Dede Scozzafava’s View, From A Small Office On The Fifth Floor
Lonelier, frustrated and still a bit bitter, the woman whose name became a verb reflects
Wed, 17 Feb 2010 11:54:00
Dede Scozzafava’s new office on the fifth floor of the Legislative Office Building is a little cozier than her old one.
But that was okay, she insisted. More privacy.
“I like to look at things with the glass half-full,” she said.
Scozzafava has put on a brave face after the resignation she felt compelled to make as the minority leader pro tem—the second-ranking Republican in the Assembly— taking an $11,000 salary cut. A few months ago she was leading floor debates. Now she sits so far back in the chamber that she is practically in the gallery.
“I wouldn’t be honest if I didn’t say I came back here a little disillusioned,” Scozzafava said. “I took a cut in pay, position and prestige.”
Last fall, she dropped out of her Congressional race at the last minute and endorsed Democrat Bill Owens over Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman. She became a pariah. Her name became a verb. And the rest of her career was defined for her.
But she insists she has no regrets.
“At the end of the day, I don’t care if someone likes me,” she said on a recent Monday morning, at just about the moment when Hoffman, the new star of the right wing, was taking the podium in front of a fawning audience at the Conservative Party convention held at the Holiday Inn by the airport. “I’d rather that they respect me.”
Life has slowed down now, although Sean Hannity does still invoke her on television with some frequency. (“Why can’t he just give it up?” she asked.) The e-mails, both positive and negative, have also gotten less frequent. But they still come.
And so do the thoughts of what might have been, of her campaign’s mistakes, what could have happened if the national Republicans had jumped in earlier. Over an hour-long interview, they popped up constantly, along with the last traces of resentment—toward the national media, the Conservative Party she perceives as sexist—and, more generally, a frustrated resignation that political ideology now trumps substance. She still feels the need to defend her voting record on abortion, and noted that Scott Brown, who is also pro-choice, received much different treatment from the Tea Party movement than she had.
Plus, she noted, she drove around in a pick-up truck first.
Instead there were more humiliations once she landed back in Albany.
She loved being speaker pro tem so much that she used to spend the weekends reading all the bills coming up on the floor calendar. Now her title is gone, her big office taken away, her days lonelier.
She became the ranking member of the Energy Committee, but that has yet to meet this session. She was appointed vice chair of the conference’s steering committee. According to her, putting together an agenda for the Assembly Republicans has not taken much of her time either.
She has been asked by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver to join the Democratic conference. Sure, that would probably come with a bigger office and more member items, but Scozzafava said she never seriously considered it.
“People say politically, it would be easier if I was a Democrat,” she said. “But philosophically, I’m a Republican.”
Scozzafava is now not even sure she will run for re-election. Four Republicans have expressed interest in running in a primary against her, though she believes she would win handily. In fact, she insisted, her constituents actually resent all the outside forces that descended on the Congressional race.
Scozzafava resisted offers to become a de facto national spokesperson for moderate Republicans, turning down a number of chances to appear on cable television. Scott Brown’s election was a good moment for her, proving that moderate Republicans could still win elections, as upset as she was by the hypocrisy she saw in the Tea Party backing him and not her. She is a fan of Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (she likes that he wholeheartedly embraced the stimulus package), himself facing a Tea Party-backed candidate as he runs for Senate.
Scozzafava might give up on politics, but not because she is still crying over the brutal Congressional campaign or scared by a primary. Her interests have shifted, broadened. Getting ready for a life in Congress, she started studying up on Iran-Israel relations. She read Stanley McChrystal’s paper on Afghanistan strategy.
The former mayor of Gouverneur found she had a thing for foreign policy.
So if the Obama administration wanted to thank her for throwing it all away in backing Owens by giving her an ambassadorship or even a job in the State Department, she would jump at the chance.
“If I could go to Haiti, I’d go to Haiti right now,” she said. “If I could go to Afghanistan, I’d go right now.”
Still, she is not exactly waiting by the phone for another call from Bill Clinton or Chuck Schumer.
“I don’t know,” she said. “People’s memories are pretty short in this business.”
--
Above: Photo by Barry Sloan
But that was okay, she insisted. More privacy.
“I like to look at things with the glass half-full,” she said.
Scozzafava has put on a brave face after the resignation she felt compelled to make as the minority leader pro tem—the second-ranking Republican in the Assembly— taking an $11,000 salary cut. A few months ago she was leading floor debates. Now she sits so far back in the chamber that she is practically in the gallery.
“I wouldn’t be honest if I didn’t say I came back here a little disillusioned,” Scozzafava said. “I took a cut in pay, position and prestige.”Last fall, she dropped out of her Congressional race at the last minute and endorsed Democrat Bill Owens over Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman. She became a pariah. Her name became a verb. And the rest of her career was defined for her.
But she insists she has no regrets.
“At the end of the day, I don’t care if someone likes me,” she said on a recent Monday morning, at just about the moment when Hoffman, the new star of the right wing, was taking the podium in front of a fawning audience at the Conservative Party convention held at the Holiday Inn by the airport. “I’d rather that they respect me.”
Life has slowed down now, although Sean Hannity does still invoke her on television with some frequency. (“Why can’t he just give it up?” she asked.) The e-mails, both positive and negative, have also gotten less frequent. But they still come.
And so do the thoughts of what might have been, of her campaign’s mistakes, what could have happened if the national Republicans had jumped in earlier. Over an hour-long interview, they popped up constantly, along with the last traces of resentment—toward the national media, the Conservative Party she perceives as sexist—and, more generally, a frustrated resignation that political ideology now trumps substance. She still feels the need to defend her voting record on abortion, and noted that Scott Brown, who is also pro-choice, received much different treatment from the Tea Party movement than she had.
Plus, she noted, she drove around in a pick-up truck first.
Instead there were more humiliations once she landed back in Albany.
She loved being speaker pro tem so much that she used to spend the weekends reading all the bills coming up on the floor calendar. Now her title is gone, her big office taken away, her days lonelier.
She became the ranking member of the Energy Committee, but that has yet to meet this session. She was appointed vice chair of the conference’s steering committee. According to her, putting together an agenda for the Assembly Republicans has not taken much of her time either.
She has been asked by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver to join the Democratic conference. Sure, that would probably come with a bigger office and more member items, but Scozzafava said she never seriously considered it.
“People say politically, it would be easier if I was a Democrat,” she said. “But philosophically, I’m a Republican.”
Scozzafava is now not even sure she will run for re-election. Four Republicans have expressed interest in running in a primary against her, though she believes she would win handily. In fact, she insisted, her constituents actually resent all the outside forces that descended on the Congressional race.
Scozzafava resisted offers to become a de facto national spokesperson for moderate Republicans, turning down a number of chances to appear on cable television. Scott Brown’s election was a good moment for her, proving that moderate Republicans could still win elections, as upset as she was by the hypocrisy she saw in the Tea Party backing him and not her. She is a fan of Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (she likes that he wholeheartedly embraced the stimulus package), himself facing a Tea Party-backed candidate as he runs for Senate.
Scozzafava might give up on politics, but not because she is still crying over the brutal Congressional campaign or scared by a primary. Her interests have shifted, broadened. Getting ready for a life in Congress, she started studying up on Iran-Israel relations. She read Stanley McChrystal’s paper on Afghanistan strategy.
The former mayor of Gouverneur found she had a thing for foreign policy.
So if the Obama administration wanted to thank her for throwing it all away in backing Owens by giving her an ambassadorship or even a job in the State Department, she would jump at the chance.
“If I could go to Haiti, I’d go to Haiti right now,” she said. “If I could go to Afghanistan, I’d go right now.”
Still, she is not exactly waiting by the phone for another call from Bill Clinton or Chuck Schumer.
“I don’t know,” she said. “People’s memories are pretty short in this business.”
--
Above: Photo by Barry Sloan
