AND MORE AGONY FOR THE DEMS - ARE YOU BELIEVING THIS? - AT 9:01 A.M. ET:  Remember that now legendary race in New York's 23rd Congressional District?  You know, it was the race in which the so-called Republican candidate, Dede Scozzafava, pulled out when it was discovered that she was really a liberal, and she then endorsed the Dem candidate, Bill Owens, over the Conservative Party entry, Doug Hoffman.  Owens won.

Or did he?

Reader Joseph J. Gallick reports on the latest twist in this political soap opera: 

Washington -- Conservative Doug Hoffman conceded the race in the 23rd Congressional District last week after receiving two pieces of grim news for his campaign: He was down 5,335 votes with 93 percent of the vote counted on election night, and he had barely won his stronghold in Oswego County.

As it turns out, neither was true.

But Hoffman’s concession -- based on snafus in Oswego County and elsewhere that left his vote undercounted -- set off a chain of events that echoed all the way to Washington, D.C., and helped secure passage of a historic health care reform bill.

Democratic Rep. Bill Owens was quickly sworn into office on Friday, a day before the rare weekend vote in the House of Representatives. His support sealed his party’s narrow victory on the health care legislation.

Now a recanvassing in the 11-county district shows that Owens’ lead has narrowed to 3,026 votes over Hoffman, 66,698 to 63,672, according to the latest unofficial results from the state Board of Elections.

And...

The new vote totals mean the race will be decided by absentee ballots, of which about 10,200 were distributed, said John Conklin, communications director for the state Board of Elections.

What is shocking here is that Owens was sworn in, and helped pass the health "reform" bill, without being officially certified as the winner.  Hey, what's a little totalitarianism, right?

However, Hoffman conceded too early, and did not contest the original result, giving Nancy Pelosi the legal right to swear in Owens.  Big mistake by Hoffman, who's new to electoral politics.

It would still be difficult for Hoffman to overcome the Owens lead with absentee ballots, but it could get razor close, in which case the Hoffman people might challenge the election result on grounds of irregularities.  Stay tuned.

November 13, 2009