview last night after a day of campaigning in Oneida, Oswego, and Watertown.
The most recent poll indicated a surge by Hoffman, who gained seven points in two weeks while Scozzafava lost six points. That poll showed the little-known Democratic candidate, Owens, with a narrow lead — an angle that excited the national media — although Hoffman’s team says the real story is Scozzafava’s collapsing support.
A major factor in the election is the free-market Club for Growth, which has weighed in with TV ads targeting Scozzafava’s record in the New York state legislature. The group’s latest ad pairs the Democratic and Republican candidates — “Tired of choosing between two liberals?” — and highlights Hoffman as “the common sense choice.”
Some Hoffman supporters are hoping for an endorsement by Sarah Palin. For now, however, the campaign staff’s key concern is to raise cash contributions for the final push. They will increasingly aim their fire on the Democrat, Owens, who got Barack Obama to attend a New York City fundraiser for his campaign last night.
About the Author
Robert Stacy McCain is co-author (with Lynn Vincent) of Donkey Cons: Sex, Crime, and Corruption in the Democratic Party (Nelson Current). He blogs at The Other McCain.
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Motown Mike| 10.21.09 @ 7:23AM
To offset the efforts of Acorn and others to steal votes, I suggest that members of the Conservative Party and conservative Republicans field their own poll watchers who are equipped with video cameras and who are ready to Twitter any irregularities they see. Keep the light shining on evildoers.
daddio| 10.21.09 @ 3:22PM
Be sure to stream the video to the web too.
louis tully| 10.21.09 @ 9:26AM
Lets face it, our system recognizes just two political entities--the incumbents and the opposition. Right now, conservatives are neither.
Conservatives are itching to take on the socialist incumbents, but they have to be the opposition first. That means they have to replace the GOP/Whigs. That is the battle that has to be fought and won first. Bring it on. Its time to start taking Whig scalps.
Tim| 10.21.09 @ 10:17AM
Whigs. Heh.
victor | 10.21.09 @ 11:10PM
Well then, we do what the Radical Republicans did in the beginning and forge ahead, do the Right thing and the heck with the Moderate RINO'S.
Yeah it would be nice if Sarah endorsed Hoffman, but we really have to "help" the RNC push the RINO's overboard.
Rush and Hannity coincidentally talked about Hoffman today and Mark Levin "coincidentally", yeah Right, had Hoffman on his show and linked to him on his website.
http://marklevinshow.com/Artic.....spid=32364
JP| 10.21.09 @ 11:09AM
NY lost 2 Republican seats last year that were held for years. Syracuse and Southern Tier/Corning. These are largely rural and farm districts who tend to be conservative. The money used to unseat the Republicans flowed in from NYC.
The party should be fighting to get those seats back as well.
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Shamus| 10.21.09 @ 11:44AM
I've tended to vote Republican in recent elections because Republicans are less nuts than Democrats. When Republicans offer no choice at all between their party and the far left, then they lose my support.
Si Vis Pacem | 10.21.09 @ 11:52AM
Dede turned me into a Newt!!
Thanks Stacy. Keep sluggin'.
MikeN| 10.21.09 @ 12:58PM
I'd be surprised if Democrats don't make a bigger push. Losing this seat and the two governor's races in two weeks, would kill the Obama agenda.
Pingback| 10.21.09 @ 2:07PM
The Crime of Holding Them Accountable « The Rhetorican links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Dan Francis | 10.21.09 @ 2:34PM
Hoffman does not even live in the district, and Owens is not even a legal DEM... Dede is imploding... what's left? WRITE IN A NAME AND SEND A MESSAGE.
daddio| 10.21.09 @ 3:23PM
vote Libertarian!
victor| 10.21.09 @ 10:50PM
Vote for the Conservative!
Vote for Hoffman!
victor| 10.21.09 @ 10:50PM
Vote for the Conservative!
Vote for Hoffman!
Bob Belvedere | 10.21.09 @ 2:45PM
Quoted from and linked to at:
23 SKIDOO
Joellen| 10.21.09 @ 4:15PM
Conservatives send in your CHECKS to HOFFMAN! Let the REPUBLICAN PARTY KNOW we are NOT going to let them continue to try and DUPE us! If they refuse to put up CONSERVATIVES who stand for the principals and ideals that we belive in, then they can continue to lose our monetary and voting support. Even if you dont live in NYS, send your support to HOFFMAN. Newt I am still waiting of an legtimate answer as to your support for LIBERAL DEDE!
Eric Dondero | 10.21.09 @ 7:07PM
And with the election of 3rd partier Hoffman to the Congress, a great precedent will be set. No longer will any Conservative have an excuse for not supporting a Libertarian Party candidate in a similar type of race.
We Libertarians have been hoping for this for decades.
Thank you Doug Hoffman. You alone established what the Libertarian Party has fought for, for over 30 years.
victor| 10.21.09 @ 10:55PM
You're delusional, Conservatives won't vote for Liberalterriers. Period!
He's not setting a precedent, he's sending a Message to the RINO's that we're not putting up with their garbage any longer.
The guy is a regular businessman, not a professional pol.
Liberterriers are fiscally sound, but morally, they may as well be dems.
shoey| 10.25.09 @ 9:21PM
"Liberterriers are fiscally sound, but morally, they may as well be dems."
says the Big Gov. Repub. (who would use the State enforce to his morality)
plenty of conservatives are willing to vote libertarian.
go to a TEA party and open your eyes
Soulsamurai | 10.21.09 @ 9:29PM
It's time for Ed Cox to play Barry Goldwater
http://www.thenextright.com/ir.....-goldwater
Deances | 10.22.09 @ 5:31AM
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roadmaster| 10.22.09 @ 8:50AM
Not a good time to be a RINO. My wife and I have gone to several Tea Parties, besides demonstrating in front of our loony left Rep. Raul "supermex" Grijalva. She has never been involved in political movements and neither have a lot of other people we meet at these events. Conservatives are refusing to drink the KoolAid when it has a scuzzy flava.
Richard Baker| 10.22.09 @ 1:30PM
And then Newt Gingrich endorses Scozzofava! Has Newt turned his coat? Incomprehensible.
L. Banks| 10.22.09 @ 1:36PM
My sister lives in New York state and has been telling me about this race. It appears to me the Republican Party has run a dead mare trying to keep this district for the Republican Party. It is really unfortunate they have not learned any lessons from the Obama defeat. They played right into his hands. They are not offering a strong alternative to the Democratic Socialism being espoused by the Obama worshippers. The message they are conveying is unclear and who is listening? They have re-inforced this by nominating a woman who is clearly out of step with this rural part of the country. If the Republican Party became a party of less government, less taxes and supported the constitution, they might be able to show a difference people would support. I believe the answer for most people now is to chose the conservative candidate with the qualifications to execute his beliefs since the two major parties are too closely aligned. Doug Hoffman is a conservative who has the credentials and the desire to stop the spending and stop an out of control government. This may become the way of the future, conservatives running as independents. This is what made the United States great to begin with...
victor| 10.22.09 @ 9:24PM
NewsFlash!
Sarah Palin just endorsed HOFFMAN!
Go Sarah 2012
To paraphrase Joan Crawford:
NO MORE SPINELESS RINO'S!
Margie| 10.22.09 @ 10:50PM
And he is running in the Conservative Party in N.Y.
Juno| 10.23.09 @ 12:29AM
Conservatism is worth fighting for!
No more weak weenie republicans. The time to fight is NOW!
asdhjk| 10.26.09 @ 4:05AM
asd
Thom | 10.26.09 @ 5:40PM
It's true: Dede Scozzafava, the Republican candidate in northern NY's special Congressional election, doesn't toe the Right-Wing line on a number of issues. Staunchly pro-2nd amendment, she is also pro-abortion rights (consistent with the Supreme Court) and pro-Marriage Equality. My God, she almost sounds Golderwateresque!
But wait, there's more: her husband is a union organizer, and she has very tight ties with union leaders. Her district, along the Canadian border, contains a significantly higher proportion of union workers (and trade concerns) than most districts in the US, and so yes, she tends to side with labor on a number of issues. Hmmm...sounds rather Jack Kempesque, too....which isn't surprising, considering that her district is the remotest, most economically hardest-hit district in New York.
Sarah Palin has opened her mouth in endorsing rival Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman, and Minnesota's Gov. Pawlenty is leaning in that direction. One has to wonder what these two know, if anything, about the 23rd District, and why they are sticking their noses into a New York race.
Even Newt Ginrich has weighed in for Scozzafava, saying
"I just think it is a mistake for the conservative movement to think splitting in the special election is a smart idea. If we give that seat to the Democrats, shame on us.”
He continued: “She has signed a no tax increase pledge. She is endorsed by the National Rifle Association. She has come out against cap and trade… She is opposed to the Obama health care plan. She will vote for John Boehner instead of Nancy Pelosi. All of those things together make her – it seems to me – a legitimate, authentic, Republican nominee.”
Republicans who do not support her are sending a clear message about their onw Rule-or-Ruin attitude: they would rather support the Conservative Party candidate who will lose, but enable unyielding ideologues feel warm and fuzzy at the purity of their vote.
When, oh when will the Republican Party cut off the Right-Wing tail that keeps wagging its dog?
[Disclaimer: I was a Conservative Party State Committeeman from the 5th CD of NY 1986-1988]
Right Brained| 10.29.09 @ 10:17PM
Yeah, cut off the tail and send the dog to the donkeys where it belongs. Then grow a big strong new elephant.
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