How often do you get to get pitched by an elected officer of the Republican Party to help elect the nominee of another political party to Congress?
Well, that’s what you are getting right here.
All eyes in the country are looking at a special election that will take place this Tuesday in upstate New York in the sprawling 23rd Congressional District. The incumbent Republican Member of Congress there resigned his seat mid-term to take an appointment from President Obama (!), and this set the stage for a special election.
Unlike in California, where we would have a special primary election where the party nominees would be determined, in New York this decision is made, literally, by local county political bosses. In this case about a dozen Republican County Party Chairmen gathered and anointed a candidate to be the Republican nominee.
The only problem is that the candidate they tapped, Didi Scozzafava, who is a registered 
Republican, happens to side with the Democrats on virtually every substantive policy area that you can imagine.
The good news is that there is a REAL Republican running in the race, under the banner of New York’s Conservative Party, and that is Doug Hoffman. Hoffman is the real deal, which is important because as we know, it is not merely enough to attain a Republican majority on Capitol Hill – but we need a conservative majority.
I encourage you to take a moment and read an important column penned by national conservative leader Ken Blackwell.
At this point, if you will indulge me, I am going to insert a substantial chunk of a column that our own Matt Cunningham penned on this race over on Red County last week:
• had a record of voting for massive tax increases
• was friendly to ACORN
• supported the Obama stimulus package
• endorses "card check" legislation to abolish the secret ballot in union elections
• favored same-sex "marriage"
• is strongly pro-choice
• has run on the ballot line of the Working Families Party — a creature of ACORN, SEIU and the teachers union.
Based on that, to which party would a person guess the candidate belonged? Is there any doubt 100% of responses would be "That’s a Democrat"?
Disturbingly, the candidate I am describing is the National Republican Congressional Committee’s anointed candidate in the special election for New York’s 23rd congressional district: Dede Scozzafava. The NRCC is pouring hundreds of thousands of dollars — money donated by Republicans in order to advance Republican principles — to elect someone who is to the left of the Democratic candidate. Indeed, the Democratic candidate is attacking Scozzafava as a taxer!
To call Scozzafava a RINO is an insult to RINOs.
It’s true that Winning is the immediate object in an elections, but it presupposes a purpose for pursuing victory. Exactly what would the GOP gain by electing Scozzafava? Reduce the massive Democratic majority in Congress by a single vote? That makes zero sense when you consider Scozzafava would have sided with the Pelosi majority and Barack Obama in transforming this republic into a European-style welfare state. There’s an old saying that "a party without principles is merely a conspiracy to seize power" — an adage that captures the NRCC’s role in this fiasco.
It’s one thing to back candidates who fit the district. But it’s quite another for the NRCC to spend hundreds of thousands of Republican donor dollar to elect a crypto-Democrat when there’s a viable conservative candidate in the race.
It’s not too late for the NRCC to perform some political triage and salvage it’s credibility by ceasing its support for Scozzafava. It can establish credibility with the burgeoning Tea Party/town hall grass roots reaction by shucking the establishment Beltway mindset and swinging its support to the conservative candidate in the race, Doug Hoffman. Hoffman, running on traditional limited government themes, is within striking distance of Scozzafava.
The Club for Growth and other right groups have spent approximately half-a-million on his behalf. If the NRCC came to its senses and put its resources behind the genuine Republican in the race, it’s very likely Hoffman would win. And as a bonus, the NRCC would demonstrate itself to be a body interested in advancing GOP principles, rather than merely piling up the GOP body count in Congress untethered to some larger purpose.
In a perfect world, Scozzafava would run under her true colors, as a Democrat. Or barring that, decide to be true to her principles — such as they are — admit that running as a Republican is tantamount to lying to the voters, and withdraw from the race, thus preserving a measure of political integrity.
In the final analysis, if the choice were between Scozzafava and Democratic candidate Bill Owens, the best outcome for the GOP would be an Owens victory. Then, Republicans would have a chance regroup around a Hoffman candidacy in the regular election next year. After all, the 23rd congressional district has sent Republicans to Congress since the 19th Century, and ending a temporary Democratic occupation of that seat in 2010 would be preferable than enduring a term-after-term of a crypto-Democrat like Scozzafava.
Conservatives are coming out of the woodwork to rally behind Hoffman – some of these include Sarah Palin, Tim Pawlenty, Gary Bauer, Dick Armey, Tom Cole, Fred Thompson, and Steve Forbes. Trust me, this is but a small sampling. The Club for Growth has put hundreds of thousands into this race. Check out their latest ad:
Just a few days ago our own California Congressman Dana Rohrabacher endorsed Hoffman and sent him a contribution of $1,000!
Some of the polling shows this race neck and neck – and a recent poll (from two days ago) from the Club for Growth shows Hoffman with a lead! The real race is no longer between Hoffman and Scozzafava, but between Hoffman and Democrat Bill Owens.
Here is a clip of Hoffman appearing earlier this week on Fox and Friends:
Conservatives from all around the country are not mobilizing to make the difference for Hoffman. And this is your opportunity to help out.
I am urging you to make a donation to Doug Hoffman’s campaign for Congress. Whether it is $250 or $5, every little bit helps.
If there was ever a race that epitomized the battle for the heart and soul of the Republican Party, this is it. If there was every a time to stand up for the idea that we not only need a Republican majority in Congress, but a conservative one, this is it. If there was ever a time for all of us around the country to chip in and make a difference, THIS IS IT.
Here is the link to donate to Hoffman’s campaign.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION.
Jon Fleischman
Publisher, FlashReport.Org
(If you aren’t already convinced that making a donation is essential, then read this piece by Doug Hoffman that appeared in National Review. Also, there is no time to delay, the election is days away!)
* Note – The California Republican Party, of which I am an officer, has not endorsed Doug Hoffman.
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