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The Spectacle Blog
As this Ruling Class versus Country Class battle picks up speed, two interesting developments in the Castle-O’Donnell Delaware donnybrook, written about nearby.
Yesterday, the Country Class Sarah Palin went on the Country Class Sean Hannity Show to endorse the Country Class Christine O’ Donnell over the Ruling Class Mike Castle in the Delaware U.S. Senate primary.
And thus far, the Ruling Class Castle has refused to accept an invitation from the Country Class Mark Levin Show to discuss his Senate race.
Both moments are clues to the status of different players in the increasingly vehement rebellion that every poll in America is picking up.
The refusal to go on the Levin show is particularly telling on Castle’s part. If one is about getting elected to wield power for power’s sake, the absolute last place one would want to be is on a show dedicated to conservative principles — which is precisely what Levin is all about.
Castle’s fear of appearing with Levin recalls William F. Buckley’s famous response as to why a prominent liberal of the 1960s — then-Senator Robert F. Kennedy — had refused to appear on Buckley’s television show Firing Line to debate the issues of the day. Replied Buckley with that famous mischievous grin: “Why does baloney reject the grinder?”
Indeed.
View all comments (26) | Leave a comment
More Blog Posts by Jeffrey Lord
http://spectator.org/blog/2010/09/10/castle-refuses-levin-palin-on
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JASmius | 9.10.10 @ 11:27AM
Surely you've listened to Mark Levin's show, Jeff. God bless him, when he gets on a high dudgeon roll he's a fist-pumping machine, but he's not much of a conversationalist OR an interviewer. I'd suggest that Congressman Castle doesn't see anything to be gained from getting cut off, yelled at, and hung up on, with the usual Levin "You big dummy!" flourish.
Now if he gets the same invitation from Hannity and ducks it, THEN you'll have an argument.
Booger| 9.10.10 @ 11:39AM
Since Rush has already weighed in on this race (albeit without an endorsement), I would happily volunteer S L Toddard to give up severable unmentionable body parts for the opportunity to hear Rush interview both parties in this race.
rrebell| 9.10.10 @ 12:09PM
I rather have a democrat than a guy like arenspecter, castle the two Maine senators and some others. At least it would be more honest.
DRed| 9.10.10 @ 1:30PM
Wait, now fox news isn't part of the republican establishment? I'm confused. Is Roger Ailes not a member of the ruling class?
I wonder what old Willy F. would have thought of Sarah Palin?
Brooke| 9.10.10 @ 6:02PM
I think WFB would have treated Sarah Palin with respect, he was a gentleman after all.
Dan D| 9.10.10 @ 2:55PM
Oh for crying out loud, Mark Levin may believe things that you like and believe in, but he alienates at least as many allies with his rude and dogmatic behavior. You win elections by attracting others to your point of view, not by ranting and revving up the people who were going to vote your way in the first place. Mr Lord, you seem to be getting lost in your bubble world, and forget how to build a governing majority.
The Right can easily lose the 2010 election cycle, or at least seriously underperform to expectations. The ranters and splitters amongst us seem to be doing their best to blow a rare opportunity.
People who take Levin, Hannity, and similar people with great seriousness need to open their eyes and use their brains a little more rigorously.
Jeffrey Lord| 9.10.10 @ 3:56PM
Dan D....
Mark Levin is not running for office, Mike Castle is. Those who run for office and seek power have a responsibility to get out there and answer questions from all comers. Ronald Reagan was no fan of The New York Times...but he talked to them. Ditto The Washington Post and Walter Cronkite etc. To refuse this elementary task of democracy because you don't like the host or the paper is a sign of your mindset when it comes to wielding power. Whether you like it or not, talk radio has a considerable audience - and if you want to be a responsible public official, you have to respond just as before talk radio existed you spoke to opposition newspapers through their reporters and editorial boards. You don't have to like it. You do have a responsibility to do it.
DRed| 9.10.10 @ 5:02PM
Mr. Lord,
"Those who run for office and seek power have a responsibility to get out there and answer questions from all comers." I certainly agree with you, but does this apply to Sarah Palin and Sharon Angle? Or Rand Paul?
Patriot| 9.10.10 @ 6:03PM
Yes, of course, if the questions are asked in good faith and aren't a pretext for a political gotcha!
DRed| 9.10.10 @ 7:30PM
Asked about her media strategy, Angle replied, “We needed to have the press be our friend.” When Cameron noted that that “sounds naive,” Angle stated:
“Well, no. We wanted them to ask the questions we want to answer so that they report the news the way we want it to be reported.”
That's a woman unfit for office.
Nick| 9.10.10 @ 7:36PM
DRed,
You just described President Dither's whole operation!
Patriot| 9.10.10 @ 9:27PM
1/2 of the Democrat contingent now serving in Wash. DC is unfit for office! And I'm being charitable!!
Senator Al Frankenstein, the once coke-addled b- level comedian who cheated his way to the Senate? You're kidding me, right? You're going to have to do better than a single quote to convince me Angle's unfit for office.
DRed| 9.10.10 @ 11:18PM
I'm not a huge fan of Obama, but he's proven willing to face adversarial questioning. He's been on Fox several times, for example. Could you imagine Palin or Angle going on MSNBC? Angle has literally run away from reporters in the past.
Patriot| 9.10.10 @ 11:58PM
Man, someone's been drinking the leftie Kool-Aid!
Most of Obama's press coverage has been a combination of wet kisses and softballs. The Lame Stream Media is no longer the Republic's watchdog, it's Obama's lap dog.
Besides, Bret Baer and Bill O'Reilly would never savage Obama like the moron Keef Overbite would savage Palin.
I'd actually pay to see that. Sarah would beat the crap out of Keef in a heart beat.
MTed| 9.10.10 @ 5:45PM
Sorry, Jeffrey, candidates are not obligated to answer questions from "all comers". Would you say that a candidate should appear on Howard Stern or the Mancow show (if such a show asked them to appear)? Should a candidate appear on say, I don't know, a local white power cable access show (not sure if those are still around, but I remember one from my college days)?
Yes, Reagan talked to the Times/Post/Cronkite (who were undoubtedly hostile towards him) because they at least treated him with a modicum of respect and dignity, asked him fair questions and gave him the opportunity to respond to those questions. If you've ever listened to Mark Levin (who lets be clear is not a journalist, but an entertainer) you'd know that Mike Castle would not be treated with any respect. He'd be called names and likely hung up on (and called a "dummy" or some other such childish name).
Again, Mr. Levin is an entertainer, nothing more, nothing less. An entertainer whose business is more successful when conservatives are out of power. He has very little interest in seeing conservatives succeed at the ballot box this November, as it will mean he has less to rant and rave about (and I have no doubt his ratings increase when conservatives are out of power because it gives him more to rant and rave about).
Jeffrey, if you want to argue that Mike Castle should have debated Christine O'Donnell, you'd have more of a point, but stating that Castle has an obligation to appear on air with an entertainer (let me stress that again, an entertainer, not a journalist) who's spent the better part of the last week making him out to be the devil incarnate is just flat out ridiculous.
Jeffrey Lord| 9.10.10 @ 7:21PM
MTed...
With respect...obviously you know nothing about Mark Levin. This is a deeply serious, very well-read man. A lawyer who has been a chief of staff to the Attorney General of the United States among other high ranking legal positions in the government, the author of best selling books on the Supreme Court and the Constitution...No offense - seriously - to Mike Castle...But I really believe he's not prepared to do intellectual battle here.
With reason. Which says something.
Jeffrey Lord| 9.10.10 @ 7:25PM
PS...Not to mention he's the head of the Washington Landmark Legal Foundation....You're free to disagree, obviously. But your assumptions are based on an egregiously humorous misunderstanding of the facts about Levin.
MTed| 9.10.10 @ 7:38PM
I'm well aware of Levin's past, but I'm talking about his present. And he's lost all credibility in most serious people's eyes by becoming a buffoonish entertainer (hey, at least it pays better than a think tank...). As for Castle not prepared to do "serious intellectual battle", don't make me laugh. You're the man pushing Christine O'Donnell. Whenever she faces tough questions (not the softballs she gets from Levin, et al) she can't argue her way out of a paper bag.
Jeffrey Lord| 9.10.10 @ 7:50PM
MTed...
If you are somehow unaware that he uses entertainment as a vehicle to inform his audience about deeply serious issues than we are listening to two different shows. To do what he is doing...translate serious issues into an acceptable popular culture form is a skill that you seem not to understand.
Castle is indeed serious. He has repeatedly shown himself very serious about pushing a big government agenda. Or, as mentioned elsewhere, what Goldwater once called the "Dime Store New Deal." He has a serious record of doing this. He's now 71. New philosophy for the old dog? I think not.
And as an aside...the condescending descriptions of both Levin as a " buffonish entertainer" and that O'Donnell can't "argue her way out of a paper bag" illustrates with some considerable precision what appears to be just plain old arrogance. The favored and by now beyond tiresome card of the Ruling Class. And believe it or not, there's lots of folks out there who don't think that kind of stuff is very smart. Let alone a political sell.
Polemicist| 9.14.10 @ 9:46PM
Oh yay, another Jew lawyer from the priestly family in our government. He's so serious! with his book in the torah!
We don't need more laws, lawyers, or Pharisees. We need leaders and men of character.
DelMar| 9.10.10 @ 8:21PM
Give us a break Jeffery. The voters of Delaware are NOT going to reject their popular home gorwn congressman for an ethically challenged empty dress, on the say so of some pompous constipated radio personality.
Jeffrey Lord| 9.10.10 @ 9:11PM
DelMar....
"Ethically challenged"????...They voted for Joe Biden for years...Please. What you are saying is simple: you believe in big government, Castle believes in big government, she doesn't. It's OK to say it. I just don't agree with it.
SoCon| 9.10.10 @ 9:34PM
That's it in a nutshell, Jeffrey!
Big government v Small government--pretty much sums it up, everything else is just smoke and mirrors.
emo| 9.10.10 @ 3:05PM
I think O'Donnell winning the primary then losing the general by 20 points might be a good thing for the TEA party. TEA party is young, inexperienced and arrogant. I support their candidates where they can win, like NV and AK. Losing a humiliating race in DE would force the TEA party to become more pragmatic in blue states, like they were with Scott Brown.
Patriot| 9.10.10 @ 6:06PM
The Tea Party is young and inexperienced but hardly arrogant; I believe that sobriquet belongs to the entrenched politicians running for office.
Tom| 9.10.10 @ 8:04PM
Nothing pleases me more than to read a WFB quote I had not yet heard. Baloney rejecting the grinder...priceless!