by Dennis Sanders

There has been much weeping and wailing at the demise of the New England and/or Northeastern Republican and rightly so. What was once the geographical base of the GOP is nearly extinct.

But then again, it might be a bit to early to start writing an obituary. Dierdre Scozzafava, a Republican New York State Assemblywoman garnered the support of a number of GOP county chairs in her upstate Congressional district, which means she will run as a Republican in a special election to replace outgoing Representative John McHugh, who is being tapped by the President as Secretary of the Army.

So, why is this big news? Because back in 2007 she was one of four Republican lawmakers in the Empire State to support a marriage equality bill legalizing same-sex marriage and she ran for re-election in 2008 and won.

In an era where it seems that you can’t win in the GOP unless you are sufficiently homophobic, this is big news indeed.

It also might be that the 23rd Congressional District Republicans learned the lessons from the 20th Congressional District elections between Democrat Scott Murphy and Republican Jim Tedisco. Tedisco didn’t support gay marriage and ended up losing narrowly to Murphy. As the Advocate reports a few people wondered if a more moderate Republican would have won:

…although Tedisco lost by a razor-thin margin, the GOP’s Monday morning quarterbacks concluded that moderate state senator Betty Little “would have crushed Murphy,” according to one Republican insider.

It will be interesting to see how the race turns out. But in thinking about this, I have to believe that moderate/progressive Republicans have to do more than wish her well. We need to find ways to support this fellow moderate who can help moderate the entire GOP. I would suggest that those who care about the future of the GOP consider giving a donation to her campaign or writing a note of support or join her fan page on Facebook. We have to do more than just sit back and watch. We need to support inclusive Republicans.

Go, Dede, Go!

 Dennis Sanders is a pastor living in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He has worked on centrist Republican issues for years, including stints as President of the Minnesota chapter of Log Cabin Republicans (a gay/lesbian advocacy group) and Republicans for Environmental Protection. Dennis blogs at NeoMugwump and happily lives with his partner Daniel and serves two cats, Morris and Felix.

HHR NOTE:  Should she win  it will be quite telling given that she’s running on a moderate platform  and winning in a conservative district.   Jim Tedisco lost running on a conservative platform. Also one has to wonder if the Party will support her the way it supported Jim Tedisco?