The Year of the GOP Insurgent
Aug 25th, 2010 by David Anderson
While those who read the trends early like McCain and others are safe, those like Senator Murkowski were not. Senator Murkowski should have been riding the wave of the Republican woman, but she was too far left. She was comfortable with her rising approval ratings and 30 point lead in the polls a couple of months ago– 20 points about a month ago. She lost. Mama Grizzly strikes again.
Florida Republicans were in a quirky mood getting rid of McCullum in spite of high profile establishment endorsements. Insurgent candidates had several victories in house seats.
I think Michele Rollins born again conservatism illustrates the trend has come to Delaware. (Last week pro-choice, this week pro-life; no difference between her, Christine, and Glen; dedicated with every fiber of her being to repeal health deform). I think people will choose the real deal not the flavor of the week as they did in most of the nation.
I think it’s odd that no state or local level Republicans decided to take a run at Castle’s open House seat. Nothing against who’s running, but there wasn’t a state rep or senator who wanted to take a crack at it? Or was it just better for the DE GOP to field an outsider type who can self-finance? That’s fine if Urguhart or Rollins takes the seat, but if Carney wins, it seems the GOP has a rather shallow bench to contest it again in 2012.
“self-finance” is all you need to know
The problem is not that the Delaware GOP has a poverty of good candidates; it is that it has a poverty of good organization and fundraising capability. That will only get worse if we don’t get the house back locally.
I wonder if the republicans will heal in time to support the winners of the primary and stave off democratic victories. I know that no matter how I feel at this point that the primary will decide who will be the official candidate.
That goes for you Top Elephants also. Please don’t shoot the party in the foot like you have done so many times in the past by not supporting the winner of the primary, just because they didn’t win the endorsement at the convention.
You know Paddy….damn you ask a good question.
Cause I think about it a lot.
David and Anon, amazingly, are also both right. Add my insightful analysis to this thread and we need say no more.
The key was, obviously and we were not born at night…LAST NIGHT…that the candidate they had run for Castle’s old seat needed to have their own money. The hell with Delaware maybe having a candidate groomed and ready to go, approved by the locals, a fine lady or fellow to fundraise for. God forbid the Delaware GOP should maybe act like, just throwing it out there, a political party. Oh no, let us sniff at the behinds of Alan Levine and the like and we end up with those whose main qualification is….gasp…MONEY! Well there’s a criteria for you.
So you say…”But Pat, all sorts of low lifes think they should be senator and such, including the likes of Christine O’Donnell and Matt Opaliski and we can’t just run them because THEY want the job. So how we going to cull down who will run, make sure they are palatable to the public enough to get them monies and popular support?”
I think of Greg Hastings and Ruth Briggs King.
Yeah, it’s possible. Except with both Hastings and King it wasn’t as if the low-lifes of the party such as myself had any kind of say in the matter. Still they are both examples of candidates sought, found, vetted, promoted and won.
So, heh, we know it’s do-able, given some gumption on the part of the party.
I’ll go one further….just an idea…throwiing it out there. Before my magnificent idea, let us begin with the concept that we throw out all the current Delaware GOP jokes, most of them Democrats at any rate. Begin with Sussex county as this is an area most like the Republican party should oughta be as these recent elections and upcoming ones will reveal. Kent county….we work on them. New Castle GOP? Paint a donkey on their building and call ‘em Democrats…end of problem.
I like Ron Sams but he has to go. Dave Burris was a great GOP leader, I thought, but he fizzled too fast, shame. He was young, vibrant, practical and sometimes a bit too eager to reach across the aisle. He wasn’t a member of the Sussex Taliban at any rate but that’s what we need in Sussex. I am often tempted to promote Frank Knotts for the job but, frankly….no pun intended, Frank might be a bit too right for many. But maybe not.
Point is let’s get somebody in there, in the PARTY hierarchy, that will renovate the Conservative base, “right” the direction of the party, in other words. It makes little sense to keep nominating self-funding candidates and keeping old geezers like Sams at the helm. Ron Sams is a very conservative man, I’ve talked to him for many an hour, but his actions NEVER see that through. Elect someone else for God’s sake. In fact, fill the party electorate with folks who are Conservative, find a place for Frank for God’s sake. I’ll take a job writing stuff if need be although some call me more Mark Twain than William F. Buckley. I know my politics though, especially from the perspective of the low life like I am.
Now HERE’s the way to get candidates….AFTER we throw out the old party relics….HAVE A DEBATE!
Didn’t WGMD do that a few years ago? Yes they did because I was scheduled to compete. Except my husband at the time was suffering from a brain infection and I had to take care of him.
In fact, isn’t there a WGMD host who was the winner of that debate, something he wouldn’t be had I been a contender?
Point being…play it up. Tell the party faithful, now all Tea-party hearty and desperate for a fresh wind…”Hey, debate scheduled on such and such a night, come and help pick your next state and national candidates”.
Let a Matt Opaliski, with no money in hand but a power to lead and a steady voice to guide, stand up and show the world what he or she has, what he or she thinks.
Have a debate for maybe amateurs like myself maybe, maybe a debate for the likes of Vance Phillips, Joe Booth….let us hear them and let us maybe vote who we would like to see nominated to run for Governor.
Point being….OPEN UP THE DOORS! Damn if I don’t see the 9-12 patriots filling the fire halls and the Tea Party protesting in the circle. The people are out there. The Delaware GOP could maybe draw on that crowd….don’t tell me they won’t come. Nobody’s buying that boohoo any more.
Get some new local leadership….get rid of that SCRWC bunch of ladies who lunch and get some REAL political action out there.
Let the people speak….cull a nominee from the debate winners, nominate him or her, then tell the party low lifes such as myself to get out and get your guy elected, run a fundraiser…hey, we gave you a choice.
If all else fails, have a pie-eating contest.
Get the party blue bloods outta there is what I’m saying and put a little Tea Party in your life.
Pat
Ruth Briggs King was chosen from a field of seven candidates from the 37th District. The RD and everyone that had a vote on who the final choice would be, were from the 37th. Mostly all of the committeepersons and the RD. The process was open to republicans in the 37th to compete for the candidacy. The person that stood out above the others and received a majority of the vote was Ruth Briggs King. The whole district supported her as a unit.
We won with the help of many good people outside the district. Even volunteers from New Castle County and Kent County Regions came and offered help. It was truly a Delaware victory and held off a Democratic Super Majority.
WJ,
Hey, I LIKED King and even manned the phones on her behalf. I did say that there was no input on her nomination from the little guys and by your narrative, I stand corrected.
Whatever the case, I see both King and Hastings as fine examples of getting a candidate elected when the heart, mind and fervor are there.
While I have your attention WJ (I admit I laff when Jason calls you “jammies”), what position will YOU fill in the new Sussex GOP once we throw the dinosaurs outta there?
My instinct is that you belong.
Pat, its time to cut bait or fish. Being an Anderson groupie hasn’t got you very far; neither being a supporter of Christine O’Denial. Have you taken a look at the American Spectator yet? No, I won’t link it because if your fat fingers can’t find the URL then you might as well stay a Tea Partier.
Thank You Pat
I never considered it much. I have some great ideas in the works for promoting the conservative republicans to take back our state and country. As you know my education was in English and journalism as well as history and politics.
People have been jumping on board as I develop these ideas. They take both time and money and I want to proceed correctly. If I see you at the GOP picnic, we’ll talk.
Mr. Cass,
I read the American Spectator all the time.
What’s your point?
Never mind….your little blurb tells me you’re likely not the sort with whom I’d like to converse all that much.
Have a good one!
“HAVE A DEBATE!
Didn’t WGMD do that a few years ago? Yes they did because I was scheduled to compete. Except my husband at the time was suffering from a brain infection and I had to take care of him.
In fact, isn’t there a WGMD host who was the winner of that debate, something he wouldn’t be had I been a contender?”
Duke Brooks didn’t even make the top 3, let alone WIN the debate.
Glen Urquhart’s SEXIST RADIO AD:
A radio ad currently running on WGMD downstate attacks Michele Rollins for her age and waning looks. Michele Rollins is a former beauty queen. She is an older woman now. In the Urquhart ad there is a character who represents Rollins. That character says, “I used to be a fox, but now I’m not…a fox.”
This is blatant sexism. The type of semi-veiled attack that would never be directed at a man. If this is the kind of campaign Glen Urquhart is going to run, I’d say he’s already lost.
‘Phil,’ try calling Colley on WGMD between 3-7pm, and show us all what a great debater you are. In other words, put your money where your mouth is- talk is cheap.
didnt say i was a debater, was just saying pat fish has her facts wrong, again.