I really think Palin is becoming the epitome of a has-been.....she's kind of in the same league as Fox News and MSNBC, which weirdly enough, is a nano-step above the Congress.

Could it be possible that she's really a political genius and this is just part of a brilliant secret plan to take the White House away from the Muslim Communist Alien in 2012?















































Nah.

This woman is a total screwball. There is an old saying that if you want to expose a fool, hire him a hall in which to speak. To waste a lot of political capital on such is small race is dumb.

Woopty-doo. Are we still obsessed over this woman?

.... and wonders why a city gets to have a congressman.

Update:
As it stands on election night, with 90 percent of the polls in, Democrat Bill Owens has taken this district.

This campaign has been like an extra bowl of Halloween candy to an old political apparatchik like me. We had Palin and other social conservatives endorse Hoffman, the Conservative Party candidate, and attack GOP nominee Scozzafava for her moderate stances on various issues. This had the ultimate result of Scozzafava suspending her campaign, and she endorsed and campaigned for Owens.

This in turn led to accusations of Scozzafava as a turncoat, some of them from the very people who had abandoned the GOP to endorse a third party candidate. Even more interestingly, some tried to portray the campaign as a referendum on Obama, suggesting that a Hoffman win would be the sign of a massive repudiation of his policies. (Odd strategy in a traditional Republican district)

Instead, the result is the loss of a district that has returned an unbroken line of Republican candidates ever since the Grant Administration. While I wouldn't for a moment suggest that is the sign of massive support for Obama's policies (I think it's likely a repudiation of the clusterfuck campaign by the GOP/Conservative Parties) I'm eagerly looking forward to see how Palin, Limbaugh, et al spin the defeat. It should be as entertaining as the campaign.

Original Review:
Interesting move, from the perspective of a political observer, and a test for Palin. Not so much as whether her endorsement (and it should be noted, that of other prominent Republicans) will elect Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman, but as how much weight her profile really has. Secondly it is a test of the current GOP leadership's power, and how they will deal with rogues, if at all.

Based on what I just read in git's review, someone just screwed the proverbial pooch. It will be morbidly fascinating, I suppose, to see how this plays out for the people that had their noses in this business, as well as those who shall stick their noses in sometime soon.

This is an upstate New York district currently held by the Republicans that is trending Democratic. The Republican incumbent, a moderate, is resigning to take a position in the Obama Administration and there is a special election being held for his replacement. The Republicans chose a moderately liberal candidate, largely to strengthen the party's appeal in this swing district. There is also another candidate running on the Conservative party label that is attracting some significant support. Many national Republicans are backing this candidate over the listed party candidate because of her support for many liberal causes.

NY is a different political animal than most states due to the presence of several third parties. Many times the Republican or the Democrat run under multiple party lines, primarily to add extra votes for those who vote straight down the line. Some of the third parties however are just organizational extensions of either the state GOP or Democrats.

I think it is completely plausible that the 3rd party candidate might come out. With the moderates and liberals splitting the same base of voters and with conservatives energized in an off-year election where turn out is going to be low, the candidate who gets their voters out the most en masse will win. Either way, the winner will likely only win a plurality of the vote.

That a lot of national conservatives have rejected the party candidate (who is very liberal for a Republican) isn't as significant as the prospect of a strong 3rd party run in a marginal district. Should the Conservative Party candidate win, he'll likely caucus with the Republicans, thus making it win-win for those backing him. They win if they keep the seat and even if he loses, those backing him will win points with movement conservatives. That's why we're seeing the Conservative Party candidate win so much institutional support even though he's not endorsed by the Republican Party. People like Palin are trying to establish their conservative bonafides, likely in anticipation for a run in 2012.