Sep 15 2010
Reality Strikes Back In DE
As expected, Christine O’Donnell has a huge hole to climb out of to demonstrate purity to the right is better than winning seats in Congress:
Republicans more than likely cost themselves a Senate seat last night. Chris Coons begins the general election in Delaware with a 50-34 lead over Christine O’Donnell. Mike Castle would have led Coons by a 45-35 margin.
While O’Donnell may have ingratiated herself to Delaware’s small group of registered Republicans over the last month she’s turned off everyone else. An August Daily Kos/PPP poll in Delaware found her favorability rating at 23/33. It’s now 29/50.
If Castle had won he would have received more Democratic support than any other Republican Senate candidate in the country. Now our polling suggests with O’Donnell’s victory that Coons will win more Republicans than any other Democratic Senate candidate in the country. That’s because of a general unwillingness to support O’Donnell from Castle’s moderate base- folks from the centrist wing of the GOP are planning to support Coons 54-31.
Look, you can be pure all day long, but if you cannot guide the direction of Congress you are completely impotent. Why get out and vote or run candidates if your preference is to sit out the decision process in the bliss of purity? If we are not fighting to redirect the country with a broad coalition, we are wasting everyone’s time and money. You cannot win if your platform is to attack centrists. Geez, How did Obama and the Dems get into such deep trouble this year? Ignoring the center of course. The end result of this easily could be that DE traded a right of center moderate for a far left marxist, and the nation traded a chance for changing our path away from economic hell in 2011 to now having to wait until 2013. This is what is known as a Pyrrhic Victory.
I hate relearning hard lessons that should be learnt by now.
Update: I must note Coon’s being right at 50% means O’Donnell could get within striking distance, as has happened in CT, WI, WV, WA & CA. The only question is besides being possible – what is probable.
WWS, I *sort* of agree with you except that Christie was running against damaged goods. Several political allies of Corzine were arrested just before the election.
Lets not confuse disaffection for Corzine as affection for Christie. The people had enough of Corzine and didn’t want him in office anymore. They weren’t voting Christie in so much as voting Corzine out. We will see how the people of NJ feel when Christie is up for re-election.
The best thing of all that Christie is done is to openly scoff at the idea that he is running with an eye toward reelection. He governs as though he will be there for just on term – and not so surprisingly, that has become his greatest strength.
Every one of the Republicans who are so worried about getting and keeping power have forgotten that Power is never an end in itself, except to the people who get rich by having it; Power is only worthwhile for what it can be used to accomplish. And anyone who is primarily worried about perpetuating their own Power will *never* be capable of doing the kinds of things that are now necessary to save this country.
We can only be saved by people who are dedicated to following their principles without any regard for the personal consequences they will face. *THAT’S why these firebrand newcomers keep winning elections, and THAT’S why no one trusts the compromisers and middle-of-the-roaders to do what’s necessary. Their careers say that they’re incapable of doing anything but looking out for themselves.
And if a majority does indeed wish to choose the Path of Destruction, then destruction will be what we will deserve and nothing we can do will stop it from coming. That’s a harsh truth that shouldn’t be forgotten.
one last post before bed: if you haven’t seen this piece by Doc Zero, then you should read it: I think you will find much you agree with.
http://hotair.com/greenroom/archives/2010/09/16/no-more-control/
Interesting contrast between Christie and Austin Goolsbee. Austin said something similar but who trusted him? Seems people believed in Christie more than Austin.
By the same token, mention of Christie appearing to be interested in running for one term as opposed to Obama telling us that he’d rather be a fantastic one term President!
What’s worse than a social-con Republican extremist? A right of center Republican that disses all of those who are a bit to the right of themselves. Now what I find particularly ironic in this hissy fit from AJ is that I first came to the strata-sphere through the great global warming debate and now find AJ dissing a primary winner whose opponent is a global warming advocate. Oh the irony.
But I don’t think I’ll start dissing AJ just because he disagrees with me since I understand that the right of center is a big tent group and I support candidates that are in a large range of opinion just as long as they’re on the right. I just wish a lot more centrists who think they are being pragmatic would realize how damaging it is to our cause when they come out shooting at others who are also on the right. The main stream media and the left love the way we devour our own. Anyone noticed how there is no such term as “RINO” on the left? I wonder why that is? Is it because we create our own terms or does the left and the media do it for us? And we get suckered every time. Meanwhile, the Left is made to look like one big happy family. And we get suckered again and again and again.
C’mon AJ, Castle was a horrible candidate and the Republican establishment should be excoriated for putting that guy up at all. I rejoice that Delaware has cast him off and though it might mean a loss this time around (O’Donnell sure hasn’t gotten much of help from anyone so far), the outcome is that the establishment is forced to take stock and will get themselves in line better with Delaware voters for next time.
whine me a river pretend patriotduo.
I don’t like ONE damn candidate and out come the thought police from the right. I absolutely think O’Donnell is not a good senate candidate – neither was Castle. I think O’Donnell is worse – as an individual. I think in every great movement you get some not so great people swept up into it.
I support all the other Tea Party candidates. What no one wants is the far right version of the far left.
Lots of people don’t understand the science of climate. And that includes a vast majority of warmists AND skeptics. If I nailed every person who would fail under grad science I would be like the purists on the fringes.
LOL! Sorry, but this independent really does believe in the right of free speech and individual opinion. Deal with it duo.
What makes me mad is that the people who supported O’Donnell had to know she had a lot of baggage, and yet they seem to think that everyone else is just supposed to ignore it and vote the way they want them to.
It is not impossible that O’Donnell could win, but it is unlikely, for one thing she has problems with the truth.
dbostan:
Everything Rove said was true, the problem with the O’Donnell is supporters is that they do not want to admit it and they expected Rove to pretend that Christine is something she is not. It is not Rove’s fault that this lady has some serious issues and by attacking him a lot of people on the right are just shooting the messenger.