Nine Truths About Dede Scozzafava
Dede Scozzafava has become a metaphor the last 72 hours for everything that's wrong with the Republican Party.
Some people say she's a red-flag politician because she was ever allowed to join the GOP in the first place.
Others say her importance lies in the fact that she's no longer welcome.
In the mix, there's been a lot of inaccurate reporting and commentary. So let me lay out what I see as some truths about Assemblywoman Scozzafava.
1. In this election, Dede Scozzafava was never endorsed by Acorn. Didn't happen. The Working Families Party (which has some ties to Acorn) endorsed Democrat Bill Owens.
2. Before this election, Scozzafava wasn't just a Republican, she was a Republican leader, serving as GOP whip in the state Assembly. Pretending she was never part of the in-crowd just doesn't fly. Toss her under the bus, fine. But don't pretend that she didn't use to be one of the drivers.
3. Scozzafava's views on same-sex marriage (she thinks it's a civil right) are in line with the stated views of many other New York Republicans elected in the 23rd district -- including two of the most powerful: state Assemblywomen Janet Duprey and Teresa Sayward. Plattsburgh, on the eastern side of the district, was the first city in New York to elect an openly gay mayor...and he was a Republican.
4. Scozzafava's relationships with labor groups are certainly more intimate than former Rep. John McHugh's. (She's married to a regional union organizer). Her embrace of 'card check' is a significant and controversial outlier for the GOP. But the North Country the Republican Party has always had close ties to unions.
5. Scozzafava wasn't chosen by "Republican elites." She was chosen by eleven county GOP chairmen from some of the most rural corners of New York state. A less than transparent process? Yes. A fix engineered by faceless party elites out of touch with their communities? No.
6. Scozzafava's implosion wasn't all Doug Hoffman's (or Rush Limbaugh's) fault. Put bluntly, she ran an awful, no-good, very bad campaign. She never managed to raise much money. Her campaign ads were flat and her messages were muddled at best. The financial troubles plaguing her family business didn't help.
7. Republicans screwed this up in more ways than one. The national- and state-level GOPs backing Scozzafava ran one of the most tone-deaf campaigns in recent memory. And recent memory includes the fiascos that resulted in Democrats winning a state Senate seat and a House seat (NY-20) in the North Country.
8. Scozzafava is, for lack of a better word, a maverick. Until this fall, she clearly believed that the Republican Party had room for someone like her, with distinctly different views on key issues. She seemed to feel comfortable within the GOP. But she also knew she was pushing her luck at times (on her support for gay marriage, in particular) and kept going. This is why some people view her endorsement of Democrat Bill Owens as more than just sour grapes.
9. Most political observers here in the North Country thought Dede Scozzafava was a solid Republican choice -- and probably unstoppable. If Doug Hoffman hadn't entered this race, she would have been the next congresswoman from NY-23. What's more, I'm guessing she would have been a fairly non-controversial one, about as well-liked locally and loyal to her national party leadership as, say, John McHugh. The political climate changed completely with Hoffman's emergence, but it's important to remember where we began.
Labels: election09
posted by Brian Mann @ 11/03/2009 02:31:00 PM
29 Comments
29 Comments:
Excellent synopsis of Dede. As a registered Republican, I'm baffled and angered that I'm now going to be represented by someone as ultra-conservative as Hoffman. A guy who will be completely beholden to the radicals on the right. I think it's time to register as an Independent as I certainly want no part of what's left of the Republican party.
I personally thought it was bad that she was even being considered for the nomination right from the beginning. Her voting record and ties to the unions never lef tme feeling right. Getting rid of the secret ballot for union elections opens things up to intimidation. Unions are a problem in this country and have sucked many industries dry in this country. On top of that the fact that many private industry unions have put the taxpayers on the hook for their pensions (see UAW), on the order of billions of dollars, makes me sick to think about. Most unions are extorters and when I think Dede, I think unions. If unions were remotely reasonable and didn't price themselves out of work, maybe we'd still have GM in Massena and a thriving industrial economy in the North Country. Instead they got greedy and now we're stuck with empty factories.
What is so radical about fiscal responsibility and not having a government that continues to grow? I ask everyone who reads this... Have you been forced to become fiscally conservative with your personal money in this recession? So why shouldn't the government in times of high unemployment and falling tax revenue? I understand that Bush wasn't fiscally conservative, but he's gone and this is the direction I feel we should be going. Spend, spend, spend, will turn into tax, tax, tax. I pay too much taxes in NY already, I don't need more form the government to cover bogus programs. I keep paying more and more and getting the same thing back... Nothing!
Good synopsis. I would only add that the NYS Republican Party is moderate and Dede is well within its mainstream. The previous post with its anti-union comments misses the point; union support has been part of the winning Republican coalition in our district for over 2 decades. Once again her union ties are not unusual. Finally, Doug Hoffman said he would support Dede then went the Conservative Party route. In light of that, it would have been a lot to ask for her to support him at the end.
I like Dede- but I am much more comfortable voting for Hoffman. I resent that vote is regarded as pushing Dede "under the bus". Dede made her own choices, I am making mine, with no ill-will toward her. How is that not a viable, democratic choice?
I don't think voting for Doug Hoffman is 'throwing Scozzafava under the bus' at all. But it is when people claim that she's not and never was a 'real' Republican.
-Brian, NCPR
The reason Dede's campaign wasn't that slick is because her money dried up almost immediately under pressure from the out-of-state carpetbagging teabaggers parachuting into the district. It doesn't help your cause when you're being ganged up on by several national media figures who get paid to talk, even as you have to pay for that privilege.
That being said, I want to congratulate Glenn Beck, Michelle Malkin, Michele Bachmann, Tim Pawlenty, and all the other out-of-state lunatics for taking what has been a solid Republican seat for the past seventy elections and making it competitive for the Democrats once again. Sheer brilliance!
Perhaps Ms. Scozzafava, if she were as loyal a party member as she claimed whould have foillowed the example of The Greatest Conservative Ronald Reagan when he was rejected by the party, he backed the other guy. Since Ms. Schifoza tossed her weight to the Democrats she can go stand behind Arlen Spector in the loser line. For more check www.jeffreyjena.wordpress.com
Jeffrey : Does the same standard apply to Mr. Hoffman? He was not chosen by the 11 Republican County Chairs, says he will back the winner Dede, then reneges and goes out and runs as a Conservative. According to your argument he should have gracefully bowed to the wishes of the party and supported Scozzafava.
After Mr.Hoffman's betrayal, it would have been a lot to ask her to support him.
Excellent points. Dede was a viable candidate. Smart, tied to the community, articulate in the debate, and familiar with the rigors of government. As a Democrat, I thought she was a compelling and admirable candidate. Doug Hoffman, who I know by acquaintance, seems a decent man. The heated rhetoric of his campaign, though, and the unwillingness to debate on the issues, was disappointing and frustrating to me. I'm baffled by the determination of some Republicans to make their party so narrow. I look forward to learning how this election turns out. No matter who my representative turns out to be, I will make sure I voice my opinion to them and their staff of the issues I care about. After voting, that's the next thing I can do.
Brian,
Good post but I disagree on one point. Dede was chosen by party elites - the 11 county chairs are the elites. Elites are those in positions of power w/in the party organization. It needn't be wealthy inside the beltway types, former governors, etc. She gained her nomination in the traditional way - an old fashioned process - that's been largely replaced by primaries.
One reason Republicans are/were upset with Dede and the state GOP is because they didn't have a say in her selection. If there had been a primary w/Dede as the winner, Rs would have united behind her and the spectacle we've seen wouldn't have happened.
JPM
JPM- The selection process wasn't Dede's fault. I think there wasn't much choice with such a short time frame. A primary simply wasn't possible. This campaign was much more like a Canadian snap election. Short and compressed.
Scozzafava couldn't go the distance and then endorsed the Democrat, says it all..ZERO integity.
Mark - Many people feel the same way about Doug Hoffman who said he would back Dede, then went out and ran on the Conservative line. Character counts and Hoffman lacks it. Nothing good come out of it.
Many criticized Dede Scozzafava because she now endorsed her Democratic challenger, saying she betrayed the party. If that is true, what about those “good” Republicans like Palin, Beck, and Limbaugh, etc, who didn’t support the party candidate, but endorsed a third party candidate? Did they also “betray” the party?
Good job Brian.
As for who I felt abandoned us and got thrown under the bus, I think it's obvious- JOHN MCHUGH abandoned US and threw US under the bus. Unforgivable in my opinion. We've been without representation for months, just like we were when Hillary left us, not that I was sad to see the true carpetbagger go.
I was amazed we had no primary. I thought Ann 4:54 made a good point. Short time frame? I don't buy it. It could have been done.
Dede will live, I assure you. Yes, there's little doubt she'll live as a Democrat, but that was her choice. I'll still like her as a person, but she made her choices, which was why she was the wrong person for this in the first place.
I really don't understand why anyone conservative is viewed as "radical". To me, the "radicals" are currently in Washington attempting to reduce our nation to 3rd world status.
Beck isn't a Republican and has always been an Independent as far as registration goes. Beck has supported Republican's he agrees with, and fought those he hasn't. He has his beliefs and follows them, and fights against those who he disagrees with. That's called Democracy.
Same goes for Limbaugh who for over 21 years has been doing it better then any other man in his industry, the man is the Gold standard of Talk Radio both left, and right. Limbaugh has always fought against the moderates in his Party, he always thought against guys like Specter (D-PA now formerly R-PA for decades). So when these guys stand up for what they believe it's kind of surprising to see some people shocked, or worse outraged. They've been doing it for decades.
Further more Palin before she became known as the VP choice of McCain was known as a woman who fought against the good ol' boys in the Republican Party in Alaska. That's what she was known for, before McCain choose her. She stood up for what she believed in, and has continued to her entire political career. So are people really surprised that she didn't back someone that 11 county chairmen personally choose? She was the outsider candidate when she won the Republican nomination in Alaska, she fought against the person back by the party bosses.
The latest polls have shown that 40 percent of Americans are self described conservatives, well 20 percent are Liberal, and 36 percent are moderate. So your surprised that people from the outside are upset at the Republicans? Your surprised that in a rural area there are a great many independent Conservatives, Republican with conservative beliefs, and not to mention just regular members of the Conservative Party of New York State? Of course there is going to be an outrage felt by a certain percent of people who feel like they have been ignored. Hoffman reached out to those people from the beginning of his campaign.
The idea that this all happened because of talk radio/ Fox News is a joke. If it wasn't for the fact that people who lived here actually supported Hoffman and moved away from Dede we wouldn't be having this discussion.
Also although Dede wasn't supported by the Working Families Party this time, doesn't mean she wasn't in the past. This along with multiple aspects of her voting record, and her stated positions on certain issues, (The social issues, Card Check, ectra) and the fact that she was an inside Albany politician at a time when there is a general anti incumbent feeling in the area hasn't helped her. Dede lost this race for herself, and she lost it because of her positions, and organizational talents or lack thereof.
Now will this last till 2010? Maybe, maybe not. Maybe Hoffman will win and then lose the seat in 2010 who knows, but for now its hardly surprising that this happened, considering the general climate of the area. The only real surprising thing is just how badly Dede and her team screwed up. It was her race to lose, and she lost it.
Anon 4:54;
The point of my earlier post had to do with the term elites and that Dede was chosen by them. I agree DS didn't pick the type of nomination & that the available time to hold a primary before the Nov3 election day necessitated a more traditional nomination process.
jpm
You take $900,000 from the Republican party for your run and then turn around and then endorse the opposition? She behaved like a spoiled rotten little child who when she couldn't get her way, she decided to throw a tantrum. What a loser!
Well Dede, did you enjoy your phone call from Chuck, Andrew and Nancy today?... What?... They did not call you?
You had better call them and beg to change parties when you get back to Albany.
You are no longer welcome in the Republican Party. You are a traitor, a loser and a whimp!
Thanks for "throwing the election"
Dede is good and decent person who had the courage to act and think independently. When she was accused of being a " turncoat " and Limbaugh accuses her of "Beastiality," then good and decent people of the 23rd District said " enough." We choose not to be represented by the " Real Republican." Why? because we have " Real" problems to deal with and have no interest in watching a " mud fight " so some group can posture for the 2010 and 2012 elections.
Until conservatives stop running on the " be afraid, be very afraid" platform and start working FOR this country, then this will happen over and over.
UB said.....
We get it! She is not welcome, she is a RINO ( Rushdittohead in name only).
Why do Conservatives want hedgefund operators and CEOs of failed businesses to keep more of their money but minimum wage workers to make less? Can someone explain this to me? If you make over $250,000 a year then I get it. But if you do not, then why? What jobs were created the last eight years besides those minimum wage service sector jobs?
Dear Anom,
What jobs are being created now? Keep praying to the high almighty Obama. Praise him when the jobs start coming to this area!
Amen
If you don't believe in abortion, then don't get one. If you don't believe in same sex marriage, then don't do it, it isn't legal here anyways, Just stop telling everybody else how to live. Stop complaining and start helping.
Dear Anom. Unfortunately the same jobs so far produced are the same ones that were produced from 2000-2008. Hopefully that will change. The banking, and financial crisis has been stopped and the Ford is turning a profit once again. It takes time to undo the damage done.
You have my blessings to keep praying to the high Almighty Rush, that is what freedom is all about.
PTL
You know what's really funny, I do not remember anyone (rep) complaining about Dede's votes as a repulican when it suited them, all those years she was voting party lines for the good ole GOP and oh, all the sudden she's a "lepper",Nooooo people you have it all wrong there are leppers among us ,but it isn't Dede Scazafava--- that would be Sicko Rush,Sarah,Glen and Bill.....clean yourselves up Get a brain!
The truth is she is a good person and would have acted in the best interests of the people who live here.
The truth is Owens will do the same. Good luck to both of them.
I agree. She would have been a uniter, not a divider.
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