NY-23: GOP Rips Scozzafava ... Will She Switch Parties?

Posted by Kos , Daily Kos at 10:29 AM on November 2, 2009.

I'll have more on this race later today, but one of the argument I made in my supposed "endorsement" of Republican Dede Scozzafava was the potential for her to switch parties and be a better Democrat than the pretend "Democrat" on our party's ballot line.

Ahem:

Two senior Democrats with ties to the White House praised Cuomo’s role in the operation, saying they were confident Scozzafava was on board after learning that she told Cuomo: "You're going to be the next governor of New York."

Also critical was Silver’s assurance, in a phone conversation with Scozzafava, that the state Assembly Democratic caucus would embrace her if she chose to switch parties, now viewed as a real possibility after her endorsement Sunday of Owens.

"Real possibility" indeed, given the vitriol Republicans are sending her way:

The reaction from the state party to the Scozzafava endorsement was swift and unsparing.

"Dede Scozzafava’s endorsement today represents a betrayal of the people of the North Country and the people of her Party," said Ed Cox, chairman of the New York GOP. "In contacting Scozzafava, the Obama White House has once again played its Chicago-style politics here in New York. The people of the 23rd District will not be fooled by any corrupt bargain."

Hoffman’s campaign offered a similarly sharp response.

"This afternoon Dede Scozzafava betrayed the GOP," read a Hoffman press release, titled, ‘Surprise Surprise: Dede is a Democrat.’ [...]

The Susan B. Anthony List, which has spent more than $125,000 in organizing a pro-Hoffman ground program in the district and in running radio ads, also touched on the betrayal theme.

"By her actions today Dede Scozzafava has confirmed why it was so important for conservatives and people who care about the GOP to get involved in this race," said President Marjorie Dannenfelser. "When a GOP candidacy is not based on fundamental conservative values, the party and the principles are inevitably betrayed at critical moments."

As if Albany hadn't been exciting enough this year, but at this point, she'd be a fool to remain a Republican.

The results of this race are pretty much irrelevant. The seat means little in the overall balance of power in the House, and it's a seat that could be redistricted out of existence after the census. The true import of this race has already been determined -- the teabagger coup and message to the few remaining non-doctrinaire Republicans that they are no longer welcomed in their party. And the conservatives have their scalp, whether Doug Hoffman wins or loses. They are energized, and ironically, rather than aim their guns at Democrats, they are taking aim squarely at their own party.

In what could be a tough 2010, an all-out civil war inside the GOP is manna from heaven.

Race tracker wiki: NY-23

Tagged as: gop, tea parties, ny-23, hoffman, owens, scozzafava

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