re: #21 MandyManners

I, for one, won’t abandon the GOP.

Neither will I - but I think a party has to be able to work with voices within it that may not pass the strictest of tests concerning ideology. Hoffman isn’t a good candidate, not at all: the refusal to debate was a disgrace for anyone who has declared themselves a candidate. I’m nowhere near Scozzafava’s biggest fan, but I recognize politics is about more than ideology, more than just what I personally think all the time.

The people pushing the Hoffman candidacy for the most part were the most radical and rabid of social conservatives and paleo-conservatives. The way they approach issues is just plain nuts: I’m pro-life but that doesn’t mean I’m not open to compromises on certain pieces of legislation or certain rulings (sometimes this has to happen if you believe its about “keeping as many children alive as possible”), and I’m not against pro-choice candidates necessarily when someone nominally pro-life and their backing seem very suspect.