Michael Steele: Doug Hoffman win is a GOP win

[ccharles000]

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele said Friday that a victory by Doug Hoffman, the third-party candidate in the Nov. 3 New York special election, is a win for the GOP.

The actual Republican nominee, Dede Scozzafava, trails Hoffman, the Conservative Party nominee, and Democrat Bill Owens by double-digits according to a recent poll. But Steele argued during an interview with POLITICO that the GOP doesn’t need to worry about Scozzafava’s lagging ratings because Hoffman is essentially a Republican.

“You’ve got two Republicans running in that race. My upside is that one of them will likely win,” Steele said. “We want to be supporting the one that wins.”

“I don’t split the party into conservative or not,” he said. “I’m looking as the national chairman to walk out of there one way or the other with a win.”

Asked if he would support Hoffman in 2010 if the Conservative Party candidate won the special election and sought reelection, Steele responded: “Why wouldn’t I?”

“Is he a Republican?” Steele asked. “He’s the Conservative Party nominee, but he ran initially as a Republican.”

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1009/28942.html

[Arkana]

1. They don't even realize that if Hoffman wins their party will fracture even further, do they?

[opihimoimoi]

2. Rationale is a wonderful salve for the mind...

[EarlG]

3. A Hoffman win is a massive fail for the GOP

Perhaps even more so than if the Democrat wins.

Just the fact that Hoffman is doing well in this race is going to empower conservatives to run third-party candidates next year. If he wins, they'll be even more emboldened.

The right-wing vote in this race is being split to the point where a Democrat might win in a red district which has been reliably Republican since 1993. Imagine how this might play out if far-right third-party candidates run in more moderate Republican-held districts across the country. It could be a massacre.

[depakid]

5. That's been my take as well

This tea party business has opened up a real conundrum on the right, where fringe groups and parties feel empowered and will devote considerable energy to upcoming races. In some areas, this will be worth 3-5 percentage points.

[Engineer4Obama]

4. Hey maybe if the Nutjobs get completely relegated to a third party

the gop and this party will continue to split the vote and we'll be in power for a generation. I'm just imaging all the progress we could make over that period of time.

[TomCADem]

6. Amazingly, in 2010, the GOP Is Going Even More Extreme

And purging so-called moderates for the Glenn Beck crowd.

[Phx_Dem]

7. Just read the Hoffman's GOP oponent, Scazzafarro(?), has dropped out.

Bummer.

[joeycola]

9. yes, I saw that.

[KingFlorez]

8. This sort of thing is disastrous for a party

Such division.

[jenmito]

10. Well, now that the Repub. candidate dropped out, it's EXPECTED that Hoffman wins.

If he doesn't, that'll be a problem for the GOP. If he does, it's just what SHOULD happen in a conservative district.