As a result of my post on Scozzafava pulling out in the NY-23 race, I received these:

GPLupton @AlanColmes It says we don’t want RINOS or “progs” screwing up our party! Just like you guys don’t want conservatives in yours!

josheinstein @AlanColmes I switched to GOP bc of McCain. GOP needs more moderates not right wing versions of you

tracycoyle @Karoli @AlanColmes that the GOP needs Conservatives, and that Sarah Palin is a Conservative first….

darrinyeager @AlanColmes Scozzafava dropout means Repubs need to be more conservative – they lose when liberal. The lib Rep was last behind lib and cons

JD_Long @AlanColmes That the GOP didn’t pay attention to the Tea Parties – But neither did you DemoCraps, either. Smackdown commences in 3,2,1 . . .

And on the White House guest list, they STILL insist it was the better-known Ayers and Wright.

JannieAlexa OmG …you can’t seriously be saying it’s not the same Bill Ayers & Jeremiah Wright? Good grief! | @AlanColmes http://bit.ly/2iXQYR

Kazport @AlanColmes You honestly believe this wasn’t done on purpose. The games this admin. plays is kindergarten gone wild

writer_nw @AlanColmes Love how you think it’s funny about Ayers and Rev Wright. You’re such a hypocrite.

They’ve been yelling for transparency, and the White House offered it by releasing the names of those who’ve crossed its portals. Then, the cons jumped on the names “William Ayers” and “Jeremiah Wright”.  Unfortunately for the Bama Bashers, it’s right church, wrong pew.  It is unfathomable to them that more than one person could have those names. Sadly, for them, the Ayers and Wright who entered the White House were not the radical and the preacher, but eponymous personages,(via Think Progress)

The Weekly Standard’s Michael Goldfarb:

The Weekly Standard’s Mary Katharine Ham:

The Washington Times’ Amanda Carpenter:

Conservative blogger Ed Morrissey:

Sorry to harsh your mellow.

State Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava (above, right) has quit the race for the congressional seat that had been occupied by John McHugh in New York’s 23rd district.  Scozzafava is a moderate Republican, but not right-wing enough for today’s GOP, and so all the money is flowing to conservative Doug Hoffman (center), who doesn’t even live in the district.  The move probably will hurt the momentum Bill Owens (left) has been showing. Scozzafava released this statement:

“In recent days, polls have indicated that my chances of winning this election are not as strong as we would like them to be. The reality that I’ve come to accept is that in today’s political arena, you must be able to back up your message with money–and as I’ve been outspent on both sides, I’ve been unable to effectively address many of the charges that have been made about my record,” Scozzafava said in a statement. “It is increasingly clear that pressure is mounting on many of my supporters to shift their support. Consequently, I hereby release those individuals who have endorsed and supported my campaign to transfer their support as they see fit to do so.”

Scozzafava, who is a Republican in the tradition of many New Yorkers, such as Jacob Javits and Nelson Rockefeller, is pro-gay, pro-union and pro-choice.  Unfortunately, that doesn’t fly with today’s national party. Her resignation from the face may help keep the seat in Republican hands, as the party moves further to the right.

South Carolina Assistant Attorney General Roland Corning, 65, was seen pulling into a secluded area of a cemetery alongside an 18-year-old stripper, arousing the suspicion of  Columbia, SC police officer Michael D. Wines, who eventually searched the car.  The woman was an employee of the Platinum Plus Gentlemen’s Club.

[The search] revealed a sex enhancement drug (Viagra) and some sex toys. According to the report, Corning told the police he had a prescription for the medication and the other items were always in the car “just in case”, he needed them anytime he wanted.

The married Corning is a GOP activist in the state and a former legislator best known for his opposition to abortion.

• “Is there something strange in your neighborhood?” Actor Dan Aykroyd and his father Peter Aykroyd, author of A History of Ghosts: The True Story of Séances, Mediums, Ghosts and Ghostbusters, sit down with Alan to discuss real-life hauntings.

• What are witches brewing? Richard Blaine, Executive Director of the New York Center for the Strange, joins Alan to reveal the group’s annual predictions from witches across America.

• It’s the Friday Night Free-For-All!

Operation Rescue co-founder Randall Terry, who admits to being  a regular Liberaland reader (which thrills me no end), couldn’t answer when I asked him if he had sympathy for Scott Roeder, the man accused of killing abortion provider George Tiller.  And Terry was shocked to find out that James Dobson’s Focus on the Family provides its employees with health care through an insurance company that covers abortion services. 

RightWingWatch wonders if Terry will now show up in Colorado Springs with a sea of bullhorns.

Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman told ABC News he will campaign for some Republicans during the 2010 midterm elections and may not seek the Democratic nomination when he runs for reelection in 2012.  After pledging to be a loyal Democrat, Lieberman was permitted to retain  his chairmanship of the Commerce Committee, but now says, “I probably will support some Republican candidates for Congress or Senate in the election in 2010. I’m going to call them as I see them.”

Asked if he will seek the Democratic nomination when he runs for re-election in 2012, Lieberman said, “That’s an open question.”

“There are options,” Lieberman said. “The other, obviously, is to just start as an independent, which is where I ended up in 2006.”

Lieberman does say he’ll support Democratic Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd in Dodd’s reelection bid in 2010.

It’s a rural part of New York State, right next to Canada. There hasn’t been a Democrat elected there since the 19th Century.  But moderate Republicans are so out of favor these days that a party split may put a Democrat in office.

For starters, there are three unorthodox candidates: A pro-choice, pro-gay-marriage, pro-union Republican; a registered independent running on the Democratic ticket; and a Conservative who doesn’t live in the district and may well win — or play the part of GOP spoiler and help elect a Democrat to a seat occupied by Republicans since the 1800s — despite skipping most chances to appear publicly with his opponents.

John McHugh, a moderate Republican, was elected eight times, but has been tapped to become President Obama’s Secretary of the Army, vacting the seat.

Bill Owens, an attorney with left of center views, was the choice of the Democrats (above, left), while Dede Scozzafava, a moderate state assemblywoman from the district, was the pick of the local GOP. Doug Hoffman, an accountant living over the district line in Lake Placid, then declared his own candidacy with the backing of the state’s Conservative Party leaders, who had opted not to endorse Scozzafava. Now, Scozzafava has the support of the official GOP party establishment — including House Minority Leader John Boehner and Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele — while Hoffman has garnered endorsements from other prominent Republicans (and probable 2012 GOP presidential candidates) like Sarah Palin and Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, as well as conservative former U.S. senators like Rick Santorum and Fred Thompson. Hoffman is also a favorite of talk-show host Glenn Beck and tea-party activists across the country.

And Scozzafava is being portrayed as a leftist, which is a far cry from her ideology.

True, Scozzafava supports abortion rights, gay marriage and the pro-union legislation known as Card Check. But she’s also endorsed by the National Rifle Association, supported the Bush tax cuts, and opposes to much of Obama’s health care plan.

But Scozzafava’s candidacy is in trouble, while Hoffman is gaining ground, even though he isn’t from the district and doesn’t have a grasp of local issues.

In an interview with the editorial board of my old employer, the Watertown Daily Times, Hoffman was asked about a new super-highway that had been proposed years ago for the district but needs federal funding. No opinion. Where did he stand on the controversial idea of dredging the St. Lawrence River, which forms the district’s border with Canada? No comment. A subsequent editorial in the Times described Hoffman as “flustered and ill-at-ease” and said he “showed no grasp of the bread-and-butter issues pertinent to district residents.” It didn’t help that Hoffman brought along former House Majority Leader (and staunch conservative) Dick Armey with him to the editorial board meeting — Armey called the local issues “parochial” and said the editorial board ambushed his candidate.

So, may the best Democrat win.

James Manning, chief pastor at the ATLAH World Missionary Church in Harlem, says, “If Obama lives, then the Constitution, and America dies. Now listen to me very carefully, please hear me, please hear me: If we let Obama live, America dies…”

Go to The Political Carnival, find out who this man is, and see the video.