Barack Obama's campaign manager accused former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin on Sunday of co-opting the Republican Party and driving it toward the ideological fringe.
In an appearance promoting his book on NBC's "Meet the Press," David Plouffe said that Democrats should "thank John McCain for picking [Palin]" as his running mate. Pointing to the 2008 vice presidential candidate's role in driving attention and support to Doug Hoffman, the ultra-conservative candidate in the New York 23rd District special election, Plouffe insisted that Palin-led forces were purging the GOP of moderates.
And he wasn't upset with the development.
"What's going on in the special election in NY-23, I think, is a remarkable phenomenon that could affect our politics for years to come," Plouffe said. Palin, he added, was "kind of playing the role of pied piper in Republican politics, which I'm quite comfortable with -- basically hanging a 'moderates need not apply' sign."
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On Saturday, the Republican Party's endorsed candidate in NY-23, Dede Scozzafava, announced that she was resigning from the race because of poor polling numbers. Scozzafava had been bleeding support primarily from registered Republican votes, as a slew of big name conservative flocked to endorse the far more ideological Hoffman.