Scozzafava endorses Owens resulting in a big lead for Hoffman

Via Memeorandum:

Public Policy Polling has Conservative Doug Hoffman leading Democrat Bill Owens 54% to 38%. So much for Republican(?) Scozzafava's endorsement of Owens. As Hoffman's margin grows I wouldn't be surprised if the NRCC put out a press release claiming that this was their plan all along.

An interesting poll finding:

One key finding that may have ultimately scuttled Scozzafava's candidacy: 59% of Republicans considered her to be a liberal and only 7% thought she was a conservative. By comparison 80% of them consider Hoffman to be a conservative, and that's a good thing where nearly two thirds of GOP voters define themselves that way.

Newt Gingrich, among others, claimed that he backed Scozzafava because she was the choice of the local party but it seems odd that in a district where two thirds of Republicans consider themselves conservative that they would chose a candidate that 59% consider to be a liberal. Pat at And So it Goes in Shreveport sites a TCOT Report story that says Scozzafava wasn't their choice:

Scozzafava was nominated on July 22 at a meeting of the eleven county chairmen. Prior to this meeting, a series of four regional meetings were held throughout the district, at which time nine candidates were given a chance to appear in front of a select group of Republican committeemen and State Party Officials. Many conservative Republicans in the 23rd Congressional District were insulted by the Speaker's blatant mischaracterization that Scozzafava was the "unanimous" choice of the four regional meetings that preceded the nominee selection meeting held on July 22. Contrary to the Speaker's assertions, Scozzafava received a majority of the support in only one of these four meetings.

She never had the local support the NRCC contended. Leahy asked Fulton County Republican County Chairman Susan McNeil if there was any support at all for Dede in Fulton County. McNeil's response? "In all of the calls I have received there is no support for Dede."

Hmm. I haven't heard the RNC/NRCC/Gingrich response to that.

You can follow the NY23 race at The Other McCain, who has updated the story here, here, here and here.

Here Piggy!

Prof. Jacobson has an interesting take on Scozzafava's endorsement of Democrat Owens rather than Conservative candidate Doug Hoffman-it's all about the pork:

Scozafava's endorsement of Democrat Owens certainly was based on hurt feelings, but she justified it by focusing on who could bring home the federal pork to the district:

It’s not in the cards for me to be your representative, but I strongly believe Bill is the only candidate who can build upon John McHugh's lasting legacy in the U.S. Congress. John and I worked together on the expansion of Fort Drum and I know how important that base is to the economy of this region. I am confident that Bill will be able to provide the leadership and continuity of support to Drum Country just as John did during his tenure in Congress.

Jacobson continues:

It's Doug Hoffman and the philosophy of fiscal responsibility, versus Bill Owens and the John Murtha philosophy of pork-barrel politics. And with Joe Biden riding into town on Monday, Obama's big government, let someone else pay for me, policies will be put to a test.

The party lines have been blurred but not the issue. Country before pork, or pork before country? I hope the people of NY-23 choose country. We'll see.

Scozzafava definitely is a woman with an agenda and her shout out to Fort Drum may have simply been a way for her to throw her weight towards Owens without mentioning that she is also pro-abortion, pro card check, pro tax and spend and not the "moderate" that sucker punched the NRCC and the RNC. Either way, flipping on "her party" (suppressed giggle) can be summed up with a snark filled "classy."

Momma always said you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.

What is Scozzafava's Next Move?

Pat at And So it Goes in Shreveport is reporting that Scozzafava's next move may be to endorse the Democratic candidate in NY23:

Via Hot Air, Hotline reports that Dede Scozzafava and her husband are quietly endorsing Bill Owens in the NY-23 race. This comes as no real shock as they disagree on absolutely nothing with regard to policy issues.

Hotline quotes both the New York Post and the Watertown Daily Times:

First, in a Watertown Daily Times' editorial switching its endorsement from Scozzafava to atty Bill Owens (D), the Daily Times notes that Scozzafava "began to quietly and thoughtfully encourage her supporters to vote for" Owens after her withdrawal announcement 10/31.

And, according to the New York Post, Scozzafava's husband -- Central Labor Council pres. Ron McDougall -- wholeheartedly endorsed Owens late last p.m. McDougall: "As a life-long labor activist, I know that Bill Owens understands the issues important to working people. On the other hand, Doug Hoffman has little regard for the interests of workers. Hoffman's opposition to the Employee Free Choice Act, coupled with his support for the failed policies of the Bush Administration make him a poor choice to serve the citizens of the 23rd Congressional District."

Earlier I said that the voters turned to Doug Hoffman in NY23 because the Scozzafava/Owens matchup was viewd as a choice between the Democratic candidate and the other Democratic candidate. If Scozzafava endorses Owens, she will make my point for me.

Pat goes on to relate the NY23 race to the NRCC's monumental screwup in the Crist/Rubio matchup here in Florida. It makes one wonder how many "Specters" the RNC and NRCC will back before they come to their senses.

Read Pat's piece here.

NY23: What Have We Learned? And Will the Lesson Stick?

Via Memeorandum:

In the Washington Examiner, Glenn Reynolds wisely writes that It’s the follow-through that matters in New York’s special race. His message to the GOP is that the party needs to follow-through on the lessons learned during the race. Reynolds also cautions Conservatives not to get too cocky. Fair enough. However, watching Newt on Fox this morning, it is clear that the GOP back peddling has begun even before the vote has been taken. Newt is playing off the Conservative victory as a mere blip on the radar with no real national implications. Well, there are slow learners and the unteachable. Guess which category Newt belongs in.

According to a recent Gallup Poll, Conservatives are not some little fringe group that the GOP can dismiss. Forty percent of Americans self identify as “conservative” while thirty-five percent call themselves “moderate” and bringing up the rear are those who call themselves “liberal” at twenty-one percent. In other words, we Conservatives are the mainstream.

Need proof? “The Party” has thrown its weight and money behind the RINO Charlie Crist in Florida. What has their name, prestige (snort), and money bought them? The Conservative candidate, Marco Rubio, has laid waste to Crist in all twelve straw polls taken so far. And we are still a year out.

It didn’t escape Conservative’s notice that many in “The Party” suddenly discovered their conservative principals only after it became clear that Hoffman would win NY23. Sure, we will accept the support of the “me, too” Republicans, but we won’t forget how late that support came. I have no delusion that the NRCC will back off its endorsement of Crist but I would hope that some within the GOP would take a lesson away from NY23 and endorse Rubio sooner rather than later.

Reynolds is correct that this is no time get cocky but it is a time for Conservatives to show resolve. It would also be a good time for the GOP to rediscover Conservative principles and jump off the sinking RINO boat.

Breaking News From NY23

Stacy McCain has the headline of the week: NY23: SCOZZAFAVA QUITS!

I haven't seen this on Memeorandum yet but no one has kept a closer eye on this campaign than McCain:

Just confirmed that Republican candidate Dede Scozzafava has quit the race. Speaking to supporters, Scozzafava broke down in tears.

UPDATE: Scozzafava, the hand-picked choice of the New York state GOP in the key 23rd District special election, reportedly will throw her support to Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman.

Scozzafava's withdrawal came shortly after a new Siena College poll was released this morning, showing her in third place, with Hoffman neck-and-neck with Democrat Bill Owens.

UPDATE II: Steven Foley of 73Wire Campaign Trail is also on the story. Foley's crew is over at Starbucks, while I'm poaching the lobby computer at a hotel here in Lake Placid. I am the Poacher King.

My source called this morning to confirm the story while Foley was on the phone with his source. Ali Akbar has text of Dede Scozzafava's farewell.

UPDATE III: Linked at Hot Air where Ed Morrissey comments:
Scozzafava has seen her negatives explode, while her two opponents have only become more accepted as they became more well known. She has no chance of winning this race, and her withdrawal leaves Hoffman with the Republican vote whether she endorses him or not.

As poll after poll showed Hoffman either tied or ahead of Democratic rival Owens and Scozzafava slinking around in third place more and more Republican "names" jumped on the Hoffman bandwagon. As I said earlier, everyone loves a winner and everyone wants to be on the winning side. Scozzafava meet bus.

Whether it is Pete Sessions announcing that the party would welcome Hoffman with open arms or party chairman Michael Steele saying that a win for Hoffman is a win for the GOP, the fact is, the party flipped on Scozzafava. Note: what Steele should have said is that a win for Hoffman is a win for Conservatives and a lesson for the GOP. In any case, the NRCC decided that it didn't make sense to throw anymore money at the Scozzafava and now we are down to a two man race.

Undeniably, Conservatives have won. We have shown the Republican party that candidates such as Doug Hoffman in New York and Marco Rubio here in Florida are not only viable but the smart choice. When Republicans go to the polls we don't want to vote based on the Democratic candidate and the other Democratic candidate. If the voters see no difference between the candidates, the two party system loses, and the people will turn to a third party.

Republicans can only declare victory in NY23 if they walk away from the race much smarter than they walked in to it.

The Other McCain is updating the story constantly.

UPDATE:

Scozzafava’s withdrawal is on Memeorandum now. Others reporting on this are:

Newsbusters.Org
Sister Toldja
Left Coast Rebel
Jammiewearingfool
Legal Insurrection
Michelle Malkin

UPDATE II:

American Power is running the story:

Hoffman will pick up most of Scozzava's 20 percent in the Siena poll. This race is pretty much a done deal.

See Robert Stacy McCain for the details (he's been working this story like a mofo), "NY23: SCOZZAFAVA QUITS! UPDATE: New poll shows Hoffman in dead heat with Democrat Owens."Plus, from the Watertown Daily Times, "SCOZZAFAVA SUSPENDS 23RD CAMPAIGN," and Ed Morrissey, "Breaking: Scozzafava Quits After Siena Poll; Update: Hoffman Campaign Asking for Endorsement?" And, from Dana Loesch, "BREAKING: Dede Dumps Herself." Ha! Added: The best headline so far, "Radical Leftist GOP Candidate Dede Scozzafava Quits."

UPDATE III:

Just heard on Fox News, Steele is throwing the full support of the GOP and NRCC behind Doug Hoffman. Everyone loves a winner.

From Erik Erickson at RedState on Jeb Hensarling (R) Texas, who formerly endorsed Scozzafava, throwing his support to Hoffman:

I am endorsing Doug Hoffman’s candidacy in New York’s 23rd Congressional District. Doug will fight Speaker Pelosi’s efforts to takeover our health care system and work with us to reign-in the record spending, debts and deficits that President Obama and the Democrat Congress are piling onto the shoulders of our children and grandchildren.

I respect DeDe Scozzafava’s decision to leave the race and am gratified by it. When I agreed to support her, I didn’t think a third party candidate could win and I was wrong. Clearly, Hoffman’s conservative principles are far more in line with my own, and I welcome this opportunity to endorse him. I am excited about this opportunity and will welcome him to Congress.

I am glad to hear Hensarling say that Hoffman's conservative principles are are far closer to his own. That being the case, why didn't he back Hoffman to begin with? Are Marco Rubio's conservative principles also far closer to Hensarling's? If so, who is Hensarling backing in Florida? I have a problem with Republicans who only discover their principles after the fact.

Everybody Loves a Winner

As polls show Doug Hoffman either tied or ahead of Democrat Bill Owens and Republican Dede Scozzafava tumbling in to third place, it looks like the House Republican leadership is laying the foundation for a working relationship:

The House Republican leadership is prepared to welcome Doug
Hoffman into its ranks, National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman
Pete Sessions (R-Texas) said Thursday, a sign that the GOP establishment is
recalibrating its approach toward the contentious New York special election and
the Conservative Party nominee whose candidacy has divided the party.

“He would be very welcome, with open arms,” Sessions told POLITICO in
an interview off the House floor.

As Stacy McCain says, Worry warts are worried, and the hand-wringers are ring their hands. The party leadership went all in for Scozzafava and now they are getting their backsides handed to them. The party is all about winning so it doesn't surprise me that they would "welcome" Hoffman. Everybody loves a winner.

The Eugenics Society Inducts a New Member

From Don Surber:

In case anyone is wondering why conservatives think the Republican Party leaders are out of touch, Michael Steele and company need only listen to their congressional candidate in the special congressional race in uppermost New York state, Republican Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava accepts the Margaret Sanger Award at Family Planning Advocates of New York States’ 31st Annual Conference on March 10, 2008, at the Empire State Plaza in Albany, NY.

The video.

Margaret Sanger is considered the "Mother" of Planned Parenthood and is a woman who envisioned abortion as the major weapon in the fight to rid the world of the "wrong" kind of people.

Why is the RNC backing a candidate like Scozzafava? She has absolutely nothing in common with the Republican Party or Republican principals. Further, in NY23 there is a candidate running who does embrace the principals that the Republican Party is supposed to stand for.

Doug Hoffman, the Conservative candidate in NY23, represents what so many of us thought our party stood for. Stacy McCain:

Hoffman took a job pumping gas at age 14 to help support his family -- you
understand that, beneath his nerdy exterior, there is a man of real character.
And his willingness to step up to the plate and take on the GOP Establishment in
this special election is another example of that.

Conservatives nowadays often complain that we don't have "another Reagan,"
but maybe that's not what we need. Maybe what we really need is a grassroots
movement so powerful, so energized, that it doesn't have to wait around for the
next Ronald Reagan to show up. (See "Memo
to the Grassroots.")

Maybe what we need is a grassroots so fired up it can elect a real
conservative, even if he isn't a telegenic media superstar or a dynamic public
speaker.

How did the party become so out of touch? It is time to throw the bums out and start over.