> Scozzafava seems to have been insufficiently vetted by the GOP.
> Her ties to the AFL-CIO and the Working Families Party
> would put her at the very left of the GOP.
> I want to see the GOP broaden its base.
> But you don’t start out with someone like Scozzafava,
> who represents just too big a break with the base at this time.

Nonetheless, according to WSJ it seems Hoffman reneged on his promise to support the eventual GOP nominee which is what every candidate was asked to do before Scozzafava was chosen… So, no matter how you feel about Scozzafava or the GOP leadership, it seems they played by the rules whereas Hoffman and his backers did not.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125564976279388879.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
[...]
‘GOP leaders were outraged, especially since Mr. Hoffman, like other congressional hopefuls, had pledged to support the nominee. “He did say it repeatedly,” said Sandra Corey, the former GOP chairwoman of Jefferson County. “And then all of a sudden, it’s a no-go, like he hadn’t understood her background, which is a falsehood. I would never, ever trust him.” ‘

‘Mr. Hoffman says that during the selection process, he didn’t realize that Ms. Scozzafava was as liberal as she is.’

I know empathy is not a gene present in Republicans, but try to put yourself in the shoes of a woman corned in a dark parking lot cornered by some fanatic shouting at you. He’s lucky she didn’t have a weapon or a Taser.

Scozzafava seems to have been insufficiently vetted by the GOP. Her ties to the AFL-CIO and the Working Families Party would put her at the very left of the GOP. I want to see the GOP broaden its base. But you don’t start out with someone like Scozzafava, who represents just too big a break with the base at this time. And it’s almost a waste, since the chance that Scozzafava’s husband and support for card check will attract union members to the GOP is nil anyway.

“pack heat” – I love the Chicago gangster gaudy patter. But I am surprised that the lefties can’t distinguish a reporter’s notebook from a roscoe.

These morons spent the whole summer fighting for the right to pack heat at political events, and then are surprised that when you chase a politician screaming at them to their car, they might call the cops. I’m not surprised McCormack, who apparently was hired by the Weekly Standard to make Goldfarb look smart by comparison, wouldn’t understand that. But for the rest of us, we call that self-preservation and common sense.

The entire GOP isn’t hard right quite yet. But keep at it, another election or two ought to do it.

The letter appeared in Sunday’s edition of the South Carolina newspaper The Times and Democrat, and was authored by James S. Ulmer Jr., who chairs the Orangeburg County GOP, and Edwin O. Merwin Jr., who chairs the Bamberg County GOP.

“There is a saying that the Jews who are wealthy got that way not by watching dollars, but instead by taking care of the pennies and the dollars taking care of themselves,” they wrote. “By not using earmarks to fund projects for South Carolina and instead using actual bills, DeMint is watching our nation’s pennies and trying to preserve our country’s wealth and our economy’s viability to give all an opportunity to succeed.”

Both Ulmer and Merwin have issued statements of apology.

Like the reporter in question, these two think they are the vanguard of a resurgent GOP ready for the previously uninformed public to catch on to all the good they’re doing.

“Agree or not with Dede Scozzafava’s positions, she should still be afforded a basic level of respect. Reporters asking tough questions is expected and welcomed, but acting like John McCormack did last night shows a complete lack of decency,” Scozzafava spokesman Matt Burns told POLITICO.

“This self-described reporter repeatedly screamed questions (in-your-face-style) while our candidate was doing what she is supposed to be doing: speaking with voters (remember, those who will decide this election?). And then he followed the candidate to her car, continuing to carry on in a manner that would make the National Enquirer blush. I have no doubt he intended to follow her home, too. His actions were reprehensible. Those are the facts.”

This media reporter is simply another rabid party member masquerading as a “conservative”. All issues aside, no matter the underlying mission, this persons conduct appearts to be out of control, period.

Like this reporter, it is fully expected that alot of people will become unhinged as the GOP finds it path to majority membership. Looks like if Scozzafava wins, the doors might be blown right off. Whopee, who would have thought a recession so much fun.

Still, one has to wonder if “Tea Baggers”, the Club for Growth and other uncompromising hardliners will undermine those efforts to some extent by refusing to support centrist candidates in non-conservative areas. WSJ and TNR list quite a few potential problem spots. It seems New York’s 23rd Congressional district will flip to the Democrats as Hoffman and Scozzafava are splitting the Republican vote. In New Jersey Jon Corzine might win because conservative and moderate Republicans are supporting different candidates. In Florida, California, Illinois, Connecticut, New Hampshire and Delaware the GOP has a number of fairly attractive candidates well suited for statewide elections in areas won by Obama and the Dems last year, yet the “Tea Baggers” remain opposed and in some cases are backing alternative candidates who (with the possible exception of Marco Rubio in Florida-) probably won’t be as competitive in the general election.

When the Dems won back Congress in 2006-08 they did not handpick hardline liberal candidates for conservative districts and (except Joe Lieberman-) centrist/moderate incumbents were generally left alone. In contrast, Erick Erickson et al. seem really determined to take on the 91 House Republicans who voted for TARP last year.

MARCU$