Thursday, October 8, 2009

A note to the GOP & NRA: What do you do with a dead elephant blocking the tracks?

In India, they just throw chains around its dead ass and drag it out of the way.

Folks,

Proof positive that the GOP and the NRA still are clueless about what is happening in this country. General Sebastian Snowflake will likely defend this as well. Get this, the NRA endorsed this woman because, drumroll please, "She is the only candidate with a public record on guns." So what they're saying is they don't endorse non-incumbents that haven't been chosen by the party bosses? There's a dead elephant in the middle of the tracks, people. And they wonder why folks are pissed at the GOP & the NRA. Sheesh.

Mike
III

Imaginary blood in the snow: General Sebastian Snowflake, Chief of Stiffs of the NRA Pragmatist Army, pauses in his bloody, fighting retreat from constitutional principles for a Kodak moment at Valley Forge.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1009/28071.html

GOP pick sparks revolt on right

By ALEX ISENSTADT & JOSH KRAUSHAAR
10/8/09 5:03 AM EDT

The nominee in a looming House special election is at the heart of an angry dispute between conservatives and Republican House leadership, a rift so serious that it threatens the party’s chances of keeping control of the upstate New York seat.

At issue is the National Republican Congressional Committee’s support for Dede Scozzafava, a New York assemblywoman who conservatives assert is so liberal that they absolutely cannot support her candidacy. Instead, many conservative groups are rallying behind Doug Hoffman, a third-party candidate running on the Conservative Party line, even though their support for him might pave the way for a Democratic takeover of the seat recently vacated by GOP Rep. John McHugh.

At a private Washington luncheon attended by activists last week, frustrations spilled over, and several attendees demanded to know why NRCC Chairman Pete Sessions of Texas, who was the featured speaker, was supporting Scozzafava over the more conservative Hoffman.

After Sessions conceded that Scozzafava’s record on gay marriage and abortion fell short of where those at the lunch wanted it to be, he sought to defend her record on taxes. At that point, according to two sources who were present, the Texas congressman came under forceful pushback from several conservative leaders who insisted Scozzafava fell far short in that area as well.

“I was flabbergasted that he could come into a meeting of conservatives and be as defiant as he was,” said one person who was at the Free Congress Foundation’s Paul Weyrich lunch meeting, adding that the Texas congressman “stuck a finger in our eye.”

“It was heated,” remarked another person present at the lunch. “There were some raised voices.”

As one of three nationally watched contests taking place on Election Day, the highly competitive New York special election race is being closely monitored for clues about the design of the 2010 midterm election landscape.

But unlike the two other key contests taking place in November — the Virginia and New Jersey gubernatorial races, where Republicans have rallied behind their nominees — the New York contest has revealed deep unrest in the GOP ranks over what many view as a decision by state and national party leaders to put politics ahead of conservative principles.

“She’s not even a moderate. She is a radical, ultraleftist who has an ‘R’ next to her name,” said Marjorie Dannenfelser, chairwoman of Susan B. Anthony List, an organization that backs female candidates who oppose abortion and has endorsed Hoffman. “If we elect this woman, we’re going to be stuck with her for a very long time.”

“The conservative coalition is deeply demoralized by this move,” said Dannenfelser. “Why shouldn’t we be working against [the NRCC] when they are working to undermine us on the issues?”

Club for Growth Executive Director David Keating, whose deep-pocketed organization is already flooding New York’s North Country with ads targeting Scozzafava, slammed her as a “flaming liberal” whose politics are to the left of many House Democrats.

“The Republican Party bosses in New York state are not in touch with the Republican primary voting electorate,” said Keating. “She would never win a primary there, if there was one.”

As referenced by Keating, part of the frustration over Scozzafava is the way she claimed the GOP nomination in July — not through the standard primary election process but, rather, on the third vote taken by the 11 Republican county chairmen within the 23rd Congressional District.

Local Republicans tapped Scozzafava as the nominee in July because they believed her centrist views would appeal to a coalition of centrist Republicans, independents and Democrats in a moderate-minded district that Barack Obama won with 52 percent of the vote in 2008. The national party supports her for the same reason: her perceived electability.

“It is definitely frustrating,” said one well-connected Washington-based conservative activist. “It is frustrating for them to be putting so much money into the race when she is so bad.”

“They have said, ‘This is the situation we have.’ But on the other hand, their support is more enthusiastic than you would want it to be,” the source added.

While the National Rifle Association is backing Scozzafava, many other conservative-oriented groups have enthusiastically thrown their backing to Hoffman, an accounting executive who unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination in July.
Aside from the Club for Growth and the SBA List, Hoffman has won endorsements from the Eagle Forum, Campaign for Working Families and the American Conservative Union, which the conservative publication Human Events reported this week had told its supporters to withhold their donations from the NRCC.

On Tuesday, Hoffman won the endorsement of New York State Right to Life’s political action committee, which said it was “shocked and dismayed when the Republican Party chose a rabidly pro-abortion candidate to represent the congressional district formerly held by Rep. John McHugh.”

Conservative Party Chairman Mike Long distributed a memo Wednesday calling for a moratorium on donations to the NRCC “until that organization ceases support for Assemblywoman Scozzafava and clarifies its plans for candidate recruitment and support going forward.”

“The NRCC’s support for liberal Assemblywoman Scozzafava is a disturbing indication that the NRCC is test-marketing a campaign message blurring the differences between the parties instead of principled opposition to the liberal Democrats’ agenda,” read the memo, which circulated among conservative activists in Washington. “The “me-too” approach is both sure to fail politically and deeply dishonest to the NRCC’s core financial supporters. The donors who sacrifice to write checks to the NRCC don’t expect their efforts to be diverted to liberals like Assemblywoman Scozzafava.”

Publicly, Republican leaders don’t express concern about the conservative backlash over Scozzafava.

“She’d fit in just fine,” House Minority Leader John Boehner told reporters Wednesday when asked where Scozzafava would fit in ideologically in his conference. “I’ve contributed to her election, and we’re urging all of our members to help bring this race home.”

Still, it’s clear that discomfort with Scozzafava runs deep, even within House leadership.

House Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pence, an Indiana conservative, has pointedly refused to endorse or donate to Scozzafava’s campaign. Asked in an interview with POLITICO late last week if he was going to support Scozzafava, Pence only smiled and responded, “No comment.”

Pressed further, Pence smiled and nodded his head as if to say he would have nothing more to say.

Privately, other senior Republicans acknowledge the rancor and fear that it imperils their hopes of retaining a seat that McHugh held easily for nine terms.

“It’s a tough climate for us,” one GOP congressman acknowledged this week. “You never want to see a split.”

On Wednesday morning, one week after the altercation, Sessions prodded members in a closed-door conferencewide meeting at the Capitol Hill Club to back Scozzafava, while moderate Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.) urged those in attendance to donate to her campaign.

Hoffman, who runs an accounting business with five offices across the district, is an unlikely recipient of national conservative enthusiasm. Before being embraced by the Conservative Party, he had no experience running a campaign — he didn’t even make it to the final round of contenders in July.

Though he currently trails Scozzafava — who is the front-runner — and Democratic nominee Bill Owens, according to a recent Siena University poll, if he doesn’t win, Hoffman could conceivably draw enough GOP votes to hand the seat to Owens.

“I’m the only common-sense conservative Republican in this race, and there’s two very liberal opponents who don’t reflect the ideals and values of the voters in this district,” Hoffman told POLITICO. “I’m not a spoiler. I’m the only real Republican in this race.”

Carl Forti, a veteran Republican consultant with upstate New York roots, said there was little question that Hoffman’s pull with conservatives could play a major role in determining the outcome.

“Having a credible Conservative Party candidate on the ballot is a major problem,” said Forti. “If Hoffman can raise money and if the Club for Growth spends what they’ve committed, the possibility exists that this could become a two-person race between Hoffman and the Democrat.”

Cognizant of Hoffman’s impact on the race, the NRCC has been spending as much time undermining Hoffman as it has attacking Owens.

The committee has blasted out near-daily press releases questioning Hoffman’s honesty and points to his immediate support of Scozzafava after she secured the nomination — he sent her an e-mail asking how he could help her campaign.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

"'She’d fit in just fine,' House Minority Leader John Boehner told reporters Wednesday when asked where Scozzafava would fit in ideologically in his conference."

Translation: Republican politics requires a "big tent" to accommodate all the dead elephants.

MALTHUS

Anonymous said...

Democrat=Socialism
Republican=Socialism lite
No real difference, maybe less filling? Both parties are in collusion to destroy the Constitution and abrogate our God-given rights. We must have a real change to have any hope.

John Richardson said...

While I can't find it now, Hoffman had a statement on his campaign website supporting the 2nd Amendment. It wasn't some wishy-washy I support duck hunting so I support hunter's guns crap. It was that the 2nd Amendment was what protected the rest of our bill of rights freedoms.

John Richardson said...

Here is what Hoffman said on the 2nd Amendment:

http://doughoffmanforcongress.com/issues.html#secondamend

The Second Amendment is far more vital to our nation than just protecting the recreational activities of hunters and target shooters. The Founding Fathers thought these right’s so vital to a free country that they specifically created the Bill of Rights. They did not want to leave any doubt as to what tools must be available to the lone citizen. • The first amendment's protection of the ability to question government and assuring the capacity of citizens to communicate to one another.

• The fifth amendment's designation of property rights as the clear demarcation line between the individual and the community.
• The fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh's establishing the due process by which the judiciary and law enforcement officers must adhere to in applying the law to individuals.

But the second amendment was included to give bite to the other protections outlined in the Bill of Rights. Without it, all other amendments are nothing more than talk.

Newbius said...

Mike,

I sapoke to my CongressCritter's office about this, as well as Pence and Session's offices. My congressman (Wittman) was receptive to my complaint and expressed concern about this as well. He is one of the few good guys on the Hill.

Pence's office hung up on me. Session's office was dismissive, and referred me to the NRCC office which basically listened without comment and then blew me off like I was a nut-job.

"Thankyouforyourconcerngoodbye"

They.Do.Not.Get.It.

< SIGH >

Newbius
|||

suek said...

The GOP has also apparently refused to support Larry Elder in California, preferring to run Fiorina against Boxer. Since Boxer is expected to win in any case, guess I'll do a write in. If you're not familiar with Elder, check him out. Libertarian by philosophy, GOP for practicality. Good man.

http://www.redstate.com/rs_insider/2009/09/28/rumors-from-california-nrsc-persuades-larry-elder-not-to-run-says-fiorina-wont-will-but-will-tie-up-resources/

ParaPacem said...

Newbius: Are you talking about our very own JEFF Sessions? Waht a limp weenie, he and Spencer Bacchus are cast in the mold of Arlen Specter.... sub-RINO species.
They will do whatever it takes to curry favor with the socialists.

Everyone: Is it that the Republicans are really, truly SO freakin' STUPID? Are they really mentally deranged so that they WANT to lose, again and again?
Or are they apathetic? They cannot be blind to the fact that they LOST the last elections, the Dems didn't WIN....
And I have decided taht whatever the case, if the Repubs continue to sleaze and slime their way along the trail to communism like the Dems, I will be doing everything possible to get them out, and my family and I will vote for independents.
RNC can kiss my rosy red whatever.

CorbinKale said...

Indeed, they do not get it. After I gave a TEA Party speech on the Constitution in September, I was invited to attend a local Republican Planning meeting.

I am not going to mention names, but there was a guy from Austin who was invited to give some direction that would get the county groups on the same page as the state party machine. Part of what they guy said was that, "We have a real opportunity in 2010. There is a movement to replace the Democrats, nationwide."

I couldn't contain myself. I said, "Yes, there is a movement. The Democrats are confused and scared, and the Republicans are racing around trying to figure out how to get in front of the movement and claim it for the themselves. This isn't about any party, this is about the Constitution and our freedom. We are on the road to civil war while the two parties are in the back seat fighting with each other."

They just looked at me like I was crazy. Only one other person in the room mentioned the Constitution. It was an eye-opening look into the nasty scheming involved in local politics, but it was depressing that they won't see the danger we are in.

MamaLiberty said...

Limited Government, The Impossible Dream
lewrockwell.com/orig10/sampson1.1.1.html

None of the above...

Each time
All the time
For every political question

Until they leave us alone. Or drop dead, whichever comes first.

Uncle Lar said...

At the upper levels of both parties it's all about power and control. The Dems ride on the backs of blacks and other minorities whom they keep down so as to engender continued support. The Repubs have the conservatives to do the same. Or they did until the last few elections when many of us could no longer stomach voting for the lesser of two evils and just quit. When you are given no choice your vote is meaningless.
Flawed as she might have been, Palin was the one breath of fresh air in the whole 2008 clusterf@@k. And we all know just how useless the VP is absent a suddenly dead POTUS.

parabarbarian said...

Maybe if libertarians and conservatives hand the Republicans a few defeats they'll figure out they cannot win without the so-called "fringe". Might be worth a try

The power to destroy a thing is the power to control a thing.

sofa said...

Both Dems and Republicans are ZOMBIES - Brain dead who try to devour our flesh. One wears a blue shirt and one wears a red shirt: Big difference. Who cares in what order they die off?

Will there ever be an alternative party which would restore Liberty and the Constitution? Are we past that point?

Looks like no meaningful alternative for 2010, so we'll keep hurtling down that road to anarchy.

Happy D said...

The one thing we know has failed absolutely is voting for a "republican?" that is a lib. If the GOP is of any value we need it to be rid of the rockefeller republican McCanninites.
If we wanted a socialist candidate we would vote for the actual socialist candidate.
Losing a few will drive the point home to the GOP hierarchy.

Anonymous said...

Wow, lies and more lies- they are all the same- a sure cure is simple...