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EDITOR OF REDSTATE

Pulling the Plug in Delaware: The Liberty.com and Christine O’Donnell Matter

By: Erick Erickson (Diary)  |  September 3rd, 2010 at 05:00 AM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

I would rather die a thousand times over via crushing by an anaconda while being torn limb from limb by a jaguar than see Mike Castle in the Senate.

I would rather be slowly run over by a road roller while listening to Janeane Garofalo dialogue from The Truth About Cats and Dogs than see Mike Castle in the Senate.

I’d rather see the Democrat get elected than see Mike Castle get elected. Seriously, I know many of you disagree with me, but if the majority depends on Mike Castle, to hell with the majority.

But I’m moving on from Delaware. The Tea Party Express has a poll coming out showing the race within 5 points. I wish Christine O’Donnell the best. I’d rather her than Castle.

But I’m moving on.

If Christine O’Donnell wins it’ll be inspite of the help she has gotten. What has ultimately set me off is the “Mike Castle is gay” stuff, which is nothing more than the Will Folks hour come to Delaware. The failure of the O’Donnell campaign to deal swiftly with this tells me all I need to know.

As I noted in my original post on Eric Odom, parts of his American Liberty Alliance website became a site for Christine O’Donnell advocacy.

Subsequently, a number of the affiliated individuals went and worked directly for Christine O’Donnell’s campaign. A few weeks ago they left. Around that time I began hearing rumors the O’Donnell campaign was imploding.

The gang that left resurfaced at Liberty.com. The launch day spectacular at Liberty.com was to announce that Mike Castle is having a gay affair on his wife with no proof whatsoever.

When it was pointed out that all the people behind the accusation were O’Donnell campaign staffers, the response was “not any more.”

After a year of direct and indirect advocacy for Christine O’Donnell, it is pretty doggone hard to now stand apart and say “Nope, not campaign related.”

Baloney.

Christine O’Donnell’s campaign did distance her from the video, but the damage is done. These were the people she hired for her campaign. That’s a judgment issue. Likewise, to my knowledge, neither Christine nor her campaign distanced herself until the next day when asked about it on a radio show. In doing so, the Hotline notes, “O’Donnell . . . call[ed] it an “insult” to both Castle and his wife. In the process, though, she repeats the rumor several times.” [Emphasis added]

In the meantime, we have another problem.

The tea party movement has largely been about fiscal issues and the state of the country going forward. While the press has done its best to drag the tea party movement into the culture wars, the movement has wisely stayed above the fray, focusing on a handful of issues.

Racism, homophobia, bigotry, etc. have all been leveled at the tea party movement. There’s been no evidence. It’s all been lies.

And now we have this. A website billing itself as a hub for the tea party movement using something called “Tea Party HD” to boldly make accusations that Mike Castle is gay and having an affair.

This is Will Folks all over again. I don’t care if Mike Castle is meeting up with Larry Craig at Stallknockers.com for some Union Station visitation — without proof it is meaningless and even with proof it is a distraction from the issues and not helpful to tea party activists or Christine O’Donnell.

It’s amateur hour.

The O’Donnell campaign, whether they wanted to or not, needed to respond to this aggressively. But then it looks like it is amateur hour there too.

I want Christine O’Donnell to win. Tea Party Express’s polling notwithstanding, I don’t think she will. And I cannot bring myself to spend an ounce of energy more to help when there are other candidates out there with better chances who need our help.

I’m done and pulling the plug.

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COMMENTS

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  • JadedByPolitics

    but I guess that politics ): It is amateur hour ALL over the Country but that is what you get when the people running are NOT the Political Class and really that is OK as long as they remember to not succumb to the kool-aid in DC!

  • bk

    “I?d rather see the Democrat get elected than see Mike Castle get elected. Seriously, I know many of you disagree with me, but if the majority depends on Mike Castle, to hell with the majority.”

    Would you really rather have Coons as the 50th vote for majority leader than Castle as the 51st vote for majority leader if it came to that? It’s one thing to say that her campaign is self-destructing so it’s better to focus elsewhere, but what you’re saying in effect is that if/when she loses, you’d just as soon O’Donnell pull a Dede and endorse the D over the R.

    I hope you’re just using hyperbole to express frustration, not how you really feel about this race.

  • http://todaysasbestos.wordpress.com scotteiland

    For all her apparent flaws (and I have no response to the “Mike Castle is gay” video) I’d rather die in the general behind O’Donnell than win with Specter clones like Mike Castle.

    There’s no indication that he’d be any better than Chris Coons if he were to be seated, other than a possible majority leader vote for McConnell, who I won’t be backing for the top job either way.

    What we have here is a bad situation. I wish, Erick, that we waited until after the primary to abandon Delaware, but I suppose it’s a small thing.

    O’Donnell is still the best candidate, and it’s not close. Unfortunately, if we activists don’t help her, we’re resigning ourselves to a Senator Mike Castle for the foreseeable future.

    Erick I wish you’d reconsider. I completely understand your point of view, but I’m having a hard time surrendering a Senate seat to Mike Castle so soon after the Brown victory in Massachusetts.

  • avgjo

    See, Mike Castle is likely to vote like a dem most of the time (don’t believe me? Just look at his record.) If someone is going to vote on stuff that will anger the American people (including those in Delaware), I’d rather it be a dem, and let him damage their party’s ‘brand’ (sorry) further. Mike Castle will carry on the same sorry tradition that got us in this mess to begin with.

    A country where EVERY STATE has more conservatives than libs elects BHO and others like him because the GOP alienates them with ‘dem lite) (not that lite, sometimes) antics.

    Sorry if it offends you, but I am one of those crazies who believes a real conservative can be elected in just about every state in the country, if they are clear, bold and smart in the way they present themselves and their ideas. The prob is we often accept that a slimeball ‘moderate’ is the way to go in many states, states where poll after poll has shown that conservatives outnumber libs. Those conservatives stay home because we run Mike Castles and Olympia Snowes et al, I believe. If we ran real conservatives in those states, who emphasized small government and fiscal freedom for Americans, I believe even many of the ‘left leaning’ Republicans in those places would vote for them, and the conservatives would come out to bolster the vote.

    Just my two bits.

  • mirac777

    She is the only true conservative vote here. She is basically a rookie here, which we should all want to elect if we really want to change things in DC. The fact that the left is worried about Florida is good enough for me. When they attack, it is because they are afraid of what the candidate will bring in stopping their agenda.
    She gets my vote here in Fl, period. I hate the whole game of politics today. This is a great example of that game. I think Erick woulkd be better served to put in here the facts about the smear tactics about non-issues that have been levied against her, like the foreclosure and college loans crud. She paid her loans off, period. She sold that house, period. I think it is quite ironic when folks start blasting her for these 2 non-issues, while Gov’t workers owe billions in unpaid taxes today.

  • apen

    The route to saving the nation from the political class and their playbills loaded with dishonesty, deceit and a host of other ill tides does not depend on Delawares best. It depends on each individuals best across this nation. Just as a single representative may affect or afflict as the case may be, the rest of the nation so too may the individual who is tireless and vigilant. Let that be your torch or your cross to bear. That is honorable.

  • bk

    I know the Speaker has a lot more control over the House than the Majority Leader does over the Senate, but control over committees and calendars is important. For committees it’s obvious, but note what Harry Reid has done with calendars as well. He wasted taxpayer money on pro forma sessions to keep Bush from doing recess appointments, but makes sure there are long breaks in the schedule so that Obama can recess appoint the worst of his nominees.

    And on top of all that, if Angle defeats Reid but we end up with 50 Ds, we’ll have Chuck Schumer leading the Senate. He will be 1,000 times worse than Reid was. It seems silly to me to say that having a Schumer-led Senate for the next two years is preferable to having Castle as the 51st Republican. Even if Castle and Coons would vote the same way 90% of the time, they won’t vote the same way for majority leader.

  • specialskills18

    Erick what evidence is there that this come from the O’Donnell camp. Erick your expanation was very convoluded. This may be something that came from the Castle camp. I beleive that we should support Christine. This Castle Guy is a disaster. We did it in Alaska and I donated for that cause. Look what happened. We need to vote in strong conservatives. Erick I have lost a little respect for you in the way you handled this. If Christine know about the vidio and aproved of it that is another story. I going to do my research to see if this is factual. A ambitious Staffer may have done this without Christines knowledge. I would really like to know.

  • specialskills18

    I agree Erick needs to post his facts and where he was able to verify and unless Christine had a direct hand in the smear then I would still support her over Castle. His Voting record is such he could easily be mistaken for a Democrat.

  • vmo335

    So, what about all that stuff of “vote conservative in the primary, republican in the general “? Sometimes it’s hard to do the right thing, even harder when you need to practice what you preach. I am still stunned that this was written by EE.
    Please step to the side, i have a breach to fill.

  • vmo335

    So, what about all that stuff of “vote conservative in the primary, republican in the general “? Sometimes it’s hard to do the right thing, even harder when you need to practice what you preach. I am still stunned that this was written by EE.
    Please step to the side, i have a breach to fill.

  • http://www.redstate.com/etcartman Kenny Solomon

    MikeCastle2010 YouTube page:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnQPS2Qhzi4

  • america1st

    I have a gag reflex just seeing castle’s name, but I have to agree. If this had been a d-kos group, the tame media would either ignore the story or dutifully report it as someone floating a rumor, all the better to keep it in the public eye. But as is all too obvious and the JournoList matter proved, we face the despicable leftists not only in politics, but their eager allies / enablers in the even more extreme traditional media. They will be all over this as it represents the first real opportunity they’ve had to make their mud pie slurs about the Tea Party stick to a wall. Better to cut off a potentially gangrenous finger tip than risk the body entire to systemic poisoning.

  • foray

    With all due respect I am tired of folks comparing Christine O’Donnell to Joe Miller, Sharron Angle or any of the other candidates this cycle.

    Unlike Joe Miller who is a decorated Gulf War Vet, Ivy league educated former Judge, Christine O’Donnell is a broke, wannabe TV commentator who has trouble with the truth particularly when it comes to her own background.

    She got clobbered in 08′ and will be clobbered by Mike Castle on 9/14. Anyone who believes otherwise is delusional

  • fpete13527

    I love Christie but I wish he would have stayed out of this. Endorsement for Castle is a very bad judgement call.

    O’donnell definitely has issues but endorsing Castle was not the way to go.

  • eldstenorge

    This is the most disappointing article I have read by Erick yet. We can talk of all the problems we have in America, but the basic foundations of America are in trouble. Economy is important, yet, but there is nothing more important the the moral fiber of a nation, which we do not have right now. How can things get better as we are going right now? They cannot. To remember John Adams: “Our Constitution was made ONLY for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” Do we really wonder why we have the problems we do today? I adhere to and support the admonition of former LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley who said: “The biggest issue we face today is the breakdown of the traditional family.” Therein lies our problems.

  • ithos

    Minority Leader Demint or Majority Leader McConnell?

    I see many reasons for the former. The damage a Democrat disguised as a Republican can do is immense. Castle will be constantly trashing the conservatives and the media will be lapping it up. And it was under McConnell’s “don’t rock the boat” leadership that led the GOP into the ideological wilderness and helped deliver us the most dangerous President ever. If he was a run of the mill moderate I would feel differently but his support of cap and trade and ambivalence on healthcare repeal makes him toxic.

    If you want to win the battle, support Castle. If you want to win the war, don’t.

  • SirGladiator

    The Tea Party started out WAY behind in Alaska, and closed that gap mighty fast. If they’re starting down just 5 in DE, that means we’re poised to win this in a landslide. Already there are reports of Castle about to go negative in a big way, he knows he’s about to lose. I don’t think its the O’Donnell campaign that is imploding, its the Castle campaign.

    Do I blame Christine O’Donnell because some former employees, on a website, stated a ‘rumor’? No I don’t, she was asked about it and she criticized it, she made it clear she didn’t agree with it or believe it, what more could she do? She couldn’t fire them, they don’t work for her. She isn’t responsible for her supporters any more than any other candidate is, all she can do is express her disagreement when they do something she doesn’t agree with, and that’s exactly what she did.

    No candidate can stop all their supporters from ever saying anything dumb. To blame the candidate is just wrong. If she had sided with the people spreading the rumor, or said anything at all that implied that she thought it was true, you could blame her for that, but she was quite clear in her denouncement of the rumor.

    So the bottom line is yes, it sucks that some of her supporters said something stupid. We really should be talking about how Castle is a liberal and O’Donnell is a Conservative, not about how somebody spread a rumor about somebody. But its certainly not her fault, nobody knows better than Christine that any focus on this rumor only serves to help Castle, as it takes the focus off his far-left voting record, and his voting record is the reason he’s sinking like a stone in the polls. I’m sure Castle hopes that this rumor is all that anybody talks about between now and election day, and people don’t pay any attention to the actual issues at all. I for one won’t be fooled into doing that, and I hope that nobody else will either. So long as the focus is on the issues, O’Donnell will win this election handily. So instead of ‘pulling the plug’ on Delware, let’s pull the plug on the stupid rumor, and focus instead on the issues between now and September 14th.

  • avgjo

    likelihood, have the House. What can Schumer really do?

    It would actually be kinda fun to watch him there, with figurehead status, and no real power.

  • smitch61

    Whatever, sort of a weird write up but okay, you go ahead and move along if you feel you must. As a matter of fact maybe you should move on from all of them from here on out.

  • http://thesandsinstitute.org Vassar Bushmills

    …had left the campaign (I assume as not the best of friends)…couldn’t this “Castle is gay” frame up be a back-stab against O’Donnell? I agree her campaign should have come out more vigorously, and maybe that opportunity is lost…oh well.

  • bk
  • http://www.erickerickson.org Erick Erickson

    Given all the promotions for O’Donnell happening on the various websites, etc., I doubt it.

  • http://thesandsinstitute.org Vassar Bushmills

    …that might be how I’d play it though, EE. Hang the messengers. Deepnds on whether the O’Donnell people are merely ham-fisted or craven. Either way, I agree with you, it’s not right to try to hang a man guilty of so many other crimes of even one false charge. I’d have given the Bill Clinton the same consideration.

  • http://www.theminorityreportblog.com/blog/loren_heal Socrates

    Castle is a DIRT (Dem in Republican Toga). He would be the one in the Senate that always had to be placated with this or that goodie, giving him much more attention than he deserves.

    So Erick says “I don’t like X.. I don’t like it that A said something unproven and politically incorrect about X. Therefore, I’m endorsing Y.”

  • spainishirish

    This is astonishing, Erick:

    “I?d rather see the Democrat get elected than see Mike Castle get elected. Seriously, I know many of you disagree with me, but if the majority depends on Mike Castle, to hell with the majority.”

    This is larger than Castle. It is about who controls committees and calendars, as bk pointed out.

  • rdelbov

    Christine O has always been his questionable dealings with money.
    These charges cannot be denied:

    1. She has nearly 20K in debt from her 2008 campaign. Small vendors who got the shaft because she charged services and did not pay them for them. Talk about fiscal conservative. She is already spending other people’s money like its other people’s money.

    2. She has been using her current campaign funds to help pay her house rent-food bills-utility bills-gas bills. If you can’t get your life in order to take three months off to campaign then don’t do it. She is basically a paid professional candidate. We moan and groan when others use campaign or office funds for personal expenses–here she is doing right now.

    this is electoral poison.

  • Viator

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yriu2OFhxgU

  • Bill S

    I’d rather see a DE senator in a GOP jersey so we can own the committees and calendar. If it’s Castle, so be it. We need to own that Majority Leader spot.

    There is, of course, the speculation that Castle would just switch parties. Could be. But we’d have the spot for a while, at least.

    Sorry EE. I’m not pissed at you. I just disagree.

  • hunter

    And not enough time following the game?

  • Massachusetts_Transplant

    one of the things that constantly frustrates me about this site, is that there often doesn’t seem to be any understanding that not all anti-establishment candidates are created equal. Mike Castle may be not much better than Charlie Crist, but Christine O’Donnell is no Marco Rubio. Ovide Lamongtagne in NH is no Marco Rubio, and I know you’ll all hate this, but Sharon Angle is no Marco Rubio either – she is a bad candidate that may just allow the awful Harry Reid getting reelected. So we would rather push through a bad candidate like O’Connnell, see her lose to the Democrats and then miss the chance to control the committees and stop Obama’s appointments to the all important appeals courts?

    Does anyone ever wonder what damage a Christine O’Donnell does to the party with all her problems – like Dan Maes in Colorado?

    I am all for electing strong conservatives, but we should have standards and insist on smart, articulate, capable, incorruptable conservatives like Rubio, Buck, Miller, Toomey and Haley. that help the party, not hurt it.

  • jenniferkuznicki

    http://www.redstate.com/jenniferkuznicki/2010/09/03/wide-awake-and-fired-up-for-christine-o%E2%80%99donnell-like-never-before/

    I’m new to redstate, this may not be protocol, but I’m out of time, and this fight is worth fighting. The campaign is in many ways amateur hour as you say, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to let these elitist pieces of crap tell one of us that we don’t rate. I say, up theirs, where is Sarah Palin, and bahoe their country.

    Welcome to Christine2010 unplugged. It is once again up to the volunteers to win and get through this.

  • smagar
  • RedBeard

    Erick wrote: “I?d rather see the Democrat get elected than see Mike Castle get elected. Seriously, I know many of you disagree with me, but if the majority depends on Mike Castle, to hell with the majority.”

    I know Castle is awful. That much is a given, a non-debatable point. But beyond that, there are two factors worth considering. First, a Republican majority is a Republican majority, and with that we can accomplish much. Second, Castle (or any other liberal Republican) would have to move even farther left to be worse than anyone the Democrats are putting up these days.

    Lesser of evils. Yes, that’s a distasteful scenario, but it is reality.

  • LibertarianHawk

    As much as I’d like reality to be something other than what it is — it still is what it is.

    That’s not to say that such realities can’t, over time, be changed. I’d love to persuade more people in states like Delaware to think more like I do. And it’s an effort very much worth making.

    But, as things stand now, Mike Castle is about the best we can hope for in Delaware. It’s not just about the Senate majority, either.

    We need to choose our battles wisely.

  • http://www.thehayride.com MacAoidh

    ….and he voted for Cap and Trade.

    So as far as I’m concerned, whatever gets him out of public office is a good thing.

    If that means a Democrat wins that seat, good. I have no common cause with Mike Castle. He’s voting to destroy my state’s economy. I can’t wish enough harm to this man.

  • http://www.thehayride.com MacAoidh

    ….and he voted for Cap and Trade.

    So as far as I’m concerned, whatever gets him out of public office is a good thing.

    If that means a Democrat wins that seat, good. I have no common cause with Mike Castle. He’s voting to destroy my state’s economy. I can’t wish enough harm to this man.

  • jtkell100

    We have compromised and elected RHINOS enough. If we cannot cleanse the Republcan Party of these officals,having a majority means nothing. Once the GOP understands under no circumstances we will accept a RHINO maybe they will get the point. Otherwise we will keep going down this road that every time there is a close vote on legistation we loose. The RHINOS always decide if bad laws such as “Cap and Trade” is pased. Gov. Chris Christie Endorses Mike Castle for U.S. Senate. This is an example of a RHINO endorsing another RHINO which will effect the entire Nation for many years. Christine O’Donnell would not vote for this type legislation which will devastate America.

  • http://www.thehayride.com MacAoidh

    …since we’ll certainly have enough Senate seats to sustain a filibuster, and Schumer as a Senate Majority Leader will so offend the American people as to motivate them to vote hard Republican in 2012.

    I can wait until 2013 for a GOP Senate majority led by Jim DeMint.

  • america1st

    He’s not going anywhere except, possibly, as a spoiler; he’s far too shrill & extreme. His gubernatorial campaign many years back (against Shaheen IIRC) was an unmitigated disaster. He took the primary that year because there were two other, rational, candidates who split the remaining 60 +/-% of the vote but when the general came Lamontagne still had his 40% of the GOP and the party stalwarts. Period. Ayotte is no Rubio, either(there’s a faint hint of RINO in there); but she will be our next Senator and hopefully a bit more conservative than the silk stocking gregg.

  • Marcus_Traianus

    before pulling the plug.

    If you are going to pull the plug every time an amateur candidate who knows nothing about running a campaign (which is what we want?) stumbles, I only have one thing to say; you are going to need a lot of hands.

    By the way- I smell a rat. This whole anti-O’Donnell effort was very well coordinated and went viral all at once.It almost smells a bit like that decaying, crusty old, your deceased grandfathers closet NRSC smell….. At a minimum, my money says they are somehow involved.

  • http://www.thehayride.com MacAoidh

    You need 60 in the Senate to get anything done.

  • Aaron Gardner

    Look, we don’t agree, I know that won’t change. But please don’t be silly.

    3 months for a campaign. Please.

  • JadedByPolitics

    he is more akin to Dede Scozzafava and she is akin to Barack Hussein Obama! I would rather have baggage then a lefty in sheeps clothing!

    Castle intended to CRUSH Americans under the weight of LIES about global warming and DESTROY oil and coal states just so he could be part of the LEFT! He is DISGUSTING!

  • http://www.thehayride.com MacAoidh

    …by 2013. Go look at how many Democrats are up for reelection in two years.

  • Jack_Savage

    First of all, I do not have a dog in this fight. At all. If Castle or O’Donnell served me coffee today, I would not know it.

    We must remember that we cannot expect people to act like seasoned political professionals when we despise seasoned political professionals.

    I was involved in two congressional campaigns when I was very young, and even then I vowed never to run for political office. It is mean, and dirty, and personal beyond description. The natural, gut level response is eye for an eye, and the participants easily forget that they represent people locally as well as nationally. But do you know what? They don’t give a crap.

    They do not have to pass me on the street. I have not given them any money. I am not making any demands of the campaign for promises of more of the mother’s milk of politics. I am not the one who has been smeared, either in public or in private.

    That’s why I have been thinking a lot about how upset Art is over the Murkowski thing. He may be right, in more ways than even he knows. I think the theme of the new Congress, as written by our opponents, is going to be amateur hour. I get the sick feeling that unless the leadership shows more than they have shown in the past and we preempt the charge, in 2014 voters are going to prefer dirty pros to clean amateurs.

    Laws and sausages. Laws and sausages.

  • Matt In The Hook

    I’m no Mike Castle fan and yes, he has an ACU rating in the mid 50s. But I’d imagine that Coons would be damn near close to zero. Castle would likely be to the left of the Maine sisters, but like Scott Brown, he would represent Delaware. As much as we’d want it to be, Delaware is not Utah. Delaware is not South Carolina, Nevada or even Florida or Ohio. Delaware is as dark blue as they come.

    As far as the primary goes, I couldn’t even try to follow it or root for a side. Castle is liberal and O’Donnell is crazy. She’s a perennial candidate with no actual job and while she checks the conservative boxes on the issues, she’s a terrible candidate.

    I’d rather have the majority, even with McConnell in charge, than be in the minority and if it comes down to Delaware, I say vote for Castle and know that the Rubio-DeMint-Buck-Lee crew will be a strong voice in the majority caucus. That’s much better than it being a strong voice in the minority caucus. There’s no choice between majority leader McConnell and minority leader DeMint. It’s between majority or minority leader McConnell and I’ll take the former.

  • america1st

    move by Christie. No need for him to become involved there . . . unless he has some sort of back channel connection to castle, which says nothing good about the man – castle is cut from the same rotten cloth as jeffords & specter.

  • http://itsaboutfreedom.proboards.com IronDioPriest

    almost more than anything right now. The political realities dictate that while reducing the RINO count is crucial, and having as few RINOs as possible polluting DC is desireable, RINOs will nonetheless be instrumental in wresting the majority from the Socialists. That calculation has GOT to be a part of any sane strategy that has a hope of saving this country from the fate the Socialists seek.

    Whether taking a long shot on a head-to-head matchup in the general election with O’Donnell, or settling for the RINO and increasing the odds of general election victory with Castle, preferring a Democrat who brings majority status one vote closer for the Socialists is not sane.

  • Kudzu

    Don’t forget Old Liberman. While he’s an “independent” and is socially liberal he can be pursuaded and is the liberal John McCain (maybe not so liberal). But don’t count the chickens cause the eggs haven’t hatched.

  • Matt In The Hook

    But O’Donnell does not fit that bill at all. She’s not Rubio, Buck, Lee or even Angle who seems to finally have her act together. She’s a horribly flawed perennial candidate who would never come close to winning Delaware.

    Let’s be clear about one thing though; Castle isn’t Joe Biden wearing red. He’d move the state’s representation to the right and fairly significantly actually. If it’s a choice between the guy who will vote for your side three out of five times and back your party for majority leader or zero out of five times and doesn’t back your party for the majority, take the former. Don’t live under the illusion that even a great conservative candidate would win in Delaware because he wouldn’t and O’Donnell is FAR from a great candidate.

  • JadedByPolitics

    ..

  • NotSoBlueStater

    I think that you think you have more to do with all of this than you really do, Erick. Obviously you are entitled and encouraged to state loud and clear opinions. But this kingmaker crap is really, really tiresome, though.

    Pulling the plug? You? Fascinating.

    You’ll be just as surprised two or four or six years from now as Kos is today.

  • IJB

    As such, it’s actually less important to have actual majority control.

    It’s different in the House – 218 with Cao is crucially important. But 51 with Castle in the Senate would likely be a bad deal because the GOP would have “official” control, but Castle would defect on enough issues (even budgetary ones) that it’s a pretty good bet that a GOP Senate would get *nothing* done, and would then be blamed for that, allowing Obama to run against a “Do-Nothing” Congress.

    The other thing to bare in mind is that, outside of the budget, Obama is going to veto everything anyway, so 51 or 49 doesn’t matter that much for legislative action for the next 2 years.

    Finally, I think appointments need actual *majority* support, so I’m not sure Obama can get appointments through with a 50-50 split. (Though, I may be wrong? – Is Biden allowed to break those ties too?…)

    Anyway, I’m on the fence on this particular question.

    But I think a lot of good arguments can be made that 50 without Castle might be better than 51 with him, for a whole lot of reasons.
    (And if it’s 52 vs 51, it doesn’t really matter anyway…)

  • Matt In The Hook

    Maybe 30% of the time, which is still 30% too much, but let’s not act like Mike Castle is Barbara Boxer or something. We have to be rational about how we solidify a majority; we should support the most conservative (and quality) candidate that can WIN.

    That means it’s smart to replace Murkowski in Alaska and Bennet in Utah because those electorates WILL put solid conservatives in the Senate. It’s A-OK to force Orange Charlie to become an indy because Rubio can and will win in Florida. Ken Buck can win in a purple with a traditionally stronger reddish hue state like Colorado. But these kind of conservatives cannot and will not win in places like Illinois, Massachusetts, Delaware or California (sorry DeVore). That’s just how it is. But come 2012 we can start getting much stronger conservatives for our caucus across the board with opportunities in Virginia, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota and Ohio. Oh, and we’ll finally be rid of Lugar out in Indiana as well if we get someone like, oh I don’t know, Marlin Stutzman to primary him.

  • IJB
  • acat

    As Erick pointed out, the Repubs having “majority status” but with Graham, McCain, the Maine Twins, and Castle, there’s an automatic core for gang-of-14 style actions, and worse, there’s enough of ‘em with enough time before they have to face the music (McCain and Castle, specifically) that they may be unusually bold.

    The question, though, is whether Castle would be competent as a RINO – that is, whether he would just blindly slap at his more conservative colleagues, or whether he’d be able (like the McCain of old) to cut deals in private… If Castle isn’t competent, then it’s just going to be a tortuous six years of trying to figure out how to keep him on track.

    I still find that I disagree with Erick on this. The main issue is leadership. Yes, we’d still get bad decisions out of a RINO-dominated Repub senate, but .. fewer ones than we’d get out of a Harry Reid-led (or worse, Dick Durbin-led) Dem dominated one.

    Mew

  • juumanistra

    I’d argue that Delaware is not deep blue out of hand New Castle County certainly is, between Wilmington and its black-dominated demography residing within the same territorial unit as Newark and its thralldom to the University of Delaware, And since two-thirds of the state’s population resides therein, they certainly get to call the shots. But those of us below the C&D Canal continue to fight the good fight.

    Of course, if Pennsylvania wanted to annex all of the Delaware Valley Metropolitan Area, we down in Slower Lower wouldn’t mind if they took the pox that is Wilmington off our hands.

  • Darin_H

    “I?d rather see the Democrat get elected than see Mike Castle get elected. Seriously, I know many of you disagree with me, but if the majority depends on Mike Castle, to hell with the majority.”

    UGH. This is just stupid.

    Really? Just like in Alaska where the Democrat touted RedState’s endorsement (before it was retracted)? That worked out well, stuck with a Democrat in the Senate for 6 years. Castle isn’t great, but then again, it’s Delaware….

    If Mike Castle means Minority Leader Schumer instead of Majority, that is a GOOD THING. McConnell or DeMint can maneuver the schedule. It may mean the difference in who is Chairman and who is ranking member in committees.

    Mike Castle moves the Senate to the right over a Democrat, he’ll never be confused for a conservative, but blocking a Dem for 4 years or 10 years is a GOOD THING. Who knows maybe we can bide our time in DE until the state electorate has been shown the light and we can primary Castle in 2020 with a conservative….

  • LibertarianHawk

    Folks, enough attitudes like this and we’re going to eat ourselves alive. Let’s not become our own worst enemies.

    I certainly don’t doubt for a second that Christine O’Donnell wouldn’t vote for this kind of legislation. The problem is that Christine O’Donnell’s chances of winning that seat approach zero.

    As much as I’d like to see a Republican Senate made up exclusively of Rand Pauls, Marco Rubios, and Joe Millers, it just isn’t likely to happen.

    And, yes, I’d much rather have Mike Castle there than Chris Coons. We have to focus on doing the best we conceivably can in all races.

  • vettepilot

    They both voted for Cap and Trade. Kirk’s lifetime ACU rating is only 5 points higher than Castle’s (57 vs 52), but I’d darn well rather have someone in that spot who’s going to vote with me 50% of the time (or hell, even 40!) than someone who will vote *against* me 100%.. As far as Kirk is concerned, I suspect his ACU rating has only ticked up recently as he’s had to pivot to the right because he is running for statewide office and has to pander. The rest of the state isn’t nearly as liberal as Chicago and the ‘burbs, particularly the North Shore district he currently represents. So do we walk away from race as well? Hell no. Sorry Erick, but let’s play internal hardball *after* we have control of the committees and calendars, and can stop the statist’s agenda.

  • IJB

    *And*, as you note, he’s more conservative than Castle.

    I’ll take Kirk over Castle any day of the week…

    P.S. The rest of your argument is debatable, but I don’t have time to rehash that old battle now.

  • Aaron Gardner

    Erick isn’t playing kingmaker. Although I still support O’Donnell, I understand where Erick is coming from.

    Liberty.com screwed the pooch here and this is part of the fall out.

    I understand you are upset, but please direct your anger where it belongs.

    And that’s not Erick.

  • jimmyg

    I think Castle has learned a lesson from the AK primary. He is not going to sit on his hands and allow O’Donnell to attack him without countering her attacks. O’Donnell offers Castle multiple targets for attack, all of her own making. I listened to the Dan Gaffney radio interview and she was awful. As mentioned earlier there may be documents that cannot be revealed that clears everything up (why they cannot be revealed is a mystery to me), if so she better get them out there. I also do not have a dog in this fight, but It is clear that she is in over her head.

  • acat

    I find that I’m an information filter-feeder – that is, I read lots of different stuff, and assimilate details and .. sometimes .. find interesting parallels. There’s probably a diary in this but .. so far, I’ve avoided writing one and I don’t plan to start now.

    In general, Baby boomers like spit-and-polish, high production value operations. Makes sense, they grew up watching Hollywood at its’ churning-’em-out best, TV not far behind, manufacturing was all large-scale and spic-and-span, etc.

    Gen-Xers (i.e. the ones born after 1964) reject this. Ever want to make a Gen-Xer feel nervous, get a boomer to try to put ‘em at ease. There’s a strong distrust of everything overproduced – they grew up in the wreckage of the boomers plastic society.. they know fake when they see it, and they don’t trust easily.

    Ironically, I ran across this in an analysis of why some churches are having trouble attracting 30somethings and 40somethings…. the problem is the churches (and look at malls and retail and you’ll see it’s not *just* a church thing) are doing what worked 20-30 years ago to attract .. boomers.

    Ironically, the same thing happened when the “greatest” and “silent” generations (i.e. the two generations before the boomers) were in charge – their generations were of the dust bowl, the great depression, they fought WWII and Korea, and they understood sacrifice and austerity… boomers didn’t. Yes, it’s a generality, but .. there’s a truth in there, waiting for a diarist.

    It’s not at all unusual, for example, to find a church building up for sale because the boomers all left – didn’t like the leadership of the older generation, wanted to do something “shiny” – and the elders died off. I’ve watched it happen more than once.

    To close, I’m not convinced that what you’re seeing is what you think it is – it’s not amateur hour, it’s what’s *natural* for a candidate who is not a boomer. Some visible scars, some rough edges – these are how Gen-X knows a candidate is genuine.

    I’m not saying the charge of “Castle is gay” is going to work – that’s not nearly as big an issue for Gen-X as it was for their predecessors – but the stumble there is .. genuine.

    Mew

  • ScottDE

    Last night, Mark Levin spent the opening segment of his show ranting about all the attacks on Christine O?Donnell.

    http://marklevinfan.com/2010/09/03/mark-levin-says-there-should-be-a-backlash-against-mike-castle/

  • mriggio

    I wouldn’t touch the Delaware Republican Senate primary with a 10 foot pole, given the recent Illinois poo-flinging, however:

    Unless you feel Castle is unfit for office, I completely disagree with your paragraph, ‘I’d rather see the Democrat get elected than see Mike Castle get elected…if the majority depends on Mike Castle, to hell with the majority.’

    I’ve seen no evidence Castle’s unfit for office.

    RINO, yes.

    Not the most electable conservative primary candidate, OK, vigorously campaign against him.

    But, if he goes on to win the primary, ‘then we stand together united under the banner of the party of Lincoln and Reagan and kick Democrat butt.’

    I know, it’s the primary, and folks get excited. But let’s stick to our guns when the dust settles. None of this take-my-ball-and-go-home stuff, but instead, sing along with me now, “Kirk for Illinois Senator”! Get my drift?

    Cheers!

  • acat

    is that Kirk’s primary is over, Castle’s isn’t.

    Mew

  • SIConservative

    There’s just one thing holding me back, though. Chairman Leahy v. Chairman Sessions.

  • acat

    Reid has got to go.

    Durbin cannot replace Reid.

    Mew

  • pilgrim

    This particular US Senate seat is in the class 2 group, and the next regular election will be 11/4/2014.

  • Achance

    and especially a Senate leadership issue. McCain and Grahamnesty should long ago had offices with no windows and a seat that flushes, no staff, and no commmittees. Taking away first the trappings of power then the power itself crystalizes the perceptions of an officeholder.

    I know lots of people whose opinion I respect who don’t think it is in our interest to have the Senate majority. Even though we’ve had an almost powerless minority since ’08, Comrade Obama and his media minions have done a pretty good job with the Republican Obstruction meme. They’ll really work that meme if we have a majority but not enough to filibuster.

    The key in ’10 is to get the House and getting control of the budget. As much as people might want to, you’re not going to be able to start slashing budgets and doing away with departments. That sort of thing if it can be done at all takes a coordinated campaign with both the Congress and a President running for office to make “fundatmental change” and bringing a majority to power on that program. But, having a House majority will allow us to put the brakes not just on the spending but on much of Comrade Obama’s “tranformative” agenda. When the subcommittee is taking up the EPA’s budget, the chairman just calls the Secretary in and says “things things aren’g going to happen or I whack a big chunk out of your department.” When you have bureaucrat by the budget, his heart and mind follows.

    As to the amateur hour part, every experienced Republican activist I know in Alaska has his/her fingers crossed and at every opportunity expresses their fondest wish for the two months until election day; “Please God, deliver Joe Miller from himself and let him get to Nov. 2 without blowing this election.”

  • youngmonte

    Erich says he’s pulling the plug, but why was the plug ever in? Castle is about the only R we could ever get elected in Delaware. O’Donnell could never be elected there…never. And after reading her interview over at the Weekly Standard, I’m shocked anyone here would still want to see her in the Senate. She came off as, to put it mildly, a little weird.

    For all his obvious flaws, Castle could make the difference in the Senate. And while is is true that the filibuster lessens the importance of having a Senate majority, after seeing what the Democrats did by using reconciliation (which only requires a simple majority) to pass the health care bill, it borders on campaign malpractice to say, as Erich does, that “if it depends on Mike Castle, to helll with the majority.”

  • HSMom

    Respectfully, Erick, I wish you would just realize what you are doing. You are ensuring that the people you are trying to help (those that haven’t been paid) are not going to get their money. This is a cause and effect. issue. You can have your opinions about people… fine… but I really don’t think you thought this through. Some REALLY good people, that have all the best conservative intentions in the world, are caught up in this without having known about such issues. I am CERTAIN that you know some. Some of them are still holding out hope that things will go well and they will get paid, but another article does not help this one bit. I personally think it is a matter of lack of organization on someones part and I’m not convinced that this person had deviant intentions.

    I am truly sorry for all of the people who didn’t get what they are owed, including someone close to me, but if it isn’t already too late, I wish you would drop it now.

  • Viator

    “Stunned by tea partier Joe Miller’s upset of Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Republicans are taking no chances in Delaware, which holds its primary Sept. 14. The party sees Castle, the state’s lone congressman since 1993, as the best candidate for the seat long held by Vice President Joe Biden.

    Republicans circulated audio of a testy, 22-minute interview that O’Donnell had with radio station WGMD on Thursday. Party officials also have said she inflated her resume and made flat-out untrue statements while being dogged by questions about tax liens and foreclosures. Castle says she has misrepresented his record.

    “She’s not a viable candidate for any office in the state of Delaware,” state party chairman Tom Ross, who is backing Castle, said in a telephone interview. “She could not be elected dog catcher.”

    Republicans said Castle’s campaign is preparing negative television ads against O’Donnell. The commercials would air in the week leading up to the primary. The campaign The campaign also has created a website, RealChristine.com, a clearinghouse of negative O’Donnell stories.”

    http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iZaC_s19dWrLVffA3Ucntv9dWp4QD9I01PP80

  • jimmyg

    http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/christine-odonnell-wont-rule-out-third-party-run Levin stated that “he gets it that the Weekly Standard doesn’t like O’Donnell” . Read the article, it was an interview of Christine O’Donnell without commentary from the interviewer. Levin is wrong. The Weekly Standard did not attack her. O’Donnell’s own wlords did her in.

  • vettepilot

    And maybe that’s the issue; we’re dealing in hypotheticals here and there’s still a good bit of time on the clock. I still don’t think that in the event of the conservative not winning in the primary we should do anything but support the Republican in the general (even if they happen to be a RINO). I think that this election needs to be about impact, sending an overwhelming message, and the last thing we want is for the left to be able to hold up any single seat and be able to say “See, we won” and change the message from Anti-Dem to Anti-Incumbent.

  • ghostx

    This group has turned every campaign they are near radioactive . As it appears in this case , these folks torpedoed their own candidate . The real amateurs here are these sucker general consultants who continue to sink campaigns .

    ALA to Liberty.com to new name next week . When folks get near these people they should run away like they stole something .

  • chihank

    I don’t like how Castle refused to debate O’Donnell. If she is just a poor candidate, then Castle has nothing to fear. Instead, the DE GOP feels offended at the idea of Castle having to explain his House votes to DE cosnervatives.

  • vettepilot

    My wife is a Vet Med student and was pretty active in the Student Legislative Affairs group her first year. Kirk has thrown quite a bit of support to the Humane Society of the United States, which is nothing more than another PETA with a significantly bigger budget. But, she’s going to hold her nose and pull the lever for him because the alternatives are even worse…

  • redcometchar2010

    I hate this whining. If you can’t exactly what you want you whine and pout. Guess what, Delaware is NOT Utah, Alaska, Nevada, or Florida. Do I like Mike Castle, no. Would I vote for him over the Democrat, YES! Unless someone can show me he is totally unfit for office (cough… O’Donnell…) then he would have my vote. Nevermind majority vs minority even though that would be nice and he would be one more closer to 60 to repeal Obamacare (I’m sure if enough pressure was applied he would vote for repeal), imagine the media story come November if we take Obama’s old seat (I like Kirk even less than Castle), Biden’s old seat, and knock off half the Dem leadership in the Senate (Reid and Murray). They would be apoplectic and it would be a massive repudiation of this administration. That is what I want. Ace of Spades had a nice post on this race (I’m sorry I don’t have the link). For blue states, get purple Senators (like Castle), for purple states, get red Senators (like Rubio), and for red states get deep red Senators (like Lee). That’s a coalition I could live with and I hope some people here grow up and learn to live with it too.

  • http://pragmaticpachyderm.blogspot.com texasproud

    I agree 100% with this, but there are too many people who would rather cut off their noses to spite their face. People seem to think Delaware is Oklahoma. Get as conservative of a candidate that can WIN, and go from there. I am thrilled with our primary results so far, though I am concerned about Angle, and the thing to remember is that while the moderate establishment candidates have flaws, the alternative needs to be competent. There is a reason O’Donnell has gotten destroyed in her previous attempts, she is not a quality candidate-she is the female equivalent of J.D. Hayworth

  • mriggio

    Ace.
    Cheers!

  • Conservative_not_Republican

    Einstein said that “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”.

    So elect Jim Jeffords to get a majority.
    Elect Lincoln Chaffee to get a majority.
    Elect Arlen Specter to get a majority.
    Elect Mike Castle to get a majority.

    Does any Castle supporter want to explain why the the “Gang of Deals” stopped once the Dems got a majority?

  • chipbennett

    Wishing a Democrat – who will caucus with Democrats, and vote for Democrat leadership – to be elected over any Republican is the kind of thinking that brought us to the point that the Democrats (briefly) held super-majorities in both chambers.

    Live and die by this creed: Ideology in the primary. Party in the general..

    So the conservative candidate didn’t run a good enough primary campaign to defeat the RINO? That’s unfortunate; but help the RINO hold the seat for the party until we can next take a shot at the RINO – from within our own party, in the next primary.

    Come back next time with a better campaign, a better message, a better candidate – whatever is required. But don’t wish upon us the subjection of another term of a Senate with a freaking socialist as the majority leader, just because one candidate is a RINO who won a primary against an opponent who offered none of the three (at least, to a sufficient degree to defeat that RINO).

  • thomas

    You don’t provide enough information Eric, regarding the smear to know if she & her campaign intended to smear the opposition. You say:

    So she hired these people, but “[a] few weeks ago they left.” (Were they kicked out because she learned of their bad judgment, you don’t say) The campaign defended itself from the smear accusation when it said, no they don’t work for us (“not any more.”). And you admit: “Christine O?Donnell?s campaign did distance her from the video.”

    Christine distanced herself “the next day when asked about it on a radio show.” ?O?Donnell . . . call[ed] it an ?insult? to both Castle and his wife.”

    What more do you want? A proclamation? Published in the newspapers? She said it the very next day! But then you say, she repeated the rumor a couple of times in a conversation where she specifically asked about it — big deal, she disavowed it when a radio announcer directed her to the issue, and probably redirected her back to it.

    You haven’t provided enough information on this one subject for people to not support her.

  • chipbennett

    Reclaim the Senate majority and leadership; then take another swing at the RINOs.

  • Locked and Loaded

    The -wont-rule-out-third-party-run could just have easily been -not-a-Massachusetts-voter. Re-read that paragraph.

    This is just the kind of playing-for-gotcha Journolista garbage I and many others despise.

  • Locked and Loaded

    The -wont-rule-out-third-party-run could just have easily been -not-a-Massachusetts-voter. Re-read that paragraph.

    This is just the kind of playing-for-gotcha Journolista garbage I and many others despise.

  • Achance
  • danielbdp

    O’ Donnell CAN win the general election in November, but ONLY IF her campaign gets a major revamp after this amateurish mishandling of Liberty.com.

    Castle’s record is a failure, and his negative campaigning and hiding from debates won’t be enough to win him the primary in the current climate.

    Christie (my governor) should have stayed out of this, got enough to deal with in NJ.

    I’m NOT pulling the plug just yet. Give O’Donnell a 2nd chance. She’s the only hope for Conservative change in DE.

  • rightwingdelaware

    This is the THIRD TIME she’s run for the US Senate.

  • Conservative_not_Republican

    That’s exactly what they said to elect Jeffords, Chafee and Specter. “Get the majority it will all be better later.” You are saying try what didn’t work again.

    Jeffords gave away the majority and Chafee and Specter demoralized the base with “Gang of” deals.

    Did any of them get voted out by Republicans?

    When Steve Laffee ran against Chafee George Bush worked for Chaffee even though Chafee bragged that he never voted for Bush.

  • JSobieski

    which is exactly whou would replace him.

    Someone is going to be the weakest link on the team. He voted against Obamacare and the stimulus. How many Democrat Senators cast those votes?

    NONE

  • JSobieski

    which is exactly whou would replace him.

    Someone is going to be the weakest link on the team. He voted against Obamacare and the stimulus. How many Democrat Senators cast those votes?

    NONE

  • rightwingdelaware

    I live in Delaware and listened to her WGMD interview where she denied saying she “won” 2 counties in Delaware, a state with 3 counties. When she was corrected on it she blamed Castle and she accused the most popular Conservative Christian radio host in Delaware of being on the Castle payroll. She did not win any counties in Delaware.

    She’s in the Weekly Standard claiming that the DE State Party Chair and Mike Castle were hiding in her bushes in 2008, trying to sabotage her campaign. And the hiding in the bushes comment wasn’t a metaphor for anything, she literally meant they were hiding in her bushes.

    Face it, O’Donnell just can’t keep the crazy in.

  • http://www.thehayride.com MacAoidh

    …from being enacted starting in January. The fact is, we have the votes to do it NOW.

    You get what you tolerate. Tolerating Mike Castle in the Republican Party is unacceptable. This man votes to put American citizens out of work – throwing him out of office is the kindest thing we can do.

    O’Donnell needs that nomination. If she loses, so be it. If she embarrasses herself and loses, so be it. Getting rid of Mike Castle is its own reward.

  • http://www.thehayride.com MacAoidh

    …from being enacted starting in January. The fact is, we have the votes to do it NOW.

    You get what you tolerate. Tolerating Mike Castle in the Republican Party is unacceptable. This man votes to put American citizens out of work – throwing him out of office is the kindest thing we can do.

    O’Donnell needs that nomination. If she loses, so be it. If she embarrasses herself and loses, so be it. Getting rid of Mike Castle is its own reward.

  • jb13

    You know what you get with a Democrat-controlled Senate and a Democrat-controlled White House? Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor.

    Would Castle have voted to confirm them? Likely.

    Would they have made it through the judiciary committee if there were 51 Rs in the Senate and Sessions was chairman? That’s an entirely different question, isn’t it?

    Majorities. Matter.

  • acat

    It’s also not anti-Dem. It’s anti-ruling-class.

    That is, you can call Bennett in Utah many things, but one of ‘em has to be ruling-class. The label applies to *every* Dem – they all voted for Harry Reid, they all voted for Obama’s agenda, etc.

    The label does not apply equally to Republicans, and even in cases where it plainly does apply (Graham, Specter (oh, wait), Crist (oh, wait) ..*) and the cases where it does apply, the primary challenges have mostly been serious conservatives, and they’ve been far more successful than I’d dreamed possible.

    Mew

    *Certain Repubs who should obviously be listed are not as they’re currently up for re-election. You know who you are…

  • rightwingdelaware

    Castle is ahead in every poll and O’Donnell originated the “party switch” rumor and she’s been trying to sell the “gay” rumor for 2 months now and she’s blatantly lied about his record. She’s a gem.

    And I’ll take Castle 50% of the time over the D who’s running. Coons raised property taxes 25% in one year and refused to cut the budget in his county.

    Castle hasn’t been perfect, but at least he voted against Obamacare, and the Stimulus bill.

    He also voted against a lame duck session. He voted for the Bush Tax cuts and wants to extend them. And he voted for the Stupak Amendment.

    You won’t get any of that out of Coons, and O’Donnell will be too busy looking for RINOs hiding in her bushes to show up for Senate votes.

    And I guess you all missed the fact that she was spreading the “party switch” rumor, it’s on her website, July 15, while she was actively trying to get a spot on the November ballot as a Constitution Party candidate. They endorsed her August 1, but THAT fails to appear on her website. The CP chair said that she came to them. Or is the CP chair lying, too?

  • Marcus_Traianus

    Let me see… what am I more interested in gossip, innuendo, campaign missteps and rumor or someone that will actually fulfill the promises made, based on fundamental conservative, sagacious principles or the converse. Give me a minute….

    Castle is;
    - A stimulus supporter (even though he didn’t vote for it, he has his mug at every event in Del. where the money is being spent- I think even CNN called him a “hypocrite”).
    - An Obama agenda supporter
    - Pro abortion
    - Supports the Disclose Act
    -Supports “Cap and Trade”

    Whoever takes this seat will be able to vote right away in the lame duck session. Electing Castle provides a pretty solid guarantee that Democrats will have another vote for their agenda during that period.

    Voting for O’Donnell, warts and all. is a complete no brainer. At least she has integrity, potential and isn’t a closet Democrat.

  • rightwingdelaware

    Listen to the audio, he doesn’t redirect her. She says it several times. She’s also been actively pushing that rumor for the past two months.

    Read some local Delaware blogs, you’ll see her supporters throwing the gay rumor out there.

  • asleep06

    You think it will all be better this time (!) if we just get Republicans in the majority and even in the presidency. You are wrong. C_n_R is correct.

    Where your theory of “just get a majority” goes wrong is that it is short-sighted (the major problem with politics in general today).

    It does not account for the fact that major reductions in the size and scope of the federal government cannot be accomplished in one election term, but will only be accomplished in the long-term by retaining the trust of the American people. This means we need to avoid what we did not avoid the past 20 years: the destruction of the long-term reputation and credibility of the Republican brand and organization by allowing RINOs into office for short-term gains.

    As C_n_R has shown, we already are where short-sighted thinking has taken us. It’s time to do it differently for the next few decades and beyond.

  • acat

    is that the membership elect their officers, but the officers decide the direction of the group. Change the officers, save the group.

    If the Humane Society officers are “PETA-lite”, it’s because folk who think like PETA have realized the Humane Society can be useful, and have arranged for “their kind” to be in charge.

    If the NRA officers aren’t seeing Harry Reid as a threat, but instead as their favorite candidate…

    We need to at least recognize that Libs see the world differently – every organization can be used for political purposes.

    Mew

  • The_Gadfly

    doesn’t mean there isn’t bias. I’ve been there in the little leagues when the leftist bias was pushed. They had the paperwork to back them up and left the countervailing information on the cutting room floor. Same thing can just as easily happen on the right.

    Moreover, on one occasion as the recording secretary for an NPO I plunged the long knife deeply into a malcontent by precisely recording and releasing their statements instead of my usual editing for grammar and clarity while trying to preserve their tone and cadence. On another I did it by putting them on the public witness stand and then leading the charge against them. You only do that to someone with whom you are on the outs.

  • asleep06

    … we can live and die by the creed: “Learn from our mistakes.”

    Or we can stick our heads in the sand and wonder why it’s so dark in here.

  • acat

    and Sotomayor-the-incompetent was the *better* of the two.

    Majorities absolutely matter.

    Mew

  • IJB

    Not only would Castle have voted for them on the floor, but Graham *still* would have voted for them in Committee, so they still would have been confirmed.

    This is my point about the Senate – 50 vs. 51 gets you very, very little.

    OTOH, 217 vs. 218 in the House is the difference between nothing and EVERYTHING.

  • chipbennett

    … to Jeffords, Chafee, and Specter?

    (Actually, Specter is a perfect example *disproving* your theory, considering who is going to be representing PA in the seat formerly held by Specter.)

    A Democrat in Jeffords’ seat would be even more liberal.

    A Democrat in Chafee’s seat would be even more liberal, and would caucus with the Democrats.

    Not getting the ideologically perfect candidate in the primary is no reason whatsoever to toss the seat, the caucus/leadership vote, and the incumbent momentum to the Democrat party.

    Keep an R(INO) in the seat. Then go after that R(INO) in the next primary.

    To do otherwise is nothing less than an own goal.

  • The_Gadfly

    Castle is already making Specter-like noises. If Castle is Senator 51, how do you know he doesn’t switch sides to give control to the D’s with whom he is more at home?

    I haven’t lived in Pennsylvania for over 20 years now, but the stain that s*b has left on my reputation still angers me. So think about that real hard when pulling the lever or advising others on how they should pull it.

  • http://www.2010blog.net jsanzone

    She’s been a candidate in three elections (a primary, a write-in, and a general election) in two different cycles. And still, she’s completely amateurish. And this is just the least of her problems. Imagine a general election–you think the (unsubstantiated) insinuations about Sharron Angle are bad? Just wait until O’Donnell ‘breaks onto the national scene as the tea party’s favorite candidate.’

  • vettepilot

    For a group like the NRA, I would agree with you, but the HSUS has always been an animal rights organization. Anyway, don’t want to threadjack, so the point I was making above was that Kirk was either throwing his lot in with the Animal Rights crowd or he just completely failed to do his research (which is actually already done for him via Humanewatch.org and the CCF)….

  • JSobieski

    She is still “processing” her 2008 invoices to see which are valid. It is not prudent management (nor nice to your vendors) to say I will look through your invoices a couple of years after they are sent.

    As a small business owner, I find that quote highly inflammatory.

  • chipbennett

    …because you misunderstand my point.

    I’m not saying that Castle, or Chafee, or Specter, or Jeffords will ever be a reliable legislative vote.

    But even if such RINOs, legislatively, vote identically to their Democrat alternatives, the RINO is still preferable, because of caucusing, Senate leadership voting, committee alignment/membership/leadership, and legislative agenda-setting.

    Don’t miss the forest for the trees.

    Should we fight tooth-and-nail to get ideologically better candidates on the general ballot? Absolutely.

    Should we call out the NRSC and GOP establishment for continuing to back such legislatively horrid candidates? Without a doubt.

    Should we hope for a Democrat ever to hold the seat in place of a Republican? Not on your life.

  • JSobieski

    Yet, many people say she’s a great candidate a true conservative.

    As if that was enough to be a great candidate….

  • Conservative_not_Republican

    Getting a majority of R’s who are not conservative will not advance an agenda. It won’t remedy the problem with the courts or even stem the rise in the size of government. Conservative Republicans have to be elected in primaries and the party has to captured at grass roots.

    Even if O’Donnell became the Senator from Delaware and the Rs win a majority there will not be a conservative majority in the Senate because of McCain, Graham, the Maine twins, etc. But the problem cannot be endlessly compounded by the “let’s get the majority with moderates” arguments.

  • JSobieski

    Paul lacks polish, O’Donnell is amateur hour.

    If she didn’t have conservative policy politicians, this site would mock her for her apparent lack of accomplishment and competence.

    O’Donnell needs a job, and it sounds like she would be great for reality TV.

  • ffc99

    her college degree on Wednesday. This after claiming in previous campaigns that she was a college graduate. It’s still unclear why she only received it this week. In the past she explained that the only reason she hadn’t was because of her failure to pay off her student loans (although I have a few degrees on the wall of my office and I’m still paying off my student loans…), and that she’d completed the required coursework. In the Politico article linked below, her campaign manager contradicted that earlier statement by saying she had to complete a required elective course this summer.

    The problem here is not that she wasn’t a college graduate until this week, it’s that she is unable to tell the truth about why she hadn’t received her degree. It’s a pattern with her. She can’t seem to tell the truth about anything.

    http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0910/41750.html

  • Aaron Gardner
  • JSobieski

    She won’t say whether she would have voted for Brown or not? Complaining about hypothetical questions (which were softballs) from a conservative magazine?

    I am becoming increasingly convinced that if elected, she would beclown the Republican party.

  • chipbennett

    …would be letting a D win the seat in DE.

    Period. Hands down. End of story.

  • JSobieski

    Castle said that he wouldn’t just say no and that he would work across the isle (as if we don’t already know that). That one sentence has been interpretted as, he will switch parties.

    He has been an R in Congress when the R’s were in charge and when the D’s were in charge. He is apparently pretty comfortable as an R all of these years.

    Didn’t Specter switch parties at the beginning of his career—ie he was a Democrat in life who became a Republican to run for office?

  • The_Rebel

    the best we could hope for here in Massachusetts. Just think, if he had lost that special election in January, we wouldn’t have much chance at all of taking the Senate in November. You have to take the bad with the good. Sometimes our less than ideal candidate returns added dividends down the road.

    Then again, sometimes we get the likes of Jeffords and Specter.

  • JSobieski

    You can chalk up one or two to bad luck, etc. but there are just too many things for a person never elected to public office to explain away.

    I have vigorously supported every insurgent young gun R candidate in these primaries, but O’Donnell is amateur hour in all of the bad ways. She needs to get her life under control before we give her a direct voice in law making.

    College degree, FEC violations, IRS, still looking over invoices from past campaigns (who waits 2 years to decide whether a bill is proper), liens, debts, etc.

    To me O’Donnell gives the appearance of someone wanting to be a professional politician. Otherwise, she would get her life under better control first and then run. Instead of running and then getting things under control.

  • chipbennett

    The goal is not to advance a conservative agenda with moderate Republicans, but rather to deter the advancement of a socialist agenda by forfeiting the seats of moderate Republicans to liberal Democrats.

    The ship of State is sinking. First order of business is to stop the leaks. Only then can we start bailing.

  • IJB

    Why? Because Scott Brown is actually proving to *more* conservative than Castle!

    Just two examples:

    1) Brown actually voted against Kagan. (For a “homestate” Senator to go against a Pres. appointment takes big brass ones!)

    2) Brown prevented DISCLOSE from passing; Castle not only voted for it, he *sponsored* it.

    People pulling for Castle should have no illusions: he will in all probability be *worse* than the ME twins, and Castle is very likely to be on par with Arlen Specter, Lincoln Chafee and Jim Jeffords.

    In addition to all that, I fear the odds of Castle switching to D if we get to a 50-50 tie in the Senate are actually quite substantial…

  • chipbennett

    (And hi again, Aaron!)

    I *do* think Erick deserves to be called out for stating so affirmatively that he would prefer to see a Democrat hold a Senate seat (and much more, actually shift the balance of power in the Senate) than see a RINO hold that seat.

    That position is ridiculous. The current congress is living proof.

    We have an opportunity to kill the Obama agenda – dead in its tracks – by reclaiming both chambers in November.

    So we’re not going to be able to advance a conservative agenda. So what? Remember who’s in the Oval Office for two more years, anyway. Another 33 Senate seats are up for grabs at the same time that we get to un-elect the Statist In Chief. Let’s carry the primary battles into 2012.

    Not one single bill getting out of Congress for the next two years is not a bad thing. The alternative – more of the Obama-Pelosi-Reid, extreme-statist-liberal agenda – is far worse.

    So, I have no qualms about Erick choosing sides in the DE primary, or for voicing his opinions. But actively calling for continued Dem control of the Senate rather than have a RINO hold the DE Senate seat?

    Ludicrous.

  • maddog

    I am a little surpised and disappointed that NJ Gov Chris Christie has endorsed Mike Castle. Maybe it’s related to Christie attending University of Delaware. Don’t know.

  • SteveLA

    What a concept, Governor Christie supporting someone he thinks will do a good job as the Senator from Delaware.

    What a concept.

  • acat

    After that, we’ll see where he really stands.

    And how long we let him do so.

    Mew

  • Aaron Gardner

    Erick clearly states he hopes O’Donnell still wins. Barring that outcome is the only instance where he would rather see the Dem win, and there are good strategic reasons for that.

    I am going to be writing this out for the FP later so I don’t want to spill the beans, but Castle isn’t a 70% moderate, he is a liberal who would flip on Cap and Trade, Card Check, and most importantly, Immigration and Obamacare repeal.

    The consequences would be worse, as a matter of optics and Senate control, then if we went into the lame duck with a known Dem..

    Any how, I respect where you are coming from, more later.

  • whatsupjacques

    Congress needs to be purged of RINOs–ALL of them. There is no sense in having a Democrat in sheep’s clothing. The pretense of conservatism does more damage than the occasional swing vote. If we’re going to clean house (and Senate), you have to do it right and according to principle, not expediency.

    I applaud Erick for refusing to stoop to cheap politics just to move forward a “conservative agenda”. Instead, he really gets it. Integrity IS the conservative message.

  • Aaron Gardner

    There’s no reason to pillory Christie for this. He has the opportunity to be the North East Republican power broker. It’s actually a pretty smart move for him.

    I mean, naturally I disagree, but I understand it.

  • acat

    That’d be good reality TV… whatever they do!

    Mew

  • acat

    Mostly it’s because I don’t think a comparison to rats is all that fair. I’d kill and eat a rat if I were hungry enough….

    Mew

  • aesthete

    He’s widely popular among DE Repubs, has seniority in that state among Rs, it is an R year, and he has opposed some of the Dems’ recent major policies (ObamaCare). He probably would be a jerk who pauses dramatically to wait for the GOP to grovel for his vote, though.

  • aesthete

    “Former Majority Leader Frist” certainly doesn’t inspire confidence in just having an R as majority leader. I’m ambivalent about the race for that reason.

  • Aaron Gardner

    I think he would pee on us in a lame duck, blame us, and then go Specter on us.

    But that’s just me. ;)

  • danrighty

    Ya delaware. Vote Castle in for the senate. He voted for the Mao oboma care. He voted for cap and tax. He has stated that he would not vote for the repeal of Mao oboma care. What in the hell are the rep. doing? He is a huge RINO. If I were the Dems. I wouldn’t even run against him. What a piece of #$%t for the republican party.

  • danrighty

    Ya delaware. Vote Castle in for the senate. He voted for the Mao oboma care. He voted for cap and tax. He has stated that he would not vote for the repeal of Mao oboma care. What in the hell are the rep. doing? He is a huge RINO. If I were the Dems. I wouldn’t even run against him. What a piece of #$%t for the republican party.

  • aesthete

    As someone closer to Gen X than a baby boomer, I’ll say that while lack of polish puts Gen Xers to ease to a greater extent than spit-n-polish, idiotic, immature, and boorish behavior isn’t admired. As JSob says, this “Mike Castle is gay” rumor is not unpolished, it is boorish and very dirty (and is one that, even if true, Gen Xers wouldn’t give a hoot about). Plenty of Gen Xers like looking at a trainwreck and laughing (see the popularity of reality TV shows). They’re not so fond of them as people, though (again, see the popularity of reality TV shows).

  • Pazquackman_of_Delaware

    Castle voted against Obamacare and the stimulus. Remember those votes? No republican congressmen voted for those bills?

  • Pazquackman_of_Delaware

    Castle voted against obama care and the stimulus. Castle is a bit more conservative than you think.

  • gd10782

    Grow up and I’m not sure what you mean about being homophobia, is that like thinking that Homosexuality is a sin? Because IF that is what you mean put me down as having a bad case of homophobia. I agree you should have prove to make that charge because if your are a homo I would rather lose any election than vote for someone like that regardless of what party (he-she)
    was running on. If your twisted how can you vote for whats right?

  • aesthete

    There are way worse people than Christie to play the role of Northeastern kingmaker/powerbroker.

  • Aaron Gardner

    Thanks for it, it’s an interesting one to follow. Oh, and I will be 34 on the 15th. ;)

  • aesthete

    But I’m no expert on homosexuality; maybe the gay in him makes it impossible for him to do a job that a trained monkey could do.

  • aesthete

    and Mike Castle were gay, would that matter? Tell me that you wouldn’t vote for a pro-defense, pro-life, pro-small government gay man over Obama in a hypothetical matchup. For that matter, give me any matchup where the progressive is straight and the conservative gay, and tell me if you wouldn’t rather see the conservative up there than the progressive.

    Moreover, what is the Tea Party in DE doing disseminating this rumor? My impression was that the Tea Party as a broad movement is concerned with spending and ambivalent about lifestyle issues, so would that not make this Tea Party illegitimate and injurious to the brand? Is it an actual, authentic “Tea Party”, or just some socially conservative (or simply anti-Castle) group looking to cash in on the brand name? This move doesn’t seem up the Tea Party’s alley.

  • aesthete

    If he were motivated by ideology more than power and prestige, he would already be a Dem. As his primary motivation is likely increased power and prestige, we can safely say that he would have more of both as a big cheese among DE Rs than he would by becoming a bit player in the Dem eastern machine. This is especially true now because the R political power is ascendant. This could potentially be a problem in the future, but improbable in the near future (i.e., before 2014). Specter was in a hard-fought primary challenge in PA where he wasn’t necessarily the R big cheese, at a time when Dems seemed to have everything but R’s rook and king.

  • AKSteveB
  • Jack_Savage

    On my desk at this very moment is a flyer for Jason Ryan Dorsey, who makes his living as a business consultant helping businesses manage the four different generations who are now working together (Matures, Boomers, Gen X and Gen Y). For instance, he maintains that Gen Y employees decide on the first day whether they are going to stay with a company long term or not.

    I had not given this a second thought until I read his info and read your post.

    On another incredibly coincidental note, our church is going through the exact same thing as you are researching. A lot of the membership has left for the feel-good mega-church down the road (is that a bit judgmental of me to say?), and we are grappling with what to do. Is it the packaging? Is it the style of worship? Should we change or should we preach The Word and practice agape love and see what happens?

    This is worth further thought and research for sure.

  • JSobieski

    There is a long list of sins, and all sins are not created equal.

    Not diminishing the moral issues with homosexuality, but it aint murder, rape, or theft.

  • JSobieski

    There is a long list of sins, and all sins are not created equal.

    Not diminishing the moral issues with homosexuality, but it aint murder, rape, or theft.

  • Jack_Savage

    The most effective opponent is someone who knows you inside and out. As you have pointed out, we hate government so much that we really don’t know how it works, and have no one on the inside to give us the knowledge we need. Our best weapon could be a long term pol or a RINO who has had a conversion experience. And I mean a true one, not one like McCain just had and is in the process of getting over.

    An ideal Republican majority would immediately and completely dismantle the financial and employment structure that has been set up to feed the beast that is the left. They could do it both under the radar and out in public, and in two years could destroy what it has taken Dems decades to build. (I would recommend your manifesto as required reading for all of them). There should not be one person appointed during the Obama administration that is left in government, and every employee who got a government job during the Obama administration should be the first to be furloughed. We have a rare opportunity to do so under the banner of fiscal responsibility. I hope we don’t blow it.

    I simply think that the new guys (and girls) are going to spend the first two years trying to figure out whether you dial 9 to get an outside line, when they need to load up the mulcher and as my hero Lee Atwater said, “strip the bark off the little bastards”.

    And for the record, I am not at all convinced we will take back the House or gain more than 5 seats in the Senate. I really hope I am wrong, though. We have a lifetime to go.

    “When you have a bureaucrat by the budget…” – I am using that one.

  • Conservative_not_Republican

    You said:

    (Actually, Specter is a perfect example *disproving* your theory, considering who is going to be representing PA in the seat formerly held by Specter.)

    You think the election of Pat Tooney to replace Snarlin Arlen (who undercut conservatives and Republicans time after time) will disprove my theory?

    Explain.

  • Conservative_not_Republican

    You said:

    But even if such RINOs, legislatively, vote identically to their Democrat alternatives, the RINO is still preferable, because of caucusing, Senate leadership voting, committee alignment/membership/leadership, and legislative agenda-setting.

    And what do you get from that if they vote like Dems?

  • Aaron Gardner

    Again, more later.

  • tacoslayer

    O’Donnell just can’t keep the crazy under wraps….so instead of just standing aside to let Castle crush his Dem opponent we get histrionics and drama about anacondas and torn limbs.

    Very weak.

    Does the “conservative in the primary and GOP in the general” theme only apply when you say it does??

    This is about more than one Senate seat. This is about POWER.
    Judicial committee power.
    Majority rule power.
    Repeal the HCR power.

    You present yourself as a professional.
    This is amateur hour stuff.

  • captkirc

    can be stopped entirely by the party in control of the Senate. Harry Reid prevented practically all Bush Recess appointments once the Democrats gained control of the Senate in 2007 by technically never declaring the Senate to be in recess. Craig Becker would still be languishing in the confirmation process had Republicans been in the majority. To me that is a pretty big deal.

  • avgjo

    isn’t Castle at least unsupportive of repealing Obamacare?

    From what people here are saying, the only use he seems to serve (aside from voting for Senate Majority leader) is that he opposed Obamacare.

    It was a no-brainer. Besides, the Dems had enough votes to do it on their own, the way they did it.

    But when it really counts, when the time comes to vote on repeal, where will Castle be? That’s the sort of stuff that will further damage the GOP’s reputation with people.

  • acat

    but I’m going to be checking the age of anyone calling a campaign “amateur hour”….

    Just sayin’

    Mew

  • acat

    the tend seems to say that the younger a person is, the more they tend to distrust “polish” and prefer “relationships”.

    The Obama campaign did a much better job with tapping into this than the McCain campaign – in part because McCain didn’t get the importance. The one thing from the McCain campaign that my wife still mentions was his SNL appearance – he was genuinely funny. That’s a relationship trait, y’see – the rest was all slick packaging that she just ignored.

    For your church, for what it’s worth, the same thing applies – look at relationship-building opportunities – how does your church connect people outside of the walls on days other than Sunday? That lack of connection is where most seem to go awry.

    Just my $0.01. (inflation adjusted)

    Mew

  • Aaron Gardner
  • notthenews

    Joe Biden’s Delaware. Some things never change, I guess.