Reports: GOP gives up on Scozzafava? Update: Issa switches to Hoffman

posted at 6:50 pm on October 30, 2009 by Allahpundit

A Scozzafava spokesman denies it, but bloggers in the area and now Red State are hearing that it’s true. This doesn’t mean that the party’s unendorsing her, mind you, merely that they’re not going to blow any more dough on propping up a failed effort.

The NRCC tells me directly that they are only spending money on anti-Owens ads. The anti-Hoffman YouTube? Gone. The anti-Hoffman press releases? Gone. The anti-Hoffman everything else? Gone.

The pro-Dede Scozzafava stuff? Gone too.

The RNC ground crews? They are pulling out to New Jersey.

This smells more like a cosmetic concession to the base than some meaningful attempt to help Hoffman win. The election’s in four days; unless the GOP dumps her completely and swings fully behind him, she’s likely to retain a fair number of party-line Republican voters in the booth. But they can’t do that or else it’ll encourage every independent conservative candidate in America to mount third-party challenges next year, and then the curse of Gingrich will be fully upon us.

In fact, it might be upon us already:

With Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman running neck and neck with the Democrat in Tuesday’s special election in New York, some other disaffected Republicans are seeing the third-party route as more viable.

And it could hurt the Republicans in those races.

In Virginia’s 5th district, state Sen. Robert Hurt’s entry into the GOP primary has spurred little-known candidate Bradley Rees to switch to the Virginia Conservative Party. And in Ohio, another GOP primary contender said this week that he’ll run as a Constitution Party candidate.

Both will go at the GOP nominees from their right flanks and try to expose some unhappiness in conservative ranks. They might not be as well-funded as Hoffman or be filling quite as big a vacuum as the one left by Republican Dede Scozzafava’s left-leaning politcs, but they could steal valuable votes.

If the worst happens and the GOP is deluged with independent challenges next year (possibly spurred on by Glenn Beck?), then you know what the headline will be the day after the midterms, don’t you? “Dede’s Revenge.”

Update: Darrell Issa, trailblazer? “It will be interesting to see if other Scozzafava backers follow Issa’s example in the name of keeping the seat in GOP hands.”


Related Posts:

Breaking on Hot Air

Blowback

Note from Hot Air management: This section is for comments from Hot Air's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that Hot Air management agrees with or otherwise endorses any particular comment just because we let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with our terms of use may lose their posting privilege.

Trackbacks/Pings

Trackback URL

Comments

Comment pages: 1 2

It really is mind boggling that the president of the United States, the most powerful man in the world, has so little respect for his office that he would actually try blame his ineffectiveness on a private citizen who simply broadcast his opinions. Pathetic!

chazmaz on May 14, 2013 at 9:31 PM

If Rush does live in Obama’s head, could he at least tell us what Obama was doing on the night of the Benghazi attack?

monalisa on May 14, 2013 at 9:37 PM

Dittos all.
Could be they identified the enemy and it is us.
Julian Bond had an interesting description of the Tea Party tonight.
Interesting times.

seesalrun2 on May 14, 2013 at 9:45 PM

It really is mind boggling that the president of the United States, the most powerful man in the world, has so little respect for his office that he would actually try blame his ineffectiveness on a private citizen who simply broadcast his opinions. Pathetic!

chazmaz on May 14, 2013 at 9:31 PM

Or maybe Obama is angry that he can’t forcibly nationalize the broadcast spectrum in total a la Hugo Chavez. Which is why he gets into these p***ing matches with Rush and Fox News.

Myron Falwell on May 14, 2013 at 9:47 PM

Good for Rush finding this new apartment. I hear there is plenty of empty space up in there; he should be able to get some good practice in on that golf swing of his.

Gingotts on May 14, 2013 at 9:53 PM

God bless Rush Limbaugh.

TitularHead on May 14, 2013 at 10:04 PM

If Rush does live in Obama’s head, could he at least tell us what Obama was doing on the night of the Benghazi attack?

monalisa on May 14, 2013 at 9:37 PM

What he does every night, watching Sportscenter of course. That’s such common knowledge that lobbyists have started advertising on ESPN just to get to him.

slickwillie2001 on May 14, 2013 at 10:25 PM

It can’t cost too much, there’s nothing there.

mmcnamer1 on May 14, 2013 at 10:26 PM

Even a thimble has space for a gnat, Mr.Limbaugh.

All the mockery of shout radio combined has not done one whit to halt his socialist agenda, or even really to hold the GOP’s feet to the fire until they were worth a hoot. So make your jokes about rent-free life…they’ve got the power and we don’t.

MelonCollie on May 14, 2013 at 11:11 PM

MMM-MMM-MMM!

Sir Loin on May 15, 2013 at 2:29 AM

Even a thimble has space for a gnat, Mr.Limbaugh.

All the mockery of shout radio combined has not done one whit to halt his socialist agenda, or even really to hold the GOP’s feet to the fire until they were worth a hoot. So make your jokes about rent-free life…they’ve got the power and we don’t.

MelonCollie on May 14, 2013 at 11:11 PM

Exactly right. You know when I essentially gave up on the American people and knew in my gut that this country had gone too far down the path of ignorance and facism? When there was no back-lash, no rising up against the incredible attacks on Sarah Palin and her children. And then this President who called Americans “the enemy” and those of us who defended the Constitution and criticised the press and the federal government for acting like a 3rd World dictator became “extremests”. The filth spewed by Hollywood became the “norm”. Veterans and people who opposed the likes of that butcher Gosnell were put on the terrorist “watch” lists and low-life, pedophiles were allowed to sexually abuse children in public while their parents looked on at our airports.

Now we learn that 7 muslims—chemists—were found at Boston’s water source and while Obama is busy persecuting Billy Graham, these innocent “researchers” are allowed to go their merry way. Why aren’t every one of them in jail awaiting a direct plane to their homeland? Why the hell are they in this county in the first place?

I’m very tired of the awful, souless country we’re passing on to the next generation. Degenerates in Hollywood glorify drug abuse, incivility, and ignorance and they are the pied pipers who shoulder the most immoral man who has ever sat in the Oval Office to lead us all over the cliff. I went to Lowes last week looking for stuff for a remodel in my house. I couldn’t read the freaking packages. I needed an interpreter because everything was in Spanish. I’d like to know why these people are here? They hate us. They want to turn us into Mexico and they burn our flag and insult and ignore our laws and we want more of them? And why are we allowing “students” from Muslim countries? Can anyone, anywhere point to any progress in bringing any Muslim country out of the 6th century? The only thing these “educated” Muslims do is provide technical expertise to blow us all up.

OK. Good grief. I haven’t been involved in any politics since the election because I was intimidated. I used to poo poo “conspiracy” theorists. And for six years I’ve watched the fruition of every, single theory out there. One of the same so-called “nuts” who predicted persecution and prosecution and camps for conservatives and Republicans is now telling us that Google is joining with the Bilderburgs for total power and thought control. Even last year, I would have dismissed this. Now? After the confirmation that the IRS is Obama’s personal SS, I’m paying attention. Now wonder these people want everyone’s guns and ammo.

Portia46 on May 15, 2013 at 9:14 AM

Rush also has the bad taste to not have attended Columbia or Harvard.

TimBuk3 on May 15, 2013 at 9:28 AM

Rush also has the bad taste to not have attended Columbia or Harvard.

TimBuk3 on May 15, 2013 at 9:28 AM

Now THAT, I couldn’t care less about.

Ivy League schools have hopelessly fallen from vaunted institutions of higher learning to left-wing indoctrination centers…and places where all kinds of rich-brat capers go on and get covered up by daddy’s money.

MelonCollie on May 15, 2013 at 9:31 AM

Rush is now the most powerful man on earth…he dictates our policies, he dictates what the president can and cannot do…amazing that a radio talk show host, without one single vote, dictates the policy, foreign and domestic of the United States.

Truly, in this country, you can be anything you want, even president without being president…

right2bright on May 15, 2013 at 10:03 AM

Oblamo must recognize Rush as the Big Community Organizer on the right. It’s really the only thing prezzy is good at and he does like to clear the field of any competition.

Kissmygrits on May 15, 2013 at 10:33 AM

Limbaugh: “I live rent-free” in President Obama’s head

There should be PLENTY of room with nothing else occupying Obummers head space…much like our troll nonpartisan!

EEprom on May 15, 2013 at 10:38 AM

SCoaMF, forever the beta male to Rush’s alpha.

MNHawk on May 15, 2013 at 11:35 AM

Rush, you better not be paying any rent for living in Obama’s head: it’s an unfurnished sewer of a place.

PD Quig on May 15, 2013 at 12:45 PM

Rent free, baby! Freaking legend.

Decoski on May 15, 2013 at 6:15 PM

Comment pages: 1 2