Scozzafava speaks
If you've at all followed the historic 23rd congressional district race, today's interview by NCPR's Jonathan Brown with Republican candidate (until Saturday) Dede Scozzafava is absolutely must-listen radio.
A couple choice cuts...
Asked what she thought of notions that she betrayed Republicans by endorsing Democrat Bill Owens: "If I'm going to be condemned for endorsing a candidate from a different party, then I think any other Republican that endorsed a candidate other than the Republican candidate should be treated the same way."
Talking about what she called "the battle for the heart and soul of the Republican party" and the "lies, vitriol, and deceit" leveled at her by right-wing conservatives, she said this: "If that's where the soul of our party is, all is not well with our soul."
Labels: election09
posted by David Sommerstein @ 11/04/2009 04:53:00 PM
28 Comments
28 Comments:
I've been a moderate Republican for 30 years, and a county committee member for 20. Next week, I will change my registration, and become a (still moderate) independent. If the brain trust of Palin, Limbaugh and Beck are shaping the future of the Republican Party, I want no part of it. I can think for myself.
Dede, I am ashamed of how our party leadership treated you. After your years of carrying water for the party, you deserved better. Run again, you've got my vote.
As much as I like Dede, she does not represent a large number of people who at least used to call themselves Republicans. Stick with the Party Dede and Anon 8:13PM, we'll have our own party soon enough and we'll do battle with both sides of the Republicrat machine.
I have never heard such a sour grapes attitude. Want a little cheese with that whine, Dede? She got beat. That's politics. Yeah, it was all negative. Hoffman's ads were negative. Owen's ads were negative. Dede's ads were negative. What a sorry lot all three were. So why the whine? There's an old saying--if you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen. When Dede runs again for state office, maybe she'll be shown the kitchen door.
Dede is one savvy politician - she has made lemonade out of all the lemons and is playing all this like a fiddle. Her biggest mistake was not taking solid control of her campaign early on but now she's getting an enormous amount of attention from the media and support and/or encouragement from just about everyone except for the extreme right wingers pretending to be "Republicans" that threw her under the bus and she doesn't need them anyway. She's going to come out of this ok - it'll be interesting to see where she goes with it.
I think we should send into permanent retirement the expression "throw under the bus." It's become mighty tired.
dede,now that yo have showen your true colors [party] why don't you make it offical, go dem. and let a real republican run in 2010
The NYS Republican Party is moderate. How much sense does it make to call moderates in a moderate party RINOs? The real RINOs are those "true" conservatives who are registered as Republicans. If they can't hack a big tent moderate Republican Party register as Conservative.
Allegedly, DeDE got a phone call from the "White House", allegedly from Rohm Emmanuel, well I want to know what was the Quid-pro-Qou, what did you get in exchange for endorsing Owens, are you going to annonce a change from the Rep Pty to the Democratic party and recieve a Comittee Chair that pays an even greater LuLU on the State level? Did you recieve a phone call? Since you are all snakes did your husband recieve the phone call so that you can answer "no", I was not contacted. ---as I see it ,its more for you, since you don't use your married name are you getting a Union Organizer job for your hubby and Mrs McDougal (I believe not sure)since the name is different are you hoping that no one will notice? Hugh
As for Republican or Democrat
where on the ballot can I choose -none of the above start over and instead of having a hand picked, commitee chair, backroom candidate, that will preform like a dancing clown at the bequest of the "powers to be ": where are the non-clowned independant free thinking unmolded strongly idealistic passionate people that can say no and stop this State and Federal trainwreck.
All of the candidates in 23 stunk and I expect nothing but more of the same old same old.. Even Mchugh sold out for an appointment. CAp and TAx for Army Sect.. So the questions remain---What did you sell out for??
Perhaps the trade off was that they would supress any investigation of Seaway Valley for your turncoat endorsement.Then again how can you be a turncoat when you where a RINO anyway. Why not tell what you sold out for instead of having us wait and find out for ourselves... and we will .
DeDE who do you serve, yourself, your brother, certainly not the taxpayers: you have demonstrated total incompetance and are vulnerable in a State election you will be unseated: so go for the gold ring go for the golden parachute and forget that you were elected to serve the retchet taxpayer.
All of this could have been avoided if Dede had just stayed in the race and forgot the pols which were wrong. Who knows how many votes went elsewhere? Dede has served well in her current position and I wish campaigns did not cost so much so we would not have to allow money to come from outside the area to run them. It always turns nasty.
If ever there were an example of how the political campaign process is completely broken, this was it. I wish just one politician had the gumption and courage to acknowledge that it's time for serious discussion about publicly funded and shortened campaign cycles. Had this concept been in place, much of the outside influence in this election would not have been present.
Unfortunately too many interests benefit from the current process, in particular the private-for- profit media. We already have public funded television, why not utilize it for the election process. Take the money right out of the process and watch the lobbyists and special interests wither on the vine.
Anon 8:57- Unfortunately that goes against the Constitution and BoR. Money used in a political campaign equals political speech. That's a pretty basic notion espoused by the Founders from the Confederation Congress onward, it may even have been attached to the Articles of Confederation. It's part of the risk of the experiment of a Republic. Cut off the money and you cut off the ability for a person to get their message out. Yes, if all the candidates got an equal amount of money to spend from a clean source it would seem to be more fair and pure. But all that does is establish another artificial standard in a supposedly free Republic.
No one ever said having a Republic was going to be easy.
Bret,
Whether or not publicly funded campaigns limit free speech by violating the Constitution and the BOR is open to interpretation. As you certainly know, the courts struggle with this continually. And given much of the money comes from PACS, unions, corporations, etc. and not actual individuals, they should not have equal protection.
Dede: You are a traitor, at best. At worst (never mind). We will be watching closely to see what your payoff will be.
You have no business calling yourself a Republican. Get out of our party, and call yourself what you really are: a liberal democrat.
Anon 10:04- So a group of people shouldn't be able to form a coalition and express their thoughts to their representatives? I'd love to put a stop to the special interest influence, but it will take an extremely wise and surgical move to do it without violating the BoR. McCain-Feingold was supposed to "fix" the problems but it just made it worse. I think rather than limiting free speech it might be better to endorse the idea of term limits, some real oversight by someone other than another politician and some very public trials of those who violate the law.
If being pro-abortion, pro-gay marraige, pro-cap & trade, pro-stimulus spending and having a record of raising taxes (190 times) makes you a "moderate", you can call me a right wing nut job all you want, because all I see left of the 2 Party system is Democrat & Democrat-lite (and it's hard to tell which is which!)
Reading some of these comments shows me why politics is reviled in this country. Dede was a moderate - period. Anyone who understands anything of the NYS GOP and NNY republicans would know that. Moderate means middle of the road. Not liberal nor conservative. That is what we are in NNY and indeed what most people in this country are. She got sandbagged by her party. The right wing conservatives of her party - and the party I am registered in and have been since 1971 - have thrown aside true GOP core principles for this bizarre social agenda. Frankly the GOP has been going downhill since 1994 when the loonies launched their Contract for American nonsense. Being GOP means small government. That means staying our of people's lives. It doesn't launch attacks against gays, or abortion. Don't like abortion? Fine don't have one - but don't assume a false moral high ground and step into others lives. Dede did the only right thing. She stepped aside and let the only other intelligent candidate win. A vote for Hoffman is a vote for hate and bigotry.
"A vote for Hoffman is a vote for hate and bigotry."
Hmmmm....let's see now, historically marriage has been between men and women. Biological facts lend themselves toward that view as well. Maybe the real bigots are those who want to cram their lifestyle down everyone else's throat. When did traditional values become bigotry? Webster defines liberal as tolerant and broad-minded. However, liberals are rarely broad-minded and tolerant of those who disagree with them. Dede is a typical liberal. She cannot understand or accept those of another view. Perhaps she should seek employment in the failing family business. She could be a successful cashier if she kept her mouth shut.
I always viewed Dede as a Democrat, so it did not surprise me when she backed one. Hoffman realized that the Republican Party was going to be represented by a poser and if nothing at least the world knows where Dede's loyalties lye.
I don't care about civil unions, but perverting the term marriage to anything other than one man, one woman opens the door to one man and 4 women, 1 woman and 3 men, etc. If we're going to change it to anything goes then a person should be able to marry their first cousin, brother, mother, dog, horse, etc. How can we say gay marriage is fine, but Mormon plural marriages are wrong?
Same with abortion, on the whole I don't care until I see viable children being terminated for the convenience of the mother. Take some responsibility ahead of time, use the morning after pill. Once you get to the European method of just letting a newborn die alone in some sink in a hospital, that's murder pure and simple.sibur
"I don't care about civil unions, but perverting the term marriage to anything other than one man, one woman opens the door to one man and 4 women, 1 woman and 3 men, etc. If we're going to change it to anything goes then a person should be able to marry their first cousin, brother, mother, dog, horse, etc."
Ther are already plenty of nutcases out there who would welcome legalized beastiality.
This article was just recently posted on Newzjunky:
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20091104/D9BOV9903.html
If the republicans did not want dede, then they should not have nominated her. The only message the republican party of northern new york sent to O'Bama was one of complete choas. The confusion is focused on, who can be a republican.The republican party has no center. Its vision is very narrow and very exclusive. Your mission statement republicans is about an inch wide.
If the republicans did not want dede, then they should not have nominated her. The only message the republican party of northern new york sent to O'Bama was one of complete choas. The confusion is focused on, who can be a republican.The republican party has no center. Its vision is very narrow and very exclusive. Your mission statement republicans is about an inch wide.
There should have been a little wisdom and discernment among those 11 Republican Party Chairmen. Each of them would have done well to ask themselves, "Do the Republicans of the 23rd Congressional District truly want to be represented by an individual who will vote to legalize gay marriage and support abortions in appropriating funds to that end. The answer for each of them should have been a no brainer.
It didn't take Dede's chosen man very long to break his campaign promises. Apparently she has a thing for liars. Check it out at:
http://talk.baltimoresun.com/showthread.php?t=223823
So a politician, a Democrat at that, is a liar? That's not news!
As a downstater I usually wouldn't have cared about someone else's house race even another NY race. However when I heard about the "Republican" in this race it became very easy to understand how mucked up our party is in this state. I actually went out the next night to a local book store Newt was appearing at to confront him about his endorcement. I've read alot of people's comments being very happy with Dede, as an outsider but somone who funds the party with 1000+$ an election cycle I can't find a single thing that makes her a Republican let alone anyone I'd give money to. So I gave it to Hoffman.
She was endorced by Acorn and the socialist leaning WFP.
She was for this 850 billion boondoggle called a job creating stimulus.
She liked Patterson's budget and stupid Millionaire tax which if the #'s are right about Gollisano were going to lose more then or close to what we make.
Add in the social issues (which aren't a dealbreaker for me I've supporterd Gullliani and other social moderates but there not a plus).
This site seems to encourage debate so I'd like to ask you who live with her to prove me wrong, what is it that makes this woman a Republican?
I LOVE this comments - "I am ashamed of your party ... I've been a republican" BOTH from the same person in the same message. Why can't you at leaste be honest in your posts? Why do ALL liberals lie?
Michael 10:52 pm: To address your first point, Dede Scozzafava was not endorsed by ACORN--no candidate in the race was. And Scozzafava was not endorsed by the Working Familes Party in this race--Democrat Bill Owens was.
What makes Dede a Republican is her enrollment, her multiple re-elections running as a Republican, and her holding of a prominent position in the party in the NYS Assembly--the number-two spot in her house of the legislature.
To mangle the Intel ad, as far as the New York GOP is concerned: "Our Republicans are not like your Republicans." The "big-tent" lives on in New York.
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