red states rule
10-30-2009, 09:35 AM
Like with Obama in the VA Governor's race, Moveon.org is tossing their candidate under the bus before Election Day
Oops! Daily Kos 'Unendorses' Scozzafava in NY-23 After Original Endorsement Backfires
By P.J. Gladnick (Bio | Archive)
October 30, 2009 - 08:57 ET
Oops!
Markos Moulitsas, founder of the Daily Kos, has discovered that his endorsement can be political poison. Such was the case with his endorsement at the beginning of this month of the very liberal Republican candidate, Dede Scozzafava, in the New York 23rd CD special election:
Club for Growth darling Doug Hoffman is running on the Conservative Party line, and has even garnered the endorsement of Fred Thompson. The guy has legitimate traction, fueled by the fact that Dede Scozzafava, the Republican, is actually the most liberal candidate in the race. (Heck, she has run on the very liberal Working Families Party ballot line in the past.)
Sure, she is a Republican, and opposes the public option. But she's been willing to raise taxes when budgets require it, and is to the left of most Democrats on social issues (including supporting gay marriage). That's why conservatives are panicked about her -- for a party that is becoming more regional, more conservative, more ideologically rigid, Scozzafava's brand of moderate conservatism is grating. Hence, Hoffman has a real shot at not just playing spoiler and undermining the GOP candidate's chances, but also of potentially winning.
As a congresswoman, she could either move even more to the left to properly represent her progressive-trending district and be a pain in the side of the GOP caucus (they have nothing like our Blue Dogs), or Democrats can field a real Democrat to challenge her in 2010.
Since that Daily Kos endorsement, Scozzafava has faded fast to a distant third place in that race. There were several reasons for her rapid plunge in the polls, such the police being called because of a journalist asking her tough questions, but the kiss of death from Markos sure didn't help her. And now Moulistsas has finally figured out the error of his public endorsement so he has announced his "unendorsement" although he continues to support Scozzafava. Here is Moulitsas realizing that he had a big mouth with his endorsement and is now "gaming it out" in a laughably absurd explanation about why his original endorsement wasn't really an endorsement:
I have no love for the Democrat, Owens, and I clearly have no love for Scozzafava in that post, so only an idiot would construe that as an "endorsement". An endorsement implies love for the candidate being endorsed. I wish nothing but ill will for all candidates in this race. But the GOP is full of idiots, and they've run strong with it, making my "endorsement" part of their anti-Scozzafava narrative. And now we're in a situation in which the conservative candidate Doug Hoffman has a real chance of performing better than the Republican.
Um...please forgive me, Markos, for quoting you directly but let me repeat what you stated on October 1:
...So it's official, I'm rooting for the Republican to win
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/p-j-gladnick/2009/10/30/oops-daily-kos-unendorses-scozzafava-ny-23-after-original-endorsement-
and
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/10/29/798185/-NY-23:-Gaming-it-out
Oops! Daily Kos 'Unendorses' Scozzafava in NY-23 After Original Endorsement Backfires
By P.J. Gladnick (Bio | Archive)
October 30, 2009 - 08:57 ET
Oops!
Markos Moulitsas, founder of the Daily Kos, has discovered that his endorsement can be political poison. Such was the case with his endorsement at the beginning of this month of the very liberal Republican candidate, Dede Scozzafava, in the New York 23rd CD special election:
Club for Growth darling Doug Hoffman is running on the Conservative Party line, and has even garnered the endorsement of Fred Thompson. The guy has legitimate traction, fueled by the fact that Dede Scozzafava, the Republican, is actually the most liberal candidate in the race. (Heck, she has run on the very liberal Working Families Party ballot line in the past.)
Sure, she is a Republican, and opposes the public option. But she's been willing to raise taxes when budgets require it, and is to the left of most Democrats on social issues (including supporting gay marriage). That's why conservatives are panicked about her -- for a party that is becoming more regional, more conservative, more ideologically rigid, Scozzafava's brand of moderate conservatism is grating. Hence, Hoffman has a real shot at not just playing spoiler and undermining the GOP candidate's chances, but also of potentially winning.
As a congresswoman, she could either move even more to the left to properly represent her progressive-trending district and be a pain in the side of the GOP caucus (they have nothing like our Blue Dogs), or Democrats can field a real Democrat to challenge her in 2010.
Since that Daily Kos endorsement, Scozzafava has faded fast to a distant third place in that race. There were several reasons for her rapid plunge in the polls, such the police being called because of a journalist asking her tough questions, but the kiss of death from Markos sure didn't help her. And now Moulistsas has finally figured out the error of his public endorsement so he has announced his "unendorsement" although he continues to support Scozzafava. Here is Moulitsas realizing that he had a big mouth with his endorsement and is now "gaming it out" in a laughably absurd explanation about why his original endorsement wasn't really an endorsement:
I have no love for the Democrat, Owens, and I clearly have no love for Scozzafava in that post, so only an idiot would construe that as an "endorsement". An endorsement implies love for the candidate being endorsed. I wish nothing but ill will for all candidates in this race. But the GOP is full of idiots, and they've run strong with it, making my "endorsement" part of their anti-Scozzafava narrative. And now we're in a situation in which the conservative candidate Doug Hoffman has a real chance of performing better than the Republican.
Um...please forgive me, Markos, for quoting you directly but let me repeat what you stated on October 1:
...So it's official, I'm rooting for the Republican to win
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/p-j-gladnick/2009/10/30/oops-daily-kos-unendorses-scozzafava-ny-23-after-original-endorsement-
and
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/10/29/798185/-NY-23:-Gaming-it-out