Candidates in New York's 23rd District House race (from left) Democrat Bill Owens, Republican Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava and Doug Hoffman prepare for their first televised debate at the WSYR television station in Syracuse, NY, Thursday.
(Heather Ainsworth/AP)Photos (1 of 1)
After leaving New York race, Scozzafava backs a Democrat
Republican Dede Scozzafava's decisions to drop out of the race for New York's 23rd congressional district and endorse a Democrat raise questions about what place moderates have in the GOP.
By Mark Sappenfield | Staff writer/ November 1, 2009 edition
One day after she dropped out of the congressional race for New York’s 23rd congressional district, Republican Dede Scozzafava lobbed a grenade at Sarah Palin, Fred Thompson, and the rest of her critics.
She endorsed a Democrat.
To Ms. Palin and the others, that will come as no surprise. The former Alaska governor had campaigned for Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman – instead of Ms. Scozzafava – because Scozzafava was already a Democrat in all but name, she and others said.
She supports gay rights and abortion rights, for example.
In some respects, it was merely a lesson in political geography. Scozzafava was at the far left fringes of the Republican Party, and New York’s 23rd congressional district leans solidly to the right. It has never elected a Democrat.
Over time, the mismatch simply became clearer.
Yet in her letter endorsing Democrat Bill Owens, Scozzafava tapped into a deep uncertainty within the Republican Party: Does the party’s increasing insistence on ideological purity undermine its ability to compete with the Democrats nationally?
“In Bill Owens, I see a sense of duty and integrity that will guide him beyond political partisanship,” she wrote. “He will be an independent voice devoted to doing what is right for New York.”
Democrats in large part built their majorities in the US House and Senate by winning seats in what have traditionally been Republican districts.
This “big tent” strategy – welcoming conservatives into the party in an effort to win elections – has its own political costs. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi repeatedly stressed her desire to pass a healthcare reform bill with a “robust” government run public option for health insurance. In the end, however, she was forced to water down the public option to placate Democrats from conservative districts.
Yet, in all likelihood, she will still have the votes to pass sweeping healthcare reform. By contrast, Republicans are barely even at the political table in Washington.
This comes as the political landscape nationwide would seem to be shifting in Republicans’ favor. Some 40 percent of Americans describe themselves as conservative, while only 20 percent consider themselves liberal, according to a recent Gallup poll.
The question for Republicans, however, is in what “conservative” means.
For Palin, the decision to back Mr. Hoffman’s ideology over Scozzafava’s affiliation is part of an effort to cleanse liberal ideals from the party platform – appealing to these small government “conservatives” more plainly.
“In the short run there’s clear energy here in the small government/antigovernment argument,” said Ronald Brownstein, a political analyst for the National Journal, on ABC’s “This Week” Sunday.
But Mr. Brownstein suggested that, in the longer term, the trend would make it hard for Republicans to make significant gains on the Democrats: “I do wonder about whether Republicans are going to have the freedom to maneuver they’ll need to recover in some of those [liberal-leaning] blue states where they’ve significantly eroded.”
It is an idea that has been repeatedly echoed by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
He told CNN recently: “This idea that we’re suddenly going to establish litmus tests, and all across the country, we’re going to purge the party of anybody who doesn’t agree with us 100 percent – that guarantees Obama’s reelection. That guarantees Pelosi is speaker for life. I mean, I think that is a very destructive model for the Republican Party.”
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Comments
2. JL | 11.01.09
Cant call Dede a moderate…put aside social issues…supporting card check, stimulus spending and big taxes to support it, healthcare reform, etc, etc…she was left of Owens even. I would agree with you if this were just about social issues differences and nothing else..but it;s much more than that…and in today;s world..no American can afford to send big spending liberals to Congress no matter what party they hail from
3. Jud Williams | 11.01.09
What you and other writers for the Christian Science Monitor think of as moderate Republicans are so far to the left that they are virtually doing cartwheels. The two party system is so pervasive that it is doubtful that it will ever be replaced by any sort of third party effort. What happens is, those with the money and associated power, highjack the parties for their own agendas. The Democrat party is a case in point as their Marxist leanings have come about, not by the traditional Democrat blue collar working men, but has been usurped by the far left pseudo-intellectuals. In the case of the Republicans, the Neocons did the highjacking. True Paleoconservatives are finally evolving as a sleeping giant who hardly fit either end of the political spectrum. They are the ones who are the true American believers and believe me, they will win our country back as true believers in the Constitution.
4. William | 11.01.09
This article completely misses several points, which is common. What, exactly, is the point of a political party if not to stand for shared ideals? How did Democrats react to Joe Lieberman supporting victory in Iraq or Zell Miller endorsing the Republican nominee for president in 2004? Did they snuggle-wuggle them? No. As then-DNC head Terry McAuliffe said to Senator Miller, “Don’t let the door hit in in the *** on the way out.” That’s an actual quote.
The idea that Republicans demand “purity,” which is a word tinged with Nazi allusions, and are alone in this, is absurd. Ms. Scozzafava is a Democrat. She proved it today. She is not a Republican. The members of the party are no more required to blindly support and vote for her than Democrats were to blindly vote and support a Democrat who does not share their deeply and sincerely held beliefs.
5. Darnell | 11.01.09
What a hypocrite Gingrich is. Suddenly now he doesn’t want — wait for the meaningless buzzword! — a “litmus test” for agreement. Tell me, Newton, what Republican leader did you throw out on his tucchus to get the leadership of the House GOP in the 90’s? None other than liberal (please stop saying “Moderate.” We all know that’s a joke) Republican Bob Michel of Illinois.
6. Coleblue | 11.01.09
This article is loaded with poison language. “Idealogical purity” “purge the party” etc. The conservatives who want to take back the republican party (or which I am one) don’t require, or insist on any purity. Merely a respect for the certain values. Individual liberty > Collective Rights, The constitution is a real list of limits on federal and state powers, and an aggressive pursuit of the truth and recognition of reality should drive decisions and not lofty (ambiguous and idealistic) language about the way things should be. And ultimately a real understanding (and the reason that conservatives turned on Bush) that conservatives don’t want their votes bought. This is not a sustainable competitive advantage. The democrats/liberals will always be willing to spend more to buy votes. We have to earn votes by educating people one at a time the principles that ensure freedom and liberty to all.
As an example and a funny one at that: the democrats in congress railed, appropriately, at the excesses of the republican congress. But looking at their spending plans it is clear that they really were just complaining about the republicans lack of commitment. The democrats know how to spend and are showing us now how it is really done.
7. dom youngross | 11.02.09
Because of RINOs and DINOs and the assorted multitude of hands dirty from no-win Afghanistan, even labels like conservative don’t necessarily mean anything. Choosing a candidate now is like food shopping. Yeah, read the spiffy advertising on the can or box, then check the ingredients.
Hoffman bills himself as fiscally conservative and for a strong national defense. Yay. But if he supports US boots-on-ground military involvement in Afghanistan, he’s going to be of limited benefit when it comes to real deficit and debt reduction, and end up undermining the affordability of a strong national defense against real security threats to us.
Instead of lobbing a grenade at Palin and the Republicans, Scozzafava strapped on a suicide-bomber’s vest and blew her own self up. She’s finished. Conservatives didn’t want her, republicans won’t want her back, and after next week, no matter if Owens or Hoffman wins, the democrats will have no further use for her. Maybe she’ll start her own party.
This story in NY23 is being uniformly reported in terms of what is speculatively good for republicans. Screw that notion — what’s ‘good’ for any party. Both parties or any party can either work to about-face in Afghanistan and reduce federal deficits and debt or they can kiss off.
If a loaf of plain white bread ends up costing $4 in a couple years, everyone will instinctively spit after hearing or saying Obama, Afghanistan, or bailout — and wish that they did a couple years earlier
8. David | 11.02.09
“The former Alaska governor had campaigned for Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman – instead of Ms. Scozzafava – because Scozzafava was already a Democrat in all but name, she and others said.” TRUE
So how would a vote for Scozzafava(a lib) make the Republican party stronger? Her endorsement of the Democrat makes it clear that she is a RINO and the Republicans are stronger without her. Why would you want someone in your party who would side with and vote for the other party?
9. The King | 11.02.09
Scozzafava was the choice of the political bosses, not the people. If all she wanted was to be a spoiler she should have stayed in the race. Instead she wants to hit at those who reject her left wing agenda. If there had been a Republican primary in this race there would have been no problem, but since the bosses wanted Scozzafava there was a grassroots movement to find a candidate more in step with the people. The Democrat party is comfortable with political bosses making these decisions, in fact during the last presidential election there was some talk of the bosses, or super delegates, taking the decision out of the peoples hands and nominating Hilary Clinton rather than Obama. The Republicans believe in democracy.
10. Keith | 11.02.09
Mr. Gingrich had his chance in the Republican Party and he blew it. He totally misunderstands what is happening in America. He thinks in terms of politics and we think in terms of Revolution. We are not even on the same page. He needs to go write another book and keep quite. Who made him the spokesman of the Republican Party? He certainly isn’t liked by the Conservative side.
The difference between us and him is that we are not willing to sell our soul, our political soul, to get the ilk like the candidate that dropped out in NY. She was the death of his future hope of running again. Conservatives would laugh him right off the stage.
Go write a book, Newt. Your sagacity has turned to sententiousness.
11. JOe | 11.02.09
another superficial liberal news analysis by the Monitor masquerading as breaking news coverage.
lets see how the election turns out, and when the Republican wins in liberal, liberal NY, lets see if the Monitor calls this a purging of the party of moderates, or a purging of democrats in republican clothing.
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1. 4comonsense | 11.01.09
Not surprising. She has always been a Democrate at heart. Never showed any conservative values. What do you expect. Never was voted in by the people. She is and always has been a SLEEPER. What I want to know is what the White House promised her? Only time will tell. Ms. Scozzafava. You are truly a disgrace and a person with out character to potitics. You are an example of the Democratic Party, say one thing and do just the opposite.