Trainwreck: Scozzafava holds photo op … outside Hoffman’s office
posted at 4:30 pm on October 21, 2009 by Allahpundit
I can’t help feeling some sympathy for her at this point, as clearly she and her staff weren’t prepared for a tough race with national media attention. The clusterfark with the Standard, capped by proof that her staffers were lying, was bad enough, but in case there was any lingering doubt that this train is off the tracks, this masterstroke of political optics ought to remove it. A helpful hint from Dave Weigel to whoever it was on Team Dede that thought a presser outside the opponent’s HQ would be a smooth move: “Little-known fact: There are lots of campaign workers, and signs, in such offices, ready to be deployed.”
Exit question: What’s more embarrassing here, the fact that she’s questioning someone else’s “political courage” after having called the cops on John McCormack for asking her a question about abortion or the fact that Doug Hoffman already challenged her to a series of debates months ago, which she duly declined?
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This woman is as much out of her depth and league as Obama…
Fuzzlenutter on October 21, 2009 at 5:02 PM
You’re right. I’m sincerely sorry she’s too inept to realize she needs a better bra before going on TV.
Monica on October 21, 2009 at 5:02 PM
unseen:
Are they really protecting RINO’s? I ask that because I have never really understood who decides who runs in some of these state elections. I would think the New York party had more to do with this than the national GOP. After all, if you look across the country there are a lot of conservative Republicans as well and they run with the support of their state parties. Here in Indiana, Mike Pence is a very popular Republican…the GOP has certainly not tried to get rid of him in favor of someone less conservative.
I think the national party just sort of goes along with the locals a lot of times and in states like New York and California the party does not do as good a job promoting conservatives as is does in some other states.
But overall, this particular race has just struck me as plain peculiar.
Terrye on October 21, 2009 at 5:03 PM
Mr. 7 of 9 finally has competition for Dumbest Republican Evah!
MNHawk on October 21, 2009 at 5:03 PM
I’m just sayin…
glennbo on October 21, 2009 at 4:59 PM
agreed…there is enough material on her record to make jokes from now until sundown.
unseen on October 21, 2009 at 5:03 PM
Let’s just hope Newt doesn’t endorse Palin for President. Next thing we know she’ll declare Mao to be her favorite philosopher.
Doughboy on October 21, 2009 at 5:04 PM
BTW, I read that Hoffman would caucus with the GOP. No surprise there.
Terrye on October 21, 2009 at 5:04 PM
DoDo bird. She’d fit perfectly in the GOP Caucus in the US Senate.
james23 on October 21, 2009 at 5:04 PM
That was painful to watch. Pass the alleve. This must go down in political history next to Dukakis in the helmut and tank.
rjoco1 on October 21, 2009 at 5:04 PM
Newt’s ok.
I learned Spanish in order to say “I’m sorry.”
BowHuntingTexas on October 21, 2009 at 5:04 PM
its too bad, but no one forced her to run.
rob verdi on October 21, 2009 at 5:05 PM
;-)
SnowSun on October 21, 2009 at 5:06 PM
She’s more emblematic of the incompetence of the GOP right now. I say that makes her the perfect candidate. Hoffman is clearly too media-savvy and smart to represent this shambles of a party.
jimmy the notable on October 21, 2009 at 5:06 PM
Sure, this is funny. But what ought to SCARE THE HELL out of all of us is that there are apparently leaders in our party who 1) think this RINO (that’s not a shot at her size) is what we need and 2) it’s a good idea to set up a photo-op in front of the competitions headquarters.
Maybe they figured she’d block out everything behind her?
Okay, sorry. That’s just wrong.
Sugar Land on October 21, 2009 at 5:06 PM
OMG. I don’t know how she can go on. What a disgrace.
RedNewEnglander on October 21, 2009 at 5:06 PM
Yep.
Abby Adams on October 21, 2009 at 5:07 PM
Yeah, I’m not going to attack her personally, but seriously…some people bring it on themselves.
Emily M. on October 21, 2009 at 5:07 PM
Or Kerry climbing out of whatever that contraption was wearing that ridiculous blue outfit that had him looking like a spermizoa specimen.
glennbo on October 21, 2009 at 5:08 PM
What an ironic link in your name following your comment…
Abby Adams on October 21, 2009 at 5:08 PM
Just got my RNC quarterly request for money; I’m going to print a picture of this woman and include it with my (negative) response.
LASue on October 21, 2009 at 5:08 PM
You don’t think old Newt had other things on his mind about her do you?
docflash on October 21, 2009 at 5:08 PM
Snort!
I love Palin, but that really made me laugh!
james23 on October 21, 2009 at 5:09 PM
Clear, concise, and fresh … NOT!!!
Even Albany is out of her league.
I hereby ban Newt from NYS.
Dusty on October 21, 2009 at 5:09 PM
Turn that ‘frown’ upside down?
LMAO, Monica.
HornetSting on October 21, 2009 at 5:09 PM
That was a crappy thing to say. Does that include DeMint? There have been something like 1 defection on health care in the Senate and yet people are ready to blame every single Republican. In fact even that 1 defection refused to support a public option. There were maybe 8 defections on cap and trade in the House. Overall, the Republicans in the House and Senate have done a better of job of just saying no! to Obama’s agenda than I would have imagined.
Terrye on October 21, 2009 at 5:09 PM
But overall, this particular race has just struck me as plain peculiar.
Terrye on October 21, 2009 at 5:03 PM
The national party has a say in things on who they fund and endorse. Will the local party pike her the national party decided to endorse and fund her campaign giving their stamp of approval and making it national. Look at FL, CO and CA to see where the national party has tried to pick other canidates. And in each case they have picked the RINO over the conservative. It isn’t even a 50/50 split. I think the national GOP party has forgotten that all politics are local or should be. It is to me yet another bit of evidence that the national party no longer believes in federalism on any scale and instead wishes to impose a top down elitists structure on the GOP party.
unseen on October 21, 2009 at 5:09 PM
will should be while
unseen on October 21, 2009 at 5:10 PM
Holy crap. What a maroon.
Dede, honey, save some shred of your dignity and drop out now. Endorse the Dem candidate in a fit of pique, take your ball, and go home.
Newt blew this call. Big time. Oh, well. Everybody’s wrong sometimes.
Dukeboy01 on October 21, 2009 at 5:10 PM
The clip made me laugh and laugh then donate to Hoffman again.
farright on October 21, 2009 at 5:10 PM
[lonestar1 on October 21, 2009 at 4:57 PM]
Yes.
Dusty on October 21, 2009 at 5:11 PM
Now we know where Steve Schmidt and Nicole Wallace are working…How’s the weather in upstate Noo Yawk, guys?
james23 on October 21, 2009 at 5:11 PM
And all those Republicans who are not responsible for this can just do without the support? Well hell, Barack will appreciate your support.
How about taking that money and sending it to some guy like Wilson instead? Or we can just use this race as an excuse to crap on the GOP and hand the whole shooting match to the Democrats.
Terrye on October 21, 2009 at 5:12 PM
That news conf. in front of Hoffman’s headquarter is going to go down In history as one of the most epic fails of a campaign! I’d of loved to have been a fly in the car on the ride back from that humiliating fiasco… She should pull out right now, for her to stay in when it’s become painfully obvious she won’t win would demonstrate she puts her pride and pettiness above what is best for the people in her district… unless of course she is really a Dem in RINO clothing
CCRWM on October 21, 2009 at 5:12 PM
Wow, that was almost as pathetic as Sarah Palin’s resignation speech. You know, I’m quitting but not a quitter, etc.
Almost.
simplesimon on October 21, 2009 at 5:13 PM
That was a crappy thing to say. Does that include DeMint? There have been something like 1 defection on health care in the Senate and yet people are ready to blame every single Republican. In fact even that 1 defection refused to support a public option. There were maybe 8 defections on cap and trade in the House. Overall, the Republicans in the House and Senate have done a better of job of just saying no! to Obama’s agenda than I would have imagined.
Terrye on October 21, 2009 at 5:09 PM
true but…the devils in the details. If the president was a REP like Bush most of these folks would support obamacare and cap and tax and most dems would oppose it simply as a matter of power and party as the last 8 years showed clearly to anyone that was paying attention
unseen on October 21, 2009 at 5:13 PM
You’re fight about DeMint…and I’m right about Snowe, Collins, McCain, Graham, Specter and on and on and on…. But the GOP thanks you for your blind loyalty.
james23 on October 21, 2009 at 5:14 PM
You are correct that the state party chooses. And I do agree with local control. The bigger question in my mind is what litmus test is used in order that the national organizations (like RNC and NRCC and NSCC). Do they just trust the state\’s choices and blindly support them? I also wonder why Newt would put his reputation on the line for someone like this. Not that he had a lot of reputation to start with…
PrincipledPilgrim on October 21, 2009 at 5:15 PM
simplesimon on October 21, 2009 at 5:13 PM
Palin’s speech was 1000 times better than that. If you watched the entire thing and not the sound bites that the MSM force fed you to protray a specific point
unseen on October 21, 2009 at 5:15 PM
Should say:
… The bigger question in my mind is what litmus test is used in order that the national organizations (like RNC and NRCC and NSCC) decide to throw their support to a particular candidate. …
PrincipledPilgrim on October 21, 2009 at 5:16 PM
What are the polls showing? Is Hoffman going to be able to pull this one out?
karenhasfreedom on October 21, 2009 at 5:16 PM
unseen, there are 50 states out there and you picked 4 as representative of the country. My point is that you build support from the ground up..a lot of these people are people who have been involved in local politics for years and have been part of state parties for years and years..the national party often as not goes along with that the local party wants.
Now if you want to blame the entire Republican party for a few races like this, fine, but in most cases that just means more Democrats. And that is not a solution either.
All you can do in a case like this is let the people decide.
Terrye on October 21, 2009 at 5:16 PM
NEWT! Wake up Zombie Newt. Wake up! Aliens must have crawled into your ears and taken you over.
Mr. Joe on October 21, 2009 at 5:16 PM
Obviously they need some new blood in the New York Republican party…and California too, but those things really have to start at the grass roots level..putting these people in office and then blaming the national GOP for supporting the local GOP candidate is not really rational.
Terrye on October 21, 2009 at 5:18 PM
TXUS on October 21, 2009 at 5:18 PM
No, it was pathetic. She clearly wrote it herself. Poor grammar, factual mistakes and stuff that simply didn’t make sense. Those 6 years getting a BA in ‘Communications’ was surely wasted.
simplesimon on October 21, 2009 at 5:19 PM
Instead of sending it to the RNC country club, send it directly to candidates one supports.
I agree this lady needs to drop out and she should support the REAL republican.
dogsoldier on October 21, 2009 at 5:20 PM
If Scozzofava bows out, one would hope her supporters would migrate to Hoffman. Who knows?
glennbo on October 21, 2009 at 5:20 PM
Screwed up the qoute control. Time for a cocktail.
TXUS on October 21, 2009 at 5:20 PM
What a disaster. The NRCC sure knows how to pickem!
WisCon on October 21, 2009 at 5:21 PM
All you can do in a case like this is let the people decide.
Terrye on October 21, 2009 at 5:16 PM
No you can as a party have a platform and require canidates within your party to agree to that platform and run on that platform. You can as a national party make very general overarching themes and require any canidate within your party to support those themes. themse like less government, lower taxes. And if the locals decide to support somepne that does not believe in those themes they you as a naitonal party can choose to not fund them.
Its called putting principles over power. And a principled man will beat a power hungry man everytime.
unseen on October 21, 2009 at 5:23 PM
Its called putting principles over power. And a principled man will beat a power hungry man everytime.
unseen on October 21, 2009 at 5:23 PM
It is also called branding in the new marketing lingo. And any company knows that you protect your brand at any cost.
unseen on October 21, 2009 at 5:25 PM
This is what happens when 11 country club slobs with trust funds get to choose the candidate they most like.
These people are so stupid they can’t see the firestorm Obama is creating and how to properly fight it- with a stark contrast candidate.
Thank God for a Conservative Party candidate there.
jjshaka on October 21, 2009 at 5:26 PM
simplesimon on October 21, 2009 at 5:19 PM
your PDS is showing. This isn’t a palin thread. and I disagree. Her speech was good, and convened her thoughts well. In fact if you listened to her her speech you could tell what she planned for the next months. I have not been surprised by one thing she has done since her speech. She gave a detailed roadmap of her plans.
unseen on October 21, 2009 at 5:27 PM
Scozzafava is Mrs. Trunchbull?
I think so.
portlandon on October 21, 2009 at 5:28 PM
About an hour before viewing this video, I had sent Doug Hoffman a small donation to help his campaign. (Conservatives of the world unite).
Seeing this video makes me feel REALLY good about that donation. I encourage others here to do the same. Even if it is only $5 or $10…every little bit helps.
It is people like Ms. Scozzafava that are the PROBLEM in Washington DC. Sending her to Congress would be like sending a robber to deal with thieves.
Ms. Scozzafava does not qualify as a “new guard”:
Please voters of NY 23..it is your duty to establish a new guard for your future.
MississippiMom on October 21, 2009 at 5:31 PM
No, it is not called putting principles over power, it is called the national party telling the state and local party what to do…
The truth is the voters are quite capable of settling this issue and I am sure they will. And the next time the people who pick the candidate will remember the mess they got into and think twice about making that mistake again.
The point is that the only people who can stop Obama are the GOP…and I am not going to blame every single member of the national party every time something happens I don’t much like.
Terrye on October 21, 2009 at 5:31 PM
“GOP county chairmen pushed Ms. Scozzafava for the job in July at the behest of GOP state party chairman Joe Mondello, who has since (and blessedly) stepped down. Mr. Mondello also hand-picked loser James Tedisco in another special Congressional election earlier this year.”
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704500604574483990102017038.html
So Republicans let a retiring state party hack hand pick two House candidates. They look stupider with each passing day. I can just imagine how Rahm and Schumer, both very smart politicians, must be laughing.
Boehner, Cantor and Hensarling ought to resign their leadership positions in the house. Can Michael Steele.
I do feel sorry for this poor woman – she looks really terrible. The dem or Hoffman will win.
chris999 on October 21, 2009 at 5:32 PM
Monica…you are too funny…
It was bothering me… What does this remind me of? Then it came to me… Ralphie coming down the stairs on Christmas morning in the pink rabbit outfit his aunt made him and his father exclaiming “he looks like a deranged Easter bunny” lol!
CCRWM on October 21, 2009 at 5:32 PM
In honor of the 40th Anniversary of Monty Python’s Flying Circus, it’s time to play…..
SPOT THE LOONEY!
pilamaye on October 21, 2009 at 5:32 PM
She needs to save what little dignity she has left and bow out urging her supporters to go with Hoffman. What an embarrassment for the RNC. I hope they have learned their lesson.
bopbottle on October 21, 2009 at 5:36 PM
Relax, nobody is giving up on the candidates, we’re just not going to trust our money to the RNC as the middle man anymore. I’ll give money to organizations such as the Club for growth who fund true conservatives who can easily win in conservative districts.
The powers that be in the RNC seem to think like David Frum and pack the “Big Tent” until the Fire Marshall needs to be called. In 2006 and 2008, nobody knew what the party stood for other than self preservation, Sozzofava is the epitome of self preservation. So was Specter, who betrayed us, and so is Crist.
The majority of comments here on Hot Air are in support of cutting out the RNC as the middle man when it comes to our money.
Daemonocracy on October 21, 2009 at 5:37 PM
That’s your gal, Newt!
Maybe you should stick to warning us all about the perils of global warming. Pelosi may be available for another photo op, if you beg.
Cicero43 on October 21, 2009 at 5:38 PM
I have a funny feeling that being Italian has a lot to do whether Mondello endorses you.
Apologetic California on October 21, 2009 at 5:39 PM
Hey, I’m not Palintologist, and I wasn’t really impressed with her resignation…
… but if she flailed this bad, the conservative movement would be screaming to give Alaska back to the russians.
JohnGalt23 on October 21, 2009 at 5:44 PM
I think it must have been Larry Mondello.
Cicero43 on October 21, 2009 at 5:44 PM
Sounds like your limp messiah and his teleprompter.
HornetSting on October 21, 2009 at 5:44 PM
You’ve got to be kidding me. The press conference looks like it’s for Hoffman. Now, I’ve got no dog in the race but what ninny told her this was a good move politically. No one’s that big of a moron. Oops, I take that back. We found that big of a moron. Sure wouldn’t want them running my campaign.
ranzofola on October 21, 2009 at 5:45 PM
She is talking about her hose and girdle.
Aviator on October 21, 2009 at 5:46 PM
I also can’t believe Gingrich threw his weight toward her. Says an awful lot about Newt.
ranzofola on October 21, 2009 at 5:48 PM
Terrye,
I’m one of those you’re railing against today. It started for me in 06 when Bush came out for Specter over Toomey. Had he kept quiet and let the voters decide that would have fine with me. But we keep seeing the national GOP picking people that consistently vote against the interests of not only the party, but the nation, time and again.
I refuse to give another cent until I see a commitment on their part to turn around. I gave them my full support in 94 and for years after because they showed promise to really change things. Fool me once, shame on me, fool me twice….
There’s a reason that a beaten dog cringes when you raise your hand.
TugboatPhil on October 21, 2009 at 5:51 PM
That’s some brilliant strategy for you. People will never vote for Hoffman now that “she” has been revealed to be such a loser.
PackerBronco on October 21, 2009 at 5:54 PM
Best part…when she looks around and sees all Hoffman signs. Priceless.
Sue on October 21, 2009 at 5:55 PM
My God, Saturday Night Live couldn’t have written anything better than her opening statement!
Great going Newt, you moron!
gary4205 on October 21, 2009 at 5:56 PM
OMG. This woman should drop out and slink out of sight with whatever dignity she still has left.
This was painful to watch.
katy on October 21, 2009 at 5:56 PM
Wow… lmao
I sent Hoffman $50.
beatcanvas on October 21, 2009 at 5:57 PM
I’m sorry Newt, but Kos endorsed this candidate.
Any respect I may have had for you is now long gone.
Chaz706 on October 21, 2009 at 5:57 PM
That, madam, is no Republican. Some of us put principles before party. And FYI, I’m a conservative Libertarian who mourns the pathetic state of the GOP, and would switch party affiliation in a heartbeat if today’s GOP had anything remotely similar to the principles of Reagan.
Monica on October 21, 2009 at 5:57 PM
This clown show put on in NY 23 by the Republicans may portend bad things for 2010. Our guys will have idiots like the self-hating Republican McCain advisors running their campaigns. And money will be limited.
Dem candidates have unlimited $$ from the trust fund left and 527 billionaires, unlimited union bodies to do leg work, the best PR firms, campaign strategists, oppo researchers, etc. And the best lawyers for inevitable close races where recounts will be needed!
Oh, and I almost forgot. Though acorn may no longer be in existence, there are billions in the stimulus bill to pay community organizers. And as luck would have it, there are a lot of skilled people formerly with acorn ready to sign up with new groups to help out in the election.
chris999 on October 21, 2009 at 6:04 PM
Indeed. Go local. I will not send one dime to the RNC, and this debacle is part of the reason. The same reason I don’t participate in the annual United Way campaign at work. I give to the people I decide to – not to a general fund, to be spread among people I may vehemently disagree with.
uncivilized on October 21, 2009 at 6:06 PM
Even the RINOs look like Meghan McCain
Bruce NV on October 21, 2009 at 6:08 PM
But we do have some Republican men who are overweight, like Chris Christie, and Corzine’s campaign commercials consist of “HEY LOOK AT THAT FATSO!”
chris999 on October 21, 2009 at 6:10 PM
Uh, why is she running as a Republican to begin with? At least Snowe made some claims about why she’s one, but this ditz hasn’t anything on her resume to suggest she’d be at home with the party of Honest Abe, Teddy, Ike and the Gipper.
Orange Doorhinge on October 21, 2009 at 6:11 PM
Terrye, in my experience you have two sorts of candidates, the folk who step forward and tell the party they hope to run and the folk the movers and shakers convince to run..the later are nearly always a mirror image of the group selecting them (and may or may not reflect any support from the base). The former might actually represent the base.
If the selected candidate is wildly unpopular with the base (think McCain) then the folk to look at are party leadership as they are out of step with the party base.
JIMV on October 21, 2009 at 6:13 PM
No she’s not a Republican. She’s not even half a RINO.
She’s a “sad and low”, if I may use your former description.
Laughing, still, about that.
TXUS on October 21, 2009 at 6:17 PM
OMG. That is just too funny. That photo is a keeper. It’ll have its own special section of “What Not To Do … Ever” in “Political Candidacy for Dummies”.
progressoverpeace on October 21, 2009 at 6:22 PM
Rarely do you see a person, even one with negative charisma as she has… attempt public speaking… and mega fail this bad.
-
RalphyBoy on October 21, 2009 at 6:23 PM
The point is that the only people who can stop Obama are the GOP…and I am not going to blame every single member of the national party every time something happens I don’t much like.
Terrye on October 21, 2009 at 5:31 PM
The point is that as a party you have to stand for something not just who is mostr likely to win in a particular st5ate, district etc.
what you are suggesting is something like leting girls sign up for the boy scouts in CA but not in VA. It just doesn’t work. If you are the party of lower taxes you do not invite a tax raiser to join. If you are a party of individual freedom who do not invite a marxist to join simply because that district has a alot of marxists.
branding, principles etc. Would the boy scouts really be the boy scouts if girls could join? would the GOP be the GOP if marxists and socialists join?
unseen on October 21, 2009 at 6:25 PM
Just donated to Hoffman, his website indicates a need for immediate cash to keep the ads running for the next 12 days.
Firefly_76 on October 21, 2009 at 6:28 PM
If standing out in front of your opponents headquarters, giving a press conference is smart….can you imagine the damage done, if she wins!?!? :0
capejasmine on October 21, 2009 at 6:31 PM
So, we can trust that Conservatives will be backing a Libertarian Party candidate in the next such special election, since they’ve opened up the door to the “3rd party thang.”
Fair’s fair. If you’re gonna okay outside the GOP campaigns, shouldn’t just be limited to the Conservative Party.
A precedent has just been set.
ericdondero on October 21, 2009 at 6:33 PM
I see Newt gave his new girlfriend some good advice.
bill30097 on October 21, 2009 at 6:33 PM
Newt Gingrich is in the tank for this lady? Really?
SilverStar830 on October 21, 2009 at 6:34 PM
Thus, a new entry was born in the lexicon of American politics:
Scozzafail
Bruce in NH on October 21, 2009 at 6:38 PM
Newt, first global warming and now THIS? What UP??? You’re starting to disappoint realllly bad. Don’t live in his district, but just sent off a small donation to Hoffman, my first since Fred!
rtsidedragon on October 21, 2009 at 6:40 PM
Want to know the Litmus test? Money. As someone who is getting ready to run for office, the one thing every party regular has said the second I tell them I’m looking to run is “You’ll need at least 150k” “Can you raise alot of money?” “How much money do you got?”
Considering the party offers little to no help (unless you look like you’re going to win) Dede probably had the largest war chest of the group of pols up there and was willing to put it on the line to make a run.
brooklynlou on October 21, 2009 at 6:43 PM
According to a site linked by Big Government, a pal of Scuzzy’s tossed her the nomination even though she was outvoted.
Monica on October 21, 2009 at 6:48 PM
What does this woman think, she’s Barry 0bama or something?
wildcat84 on October 21, 2009 at 6:52 PM
Did the White House dress her?
Wade on October 21, 2009 at 7:03 PM
Where is Tracy and Clinton?
Wade on October 21, 2009 at 7:04 PM
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