Scrutiny for Scozzafava, praise for Hoffman

As the perceived front-runner the 23rd special election, Republican Dede Scozzafava is getting a lot of under-the-microscope-treatment.

As the outsider-underdog, Conservative Doug Hoffman is avoiding much of that scrutiny, while winning praise from right-of-center media.

Scozzafava’s latest challenge is a review of the Scozzafava family’s latest Securities and Exchange Commission filing, dated May 2oth, in PolitickerNY.com.

Writer Jimmy Vielkind suggests that Scozzafava maneuvered to put herself in a better position than other stockholders, should her family business fail.

As a holding company run by her brother lost millions, Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava traded her stock for a debt obligation that will give her preference if the troubled corporation were to file for bankruptcy.

If this meme sticks — that Scozzafava used her insider status to gain an advantage over normal stockholders — it could mean real trouble.

In the post Wall Street bailout era, voters have little patience for shades-of-gray cleverness.

Meanwhile, Doug Hoffman won a glowing treatment last week in the conservative (and prominent) Weekly Standard.

Former Corporation for Public Broadcasting chairman Ken Tomlinson penned an essay about Hoffman, writing, “when he tells you his life’s story, it is easy to see why those who know him are so very much for him.”

Of Scozzafava, on the other hand, Tomlinson wrote,

She is pro-card check, pro-abortion, and twice voted in the assembly to legalize gay marriage. She repeatedly has won the endorsement of the ACORN-backed Working Families party, sharing that party’s ballot with John Kerry in 2004 and Obama last year.

In case you haven’t guessed, Tomlinson thinks those are badges of shame, not honor.

Obviously, this dynamic puts Scozzafava in a tough spot — but it’s a fairly typical dilemma for the leader of the pack.

What makes this situation different (and more dangerous for Scozzafava) is that the harshest attacks on her campaign are not coming from the left or the Democrats.

They’re coming from the right.

All of this conservative-GOP in-fighting leaves the door open for Democratic newcomer Bill Owens, whose campaign seems to be off to a slow start…