Was Tedisco the problem?

The circular firing squad has formed in Republican ranks. A culprit is sought for Jim Tedisco’s humiliating loss to political newcomer Scott Murphy.

The FixNYGOP blog blames state party chairman Joe Mondello for engineering Tedisco’s nomination without seriously considering other candidates.

One Wall Street Journal columnist heaped scorn at the feet of Tedisco himself: “Republicans lost because they fielded a poor candidate who ran a lousy campaign.”

There’s little doubt that the selection process that produced Tedisco was flawed. County chairman managed to fracture the district’s Republicans, alienating supporters of state Senator Betty Little in the North Country.

But I watched Tedisco on the stump and didn’t see the kind of blundering that others are describing.

Remember, when this all began he was the most visible and arguably the most powerful Republican in New York state. He was the guy who took on Spitzer over drivers licenses for undocumented workers.

Bottom line? This defeat was about more than Jim Tedisco.