Reader Elmer sends today's Corning Leader stories [pdf] about the race in NY-23. Dede Scozzafava's drop-out and some GOTV by Vermont Democrats are detailed.
In other NY-23 news, the Watertown Daily Times' endorsement of Bill Owens says that Dede Scozzafava has "quietly and thoughtfully" been encouraging supporters to vote for Owens. [via Talking Points Memo] When the mess in NY-23 is over, I'll have more to say about how that race might impact the 29th.
Elmer also sent some photos from today's Corning Leader [pdf] from the Hammondsport Seaplane Homecoming. One photo includes Massa and some naval officers.
Comments
Scozzafava is hardly a model "moderate Republican" like so many commentators want her to be when she's going for the Democrat over the Conservative. That plays right into the stereotype of her as a liberal/RINO.
Between NY-23 and NJ Gov there's two incredible races going down to the wire for an odd-year election.
She's what I think of when I think of a classic New York/Rockefeller Republican. Somewhat liberal on social issues, supposedly conservative on spending (though that usually seems to be lip service).
However, keep in mind that those are the Republicans who won elections. We'll see about Hoffman, but in NY-29, we had a Rockefeller Republican (Amo) who was winning 70/30 elections. The more conservative Republican who replaced him was out in 2 terms.
"Rockefeller" has more to do with New York *City* and the east coast, and to a lesser extent statewide in New York (since the city dominates). If Scozzafava is the kind of candidate that the GOP has to run in a district like the 23rd, then they're done for as a meaningful alternative. I certainly don't expect Democrats to run a Heath Shuler type somewhere like Hartford or Seattle. Amo for most of his career was well to the right of Scozzafava overall so he wasn't out of place in rural upstate; he took a big turn in his last term and might have been in trouble if he ran again.
If Scozzafava was running against someone like Slaughter, that would make sense because a Hoffman wouldn't win that seat even if Louise blew up a bus full of nuns and puppies. If Scozzafava was *actually* a fiscal/economic conservative then the "GOP is chasing out all moderates" meme would make sense, but as you say that's lip service.
I'm really not sure why so many commentators are railing against the right for failing to embrace someone like Scozzafava in a district where an actual conservative can win. And the same thing would be true if it were a case like, say, Democrats going after Massa for not being sufficiently party-line in a district like ours. Massa is about as good as the Democrats could hope for in the 29th; Scozzafava isn't even close to the best Republicans can do.
I agree with your general point that a more conservative Republican can win in NY-23. From what I've seen, Hoffman has some serious problems as a candidate, no matter what his positions are on the issues, so we'll see how he does if he is elected.
But I think you're soft-pedaling the liberalism of the Republican party in upstate New York. Take Amo, for example. In addition to his stand on the Iraq War, he was pro-choice and sympathetic to gay rights issues. And I don't think he would have lost elections because of those stands. He got a lot of Democratic votes. I voted for him, for example.
Another upstate example of a Rockefeller Republican was Sherry Boehlert in NY-24, who was pro-choice and a big-time environmentalist. He, too, was a sure winner who retired.
I'll be very surprised if the Democrat wins up there, or even makes a strongly competitive race, but it sure would be nice to see. Hoffman doesn't even reside in the district, does he?
No, he doesn't. He also doesn't seem to know or care much about local issues, which will doom him if he's elected.