WOW
Nov 5th, 2008 by David Anderson
It was a good year to be a Democrat in Delaware and many places throughout the nation. Democrats should be congratulated. They now have the burden of leadership. We will watch them closely at this site for the next 4 years. Welcome to the loyal opposition.
I actually feel pretty good about the message electing President Obama communicates. After 250 years of slavery and 100 years of segregation, we are finally full partners in the total American experience. At one point only 3/5′s of us were worth counting. We were referred in the Constitution as “others”. I have to stop and Thank the Good Lord that we live in country like the United States of America. We refuse to be be stuck in the past and move forward to reinvent ourselves as we see appropriate.
Where does the GOP go from here? There is reason for optimism. Job one should be to pick up 6 house seats. My friend and endorser Tom Wagner needs to protected at any cost. Every Republican who has ever given to any campaign needs to give to his and build up a war chest by the end of 2009. I think we should get Congressman Castle to end his career in the U. S. Senate if the polls show it possible vs. the stand in for Biden. Wagner would be a great congressman who could make entitlement reform real to a lot of people. Though he would be great to keep as Auditor and run for Governor eventually depending upon his preference. The deficit will be around and looking worse. I would love to see John Clatworthy run again maybe for a house seat if there is one open. There will not be a blue tide like this in 2010. Christine O’Donnell was quite impressive. People warmed to her and she exceeded the Jane Brady threshold. Christine run for state house, please. If you are not in a district with a Democrat, move. You are single so why not?
Those are all tactical suggestions. Naturally what is really needed is a new strategy. What the Delaware GOP does isn’t working any longer. Stay tuned for thoughts of a strategic nature in future posts. Now that the GOP is free from the burden of past leadership, it can participate in a long overdue reform of itself.
I don’t know where to begin as my mind burgeons with the impact of it all.
I will say this…..Barack Obama won the election fair and square. Oh sure there were reports of voter fraud but don’t kid yourself, the people spoke and I, for one, will respect the will of the people.
The Republicans? Heh. Folks, even on this forum, proudly post how they are a RINO, which is to effectively admit to being a fake. Well we saw how well the RINOS (or, more accurately-CINOS) did last night, God Bless ‘em all.
Here’s a clue to the pubs….who will soon be going down in flames red hot and stinging….find a candidate who is not:
-Bob Dole
-A Bush of any Kind
-John McCain….may he rest in political peace cause he had his MAVERICK chance
There hasn’t been a pubbie with any charisma or public speaking ability since….well I don’t remember when. Barack Obama has charisma, personality and a likeableness that is undeniable. Who knows, he may even be a decent President. I will stand aside and let them lead the way.
As for the Delaware CINOs….heh. How about we throw Bill Lee under the bus….stick a fork in him, he’s done? Christine O’Donnell wants to be a Fox news pundit so that’s that. The Delaware CINOS through her under the bus four years ago for the fabulous RINO Jan Ting. Who attended Barack Obama rallies…heh.
As for John Atkins….oncit upon a time a few pubs in Sussex county actually had a passion and a cause. We let the Dems have it all.
Don’t even talk to me about Republicans. They are Democrats Light.
Honestly David I am more interested in what individual citizens can do durring the next 2 years to ensure that they are still represented in Delaware. For Republicans it is obvious that there is no longer an audible elected voice for them in the state or county government. What do conservative citizens need to do to keep their point of view from being ignored in Delaware?
I will do what I always have done– Work both sides of the aisle with integrity presenting our case. Issues matter. We need to educate our new leaders to our perspective. We can have a seat at the table. It is not like the Kent County delegation has shifted that greatly ideologically. Kent County is really a key to the statewide balance of power in the new GA. You should do the same where you live. In fact we need to build Stoptaxing and Delaware Taxpayer Coalition to be the taxpayer watchdogs.
Brad is my friend. Brian is my friend. Trey’s family and I are friendly. I will be in regular contact with Mr. Scott who is a good person. Mr. Carson seems open to developing a continuing dialog. Rep. Blakey and Senator Bonini are going to be the new leaders of the Republican Renaissance.
Some of these races were too close for us to be ignored. They know they won because of a Blue Tide and could be swept out just as easily.
We will just have to be more active and watch the legislature more closely than ever.
What do conservative citizens need to do to keep their point of view from being ignored in Delaware?
We need to package and explain our ideology in terms that everyone can understand. We need to appreciate a variety of different conservative points of view rather than expect everyone to drink the Kool Aid. We need to start hitting a lot of singles rather than swinging for the fences, cause right now we’re not even in the ballpark. We need to let a new generation of leaders emerge because the old guard just doesn’t get it.
Markell like Obama comes from the left, but both are smart enough to govern pragmatically from the center. Unlike Bush who tried to govern ideologically from the right, and led his party off the cliff.
But we still need conservatives in Delaware, if only to keep the Dem majority close to the center. Dems will get pounded by demands from special interests, and a counter-balance from sincere fiscal conservatives would be very useful and necessary.
Movement conservatives dream of a limited government, free markets, and self-reliance. Funny thing is, the dreamed-of system only works if it is fully implemented without compromises, and they never seem to get there. It is a utopia.
Conservatives will have to get used to small victories or partial victories on single issues.
Since neither Markell or Obama has ever governed it remains to be seen if they are smart enough to do so from the center, or smart enough to get away with doing something else.
I will hope that you are correct while being prepared in case you are wrong.
You must be joking. President Bush governed from the ideological right. I wish he had. No Child Left Behind, the Patriot Act, the poorly designed immigration reform which made everyone upset, campaign finance which had unnecessary restriction on speech, huge spending increases, buying banks, abandoning tax reform, no entitlement reform proposals, and a huge spread democracy around the world agenda do not sound like governing from the ideological right.
At least with Jack Markell we should have an economic development office that works. That is one part of his agenda which I have to say is sound. It should be the foundation to any agenda. Otherwise he will never have money for the rest.
That is always the excuse when conservatism inevitably fails: “They didn’t do it right.” It is an excuse that is always available, because small government conservatism is a theoretical construct that cannot be implemented in our broad democracy.
The problem with small government conservatism is it has no electoral constituency. It is a permanent electoral minority. In order to get elected, conservatives have to sell out their principles to someone, whether it’s the religious right, Wall Street, the military, some other group, or all of the above.