Many liberals argue that the conservative turn against Dede Scozzafava in New York's 23rd Congressional district amounts to a disaster for Republicans. If Conservative candidate Doug Hoffman wins the district Tuesday, these pundits say, small “c” conservatives will draw a dangerous lesson: go more right to win back Washington.

The Huffington Post's top headline Monday morning: No Room In The Herd For Moderates.

Or to quote Markos Moulitsas on Monday:

The true import of this race has already been determined -- the teabagger coup and message to the few remaining non-doctrinaire Republicans that they are no longer welcomed in their party. And the conservatives have their scalp, whether Doug Hoffman wins or loses. They are energized, and ironically, rather than aim their guns at Democrats, they are taking aim squarely at their own party.

Liberals might want to be wary of their hypocrisy; the political left is continuously attempting to purge moderates from the Democratic Party. (See Lieberman, Joe--who, as Ryan Grim reported, played a central role in helping Democrats pass the stimulus bill.)

But if what some liberal observers say is true, should the leftwing want the conservative to win New York's 23?

The New York Times Frank Rich went this far over the weekend:

It's even better for Democrats if Hoffman wins. Punch-drunk with this triumph, the right will redouble its support of primary challengers to 2010 G.O.P. candidates they regard as impure…

Of course, Democrats want the opposite. As Politico reported, Democrats went into fifth gear to secure Dede Scozzafava's endorsement of Democrat Bill Owens.

It's logical why Democrats want to win this seat. It's a vote in the House with national resonance. Democrats would naturally spin a victory as another data point in the decline of the Republican Party. It also sets up a "heads we win, tails you lose" frame for this race, regardless of the outcome.

What's most rich, some on the political left argue that the effort to unseat Scozzafava is somehow different (and more destructive to the GOP) than the same tactics constantly pushed by many liberals. Rahm Emanuel can reasonably make this case against conservatives, as a pragmatist. But can the hard left? Hardly.

Recall liberal Rep. Maxine Waters this past summer. She blamed Emanuel for his effort to help elect moderate Democrats in 2006. Her gripe, those moderates were now holding up liberal reform.

Waters forgot that liberal candidates could not have won the red territory in 2006. Think Govs. Ted Strickland and Bob Casey's gubernatorial victories. In the House, think Heath Shuler's win in North Carolina or Brad Ellsworth's win in Indiana. Waters was practicing the very mindset that some liberals now criticize in conservatives, both in upstate New York and nationally.

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