Scozzafava endorses Owens, rejects Republican extremism

By Michael J.W. Stickings

As most of you who follow this sort of thing have surely heard by now, Dierdre "Dede" Scozzafava, the Republican who dropped out of the House race in NY-23 yesterday, has endorsed not the Conservative (and new Republican) candidate, Doug Hoffman, but the Democratic candidate, Bill Owens.

Given that Scozzafava is a moderate who supports abortion rights and gay rights, and that Owens is the flavour of the day of the far right, and that the Republican Party, Scozzafava's party, is moving further and further to the right, and that the right, including many in the Republican establishment, backed Hoffman all along, this is hardly all that surprising. Still, it's yet another sign of what has happened to the GOP, and of where it is headed.

From Scozzafava's statement:

In Bill Owens, I see a sense of duty and integrity that will guide him beyond political partisanship. He will be an independent voice devoted to doing what is right for New York. Bill understands this district and its people, and when he represents us in Congress he will put our interests first.

Please join me in voting for Bill Owens on Tuesday. To address the tough challenges ahead, we must rise above partisanship and politics and work together. There's too much at stake in this election to do otherwise.

How very sensible, and how very admirable. Hoffman, and the right-wing support for Hoffman, isn't about representing the interests of the constituents of New York's 23rd Congressional District, it's about taking control of the GOP, about pushing a right-wing ideology that is well outside the American mainstream. Scozzafava knows that -- and she, the Republican nominee (let us not forget that), has rejected it.

Needless to say, the right is beside itself -- and is lashing out. "This afternoon Dede Scozzafava betrayed the GOP," said top Hoffman advisor Rob Ryan. Actually, no. Scozzafava is a Republican and was happy to run as a Republican. If there was betrayal, it was by those on the right who attacked her and launched Hoffman's insurgent candidacy. More generally, I would add, it's been conservatives who have betrayed what was once the leading spirit of the Republican Party, a party that used to welcome liberals and moderates in its fairly big tent. That tent has shrunk to a narrow sliver on the spectrum, the purge for ideological purification continues, and Republicans like Scozzafava, who is the right sort of Republican for NY-23 and the Northeast generally, have gotten the message. Some, like Arlen Specter, have switched sides. Others have simply dropped out or given up altogether.

(Note that, among other things, Hoffman would appear to be the Glenn Beck candidate in the race. And check out his list of right-wing supporters, including James Dobson and Sarah Palin, as well as supposed GOP mainstreamers like George Pataki and Tim Pawlenty.)

As I tweeted this afternoon, Scozzafava's endorsement may not be enough for Owens to overcome the boost that Hoffman is likely to get now that he's the Republican candidate. Still, one hopes that other moderates will follow her lead and reject the extremism that has taken hold of the Republican Party. There is more than enough room on the other side.

(For more reaction, check out Memeorandum.)

Joe Lieberman feels "relevant" again. But does he have to act like a Republican obstructionist?

By Michael J.W. Stickings

A lot of thought has gone into trying to figure out what drives Joe Lieberman.

Is he driven by old grudges and resentments, angry at his party for rejecting him in '04 and for turning against him during and after his battle with Ned Lamont, if not long before that? Is he angry that Obama, an apparent upstart without much of a record in Washington, beat his pal McCain last year? Is he a sincere independent who likes being a thorn in the sides of Democrats? Is he really a Republican? Is he a neocon sympathizer, if not one himself? Is he "addicted to media attention," a craver of the limelight? When it comes to health-care reform, is he in the deep pockets of the insurance industry, one of the leading industries in Connecticut, his home state?

I'm not sure what I think -- or, rather, I don't think anything conclusive. I suspect there's some truth to all of this. But I think what he told a group of Connecticut reporters on Friday is revealing:

I feel relevant. I've taken this position [on health-care reform] because I believe it.

He may very well believe his own misrepresentations (and lies), and he may very well believe that opposing the public option, and meaningful reform generally, is in the best interests of the country. But what are we to make of his apparent joy at feeling "relevant" again? Is this what truly drives him, being relevant, being at the center of attention, being important, being influential, being powerful?

Maybe so. Which makes you think that however much he may protest that he is, in fact, a dedicated man of principle who does what he thinks is right, and what is best for his constituents, and who puts the interests of country before the interests of party, he is really just all about himself, and always has been. Which explains, to a great extent, why he ran back to Obama and the Democrats earlier this year. Was it not to be relevant? To have his chairmanship, to caucus with the majority party, to have his Senate privileges? And, going back, does it not also explain why he so fervently supported McCain? He was relevant then, a McCain insider and likely a key player in a possible McCain presidency.

And now he wants to be relevant again. And how is he doing that? By situating himself between the parties as a key deal-maker, or -breaker, on health-care reform. Unlike other centrists like Snowe or Baucus, however, he doesn't seem remotely interested in getting anything done. They, at least, are trying, while he, like any good Republican, is playing the obstructionist, seeking only to attract the spotlight.

Every senator, every politician, wants to be relevant. With Lieberman, though, that desire, combined with all those grudges and resentments, seems to be all-consuming. (And Democrats, at least, should finally be done with him.)

Allow me to borrow a hilarious joke from Stewie Griffin (originally directed at Meg): In an attic somewhere, there's a portrait of Joe Lieberman getting prettier.

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