The battle has been defined in New York’s 23rd Congressional District (NY-23). It’s Doug Hoffman, a Conservative Party candidate vs. Bill Owens, a Democrat after Dede Scozzafava suspended her campaign today.
This is a special election to fill the seat of Republican John McHugh, who President Obama appointed as Secretary of the Army earlier this year.
Scozzafava was appointed as the Republican candidate for the special election by a group of GOP county chairmen in the district. The choice of Scozzafava has angered much of the conservative wing of the party, which caused Doug Hoffman, a Republican, to run as the Conservative Party candidate.
Prominent Republicans Sarah Palin & Tim Pawlenty endorsed Hoffman, as well as the Club for Growth, the American Conservative Union, and others. Many other established Republicans toed the “party line” and initially supported Scozzafava, despite her less than traditional conservative voting record, which some went as far as describing as “liberal”.
Scozzafava, despite nearly $1 million in funding from the GOP, lagged behind in the polls in this traditionally Republican district. Yesterday, she suspended her campaign citing her inability to answer allegations about her record from Hoffman and Owens.
Today, Scozzafava did the unthinkable, throwing her support behind Owens instead of Hoffman. This validated her “RINO (Republican in Name Only) image for many of her detractors.
But, the more disturbing issue, in my opinion, is how the GOP leadership has treated the situation.
GOP House Minority Leader John Boehner goes on CNN today and calls it a “rebellion” in the Republican Party.
For what it’s worth, Mr. Boehner, there are some of us who believe that the GOP establishment rebelled against this party’s values by selecting Ms. Scozzafava in the first place. What occurred in NY-23 was simply setting things back into alignment with what the Republican Party stands for – fiscal conservatism, small government, and a reverence for God and the morals on which this nation was founded.
Trying to make the GOP more “moderate” will ALWAYS result in the liberals grabbing power – because they will never moderate their stand.
We have a choice, Mr. Boehner, to stand by and watch the GOP become something other than what we love and believe in, or to “rebel” and set things in order again – defining the GOP as a true conservative party that remains true to long-standing ideals, not eroded by a relativistic comparison with the most liberal President in our nation’s history.
What does this mean for Colorado? The soul of the GOP is at stake in our state, too. NY-23 is a microcosm of a national opportunity that we have – to shift the GOP away from purple and firmly into the red – the nation will follow.
Don’t just settle for an “R” next to a name – look deeper and let’s get the right candidates in place to make a real difference.
Rebellion? No. Refocus? Yes.
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