As we battle for the heart and sole of the Republican Part, it is unfortunate that some on our side are distorting Mike Castle’s record in an attempt to make him more palatable to conservative voters.  They have such disdain for conservative challenger Christine O’Donnell, and desire any chance to have another Senator with an R next to their name, that they are willing to lie about Castle’s 20+ year career in Washington.  They naively believe that there is an advantage to having 51 seats that are fully controlled by people like Castle, who are to the left of Arlen Specter, as opposed to 50 seats that are not held hostage by socialist extremists.

Have these people learned nothing about the policy and politics of the Republican Party over the past 16 years?  What is the purpose of winning back control of both houses of congress if it will lead to the same results as last time?  In other words, we will have a slim majority that is held hostage by RINO Senators, in which we will receive the blame for wrongheaded policies that result from initiatives that are anything but Republican!  Then we will get crushed in the next election and keep repeating the vicious cycle that was 1995-2006.  We need run and govern as conservatives or not run at all.

Also, if not for these people giving fodder to the Democrats by bashing the conservative challengers, maybe they would have a legitimate chance to win in November as well.  It is quite clear to any political observer that the only reason why Rick Scott is stuck in a tough race in Florida is because of all the vicious slander that the RINO’s spread about him.  Now, they are all but assuring that Christine O’Donnell is unelectable in Delaware.

The Republican establishment has also promulgated this false narrative that only RINO’s can win in blue states (or even red states, at times).  In fact, this election cycle has proven just the opposite.  Remember when we stepped aside to let Mark Kirk carry the Republican banner in Illinois?  We were sold a bill of goods that he was the only Republican who can win in Illinois.  Well, it appears that due to the dramatic political shift in Illinois, in conjunction with the Democrats running an unelectable nominee, Mark Kirk is possibly the only Republican who can lose this year!

So let’s examine Castle’s “pragmatic conservative” voting record, as some are calling it:

American Conservative Union

Most conservatives start any analysis of voting records by studying the member’s score from the ACU.  Castle receives a dismal 52% lifetime average with eh ACU.  It is important to keep in mind that the ACU ratings are not nearly as comprehensive as some of the other rating systems.  They merely pick 20 votes per year that are extremely high profile and fundamental to ideological alignment.  In other words, just because someone scores in the 80′s or even 90′s with the ACU, doesn’t mean that they are stellar conservatives.  Quite the contrary, someone who scores near 50%, indicates that they vote with the radical left on 50% of the core issues.  This doesn’t even factor in their support for hundreds of lower profile big government votes.

It is also important to note that there is a distinct trend with all of the RINO’s in terms of their ACU scores.  They all make a concerted effort to become significantly more liberal the longer they stay in Congress.  Therefore, the future trajectory of their pending voting record will be even more disastrous than their past lifetime average would indicate.  In the case of Mike Castle, he actually scored in the 20′s in 05, 07, and 08.  He has only moved slightly to the right during the past year and a half because of his Senate bid.  Anyone who thinks that he will not slide back to the 20′s and vote against repealing any of the Obama agenda if elected, obviously has no concept of congressional history.

Club for Growth

Castle scores a horrendous 43% from CFG for 2009.  Again, since his announced Senate bid he has been much more conservative than previous years.  In 07 and 08 he earned a 35% and 26% respectively.  In every year, Castle has had the most liberal voting record of any member of the 175+ Republican caucus. So in 2008, when Arlen Specter scored a 44%, Mike Castle scored a 26%! The CFG ratings give us more of an idea of how much of a statist the member is than the ACU.

Guns

Castle garners an F from the NRA and Gun Owners of America.  In fact, he hasn’t earned anything but a 0, F, or F- from a pro 2nd amendment group since the early 90′s.  Nuff’ said.

Life
Castle has consistently earned a 0 from the National Right to Life, while usually scoring a perfect 100% from NARAL and Planned Parenthood.

It is clear that we are faced with a decision on September 14th whether we want to give control of the Senate to Mike Castle or whether we want to have a fighting chance of sending a conservative to that chamber.  Remember, if Mike Castle wins we automatically lose.  If Christine O’Donnell wins, we still have a chance in November, especially because the Democrats didn’t put up their best candidate in the general election.  For all of the talk of O’Donnell’s baggage, nothing in her past comes close to Castle’s statist baggage.  Remember that this is not a contest for Mr. Congeniality.  It is a Republican primary in which we chose the person who best reflects our ideology.  In that context, there is no worse baggage than a 25 year history of voting with the radical left.

There is no question that there are flaws in the O’Donnell campaign and in the candidate herself.  However, we must understand that we don’t select the candidates; we only make choices between the existing ones.  Unfortunately, we are not always going to find a Joe Miller to challenge the RINO.  That is to say that we will not always have a candidate in which the ideology is packaged in someone who is politically savvy, has a compelling biography, an impeccable background, and a solid campaign organization.  Elections are about choosing the best candidate who appears on the ballot.  In Delaware, the choice is clear as day.  I can certainly respect someone who finds difficulty with O’Donnell, or someone who disagrees with the political strategy of Senate elections.  However, I cannot understand how any self proclaimed conservative can attempt to white wash Mike Castle’s dirty record of big government tyranny.

Let’s silence the fifth column in out party and end the reign of tyranny of the King of all Rinos.  Let’s storm the ivory castle of the governing class of statists and confiscate their most precious possession; political power.

Vote Christine O’Donnell for Senate in Delaware on Tuesday, September 14th

Cross-posted to Red Meat Conservative