Republicans work to defeat one of their own

WATERTOWN, N.Y. -- From a command center inside the Days Inn here, conservatives from around the country are fighting to preserve what they see as the integrity of the Republican Party.

Urged on by leaders like former Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska and former House Majority Leader Dick Armey of Texas, they have come to defeat Dede Scozzafava, the Republican candidate for Congress in the 23rd District, whose views on abortion, same-sex marriage and taxes they deem insufficiently conservative for anyone running as a Republican.

They have committed hundreds of thousands of dollars to the effort, planned to run 800 radio spots, print 80,000 leaflets and recruit some 200 volunteers to work the polls on Election Day on Nov. 3.

Many of the workers acknowledge that their efforts could deliver the election to the Democratic candidate, Bill Owens, but they say it is more important to send a message than to win the race.

"This is the shot that needs to be fired to Republican leaders to wake them up," said former Rep. Marilyn Musgrave of Colorado, who was one of the most outspoken conservatives in Congress until her defeat last year.

The race, for an open seat in the far northern reaches of upstate New York, has become a contentious and at times chaotic referendum on the future of the party, and its outcome will help shape what kinds of candidates the Republicans run as they look to rebuild their ranks in Congress next fall.

The seat became vacant after President Barack Obama appointed John M. McHugh, the district's long-serving Republican congressman, as secretary of the Army. It is the only congressional seat that will be decided on Nov. 3.

Scozzafava has been endorsed by the Republican leadership in Congress and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and has received roughly $1 million from the National Republican Congressional Committee.

But much of the conservative establishment in Washington is throwing its support behind Douglas Hoffman, an accountant from the Adirondacks who is running on the state's Conservative Party ticket. Hoffman has never run for public office before, but he now counts Steve Forbes, The Wall Street Journal editorial page and The National Review among his supporters.

Palin jumps in

Palin provided the biggest thunderbolt last week, when she endorsed Hoffman on her Facebook page: "Political parties must stand for something," she said. "Unfortunately, the Republican Party today has decided to choose a candidate who more than blurs the lines, and there is no real difference between the Democrat and the Republican in this race."

Hoffman's third-party candidacy is striking for how much it has galvanized the Republican Party's base.

"The No. 1 victory will be to defeat Dede," said Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List, an organization that works to elect candidates who oppose abortion.

Dannenfelser, along with members of the National Organization for Marriage, which opposes efforts to legalize same-sex marriage, are helping to coordinate efforts on the ground in support of Hoffman.

At the Days Inn on Sunday, Dannenfelser, 43, of Arlington, Va., and three other organizers from the Washington area who have temporarily moved to Watertown held a recruiting meeting at the hotel, distributing yard signs and leaflets to local supporters of Hoffman.

Democrats, who at first watched the Republican intraparty fracas with glee, have become more concerned about Hoffman's chances of overtaking Owens, a lawyer from Plattsburgh. The party has begun airing commercials attacking Hoffman as an out-of-touch millionaire who supports tax cuts for the wealthy.

A Siena College poll on Oct. 15 showed Owens leading with 33 percent, trailed by Scozzafava with 29 percent and Hoffman with 23 percent. But more recent surveys have shown Hoffman gaining. Scozzafava, in an interview Monday, said she was trying to ignore criticisms from the conservative establishment. "All of this outside noise, it's a distraction. But it does add a little fuel to my fire," she said.

Scozzafava, a former small-town mayor who now represents the area around Fort Drum, near Watertown, in the state Assembly, said that while her view of the party is more expansive than some conservatives might like, Republicans should focus on increasing their numbers even if it means accepting candidates whose opinions are unorthodox.

"We should be talking about the things that can unite us as a party and make us stronger as a party," said Scozzafava, a supporter of same-sex marriage and abortion rights.

Battered by blogs

The conservatives who oppose Scozzafava have attacked her as they would a Democrat. They have tried linking her to ACORN because of her relationship with the ACORN-affiliated Working Families Party.

The attacks have rattled the Scozzafava campaign at times. The campaign called the police last week after a reporter from The Weekly Standard, the conservative magazine, continued to press Scozzafava to answer questions after she declined to comment. As a result, Scozzafava was mocked relentlessly in the conservative blogosphere.

In an interview Monday, Hoffman said Scozzafava's nomination was a betrayal of Republican principles.

"She certainly doesn't hold the Republican values that I hold, which is smaller government, less taxes, fiscal responsibility and not spending money you don't have," he said.

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