The New York Times today examines the GOP side of the 23rd Congressional District: "Local party leaders have bucked conventional Republican thinking and selected Dede Scozzafava, a state assemblywoman who supports gay rights and abortion rights, to run in a special election to replace John M. McHugh, a Republican who was nominated by President Obama to be Army secretary. Mr. McHugh has consistently received low ratings from abortion rights and gay rights groups. ... Ms. Scozzafava, in an interview, countered criticism from conservatives by citing her support for gun rights — the third rail of politics in northern New York — and her belief that military spending is sacrosanct. (Fort Drum is in the district.) 'I don’t think it’s fair to label me on the basis of maybe one or two issues,' she said."
I don't see it as unconventional for New York Republicans to pick a social liberal, given George Pataki's record on those issues and Joe Bruno's leftward movement. It appears that New York Republican leaders are less willing than President Obama to accept someone with McHugh's conservative voting record. As for supporting the Second Amendment, that's the conventional mantra of upstate Democrats like Scott Murphy and his predecessor Kirsten Gillibrand before she acquired downstate constituents, as well as 23rd District candidate Brian McGrath. Apart from that issue, Scozzafava's alleged conservatism seems to consist of having gone along with her Assembly Republican colleagues on targeting sex offenders, and on a few budget votes on which the Assembly GOP conference tends to be marginally more fiscally responsible than the wildly irresponsible Albany norm. But no one can doubt that had Scozzafava made it to the Senate as a Republican, she would have been an eager supporter of every GOP sell-out over the years. According to the Draft Dede as a Democrat blog, "we will have her on all of our key issues from card check, to health care, to taxes, social issues, and who knows what else."
Meanwhile the Conservative Party candidate, Doug Hoffman, is quoted here as saying: "I’m pro-life and against gay marriage. I’m for less spending and regulation by government. And I’m a private sector guy -- have been since I went to work in a gas station in high school to help my Mom pay the mortgage.”
Update: Hoffman has a new issues page on his Web site. He, like every North Country candidate, is pro-Second Amendment. He is also "pro-life, period." His immigration policy is moderate and reasonable, and Scozzafava may try to get to his right on that with the help of this literally incredible group.
With someone endorsed by Michael Long in the race, we'll see if the north country is as far to the right as you'd like to believe.
Posted by: Brian | August 10, 2009 at 08:20 AM