Sarah's Plot Thickens

Doug Hoffman, now within about 3,000 votes of Democrat Bill Owens in the New York 23rd, "unconcedes."

Hat tip to Greg Larkin

Obama Beats Palin In New York

This New York Times wrap-up makes it perfectly clear. By naming the incumbent to an administration post, the White House signaled its plan to win the 23rd congressional district for the Democrats. Local Republicans responded deftly, choosing a moderate Republican to run against Democrat Bill Owens. By driving her from the race and backing a Conservative Party carpetbagger, Sarah Palin and other rogue Republicans ensured Owens' election and played right into Barack Obama's hands.

Sarah Flushed

In an oddly triumphant-sounding election postmortem, Michelle Malkin, a conservative columnist and blogger, tags Dede Scozzafava for her liberal views without explaining the meaning for Republicans of Democrat Bill Owens' stunning win. About party bosses' decision to back the GOP's nominee for the New York 23rd congressional district, Malkin writes:

The Republican National Committee and National Republican Congressional Committee threw upward of $900,000 down the toilet for a candidate whose core views and political alliances undermined conservatism's fundamental beliefs in limited government from Day One. It was a reckless expenditure of the GOP base's hard-earned money and a bitter tuition bill for a teachable moment on the perils of political expediency.

Undermining the GOP's core beliefs even more will be the presence of a Democrat in a House seat that had been been safely Republican for years. For that, we have no one to thank but Sarah Palin and other national figures who first interfered in the race by second-guessing the decision of local party leaders to nominate Scozzafava.

Sarah Laughed

If you're a moderate Republican like I am (given the size of my readership, you're probably not even reading this, which really does make it all about me), you probably had a wide range of reactions to Sarah Palin's successful effort to drive a liberal Republican, Dede Scozzafava, out of the race for the 23rd congressional district in New York.

We should be clear about her candidacy, first of all, which was wrought by party bosses, not voters. Is she more liberal on economic issues than one might prefer? Probably. And yet are the forces of social-issue purity -- pro-life, anti-gay rights -- expected to be the key to a win tomorrow by Palin's choice, Conservative Party carpetbagger Doug Hoffman? Unquestionably. Is there room in the Republican Party for someone with her views? Only if it wants to be a national factor again (short of a national or international disaster which, once laid at President Obama's feet, would be automatically advantageous for the GOP regardless of whether it was tilting to the right or the center).

So how does one voter register a protest against the rogue Alaskan and her minions and really make a difference?

I briefly considered reregistering as a Democrat or an independent, but I felt President Nixon's displeasure, so I swiftly gave up that notion.

I then considered contributing to Democrat Bill Owens' campaign in the New York 23rd. After all, if he wins the previoously safe Republican seat, it would discredit Palin and, one might think, hasten the party's agonized reappraisal of its purposes and aims. But I don't think there's any stopping her drive for the 2012 nomination. Indeed the moderate Republican's smart move would be to throw his support behind Hoffman, increasing her momentum toward the '12 precipice. Only when she or a candidate with her views is defeated by an historic margin will the GOP understand the futility of its seemingly endless quest for the new Reagan.

Anyway, I couldn't bring myself to send Owen the $100. Instead, I joined the Ripon Society, a centrist GOP think tank that promotes fiscal sanity and social tolerance -- you know, like Abraham Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt. That's showing 'em, huh?

2012 GOP Debacle Watch

Via Andrew Sullivan, evidence that canny Democrats are rooting for Conservative Party carpetbagger Doug Hoffman in New York's 23rd congressional district. If Democrat Bill Owens wins, then the rogue Alaskan and her minions will be humbled, helping the GOP come to its senses. But if Hoffman wins, she'll be emboldened to target other moderates, hastening the marginalization of the Republican Party as 2012 approaches.

I Almost Sent Him $100 Myself

Dede Scozzafava, the GOP candidate for the House in New York who was derailed by the rogue Alaskan, has endorsed the Democratic candidate, Bill Owens. Conservative pundits like Fred Barnes have been saying that it would be a big win for Sarah Palin and the right wing if independent carpetbagger Doug Hoffman won the once-safe Republican seat. What will they say if Palin has delivered it to the Democrats?