If Owens (D) wins NY-23 in a close race...

[DearAbby]

would the Teabags consider the closeness of this race a sign to continue purge moderate Republicans from the party? What would this mean for Democrats in 2010?

[ck4829]

1. I think it's safe to say that

[DearAbby]

5. I agree

[DireStrike]

2. Each pigheaded camp would take it as an endorsement of their worldview

The pubs will claim fraud and moderate democrats will see it as a club to beat liberals with. The purging will continu on both sides, until we have a hard-right party and a center-right party.

[ingac70]

3. I hope they continue their purge....

and go after the likes of Snowe and Collins, and put a third party weirdo up for the 2012 Pres. election.

[mdmc]

4. Well the GOP endorsed the Dem, so tear this party down!

Teabaggers unite!

[npk]

14. True. A moderate GOP endorses a DEM

This would be another sign that the GOP is losing support where it matters most, in the Northeast. You look at Olympia Snowe who has moved further and further away from the hard line base, and in this race the moderate is forced out by big-mouth Limpballs and Hannity. This is of course a trend that continues to hurt the GOP. They cannot win with their base alone, and the South is no longer their stronghold either. They need the Northeast and the midwest. They can pretend that they don't, but they know they do. The problem is that they cannot run a moderate Republican in these districts, or states without Limpballs and Hannity destroying them. Every time the GOP puts up a moderate the candidate is immediately shot down.

As soon as Scozzafava was announced Hannity and Rush made a conscience effort the tear him down. The hard liners of the GOP will be happy tomorrow I suspect. I am sure Rush will take credit for destroying Scozzafava, but it is just another sad day for the GOP, which continues to move further and further middle.

[Azathoth]

6. It means the GOP civil war goes into hyperdrive

GOP establishment figures will see it as confirmation that the teabagging fringe is taking the party over the cliff. Teabaggers will convince themselves that they would have won had it not been for ACORN, SEIU, Hugo Chavez, and Scozzafava's treacherous decision to endorse the Democratic candidate. Both sides will be emboldened, and there will be much GOP blood spilled in 2010.

[DearAbby]

10. Democrats dream come true

[ingac70]

12. Sounds like a winner to me. n/t

[Ozymanithrax]

7. Teabaggers will say that ACORN stole the election.

They and other groups will continue to attempt to purge any moderate (and to the Gringritch is moderate) form their ranks.

[Muttocracy]

8. it's looking like a 3-4% gap, so close but not a tiny margin. nt

[DearAbby]

9. Looks like those who would have voted Scozzafava

broke fairly evenly between the two candidates...really close. It's scary to think people would actually vote for the idiot teabag.

[wisteria]

11. This is a Repub strong hold, it would seem to me that Repub moderates are sending a message to the

Teabagger nut jobs.

[K8-EEE]

13. YES!!! THEY ARE SO STUPID!! YOU CAN'T UNDERESTIMATE THE STUPID!

DO SOME MORE HELPING, SARAH!!

[Psephos]

15. tea partiers are not repugs, they're conservatives

A lot of them hate repugs. There are also a fair number of independents and moderates involved with them who are frightened by $2 trillion deficits, jobless stimulus bills, and authoritarian-sounding climate and health bills.

By a considerable percentage, there are more conservatives than there are repugs. Comparatively, there are fewer liberals who aren't Democrats. This helps explain the tea party phenomenon to those with a taste for political science.

It's crucial to know this to succeed in 2010 and 2012.