The ” Beau” Theory
Nov 29th, 2009 by Frank Knotts
I have made no attempt to hide the fact that I am dissatisfied with the past performance of Rep. Mike Castle in congress. I do not feel that he represents my views on what I consider to be key issues, such as the environment, smaller government, and family values.
Okay, so I have made my points based on his voting record and things that he has actually said. I have voiced my opinion that it is time for him to retire and for the GOP to support a candidate with the courage to move back towards the party’s more conservative roots.
I also have made it clear that I support Christine O’Donnell in her run for the same senate seat that Mr. Castle believes should be his, merely because he wants it.
Many within the GOP have criticized Ms. O’Donnell and those who support her for not being team players. Many Republicans will tell you that Mr. Castle is the only one that can win against the heir-apparent to the seat that was formally held by his father, Beau Biden.
The “Beau” theory is that because of his Biden name and the popularity of his father within the state, that Beau Biden is somehow bullet proof. The theory continues with the mis-guided idea that only an aging congressman such as Mr. Castle can defeat Mr. Biden.
I think that this theory is wrong on several levels. First, I believe that there is a demonstrable move to the right throughout the nation , including here in the First State. Second, no one is bullet proof. Third, Mr. Castle has a voting records that can be exploited by his opponent, where as Mr. Biden does not.
I personally believe that Mr. Castle is to far left. This means in my view that what you will have if the race is between Castle and Biden , is a race between a Democrat who can come out and be himself and a Republican who must attempt to be what he is not. Also in this race you would have no clear choice between a conservative and a more liberal candidate, I believe this gives the advantage to Mr. Biden.
Now on a purely cosmetic level , you will have an aging congressman who has had health issues in the past, who comes across as someones grandfather running against a young, healthy, attractive candidate who just returned from a tour of duty in Iraq.
Now while I’m on the subject of age , let me shoot another hole in this “Beau” theory. To those who say only Mr. Castle can win against Mr. Biden. Okay , let’s say that this is true(I don’t believe it,but I’ll play along). And let us also say that Mr. Castle does win. So tell me , who runs against Biden in six years ? I think we can assume that it won’t be Mike Castle. We can also assume that Mr. Biden is young enough to sit back and wait and run again in six years, if Mr. Castle were to win. Who will the GOP pick as there can’t lose candidate then ?
This is why I believe that we must act now to support a candidate that can win this election and also win in six years from now.
If the GOP comes to its senses and backs Christine O’Donnell it would completely change the complexion of the race.
You would now have two young candidates , neither with any baggage such as their past voting record. No health issues. But most importantly , the voters would have a clear choice, Mr. Biden’s more liberal views, that can be tied directly to his father’s and those of Pres. Obama, whose popularity is declining. Or Ms. O’Donnell’s conservative principles ?
I believe that this is the race that the GOP should be running and one that it can win, not only for this election cycle , but to position ourselves for the future. I believe that Christine O’Donnell is actually the candidate that levels the playing field against Beau Biden.
The problem moderates are having is that people want real answers during troubled times. They don’t want every question to have three hands (on the other hand) and indecision. Beau looks strong, while Mr. Castle inflicted self imposed damage with broken self set deadlines after deadlines. Not only is his voting record off the map, he looked like he couldn’t make a decision for his own future, let alone the future of the country. Biden may be having the same problem or not, what we do know is that he is not playing it out in public. The ironic fact is that Castle made a decision but does not get credit while the guy who doesn’t gets the pass.
That is a poor way to start a campaign and does not give me confidence.
Frank, im not 100% sure but I think its only a 4 year senate term. Joe Biden was elected for the Senate, resigned to be sworn in as VP. Sen. Kauffman serves two years leaving a 4 year term for winner in ’10
It is a four-year term, to fill the remainder of the six-year term that the Vice President was elected to. The election in 2014 for that seat will be a standard six-year term.
Because of that, the ‘other’ Biden theory is born.
Thanks guys, I got caught up in the literary moment. But even in four years , if Mr. Castle were to win in 2010, his age would prohibit his running again in 2014 , in my opinion. My basic point still stands. Let us seize the moment. Let’s take advantage of the growing grassroots movement towards conservatism and put up a candidate of the future. Let’s break from the mistakes of the past and support someone who will work to move the nation back towards its roots of limited government, reasonable taxes, and traditional family values.
I personally believe that person is Christine O’Donnell.
First, I believe that there is a demonstrable move to the right…including here in the First State.
“Demonstrable?’ Based upon…what?
Of course I would prefer to have O’Donnell over Castle- but, I don’t think she can win. Castle can, because he can get votes in New Castle that O’Donnell can’t.
For that matter, I’m not convinced that Biden has the guts to run against Castle, and face the specter of an ignominious defeat.
I’m for Kauffman to finish of Biden’s term. He has shown himself to be a competent Senator. I believe he would unite the Dems against Castle. Beau should wait until 2014 to consider a run.
“I’m for Kauffman to finish of Biden’s term. He has shown himself to be a competent Senator. I believe he would unite the Dems against Castle. Beau should wait until 2014 to consider a run.” – Perry
I saw this coming a mile away. Senator Kauffman entered the seat to be a place holder with no political aspirations, and for the first few months I didn’t really hear a thing from him or about him. He was virtually invisible, but lately I have seen a flurry of media appearances from Senator Kauffman, and I figured that he would be exploring the posibility of extending his political career beyond 2010. Thanks for the confirmation. I don’t think he is anywhere close to a unifying figure yet, but it looks like he is positioning himself to be able to make that attempt.
I agree with you though, Beau should wait. I’d preffer that he not run for Senate at all, but if he does now is not the time.
Rick, I’m not big on polling , but polling is showing more people who describe themselves as consevatives and just today it was announced that people who describe themselves as Republicans is up from this time laast year. It is directly tied to Pres. Obama. We also have the Republican victories in N.J. and Va.
A little off subject, but this article is interesting about Senator Colin Bonini:
Popular journalist Celia Cohen and insider Republicans both think Senator Colon Bonini is really running for a state wide office this time (STATE TREASURER). In Bonini’s 15 years as a Delaware Legislator he has never voted to approve a budget. Scroll down to read Celia Cohen’s interesting article.
CELIA COHEN WRITES ON WBOC BLOG ABOUT COLON BONINI:
http://www.wboc.com/Global/story.asp?S=11596758
“Colin Bonini was at the point where he was fooling none of the people none of the time.
Almost as soon as he was elected in 1994 as a Republican state senator, a never-say-die conservative bursting with pie-in-the-sky enthusiasm, he talked about running statewide.
U.S. Senate, treasurer, lieutenant governor, whatever, Bonini ogled higher office for 15 years while nothing came of it. He was a political window-shopper, that was all.
By the time Bonini made noises last year about lieutenant governor, people were not fooled, not even when he passed around please-vote-Colin-Bonini-lt.-governor emery boards. True to form, he never filed for office. At least he filed some fingernails.
With another election year lurking, so is Bonini. No surprise there. Instead, the surprise is he really is acting like a candidate and quacking like a candidate.
Bonini, now 44 years old, would like to be the next state treasurer. It makes some sense. He is in the middle of a term from his Dover-area legislative district and does not have to resign to run.
Furthermore, Bonini would be seeking the next best thing to an open seat. The current treasurer is Velda Jones-Potter, a Democrat who was appointed by Gov. Jack Markell to replace himself. She is running for the office but faces a primary for the nomination against Chip Flowers, a lawyer.
About two weeks ago, Bonini put a bunch of Republicans in a room to discuss his intentions and raise some seed money for his campaign, with tickets priced at $250 a couple. It was not just any room, and they were not just any Republicans.
The room was part of the Chateau Country home of Michele Rollins, the businesswoman behind Dover Downs and a Jamaican luxury resort. The Republicans talking up Bonini in front of 150 people or so were former Gov. Pete du Pont and Congressman Mike Castle.
Now this was certainly serious. Bonini had better not fool any of these people any of the time, or the only running he will be fit for is running away. Preferably to the federal witness protection program.
“Colin is a wonderful candidate. He’s fiscally conservative, and Delaware needs that. I think he’s going [to run] this time,” du Pont said.
The crowd included the party leaders — state Chair Tom Ross, National Committeewoman Priscilla Rakestraw and National Committeeman Laird Stabler — and all the Republican senators but Joe Booth, who went instead to a fund-raiser Bonini held downstate two days later. Charlie Copeland, the former Senate minority leader who is being urged to run for the Congress, was there, too.
Bonini, who is big and gregarious and often seems more off-the-cuff than on it, was all business that evening. He gave a little speech extolling less government and taxes, just the right pitch for his listeners. The room was full of people who knew President Obama’s promise not to raise taxes except at the upper reaches came with the message this-means-you.
“In a horrible hot summer in Philadelphia, they put together the most just, the most moral and the most successful experiment in history. Fundamental to that experiment was the belief that when you get up in the morning and you toil all day, you get to keep the rewards of that toil. Quite frankly, we have forgotten that lesson. If I can be blunt, our state government is out of control,” Bonini said.
“Someone in Delaware needs to remind the government that it’s not their money, it’s yours. . . .
“I know many people say, who really cares who the state treasurer is? With your help, I will make them care.”
If there were any doubts left about Bonini, he went beyond acting and quacking like a candidate to setting up a PAC like a candidate. Charlie Copeland announced it for him. It will be called the “Responsible Delaware PAC.”
Copeland was the right choice to talk about it, because he took PACs to a new level when he ran for lieutenant governor last year. Matt Denn, the Democrat who won, countered with one of his own.
PACs, or political action committees, have more leeway than candidates. Under state law, candidates are limited to collecting a maximum of $1,200 from an individual contributor, while PACs have no limits on contribution size.
PACs are free to spend on anything that candidates can, except for “express advocacy.” This means PACs are barred by law from broadcasting political spots or sending mailers expressly on behalf of a candidate. In other words, Bonini’s PAC could not call for him to be elected treasurer, but it could call for fiscal conservatism in state government, his key issue.
Never mind that voters still would come away with the idea they are supposed to vote for Bonini.
PACs are the crack cocaine of campaign money. Bonini is welcome to one, but it does seem strange that the opening act of a fiscal conservative is to create a mechanism for extracting swollen heaps of dollars so he can spend, spend, spend.”