For moderate conservatives, the Special Election in New York’s 23rd district has certainly been a harrowing experience. Dede Scozzafava, the decidedly moderate Republican candidate in the district, was pushed out of the race by the dominant arch-conservative wing of the party, led in this instance by the ex-Alaska Governor and politically “rogue” hockey mom who poisoned the 2008 Republican ticket, also known as Sarah Palin. They instead favored the “Conservative Party” candidate Doug Hoffman, who serves the more popular hard-line brand that has characterized the Republican Party, in which moderacy is no longer tolerated.

The Hoffman candidacy is just another example of how dangerous the Republican political attitude has become. Though the Democratic party sometimes suffers from being a “big-tent” party, incorporating liberal and moderate wings, our legislation is made stronger through intra-party discussion and debate, and tends to represent a wide section of perspectives on the way American government should work.

The mainstream of the Republican party not only refuses to compromise to liberal ideals to any extent, but they are taking stands that seem to be against our system of government entirely. With every tax dollar spent comes a collective cry of agony from the Republican party. Scozzafava was a welcome breath of fresh air, imbued with a fresh understanding of the realities of modern American government and unafraid to show it. So isolated from this radical mainstream, she has instead endorsed the Democratic candidate Bill Owens.

Something is seriously rotten in the 23rd district, and it has permeated the entire scope of American politics. Sarah Palin, in endorsing Hoffman was incorrect (no surprises) in re-arguing Ronald Reagan’s point that ”‘blurring the lines’ between parties was not an appropriate way to win elections.” That comment spites the way this country should be run. Governing is not about winning elections, not about self-interest, but true consensus. Besides, wasn’t “blurring the lines” how Barack Obama won the election?

The Republicans may revel in some victories tomorrow night, perhaps in the 23rd district and beyond, but they will never be truly successful until they roll up their shirtsleeves and join together with our party in remaking America.

A few outliers already have. As Olympia Snowe, Maine’s notoriously moderate senior senator famously said only a few weeks ago in support of the Baucus Healthcare Bill: “Is this bill all that I would want? Far from it. Is this bill all that it can be? No. But when history calls, history calls.”

In the midst of a recession, two foreign wars, and rising global temperatures and federal debt, that call rings more strongly than ever. Now is not time for the unilateral Hoffman-Palin/Congressional Republican approach. We need more Scozzafavas now more than ever, not for the sake of the Democratic party’s legislative agenda, but for the sake of our country’s future.

Radical Republicans do voice legitimate concerns. We must be concerned with the size of our deficits and the amount of U.S. debt that China is consuming. We must ration the size of government and always protect individual freedoms. But are those reasons to stop governing? No, they are only reasons to govern more intelligently. That’s why our party has introduced Health Care legislation that will reduce the deficit over a ten-year period while providing near-universal coverage. That’s why our party has introduced stimulus and housing bills to help responsible and hardworking Americans keep their homes and jobs. It’s time for the other side to step up to the plate.

Tags: New York, Palin, Republicans, Scozzafava

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 at 2:03 am and is filed under Campaign Politics, Current Events. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.