A portrait of Dede Scozzafava
I produced a profile of Republican candidate Dede Scozzafava for this morning's 8 O'Clock Hour. It's an effort to push past some of the more hysterical attack-ad rhetoric of the last few weeks.
We're also profiling Doug Hoffman (available tomorrow) and Bill Owens.
As I listened back through piles of tape that we'd recorded with Scozzafava, I had a couple of thoughts that didn't quite fit in my story.
First, it's amazing how much this woman's professional accomplisment has been eclipsed by the conservative firestorm against her.
At a time when she (I'm assuming) wanted to tell the story of her family, her values, her accomplisments in Albany, she's been pinned down by issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage.
Secondly, it's remarkable the dichotomy between the North Country's political culture (tolerant, flexible, reasonably nonpartisan) and the hyper-aggressive tone of the national discussion.
Here in the region, people who know Scozzafava view her as a nuanced, complicated figure. They agree with her some, they disagree with her some.
But she's a real person, thoughtful and solid.
The caricature that's appeared in the attack ads (and in the conservative national media) is nearly unrecognizable.
Labels: election09
posted by Brian Mann @ 10/22/2009 06:36:00 AM
7 Comments
7 Comments:
The stakes are going up my friend.. it's not N.C anymore...Congress. Plus, these days we need a black and white on where she stands. There is a lot to loose and we have to be very careful. Look at Pres. Obama's promise pre election days and his recent speech to the HRC. People should be able to own up to the statements they make. The problem I would have with the whole thing is how you go about it. I try and take the respect route while many get too emotional and blast people. Thats my issue with many in the conservative movement. They need to count to 10 before they speak(or type).
Kinda like Sarah Palin, eh?
Standing by for flames....
Thanks, Brian and David, for attempting to bring some balance to the coverage of a race that has been hijacked by national ideologs who are hell bent on making the North Country the latest casualty in their self-serving culture wars. Political power brokers who will never cast a vote in this race are making a mockery of the old saw that “all politics is local.” An editorial in today’s Watertown Times spoke directly to the consequences: the issues that are most important to the North Country and its people are being ignored. We have a 20 year history of Scozzafava’s stand on these issues, but we know next to nothing about where the other candidates stand. She is getting the Max Cleland treatment, pure and simple. Regardless of our political sympathies or who we might vote for, it will be a disgrace if we let it happen here. Please do what you can to challenge these candidates to tell us where they stand on the local issues that they will be called upon to champion on our behalf in Congress.
Mark Scarlett
I agree with Mark. It's really up to the local press (NCPR in particular) to bring actual information to the voters of this region. Unfortunately, after listening to 2/3 of the candidate profiles so far I have been surprised at how little substantive discussion of the candidates' stances have been included. Both profiles have seemed to me to be framed as a reaction to the national debate and, as a result, resort to the same oversimplifications. It would be great to have some useful info to help us make our decisions on the issues since none of the 3 candidates seems particularly forthcoming with that info (Hoffman being the only exception - if you count his constant boilerplate right wing sloganeering).
Kudos to Brian and David. Great work, as always. Looking forward to the continuing coverage.
Skip
hi skip -
these candidate profiles will be followed by a series of specific issues stories. healthcare will be up first next week.
brian
I'm still trying to get my mind around Owen as a Democrat.
Seems to me he is more of a Dixicrat, which makes Obama's endorsement rather odd.
But then Obama is becoming rather odd.
Wow, a politician who is willing to listen to all sides of a debate. One who does not think one group or another always has the right answer. No wonder she is getting hammered by some groups....How dare she.
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