The Hill
11/01/09 By Bridget Johnson Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) shrugged off the notion Sunday that the Scozzafava shakeup in New York was a sign of growing backlash against moderates in the Republican Party while stressing the need to show conservative activists that the GOP was the party for them. Boehner was grilled on CNN's "State of the Union" about the Saturday decision of Dede Scozzafava, the Republican nominee for the NY-23 special election to fill the House seat vacated by Army Secretary John McHugh, to pull out of the race in the face of shrinking poll numbers against Conservative Party challenger Doug Hoffman. Boehner said the case was highly unusual because Scozzafava was selected by local party chairmen. "Clearly she would be on the left side of our party," said Boehner, who had financially supported the campaign of the New York assemblywoman. "We accept moderates in our party; we want moderates in our party." The minority leader, when pressed by host John King, didn't link the shakeup to pressure by the conservative "Tea Party" movement, citing his participation at rallies in Bakersfield, Calif., and Ohio. "I've worked with these people, and what they're concerned about is the growing size of government," Boehner said.
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