1 So, the NYT (I'm told this used to be a newspaper) reports the demos cutting bait on any race they feel is lost.

The question becomes, what do the R's do with this info? 

And, the MFM is starting the narrative that anything but a complete R tsunami will actually be a win for the demos and B to the O, because midterms are always tough on the party in power. 

2 Guess what - "attention" doesn't win elections.

3 Every race will essentially be decided by getting out the vote.  Plenty of people are worried about the future or politically aware enough to be righteously pissed off but if we don't get them to the polls we miss the best opportunity in our lifetimes.  Call people, talk to everyone, offer rides, have voting parties with dinner and drinks to follow.  Make it a participation sport followed by a spectator sport watching Chrissie and Obie weep as we have beverages.   

4 Ace is a good cheerleader.

5 How Come The WV Race Isn't Getting More Attention?

For starters, WV is further away from the epicenter of American Politics: Scranton

6 The quote explains the reason:  the dude doesn't need money.

And the primary goal is to elect the Congress most likely to repeal Obamacare (and similar abominations) before it's too late.

Reasonable people may differ on the optimal method for this.

7
Well, it's better to have a correction year (punishment/message) in 2010 rather than in 2012.

Truth is we shoulda punished the Republican establishment in 2006 at the height of their asshole-itude...including Bush & Cheney.

That said, it'd be sweet to have a (R) in WV and DE and control of the Senate.

8

Raese should wear a hood to his next presser.  Apparently, that's the way to get elected in WV.  Just sayin'.

9

For starters, WV is further away from the epicenter of American Politics: Scranton

Agreed!

10 Question of the Day: in order to appease the O'Donnell shahid cultists, should Palin make a stop for Murphy in nearby Maryland just to do a handholding event? The young lad is earnest and doesn't have a history of Seeing Dead People following him. Survey says: Yes! It might piss off Erlich, but then again, Erlich needs a bit of starch put in him.

11 Besides, Murph the Surf is having trouble raising cash because the O'Donnell race is sucking up all the True Believer cash.

12 People are assuming it's safe for Democrats because Byrd held it easily for so long.  And people are putting too much stock in Manchin's favorability ratings.  WV is actually conservative, and Manchin is the only Democrat that even has a chance of holding the seat.  Raese could win this one.

13 So, the NYT (I'm told this used to be a newspaper) reports the demos cutting bait on any race they feel is lost.

The question becomes, what do the R's do with this info?

When your enemy's in retreat, you advance.

14 don't listen to him; he's just my retarded younger brother...

15 Truth is we shoulda punished the Republican establishment in 2006 at the height of their asshole-itude...including Bush & Cheney.

I thought they is why the Democrats took control of Congress in 2006, punishing Republicans.

16 2 So, the NYT (I'm told this used to be a newspaper) reports the demos cutting bait on any race they feel is lost.

Wait until they find out that their suicidal vote for Obamacare amounted to naught.  If we ever get the list of names for those races, it'll be interesting to correlate them to the Obamacare vote.

No honor among thieves.

17

15 don't listen to him; he's just my retarded younger brother...

 

TIMMY!

18 The Left still can't bring itself to understand how unpopular National Socialist health care was. They just can't do it.

19 For starters, WV is further away from the epicenter of American Politics: Scranton

Imagine the atom splitting power if Michael Scott and Joe Biden were in a room together.

20 This is a special election for Byrd's seat,,The Senator would be seated DURING THE LAME DUCK SESSION and could stop the Pelosi/Reid/Obama push for cap  and trade, card check, funding Obamacare ,Bush tax cuts, and more spending. The Dem Gov. running, Manchin has said he  wants to stay governor through Xmas and throw parties as governor but be seated before the new congress to gain seniority over other new senators.(yes, he is a politician through and through and of course he would avoid those lame duck votes too.)  SO, YES,  this WV senate election should be getting a lot more attention. The dem Gov. Manchin is for card check, for Obamacare, for the  stimulus.  AND coal can be a big issue. Just this week Gov. Manchin said he DOES believe climate change is happening. Although he has been a strong supporter of coal, THAT climate change comment could be used to make miners concerned that once he gets to DC, he won't support coal wholeheartedly. (over 1000 mining jobs are lost this year already thanks to Obama's EPA).WV voted for Bush twice and for McCain. This seat can be won by the GOP.

21 "Among my general concerns about some conservatives is that they seem to be placing too high a priority on the punishment-of-RINOs aspect of politics, rather than the get-good-people-into-office aspect." Even more concerning is the punishing of RINOs without regard to the make up of Congress. Let the Dems win! That'll teach that rat bastard Castle. The one way conservatives can get a governing majority is to continue to corrode the dwindling influence of the dinosaur media. If the bubble in which RINOs dwell can shrink, and constitutional light be allowed to penetrate, then it might dawn on them that the cool kids are not, after all, Paul Krugman, MoDo and Frannie Rich. Cordially...

22 hey, i thought the castle people were going to pay us ot to troll over the weekend WTF?!?

23 The Left still can't bring itself to understand how unpopular National Socialist health care was.

It's unpopular because we're all too stupid to understand how awesome it is...

24 at least gerry is an honest concern troll/asshole...

25 Will West Virginians  show up to vote for someone who is not a sheet wearer?

26
For starters, WV is further away from the epicenter of American Politics: Scranton

Posted by: BumperStickerist at September 05, 2010 01:40 PM (Hj0nA)

Sounds like a WILK listener

27 Say what you want about West Virginia.....  It's probably all true.

28 Imagine the atom splitting power if Michael Scott and Joe Biden were in a room together.

Posted by: DSkinner at September 05, 2010 01:57 PM (rnINQ)

--Come to think of it, no one has ever seen them in a room together.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm

29 Since the topic rather invites it, can any moron here give a concise and compelling case for O'Donnell beyond the stipulated fact that she isn't Mke Castle? I posed that question yesterday to the X-iners at Dan Riehls, to stone silence. Of course, a fair reply here might get lost among 300 comments, and that is not a problem at Riehlworldview. Cordially...

30 The idea that conservatives only want to punish RINOs is simplistic and wrong.  The TeaParty types provided a lot of support, very much, overwhelming support for Scott Brown knowing that he would not be a Jim Demint.  But money rolled in, phones banks were manned, all to get the best person possible in that position.  Tell me that's not true.  But the fact is, the GOP has done everything in their power to keep "moderates" in power: Scozzafava, Specter, Crist, Murkowski, Bennett.  The national GOP manned the phones for Murkowski. That kind of stabbing in the back.  So tell me why conservatives should punish the national party?  Given the chance, in the coming elections, they will get Crists, Murkowskis, Specters, and Scozzafavas elected.

31 A RINO ate my baby!

32

(yes, Raese was endorsed by the Gipper when he ran for the Senate in 1984).

How old is this guy?

Looks like WV has a damn thin bench. 

He can certainly win though.  Is Manchin's ethics violations still floating around?

33

3 Guess what - "attention" doesn't win elections.

No, election fraud does.

34

32 Since the topic rather invites it, can any moron here give a concise and compelling case for O'Donnell beyond the stipulated fact that she isn't Mke Castle?

She's hot?

35 Is the fact that WV is getting less attention from the media mean no one cares or is working to win there? No and Raese will get plenty of support.  The WV race has not even begun really. Has either candidate started advertising much?

The DE race on the other hand is coming to a head.  Caompared to Castle Manchin is a moderate. I have no doubt Manchin would support the 2nd amendment and block Cap and Trade. Castle will not. It's not about punishing RINOs, because Castle isn't one.

As too viability I am not sold on Castle's. He's an incumbent running in an anti-incumbent year. He's a Liberal bucking a conservative wave. His poll numbers against Coons have been dropping steadily over time and he is now below 50%. Plus Coons will be able to run to the right of Castle in the general election and do it successfully Castle is all name recognition and cash and in an ordinary year it would be enough to get him home but not this year.
Mike Castle is a Liberal who is 70 with 2 strokes. It's time for him to retire and any conservative should be proud to help him do it..

36

constitutional light be allowed to penetrate,

 

is that one of those curly-cue ones?

37 32 Since the topic rather invites it, can any moron here give a concise and compelling case for O'Donnell beyond the stipulated fact that she isn't Mke Castle?


She's a conservative?

38 I thought you guys had been calling him "Manchin" over the past couple of months because he had a big face or a Hapsburg jaw or something, so I Googled his image to see what he looked like and discover that his name really is Manchin. ROTFLAMAO.

39 Woo-hoo! VW race! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formula_Vee

Wait. What?

40

Seems a lot of Republicians are still willing to settle for the close enough is good enough goal, as long as there is a R behind the name that's victory enough, besides, you can't be a conservative and win in NJ or name your blue state.

come on folks, this isn't an ordinary midterm election where a Snowe or Collins is good enough.  if we don't take back control there won't be an America.  when you are fighting for your life would you rather have Chris Christie in your foxhole or Lindsay Graham.

 

 

 

41 Since the topic rather invites it, can any moron here give a concise and compelling case for O'Donnell beyond the stipulated fact that she isn't Mke Castle?

She's hot?

Further, she's desperate for money, has low self esteem, and is questionable on the quality of her attachments to reality.

In short, she is a lay waiting to happen.

42 She's hot?
That's what Hillary said!

43 >>>The quote explains the reason: the dude doesn't need money He needs people. People are what win elections. Knocking on doors, manning phone banks. carpooling voters who can't get to polls.

44 >>>The idea that conservatives only want to punish RINOs is simplistic and wrong. The TeaParty types provided a lot of support, very much, overwhelming support for Scott Brown knowing that he would not be a Jim Demint. Just noting: I didn't say "only," I didn't say conservatives or tea partiers generally. I said *some* continue making RINO-punishing the first priority (or an equal priority with the more important one of taking back the battlefield, state by district).

45 rick, download mark levin's podcasts from this previous week....

46

Among my general concerns about some conservatives is that they seem to be placing too high a priority on the punishment-of-RINOs aspect of politics, rather than the get-good-people-into-office aspect.

Calling Castle a RINO is generous.  He voted for Cap and Trade.  He sponsored the Disclose Act that severely limited corporations' ability to advertise before elections, but placed no such limits on unions.  He has said that he is a NO vote on appealing ObamaCare.  Castle will be about as controllable as Jeffords of VT and Chafee of RI were.  And what message does this send to the other RINOs, and what incentives do they have for playing ball with conservatives in the future?  You reward them for screwing us on their House votes?

It is interesting that several blogs came out for Castle (or withdrew support from O'Donnell) just when she was surging last week.  Particularly, all these blogs supported Miller in Alaska.  As best I can tell, they are saying the following:

AceÂ’s bloggers--she says stupid things and we need a win for an R to take the Senate.

HotAir--she has had financial problems in the past.

RedState--she was linked to a website that attacked Castle for possibly being gay and not fast enough to denounce, which proves she is an amateur.  She subsequently denounced the website.  No mention at RedState of the denouncement.

None of these accusations seem to derail a democrat.

What bothers me is the herd mentality by the blogs of various rationales for denying support to O'Donnell, sorta like throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks.

So why is it?  I put out maybe one or more of the blogs received some financial incentive to abandon O'Donnell, and the rest followed.  I have no proof, but incentivizing opinion makers to be in your corner is nothing new.  And maybe it is nothing financial.  Maybe the blogs after bucking the establishment on Alaska and Utah, want a place at the table once the Republicans take the Senate.  Shilling for Castle may be that ticket.  Again, I don't know.  It just seems puzzling in light of the recent backing of Miller and Lee.

Absent any proof, I will concede it is just a difference of opinion.  We should abandon O'Donnell because she is a bad candidate and we want to take the Senate.  However, Castle has betrayed us on critical votes already.  We know that he will screw us.  O'Donnell will vote for Obamacare repeal, opposes the stimulus package and hence will vote for lower spending, and a market based approach to energy.  She is the conservative in the race.

I would rather take this message to voters of DE and educate them about conservativism instead of abandoning these principles to support Castle.  A Castle win would be a Pyrrhic victory.  For those who will take a win at any price, I must ask:  havenÂ’t we done this dance before? 

Some got upset with the term “abused prison wife” describing those who believe it is undesirable to argue for a conservative in a blue region because “we canÂ’t win”.  Maybe I should have been blunter.  It makes you sound like a loser, with a capital “L”.

 

47 the primary goal of electing the most conservative viable candidate.

“Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.”

Mike castle is in no way shape or form conservative. It is basically impossible to suggest he is. He is the most Liberal Republican in the House.

If  the criteria is conservative AND viable then it is impossible to vote for Mike Castle. Mike Castle may be more moderate on some issues, not many, than Coons but he is conservative on none.

O'Donnell's election is certainly improbable. Although it is much less so thanks to the exposure and sympathy she is gaining due to this ridiculous overreaction and cowardice in not debating her from the Castle camp.  But no one doubts she is conservative.

Conservative AND viable. If we eliminate the impossible, Castle, the improbable, O'Donnell, must be the answer.

There is no reason for a conservative to vote for Mike Castle in the DE primary. Doing so will not result in any gain for conservatives.

48 Why no attention on WV?  Because to quite a few pundits, such as Dan Riehl, this November is not about winning control...it's about Purification.

Since that is so clearly a naive and disastrous strategy it attracts those whose view of the upcoming election is more rational.  So the RINO Eliminationists suck all the oxygen out of the room because of their campaign for Party Purity.

49 "He needs people. People are what win elections. Knocking on doors, manning phone banks. carpooling voters who can't get to polls."

In West Virginia, sure.  But most of your readers don't live near there.

There's a contested race local to most people, as that site I sent you shows.  There's even one in NYC!  (Staten Island.)

50 "Why no attention on WV?  Because to quite a few pundits, such as Dan Riehl, this November is not about winning control...it's about Purification."

Are you a fucking retard?

It's not November yet.  And damn straight primary season is about purification.

51

Posted by: Scoob at September 05, 2010 02:41 PM (T7+JL)

  So your main point seems to be "All you bloggers are whores for the Castle campaign; but I'm not suggesting that you're whores".

  At least erg and his ilk come right out and say the words.  Douchebags like you just "make suggestions".  What's next?  You going to "just ask questions" about why all the Jews in the Twin Towers stayed home from work on 9/11?

52 Are you a fucking retard?

I'm rubber, you're glue, what you say bounces off me and sticks to you.

BTW: Riehl said as much in his response to Jacobson.  That November doesn't matter as long as the RINOs are gone.  They flat don't give a shit about what happens in November.  Even going so far as to say that if the R's don't take control of the Congress it will mean a bigger victory in 2012 as the country burns down around us.


Don't the facts stand in your way, though.

53 John Fund in yesterday's WSJ:

Ms. O'Donnell has even managed to alienate many conservative media outlets. Several national bloggers who backed Mr. Miller have declined to back her and instead endorsed Mr. Castle, who at least supports extending the Bush tax cuts and opposed ObamaCare. Delaware talk-show host Dan Gaffney, a conservative who has endorsed Ms. O'Donnell in the past, conducted a heated interview yesterday in which he confronted her with some of her past misstatements. After the candidate suggested the talk-show host was being "paid off" by the Castle camp, the host shut off her microphone.

The job of a candidate is to remain cool under pressure, no matter how they are provoked. Ms. O'Donnell doesn't clear that bar. Mike Castle is a moderate Republican facing a conservative primary electorate in an angry political climate. But from the evidence I've seen to date, Christine O'Donnell is no Joe Miller.

54 Haven't we beat the Castle/O'Donnell primary to death yet? Minds are made up there. No real conservative will ever support a Republican who has had an ACU rating that bounces between 50 and 20 year after year. He would have to move far to the right to make it to RINO territory.

55

The job of a candidate is to remain cool under pressure, no matter how they are provoked. Ms. O'Donnell doesn't clear that bar. Mike Castle is a moderate Republican facing a conservative primary electorate in an angry political climate. But from the evidence I've seen to date, Christine O'Donnell is no Joe Miller.

Posted by: Quilly Mammoth at September 05, 2010 03:05 PM (1sgAS)

--I really wish during the primary people (*COUGH* "journalists" *COUGH*) would ask Castle to clarify what he would do during the Lame Duck season, get him pinned down on a position instead of getting to play the moderate.

56

  Posted by: Vic at September 05, 2010 03:05 PM (/jbAw)

 

And I would submit to you that no REAL conservative would pin his hopes on a woman who's about one bad interview away from smearing her own feces on the camera lens while sobbing uncontrollably.

57  @43 if we don't take back control there won't be an America.  when you are fighting for your life would you rather have Chris Christie in your foxhole or Lindsay Graham.

I'm tired of this argument, but I'll give it one more shot.  You answered your own question.  We want to take back control, defined as majority status in the Congress, because that is the only way to stop the leftward lurch.  We may get a single person we don't like, who votes the wrong way on some votes (or all votes), but that is an acceptable price to pay if it means he caucuses with the GOP and we can prevent the Obama agenda.  Even if Castle would vote for C&T, he won't get the chance because the majority party won't bring such a bill up for a vote. 

Enough with the false choices too.  Of course we would rather have Christie.  We wouldn't be here if we didn't.  If we choose to support Castle, it isn't that we want him, it's because we don't think his opponent can win.  Period.

58 O'Donnell is obliged to be more than just a Conservative to get my support. She must be mostly sane and in control of herself. Is she so? If not, take Castle, get the R, use that R as best you can. We can't get everything we want all at once.

59 "Even if Castle would vote for C&T, he won't get the chance because the majority party won't bring such a bill up for a vote."

Wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong!

He will be a Senator for the lame duck session.

Again, it's telling that he's using blogs to throw his dirt for him and refuses even to engage with conservatives.

60

And I would submit to you that no REAL conservative would pin his hopes on a woman who's about one bad interview away from smearing her own feces on the camera lens while sobbing uncontrollably.

Posted by: Russ from Winterset at September 05, 2010 03:10 PM (/MEFr)

Wow. You've got a future at the Huffington Post I'd say. Okay I accept you premise. What you are saying then there is no hope for a conservative in this race. Fine, Send your cash and volunteer from the Raese campaign. It's close enough and it's not like there is any point in being in DE on election day. You already know a liberal is going to get elected.

61 hmmm.  one's a general election and one's a primary.....everthing has a time...

62 russ, don't go full retard just yet; i'll tell you when..

63
We can't get everything we want all at once.

Which seems to be the problem.  It's taken 60 years for the Democrats to get to the point where they have a real chance of turning us into a Socialist Republic.  It won't be fixed over night. 

But over the last decade it's seemed that there is a lack of long term vision in the conservative movement. Too often it appears that unless the conservatives get what they want all right now they go off wailing and moaning.  The result is that the leadership of the Republicans goes to moderates, because moderate pundits and players stick around.  Remember when guys like Bill Quick and others urged people not to vote in 2004 because of the moderate leadership of Frist and Bush?

That worked out well.

64 I'll say this one more time in the hopes that you will finally get it:

Mike castle is in no way shape or form conservative. It is basically impossible to suggest he is. He is the most Liberal Republican in the House.

If  the criteria is conservative AND viable then it is impossible to vote for Mike Castle. Mike Castle may be more moderate on some issues, not many, than Coons but he is conservative on none.

And yet, he is still the most conservative electable possible candidate in Delaware.  I'm sorry that DE is one of the most geriatrically liberal states in the Union, but it is.  O'Donnell can never win.  Even if she WASN'T scandal-ridden, she would STILL be too conservative to win.  But with all the awful, scumbag stuff she's done piled on top of that?  She'd be lucky to pull 30% of the vote.  (She got a whopping 35% last time.)

The "always back the most conservative electable candidate" does not cease to apply when the most conservative electable candidate isn't conservative enough for you.

You don't seem to get it.  This rule ALWAYS applies.  That's why we all supported Fightin' Joe Lieberman back in 2006 after he got primaried.  Hell, Chris Shays actually went out campaigning with him. (Not coincidentally, Shays was the only CT Republican to hold on through the 2006 wave.  2008 was a bridge too far, however.)  Why?  Because he was the most conservative electable candidate in the race, and effective "our" guy.  Sure there was a True Conservative running with the GOP nomination, but nobody supported him.

And Lieberman went on, as expected, to caucus with the Democrats.  He even voted for ObamaCare (though not without doing us a massive service by running interference long enough to both strip out the public option and bring the public's anger and impatience to a boil).    But does anyone think for a moment that it wasn't worth it.

Castle would be significantly more conservative than Lieberman, AND caucus with us, AND cast a vote for a GOP Senate Majority Leader, AND help us take control of the committees.  Our other option is NOTHING.  All important votes cast by a DE liberal Democrat.  And you would reject this?

You're too dumb to vote, in that case.  Or at least too dumb to fight in a movement to retake and save our country.   

65 Do you ideologically pure commissars realize that Castle is a political animal? He went to the left when he thought the country went to the left. He will go to the right if his constituency moves to the right. He is just a brain-dead politician/parasite. He also happens to be very electable in Delaware. O'Donnell would have a hard time getting elected in a fucking nuthouse.

66 And yet, he is still the most conservative electable possible candidate in Delaware.  I'm sorry that DE is one of the most geriatrically liberal states in the Union, but it is.  O'Donnell can never win.  Even if she WASN'T scandal-ridden, she would STILL be too conservative to win.  But with all the awful, scumbag stuff she's done piled on top of that?  She'd be lucky to pull 30% of the vote.  (She got a whopping 35% last time.)

No he isn't conservative. He is even more liberal than the people of DE. He gets an F rating from the NRA. Is DE an anti-gun state? No. There laws are more lenient then CT and Mass. O'Donnell got 35% against Biden with absolutely no exposure whatsoever in a bad year for Rs.

The "always back the most conservative electable candidate" does not cease to apply when the most conservative electable candidate isn't conservative enough for you.

He isn't conservative in any way. He's merely republican.

You don't seem to get it.  This rule ALWAYS applies.  That's why we all supported Fightin' Joe Lieberman back in 2006 after he got primaried.  Hell, Chris Shays actually went out campaigning with him. (Not coincidentally, Shays was the only CT Republican to hold on through the 2006 wave.  2008 was a bridge too far, however.)  Why?  Because he was the most conservative electable candidate in the race, and effective "our" guy.  Sure there was a True Conservative running with the GOP nomination, but nobody supported him.

Lieberman was supported because the R candidate was a token put up when everyone though Lieberman would win his primary and because it was a one issue election. He had no name recognition and a gambling scandal on his hands. If there had been a prominent republican willing to run Lieberman would have lost to Lamont. And Shay won in 2006 because he was Liberal. It's also why he lost in 2008. The people said the hell with him. His replacement is about to be beat by a guy way more conservative than Shays.

And Lieberman went on, as expected, to caucus with the Democrats.  He even voted for ObamaCare (though not without doing us a massive service by running interference long enough to both strip out the public option and bring the public's anger and impatience to a boil).    But does anyone think for a moment that it wasn't worth it.

No, he served his purpose on the war. Are we going to support him next time? His position hasn't changed on National defense.

Castle would be significantly more conservative than Lieberman, AND caucus with us, AND cast a vote for a GOP Senate Majority Leader, AND help us take control of the committees.  Our other option is NOTHING.  All important votes cast by a DE liberal Democrat.  And you would reject this?

How does this relate to him being conservative?

You're too dumb to vote, in that case.  Or at least too dumb to fight in a movement to retake and save our country.   

Posted by: Jeff B. at September 05, 2010 03:27 PM (NjYDy)

You're right. I just won't vote, in the primary or the general.

67 And I would submit to you that no REAL conservative would pin his hopes on a woman who's about one bad interview away from smearing her own feces on the camera lens while sobbing uncontrollably.

Actually what I said originally was that we should waste time or money on either one of them. We have already lost that race no matter who wins. We should put time and money on other races.

68 Castle would be significantly more conservative than Lieberman, AND caucus with us, AND cast a vote for a GOP Senate Majority Leader, AND help us take control of the committees. Our other option is NOTHING. All important votes cast by a DE liberal Democrat. And you would reject this? How does this relate to him being conservative? The point here is it does not relate to his being a Conservative, it relates to his being a Republican. Just by being a Republican he helps Republicans take control of the Senate. That alone is worth the trouble he will bring in other matters.

69 Castle would be significantly more conservative than Lieberman, AND caucus with us, AND cast a vote for a GOP Senate Majority Leader, AND help us take control of the committees.

Not really, Lieberman ACU rating 17 Castle 20, not much difference there.

Also, he is liable to pull a Party switch at any time.

70

You're right. I just won't vote, in the primary or the general.

And the Purity Czars show their true colors.

Posted by: Chris in Va at September 05, 2010 03:48 PM (uCjoj)

Why would you want the vote of someone willing to support  a person likely to be "smearing her own feces on the camera lens while sobbing uncontrollably." or a "whackjob" or "have a hard time getting elected in a hut house"? Is anyone allowed to make their own choices anymore? I wonder why the parties even do these primaries. If I were you I would drive these awful purity people out of the R party and soon. It's obvious they are what is keeping the R party from achieving any sort of  success.

71 As someone born and raised in Clarksburg, having John McCain campaign for Raese would really help. I know many Republicans hate his guts, but in a state that swings blue like WV and where Democrats are so entrenched, John McCain -- Scots-Irish military hero and esteemed Senator -- would play well. There's plenty of government workers there, so they respect Beltway players. This might not be an issue, but I hope someone could start renaming all the buildings, bridges, roads and schools named after Kleagle.

72 The point here is it does not relate to his being a Conservative, it relates to his being a Republican. Just by being a Republican he helps Republicans take control of the Senate.

That alone is worth the trouble he will bring in other matters.

Posted by: eman at September 05, 2010 03:57 PM (BzJFj)

The Republicans have had control of the Senate for a significant portion of the last 2 decades. Is that record what we are shooting for here?

73

Pep at #60

you are assuming that the coming R majority is a done deal.  suppose we come up short, or just manage to eke out a small majority, remember the McCain's gang of 14, Jumping Jim Jefford... how many Bush judicial appointees got confirmed.

and when the Immigration Reform/Amnesty bill comes up for a vote how sure are you about our Rino members.  and what happens if after long deliberations  Castle/Snow/Collins/McCain etc etc decide to reach across the isle and work with the Dems, what would your reaction be then.

 

74 "Why no attention on WV?  Because to quite a few pundits, such as Dan Riehl, this November is not about winning control...it's about Purification."

Sad but true. I'd like to see an RNC more organized, a base more confident in its leadership and a commitment to stopping the Democrat agenda. Instead, we have Michael Steele, who should have been fired months ago. No money, no strategy, and we could clean up during the midterms.

75 If we apply purity in the wrong place at the wrong time we risk letting the Democrats retain control of the Senate. If that happens the Conservatives who do win will not be able to do what we want them to do. But, if the GOP takes the Senate, then the Conservatives in the Senate will be able to trump the Democrats and their RINO allies. We can't get everything we want all at once.

76 Also, he is liable to pull a Party switch at any time.

This is insanity.  The only reason the idea of Mike Castle party-switching has even COME UP is because O'Donnell's campaign, by their own admission, planted the rumor out of whole cloth.  Upon 30 seconds' worth of consideration it makes no sense.  Mike Castle has spent over 35 years as an elected Republican and the leader of the Delaware GOP. 

Mike Castle didn't switch parties in 2006, when the GOP lost control of the House in a huge swing to the left -- didn't even broach the subject. 

Mike Castle didn't think about switching parties when Barack Obama won in 2008, sweeping in an even larger Democratic majority that looked seemingly permanent.  Everyone (you, me, all of us) simply ASSUMED that the Republicans (and conservative movement) were due for several years in the 'wilderness' before we threatened to take back Congress.  Mike Castle, an old man, didn't decide (at the most opportune possible time) to switch parties.  Instead he voted against the Stimulus package (a unanimous vote!) and voted against Obamacare (another unanimous vote, minus Cao).  He's said that he's up for repealing it -- the vicious rumor that he's "opposed to repeal" comes from a deliberate miscontruing of his commonsense observation that repeal can't happen in the next two years, it will have to wait for Obama to be turned out of office.  That's the sum total of what he said. 

This is not the profile of a Jim Jeffords party-switcher.  A Susan Collins/Olympia Snowe-like moderate?  Maybe.  But remember: Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe both voted against Obamacare and held the line on the filibuster.  How happy would you have been if they had been instead replaced by reliable Democrats, and voted accordingly? 

Is that what you really want?

Really?

77 80, A GOP Senate is the only kind of Senate we can hope to make to our liking. Taking the Senate is only a tactical goal. We must understand this. The strategic goal is to keep the Senate and make it Conservative, not just Republican. This strategic goal will take several elections to complete.

78 You are assuming that the coming R majority is a done deal. ....what would your reaction be then.

I assume nothing, that's the point.  I want to maximize the likelihood that we will get an R majority.  My reaction to RINOs would be the same as yours.  &*%**)#$@  But that doesn't mean backing them occasionally as a strategic move is a bad idea.  You play the odds, and that's as much as you can do.  The trick is to figure out when they are the best bet, and when you can avoid them.

Look, the only way the Dems avoid electoral disaster in the next 2 cycles is if a deus ex machina rescues them.  What would that be?  How about conservatives carving each other up?  We all have the same goal, which is to defeat the lefties, and reinstitute the Constitution.  We are arguing over means to an end, not the end itself.  Can we please drop the rhetoric about who is or isn't a good conservative.  That just plays into their hands.  We can disagree, but unless you have a good reason to question someone's motives, don't.

 

79 Taking the Senate is only a tactical goal. We must understand this. The strategic goal is to keep the Senate and make it Conservative, not just Republican. This strategic goal will take several elections to complete.

Posted by: eman at September 05, 2010 04:16 PM (BzJFj)

And it won't be accomplished by making Liberals like Mike Castle nationally prominent and powerful in the Republican party. Let Coons own the votes that flip all these 10-9 committees the Rs will be  controlling to the Dems favor when they vote. Let him not vote to repeal Obamacare  and vote for every other bailout and stimulus like Castle did. Let him vote for Cap and Trade. Let him push the DISCLOSE Act. Let him vote for Sotomeyer and Kagen as Castle surely would have. Let him get an F rating from the NRA.

80

"Among my general concerns about some conservatives is that they seem to be placing too high a priority on the punishment-of-RINOs aspect of politics, rather than the get-good-people-into-office aspect. Punishing RINOs, it seems to me, is a worthwhile exercise, but it's shouldn't be the primary goal."

I can agree with this sentiment in practice.  Now we just have to follow thru, in word and deed.

81 Rocks, you are not getting it at all.

82 RINOS are not good people. Implicit in the notion of RINO is the concept that the RINO will at some point vote against the will, interest and trust of the people who elected them. To get good people into office we must punish them.

83 And it won't be accomplished by making Liberals like Mike Castle nationally prominent and powerful in the Republican party

It's becoming clearer now that you are simply impervious to reasoned argument on this issue.  This statement alone suggests you're living in a fantasy world.  Mike Castle is 70 years old.  He's only serving the last four years of Joe Biden's unexpired six-year term.  He's almost certainly not running for reelection (hell, we'd be lucky if he did -- this seat is gone baby gone after he retires).  He's going to be neither nationally prominent nor powerful in the Republican party going forward.  And better that he be so than Senate-fucking-Majority-Leader Harry Reid be setting the agenda and permitting recess appointments and owning enough committee votes to allow Obama's next SCOTUS nominee to sail through the Judiciary Committee. 

You friggin' morons who are pushing O'Donnell for purity reasons have no idea how valuable control of the Senate is, even if it takes a few RINOs to get there.  We have to stop the Democratic agenda, for chrissakes.  This stupid "let them do more harm!" attitude, or the dumb assumption that merely because we'll have numbers for a filibuster means we'll not be screwed anyway -- the other side's still setting the agenda, getting judges through committee, allowing recess apptments...this stuff is critically important to the Republic.  Do you care?  Then vote Mike Castle and get us a Republican Senate with committee control. 

If you don't care if the country continues to burn, however, then stay at home and enjoy your self-immolatory temper tantrum.  You will have stood aside and done nothing during the most important political moment of your lifetime.  Loser.

84 "Do you ideologically pure commissars realize that Castle is a political animal? He went to the left when he thought the country went to the left. He will go to the right if his constituency moves to the right. " Which is EXACTLY why we need to rag his ass in the primary. Let him eke out a narrow win if he can, then see what he does about securing our vote for the general.

85 The whole RINO thing is overused.  Once intended to describe people like Chafee, it is now applied to anyone who has taken an un-liked vote, such as the Tea Party targeting anyone who voted for the original TARP.

(The original TARP, I would note, was to end panic and support the banking system, and did not contemplate bailouts for AIG and General Motors at the time the vote was taken.  Most of the 200 billion used in this way has been paid back, with interest).

The original TARP was supported by virtually all Central Bankers and many, many Republicans and conservatives - this is not RINO territory.

Today we are using the RINO label to eliminate any type of moderate.  This may work out for this cycle, but over the long run we will not be able to command a majority.

While these folks are not my cup of tea, I realize that a majority commands a wider base with the necessary compromises and trade-offs.

So, I would rather have a Kennedy than a Kagan.

86

Pep at #89

in Nov 2010 America gets the one and only shot at stalling The One's agenda, a chance to say no to everything and anything he and his minions stand for.  it's 10 to midnight and we can no longer afford to have anyone in our ranks who would not fight for the same cause.  the usual he's all we can get and he only stabs us in the back once in a while routine does not apply anymore.

and how about this for a deus ex machina October surprise, suppose the long anticipated war in the Middle East breaks out between Israel and Iran Oct, what if The One's been stalling Israel just for this moment, how much effect do you think the urge to rallying around our President in time of war will have on the R electoral successes.

 

  

 

87 Rocks, you are not getting it at all.

Posted by: eman at September 05, 2010 04:48 PM (BzJFj)

Yes, I am. You seem to think a Republican gain is a Conservative gain simply because the Conservatives are in the Republican party. It's not true. If it were then Buckley would not have spent forever trying to take down the Liberal Rockefeller Republicans, guys exactly like Mike Castle. Any gain Castle brings will be totally negated by the support he gives to liberals. Even worse he will be a comfort and support to liberals within both the Senate AND the Republican party. If Coons is elected the Senate will be just as Liberal as it would be with Castle but the Republican party won't be. Tangential gains on procedural matters will now be slightly in the Conservatives favor, and thanks to McConnell that will be as slight as possible, and that is supposed to outweigh actual Liberal votes by Castle and 4 years of the MSM saying "You know this is mainstream, even Republicans like Mike Castle support it."

Like hell.

88 He's going to be neither nationally prominent nor powerful in the Republican party going forward. 

Posted by: Jeff B. at September 05, 2010 04:52 PM (NjYDy)

A sitting US Senator will not be nationally prominent in both the country and his party? Sure.

89 BTW, Ace, unemployment in Delaware is the highest it's been in 32 years. Why are we assuming the D's have the strong lock on it they've always had?

90 Mike Castle has a good chance at winning DE. Winning the Senate should be the GOP's biggest priority right now. Republicans need to win only two of five contested Senate seats to give them the 10 new seats they need — and in one of those contests, in CA, Carly Fiorina is likely to defeat incumbent Democrat Barbara Boxer. Republicans could well take away from Democrats: Delaware, Indiana, North Dakota and Arkansas. Races where we are ahead: Pennsylvania, Colorado, Nevada and Washington. WV and CT are the two needed to put the GOP over the top and are more likely than WI or  NY.

91 100 Rocks, you are not getting it at all.

Posted by: eman at September 05, 2010 04:48 PM (BzJFj)

"Yes, I am. You seem to think a Republican gain is a Conservative gain simply because the Conservatives are in the Republican party. It's not true. If it were then Buckley would not have spent forever trying to take down the Liberal Rockefeller Republicans, guys exactly like Mike Castle."

Buckley is dead. Unless you mean the son [of a bitch]

92 100, Conservatives in the Senate would much prefer the GOP control the Senate, my guess. The Nation is moving rightward, the Internet is confounding the MSM. Castle will be more useful to us as a GOP Senator than he will be to DEMs.

93 97,

I'm fine with him "winning narrowly", so long as he wins. O'Donnell has about as much chance as I do of winning the Delaware general. Maybe less, because I haven't been in the news talking about dirty tricks teams like Dana Carvey's Perot. Castle isn't nearly as bad as he's being made about to be. He's not ideal, but he's acceptable. More importantly, Ginbserg's coming up on the end of tether. We need an "R" Senate for that. The political winds are sweeping conservative, so I'm fine with a 70-year old moderate R in Delaware, because for the next four years, I doubt he will do much to step beyond the party line. All that Glenn Beck rah rah shit is well and good, but we're not just going to magically transform the composition of a nation overnight.

94 I dunno, Oregon race is getting no attention either. Course, its not east coast so...

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96 "Let him vote for Sotomeyer and Kagen as Castle surely would have."

You really don't get it, do you?  What happens on the floor is secondary to what happens in committee.  If the GOP controlled the Senate, Jeff Sessions would be chairing Judiciary and as a direct result neither of those two would be on the Supreme Court right now.

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