Scozzafava Out Of GOP Conference...Plus: How Dems Won Her Endorsement

Republican Dede Scozzafava, who dropped out of New York's 23rd district special election amid Conservative Doug Hoffman's surge--and endorsed Democrat Bill Owens--is out of the state Assembly's GOP conference. The Albany Times Union reports that Republicans are looking for a new Leader Pro Tempore, after Scozzafava and Republican leader Brian Kolb sat down to talk.

The Washington Post, meanwhile, chronicles how Democrats won her endorsement. It began with a condolence call from Owens soon after she dropped out; then, White House Political Director Patrick Gaspard (under orders from Rahm Emanuel) orchestrated an aggressive campaign that included phone calls from New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, Sen. Chuck Schumer, and Bill Clinton, plus meetings with former New York Democratic Party chairwoman June O'Neill and Rep. Steve Israel.


Hoffman, on the other hand, never called her.

It seems Hoffman had an utter falling out with Republicans after the conservative campaign against her. In the end, she tells the Post that Hoffman has "no integrity" (which actually meshes with a rather harsh criticism of Hoffman offered by National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Paul Lindsay, after Hoffman interviewed with local party leaders for the GOP nomination and before he became a conservative star).

Here's how the Post sums it up, from Hoffman's perspective:

The conservative movement's third-party candidate, Doug Hoffman, expected her support but, she said, the newcomer accountant "had no integrity." Plus, the Democrats were so nice! They called. They sympathized. They made her feel good about tossing her support to Bill Owens, who -- with her help -- became the area's first Democratic representative in more than a century.