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What should of been a victory for Republicans, now seems unlikely.

In a huge development in the NY-23 special election, Republican candidate Dede Scozzafava has announced that she is suspending her campaign, citing an inability to win in light of recent polls and a lack of money — leaving this race as a vote between Democrat Bill Owens and Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman, and a strong message that the Republican Party can no longer nominate moderate candidates, or else face a right-wing revolt.

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Her platform was socially liberal and economically conservative, and there was a lot of bad blood between the local GOP and Conservative campaigns.

Scozzafava was ahead in the polling until Sarah Palin inserted herself into the race.  While Palin’s favorable ratings have been on a steady downswing, she obviously still has influence over the wingnut crowd.

Scozzafava fails to meet Palin’s requirements for a good Republican because of her moderate position on gay marriage and abortion. While she says she won’t vote for new taxes, Palin doesn’t believe her. Friending Hoffman on Facebook, Palin wrote that the best thing about him is that he’s “not been anointed by any political machine” and stands for bedrock Republican principles. Invoking Ronald Reagan, Palin added that he knew that “blurring the lines wasn’t an appropriate way to win election.”

By throwing her support behind the Conservative candidate and thrashing the Republican one, Palin proves once more that there is no place for moderates in her party.  At a time when upwards of 40% of the electorate call themselves independents, Republicans continue to isolate themselves from the mainstream by shunning all who don’t adhere to strict conservative values.

The Party of No is also the Party of No Tolerance.  While Republicans might see some short term success, the long range forecast is bleak at best.

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