At the risk of repeating some of my past comments, I would like to make a few comments about NY- 23 and the congressional campaign that many Kos readers seem unaware. On can see that, for example, in the comments on Norbrook’s fine diary I've Had It With The Purity Police! some of these misconceptions.
Misconception: Bill Owens is anti-choice. Fact: He is unambiguously pro choice. He says so in this interview WEB ONLY: Bill Owens unedited interview, at about 1 min 30, and has said so in other interviews.
Misconception: Dede Scozzafava is left of Bill Owens. Fact: Scozzafava is more progressive on exactly one issue, marriage equality. It is unfortunate that Bill Owens can support domestic partnerships and the repeal of DADT (and I suspect DOMA, although it hasn’t been brought up in the campaign) but has problems with marriage equality.
Owens, unlike Scozzafava, is for cap & trade, health care reform, repeal of the Bush tax cuts to the rich, and a number of other issues that concern Kossacks. On other issues he is the same as Scozzafava – both support card-check, women’s right to choose, more $$ for education, repeal of NCLB etc. Scozzafava, unlike Owens, asserts that the main problems we face are too much regulation and too many taxes, in other words she sounds like every other Republican
Misconception: All NY-23 is a blood-red. Fact: The district may once have been so, but now is purple. The county where I live (St. Lawrence), the legislature is majority democrat, the state assembly(woman) is democrat, the state senator is democrat, the last two elections for US senator went for the democratic candidate, and the county went for Obama. There are more conservative areas of the district, to be sure, but much of the district is less conservative than it has been painted in DK.
Misconception: Bill Owens is a blue dog. Fact: Yes, he is MOR. But, he hasn’t publicly allied himself with that group. Indeed, the one thing he has campaigned on is his promise to support Obama’s agenda. Jeezum Crow, I thought we wanted more people in congress like that! Sure, I would prefer Mike Oot or (better) a North Country twin of Bernie Sanders, but politics is the art of the possible.