Showing posts with label R.I.N.O.. Show all posts
Showing posts with label R.I.N.O.. Show all posts
Thursday, November 05, 2009
Monday, November 02, 2009
Scozzafava Robocalls for Owens (Boehner Backtracks)
In for a penny, in for a pound — or in for a robocall, as evidenced by Dede Scozzafava’s latest effort to support Democrat Bill Owens. which was released by Owens’ campaign.
Script:
“Hi, this is Dede Scozzafava calling on behalf of Bill Owens. And I wanted to let you know that I am supporting Bill for Congress.
“Since beginning my campaign I have said that this election is not about me, it’s about the people of this district. It’s not in the cards for me to be your representative but I strongly believe Bill Owens is the only candidate who can build upon John McHugh’s lasting legacy in Congress.
“In Bill Owens I see a sense of duty and integrity. He will be an independent voice, devoted to doing what is right for New York. To address the tough challenges ahead we must rise above partisanship and politics, and work together.
“Please join me in voting for Bill Owens on Tuesday.”
By Molly K. Hooper - 11/02/09 03:38 PM ET
The top-ranking House Republican told reporters on Monday that he regrets having supported former GOP House candidate Dede Scozzafava.
Scozzafava, the official Republican Party candidate in the special election in New York's 23rd district, dropped out of the race over the weekend and then endorsed the Democrat.
"This lady clearly has as agenda that's different than most Republicans; she was out there promoting herself," House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) said, noting that he has encouraged all members of the GOP conference to support Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman.
Sunday, November 01, 2009
Dede Scozzafava Endorses Democrat Owens, or, Newt Eats Crow (NY-23)
Ditto to Conservative Punk!
Saturday's decision by Republican Dede Scozzafava to drop out of tomorrow's special Congressional election in upstate New York is a potentially big political moment that could help to return the GOP to first principles—or could lead to internecine ruin. Much will depend on how GOP leaders and conservative activists respond.
Picked by GOP elites without a primary and with a voting record to the left of many Albany Democrats, Ms. Scozzafava faced a revolt by local and national conservatives in favor of businessman Doug Hoffman, who was nominated on the Conservative Party line. The longtime GOP assemblywoman saw herself falling in the polls and yesterday endorsed Democratic lawyer Bill Owens, who could still win the GOP-leaning seat with a plurality.
The voter revolt ought to be a lesson to the GOP's backroom boys, especially in New York state, where the old Al D'Amato insider club has led the party to irrelevance. GOP state chairman Joe Mondello, now thankfully retired, and Beltway bigs misjudged public dismay against the Democratic agenda in Washington. Nominating a candidate who "can win" in the Northeast does not have to mean someone whose voting record is more liberal on taxes and unions than that of most Blue Dog Democrats.
But that lesson will be for naught if conservatives conclude that their victory is reason to challenge any candidate who doesn't agree with them on every issue. The truth is that some conservatives are as bloody-minded and intolerant of all dissent as the hard left is at the Daily Kos. A majority political party requires a far more diverse coalition than the audience for your average right-wing blogger or talk show host. Some of those voices prefer having Democrats in power because it drives up their own ratings.
Democrats did themselves no favors by driving Joe Lieberman out of their party, and conservatives will do their cause no good by forcing GOP candidates in Illinois, California and Connecticut to sound like Tom DeLay. If conservatives now revolt against every GOP candidate who disagrees with them on trade, immigration or abortion, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid will keep their majorities for a very long time.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Debate -- To Vote For Or Against GOP Candidate?
Lisa Miller, organizer for Tea Party Washington DC, tracks down Newt Gingrich at a bookstore while he promotes his latest novel, To Try Men’s Souls. Miller sets up the interview outside the bookstore by reviewing NY23 candidate Dede Scozzafava’s policy record, then goes inside and asks Newt (politely, it seems) what he was thinking when he endorsed Scozzafava. Chris at HAP captures the transcript of Newt’s response, but this encounter has more than one instructive moment:
....
Uh … isn’t Miller, as a Tea Party organizer, supposed to be a loose cannon, out of control, screaming epithets and acting irrationally? Isn’t that the impression that the media leaves when they cover these events? Yet here we have Miller calmly approaching Gingrich, politely asking her question, and thanking him for his cooperation after getting a full answer from Gingrich. Why, it’s almost like Tea Party organizers were normal, rational, thinking Americans. Imagine that!
For that matter, kudos to Newt as well. He actually responded substantively to Miller’s polite question, although I disagree with his answer, which I’ll get to in a moment. That’s a lot more responsiveness to a private citizen than we’ve seen from many elected officials — and it certainly beats the hysterical and slanderous response Scozzafava had when an actual reporter, Weekly Standard’s John McCormack, tried to ask her about those policy positions Newt reviews in the video.
But Newt’s still wrong. First, the NRCC and the RNC have the duty to elect endorsed Republican candidates, so one cannot blame them for following the lead of local party officials — but that’s not Newt’s role unless he chooses it for himself. He has held himself up as a leader of conservatives more than the Republican Party. Next, the idea that we should refrain from criticizing party bosses for their candidate selection reminds me somewhat of my experience at WCPAC, when I was told it was “the height of rudeness” to criticize its organizers while covering it. Scozzafava did not get the endorsement through a convention process, after all, but in a closed-room meeting of sorts with the party leaders of the eleven counties in that district. I’m also not sure Newt has all of those policy positions correct, and he fails to mention that Scozzafava backs Card Check, which dumps the secret ballot in organizing elections and leaves working people at the tender mercies of union bosses, as well as imposing federal control over compensation for all American industries through its mandatory arbitration clause. That’s hardly conservative.
Besides, this is a special election, and the same seat comes up again next year. If Scozzafava wins it, it will make it more difficult for a fiscal conservative to dislodge her in the 2010 primary. If the Democrat wins it, Pelosi wins one more vote for a year in a chamber which already gives her a 70-seat majority, and Hoffman can run as the truly Republican candidate in 2010.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Thursday, October 09, 2008
"I'm Mad!" (Me Too Brotha)
McCain Townhall where an old man speaks for all of us that wished to see this fire at the second debate.
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Monday, March 03, 2008
Friday, February 29, 2008
Friday, February 15, 2008
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Monday, February 11, 2008
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