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The Spectacle Blog
The Castle-O’Donnell Delaware Senate battle concludes tomorrow, perhaps not a moment too soon.
In a new poll by the folks at Public Policy Polling Conservative activist Christine O’Donnell is now leading liberal Republican Congressman Mike Castle 47-44, within the margin of error.
Conservatives are having a royal shoot’em up over this. The latest being a hit piece in the Weekly Standard by John McCormack smacking Christine O’Donnell over a lawsuit she filed against the conservative Intercollegiate Studies Institute.
Here’s my problem with this.
I’ve met Christine O’Donnell over the years a handful of times. Never met Mike Castle. I’m sure he’s a fine guy. I know zero about the lawsuit. Indeed a wonderful ex-colleague runs the ISI and it simply isn’t my place to opine on disagreements between political like-mindeds over a private situation of which I know not. As a teen-ager I once attempted to step into a dispute between two beloved uncles. I think I’m still dead.
But we’re not talking lawsuits here, we’re talking a seat in the United States Senate. A conservative vs. a liberal Republican. My encounters with Christine never once betrayed the kind of wild stuff that is being thrown at her politically now on almost an hourly basis. The Weekly Standard story takes the cake. Again, I don’t know Congressman Castle and I’m sure he’s one of God’s finest. If, however, I or any one else with a keyboard in hand — say, someone like John McCormack of the Weekly Standard — had spent serious time delving into Castle’s humdrum as a Ruling Class congressman (relationships with lobbyists, donors etc. etc. etc., yada yada yada) — one doesn’t have to be a wizbang to cook up a “scandal.”
If you sign on to the idea of the Leviathan, scandal cometh. Indeed, just yesterday the New York Times is suddenly scandalized that the expansion of the enormous statist apparatus they have favored has produced lobbyists with whom John Boehner dallies. Shocker. How hard would it be to scrape against the underside of Mike Castle’s barnacles — or those of any sitting legislator? Not very. Unless, apparently, you are John McCormack of the Weekly Standard.
I confess that this Castle-O’Donnell fight appears to me not just in the context of the two contenders but in the cumulative experience of the conservative movement to date. Maybe one has to be old enough to remember when Barry Goldwater was said to be unfit for the White House because he was mentally unstable, a genuine crazy whose supporters were “radical nuts” (in the words of NBC anchorman Chet Huntley).
This election in Delaware — like earlier primaries or conventions in Kentucky, Utah, Nevada, and Alaska — repeatedly gives the appearance of an attempt to substitute a Ruling Class/Establishment Party of Dewey and Rockefeller and McCain for the Party of Reagan.
Aside from this latest attack, Castle defenders cite Castle’s signing on to a legislative repeal of ObamaCare. On the surface, this is laudable. Castle did in fact vote against the bill in the first place. But the date plays a role here. Castle is listed by the House of Representatives itself as having signed on for this on…July 30. Which is to say, the law was signed in March. The openly voiced brief of Democrats was, in short, once the American people get used to it they’ll love it.
Where was Castle then? Out there demanding repeal the next day? Introducing his own version of total repeal? No. What did happen is that on May 9, Utah GOP Senator Robert Bennett abruptly lost his Senate re-nomination to a Utah version of Christine O’Donnell. On June 8, Nevada Republicans threw over two establishment frontrunners to nominate Tea Party backed Sharron Angle to oppose Harry Reid.
All of which is to say: Mike Castle, liberal Republican, cautious Republican, Ruling Class Republican, Establishment Republican, seems to have had his finger up in the air, detected an oncoming political tornado in the form of O’Donnell — and by July 30 was a co-sponsor of repealing ObamaCare.
Which, one suspects, is why he’s trailing by three points in the latest poll.
Regardless of the outcome, there’s much, much more to come in this battle between the Ruling and Country Classes.
Count on it.
View all comments (30) | Leave a comment
More Blog Posts by Jeffrey Lord
http://spectator.org/blog/2010/09/13/poll-odonnell-beating-castle
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Siegfried X| 9.13.10 @ 7:54AM
Very true. There is just one round in the eternal battle between the left and right wings of the Republican Party.
The only reason it surprises people is because over the past decade conservative Republicans stopped contesting the primaries, allowing the RINOs to totally control the party and make it a Democrat clone.
Ronald Reagan never made that mistake. He spent half his time battling liberal, "Rockefeller" Republicans. We need to win the primaries in order to go on to win the November election.
JP| 9.13.10 @ 8:14AM
The Weekly Standard ran a hit piece of O'Donnel this weekend. They actually called Castle a Moderate. I about spit my ale out when I read that.
Siegfried X| 9.13.10 @ 8:19AM
Weekly Standard is a neo-con publication, meaning War Democrats. They are RINOs on all issues except the military.
Or to be more accurate, military issues are everything to ne0-cons like Weekly Standard. If O'Donnell came out strongly in favor of war in the Middle East, then Weekly Standard would flip-flop and become her strongest supporter.
JP| 9.13.10 @ 8:24AM
I read the WS for only 2 columnists:
PJ O'Rourke and Irwin Stetzler. The other Beltway GOP Boosters no longer interest me.
Sheila| 9.13.10 @ 10:55AM
Well said.
J Kelley| 9.13.10 @ 9:46AM
Mike Castle voted for Cap and Trade. Enough said, he should be defeated. May as well have a real Democrat than a RINO. The RINO just makes the Republicans look weak. We should always go with the real Republican and let the chips fall where they may.
james wilson| 9.13.10 @ 10:53AM
It is far more important to not have Rinos in the Senate than have a Republican majority that will do the liberal's work for them.
An Army of 1000 men of clear purpose is far more effective than one enlarged with 500 weak men.
Tim*| 9.13.10 @ 12:04PM
The Club for Growth Rates Castle
Castle scores a horrendous 43% from CFG for 2009. Again, since his announced Senate bid he has been much more conservative than previous years. In 07 and 08 he earned a 35% and 26% respectively. In every year, Castle has had the most liberal voting record of any member of the 175+ Republican caucus. So in 2008, when Arlen Specter scored a 44%, Mike Castle scored a 26%! The CFG ratings give us more of an idea of how much of a statist the member is than the ACU.
Scott | 9.13.10 @ 12:07PM
Oh, yippee! The candidate who'll probably lose the general and help ensure the Democrats stay in charge is in the lead! Pop the champagne corks!
It occurs to me that Lord and the other purists don't think the Republicans have a chance at winning the Senate. All of what he's written and what the commenters have said seems predicated on the idea that the Democrats will stay in charge and that Castle will be one of the Snowe/Collins crowd who can be convinced to vote for the Democratic agenda, thus giving it a fig leaf of bipartisanship (not that anyone with a lick of sense thinks bipartisan means all the Democrats plus one Republican). The thought that he might be the 51st vote allowing the Republicans to set the agenda doesn't seem to be entering into the thinking; he's simply Mr. Fig Leaf (or Mr. Cloture).
If the Republicans don't have a chance at the majority, then, yes, not having Mr. Fig Leaf is probably a good thing. Problem is, and I'll be happy to say I'm wrong if I am, you're not going to get a majority without electing a potential fig leaf or two; there are some states where a die hard conservative just won't win.
JP| 9.13.10 @ 1:42PM
"..It occurs to me that Lord and the other purists don't think the Republicans have a chance at winning the Senate."
Purists? Would it be so much to ask that a Republican candidate not be a liberal? And pleeeeze, spare us the sanctimony. After the likes of Snarlin' Arlene (who joined the Dems), Jim Jeffords (ditto), Lowel Weicker (it took a Lieberman with an assist from Buckley to get him to retire), Heinz (whose wife married Kerry), Bob Packwood (sank the Bork nomination), Lincoln Chaffe et fils (both could have caucused with the Dems they voted so often with them), Chucky Hegel (he made McCain look Presidential), McCain (he made Obama look Presidential, Graham (he makes me look Presidential), Ben Gordon (who?), and the Maine Twins (will they ever retire?) can anyone ever defend GOP "moderates" (ie RINOS) again? The only reason the GOP national party even cares who runs the Senate is that individual politicians who want nothing more than to chair committees. That's it. Castle is usfeul to them in that end and that end only. And if Castle later sinks thier agenda, well who really care? The main thing is to get the prestige, the power, and the ego building title of Chairman of the such and such committee. That is the only thing that the GOP is concerned about. Do you really think, any of them even gives Obama and his ilk much thought? And conservative magazines such as the Weekly Standard want a return of the "Belway Insiders power structure". It is no fun runnning after scraps.
Texas Mom 2010| 9.13.10 @ 1:49PM
Hear, Hear! RINOS just give dems cover by making a vote 'bipartisan'. Let the dems pass the crap and tax without us rather than be a part of this. Hopefully the country will continue to awaken and cap and tax and Obamacare and drilling moratoriums will all go the way of the dinosaurs.
Scott | 9.13.10 @ 4:08PM
Just to remind you, all the RINO's voted against Obamacare. Even Castle. And if all the GOP is concerned about is controlling those committees, who gives a damn, because they succeed it means that Democrats won't be controlling them.
And you know what? It IS a lot to ask for a conservative Republican candidate in a state that by all indicators won't elect a conservative Republican.
Conservatives have always prided themselves as the ones who stay in the real world and don't engage in abstract flights of fancy. Well, in the real world you can't always get the best good; you sometimes have to settle for the least bad.
Michael | 9.13.10 @ 7:22PM
JP no one could have said it better, Cheers!!
Doctor Right| 9.14.10 @ 3:29PM
Yup.
That's right. YIPPEE!!!!!
You "moderate", RINO/CINO jack-offs are about to be taught a big and vakuable lesson:
We (real Conservatives) are the future of this country. We are leading the charge to get rid of Obama and the statists. You fools are not. You are impotent, feckless clowns who will do the Democrats bidding, and ignore the will of the American people.
And we've had enough of your crap.
Vote for Castle or a Democrat will win? TOUGH. Better a Democrat who we know is a socialist than a back-stabbing, liberal RINO/CINO.
You "moderates" need to make a BIG decision. Join us, or get the hell out of the way. You are either with us, or you are against us. We are dealing with tyranny; there's no "middle ground".
If you don't like the new way, then beat it. Bolt for the Democrats, or form a new Party. You can call it "The Grovel Party", if you like, because that's all you'll be doing for the next 100 years.
You idiots like to threaten us that you won't vote for Conservative or Tea Party candidates? The don't...Who cares?? Because we sure as hell aren't voting for you losers anymore.
You're all on notice: Your support with the Conservative base is OVER.
Sure, you may win a few races here and there (like the idiot McCain), but by and large, Conservatives WILL NOT support you.
Most of us don't want a 3rd Party, but we'd rather start from scratch, with REAL leaders that can build a real winning coalition than ever follow the ruling-class, GOP establishment again.
It's over, Johny RINO.
Tim*| 9.13.10 @ 12:31PM
Uh Oh !
RINO-CINO Apologist Scotty is very upset with us .
The Tea Party Rebellion Escalates .
We Tea Party Rebels Support Christine O'Donnell
Up The Rebellion !
Remember !
The Club for Growth Rates Castle .
Castle scores a horrendous 43% from CFG for 2009. Again, since his announced Senate bid he has been much more conservative than previous years. In 07 and 08 he earned a 35% and 26% respectively. In every year, Castle has had the most liberal voting record of any member of the 175+ Republican caucus. So in 2008, when Arlen Specter scored a 44%, Mike Castle scored a 26%! The CFG ratings give us more of an idea of how much of a statist the member is than the ACU.
Scott | 9.13.10 @ 2:25PM
How dare you call me RINO? I've been laboring in the conservative trenches for over 25 years. I wrote for the conservative newspaper on my campus for four years; a Soviet dissident actually quoted me during an appearance on campus. When a spokesman for the Contras appeared and the idiot lefties showed up, I managed to shut them up in mid chant when I stood right in front of them and shouted "Viva los Contras!" I've nearly been physically assaulted on at least two separate occasions. I'm pretty sure I lost out on a job at one college because I had the nerve to politely disagree rather than just nod at the bs lefty inanities the professor I was talking to was spouting.
I have sacrificed time, treasure, and very nearly blood for the conservative cause, and I will not be called a RINO by some pissant nancy-boy who recoils in horror at the thought of getting his pretty white hands dirty by associating with someone who didn't get a gold star from the Club for Growth and suffers from such an idiotic, anti-conservative adherence to ideology that he can't tell the difference between Mitch McConnell and Harry Reid (or, God help us, Chuck Schumer).
Well, let me ask you, what's Coons's rating from the Club for Growth? Because, chances are, if O'Donnell wins the primary, he'll be the one doing the voting in the Senate. You people keep forgetting that the real issue in this race isn't the choice between Castle's agenda and nothing (I'd choose nothing if it were); it's between the agenda of whoever the Republican is and Coons's.
It'd be wonderful to say the glass was full, but even a half (or even 26%) full glass of water is better than a full glass of hemlock with a strychnyne chaser, and the sooner you purists take off your ideological blinders and realize that the better this country will be.
Tim*| 9.13.10 @ 2:41PM
Uh Oh ! Now Tim Really Got Scotty Upset .
Hey Scotty , Wanna try to Beat Me Up ?
Come over to My Gym and Get Me Cupcake .
Uh Oh , More News Comin' In :
The liberal Americans for Democratic Action last year rated Castle the most liberal Republican in the House, voting the group's views 55 percent of the time.
Aaaaaand , this is why Jim DeMint , Sarah palin , The NRA and We ,Tea Party Rebels Support Christine O'Donnell .
Tim*| 9.13.10 @ 2:51PM
Now Scotty , if ya knew really know so much about politics you'd know Coons has never held a seat in The House or The Senate and The Club For Growth doesn't rate County Executives.
Do your Homework .
Scott| 9.13.10 @ 3:42PM
Timmy, or should I say Nancy,
I'm sorry that you're so obsessed with Castle's liberal cooties that you don't even want to bother to find out about Coons. But I fear that you and the Club for Growth will have plenty of time to rate Coons, and I suspect his numbers will be lower than Castle's.
You remind me of a pacifist I once met who declared that he wouldn't have fought the Nazis during WWII because it would have been a betrayal of his beliefs. He would have been perfectly okay with God knows how many people dying and the whole world going to Hell because at least he would be unstained. Dead, most likely, but unstained.
Well, I don't know what religion you are, but in mine, the Levite who stayed pure isn't the hero of the story, it's the Samaritan willing to get his hands dirty.
Tim*| 9.13.10 @ 3:57PM
Asked and Answered Twerp .
You remind me of Vichy France's Henri Petain .
In my Religion , The Reverend Georgie says " Lead , Follow or Get The Hell Outta The Way ".
Scott| 9.13.10 @ 4:16PM
So I'm Petain. Which would make the Snowes, Collinses, Castles, etc., the Nazis.
Okay, Nancy, er, Timmy, what does that make the Democrats? The Nazis' duplicates from an evil parallel universe where they all wear goatees?
But I will say this: you have almost convinced me to change my opinion. After reading your posts, I am definitely reconsidering my opposition to birth control for the purposes of eugenics.
Tim*| 9.13.10 @ 10:36PM
You seem so confused Scooter Twerp .
Scott | 9.13.10 @ 10:48PM
And little Timmy, kids, is proof of why you shouldn't smoke crack and comment.
Doctor Right| 9.14.10 @ 3:31PM
RINO.
Sandy Bittman| 9.13.10 @ 12:46PM
If Christine wins this primary, and there is a good chance she will. What will the Republican Party say if the Democrats win the state in November. If they want someone to blame, they can just look in the mirror. The party is supposed to stay out of things until after the primary. Instead, the party is now on record opposing the person who may very well become their candidate.
Wake up Republican Party. The party is going to be pushed back to the conservative right whether their leaders like it or not!
Sanji Himura | 9.13.10 @ 2:33PM
That is kind of a hypocritical statement in the sense that you are assuming that the "Established Republicans" will even support O'Donnell in the general election. The state GOP has made it abundantly clear that they won't support her if she wins the primary.
It is like Rush said an hour ago, they[Delaware GOP] are using the "Nuts and Sluts" tactic to paint her as a fringe candidate.
Purple Lips| 9.13.10 @ 3:13PM
And if O'Donnel loses, so what? What will the GOP have lost? And overtime, what RINO remans an economic conservative (hear the crickets chirping)? If it comes between shrinking the power of the federal government, RINOs always side with the federal government.
Scott | 9.13.10 @ 3:57PM
What will the GOP have lost? How about the chance to seriously cut back, if not out and out repeal, Obamacare? Just to remind you, all those RINO's you want to lump Castle in with (Collins, Snowe, etc.) voted AGAINST Obamacare. Hell, CASTLE voted against it in the House.
How about the chance to keep Obama from appointing more judges like Sotomayor and Kagan? How about... oh, why do I bother? You people are so dense you could hire yourselves out as nuclear reactor shielding.
If you haven't figure out that the contest isn't about the RINO agenda versus the conservative agenda, but the Democratic agenda versus whatever the Republicans would do (which would almost assuredly be better than the Democrats), you never will.
Doctor Right| 9.14.10 @ 3:38PM
Scotty,
As a RINO fool, you obviously don't understand that Castle will NEVER vote to block any liberal judge appointed by Obama.
Castle will vote for Cap-n-Trade. he will vote for amnesty for illegal aliens. In short, he will support the Democrats agenda utterly and completely.
How do we know this??? Because that's what he's ALWAYS DONE, you self-righteous blockhead!!
This contest is NOT "RINO vs. Conservative". It is "Conservative vs. Fools".
Some fools are liberal statists; others are RINO republicans. Regardless, they all suck. And they need to go.
Tim*| 9.13.10 @ 4:03PM
There it is " The Lesser Evil " Crap We got from Apologists for Arlen Specter .
Delawarian Republicans get to take this CINO-RINO Castle Down Tomorrow September 14th .
The Tea Party Rebellion Escalates .
Rise Up !