Tribal politics: GOP goes RINO in New York's 23rd district

Just in from Capitol Confidential – the Republicans of the 23rd congressional district have picked the dykish-looking Dede Scozzafava to replace the outgoing John McHugh:

The 11 Republican County Chairs of New York’s 23rd Congressional district have selected Assemblywoman Diedre [sic] “Dede” Scozzafava to run on the Republican line in the the expected special election to replace Rep. John McHugh, who has been tapped by President Barack Obama to become the Secretary of the Army.

For the past decade or so, the Republicans have been trying to play the Democrats’ game of bending over backwards for every minority group with a lobbyist and a list of real and imagined grievances against the Evil White Man. Without exception, every single attempt by the GOP to pander to racial minorities and women has been a failure. And yet, like the slow toddler who can’t comprehend pain, the Repubs keep jamming the fork in the outlet and getting shocked again and again:0

Scozzafava is a noted social liberal — she voted in support of gay marriage when it first came up in the Assembly in 2007 and she is pro-choice. Her husband is a prominent upstate labor leader. Conservatives had already begun to voice their discontent about her before the nomination (This blog post from the Redstate blog is entitled, “What a Republican suicide looks like.”) Watch to see if conservatives, particularly from the Southwest corner of the district, stay home.

The Republicans are the only major political party in a Western nation that repeatedly spits in the face of its base and expects to be rewarded for it. The 23rd district is the most conservative in the Empire State. Without the support of right-wing voters, Scozzafava cannot win.

The fact that the GOP is fielding a pro-choice, female candidate will likely help with independent voters, particularly women. Independent voters are a key swing vote in the district and were key to Aubertine’s win in the special Senate election in 2008. (Why else would Democrats be working to attack her before she was was even nominated? See below)

Running a woman in the hopes she will attract female voters for no other reason than having a vagina? Tell me, Republicans, how well did that work out the LAST time you tried it? What was that line about insanity and doing the same thing twice?

“I congratulate Dede Scozzafava for receiving the nomination to represent our party and make the case for tax relief, economic development and opportunity.  We desperately need her voice to oppose the Democrats’ plans to stifle our economy, tax business out of existence and constrain individuals’ potential for success,” said State Chairman Joseph N. Mondello.

No man can quite snatch defeat from the jaws of victory like Joe Mondello. If he ever praises something, you have free license to oppose it.

I have difficulty comprehending the logic by which the GOP keeps running unqualified candidates and elevating equally unqualified individuals into positions of power based solely on their skin color or gender. IT DOESN’T WORK. Think about it – why would a minority tribalist or a feminist support a watered down Republican candidate when they can get the complete package deal with the Democrats? Not only that, for all the GOP’s genuflecting towards blacks, Latinos, and women, they still get tarred as nefarious racist sexist homophobes. In endorsing candidates like Dede Scozzafava, the Republicans manage to pull a two-fer; they alienate their core conservative constituents while failing to win over demographics that have no interest in supporting them to begin with.

Scozzafava’s leftist inclinations will likely cause the GOP to lose one of its last seats in New York’s congressional delegation. And if Scozzafava wins, it will not be because of her gender or politics, but in spite of them.

Tagged as: Dede Scozzafava