Senator Scott Brown is impressive. He was ushered in to take the Massachusetts Senate seat held by Edward Kennedy for decades. Brown also was supported by the local tea party from that region. He ran as a Republican and appears to be his own person, which is refreshing.
Sharron Angle(NV) , Carl Paladino(NY), and Christine O”Donnell (DE) are NOT impressive. The women mentioned are far right social extremists who simply do not reach the mainstream voter. O’Donnell has some fairly well documented ethics problems. She is not new to politics. Carl Paladino comes out of the gate with pornographic email issues and a problem with racists remarks and jokes. Angle performs so poorly in front of the media her handlers kept her away from it just to preserve her campaign. She has said she will debate Harry Reid.
If the tea party wants to convince the American voter of its prowess and concern for the country, it will have to do a better job offering up candidates. From an outsider’s point of view, it looks like the tea party is trotting out old, well used, candidates like O’Donnell who appeared on the Bill Maher Show in the late 90’s. Frankly, the set of three winners look ridiculous. If they manage to pull off a win and actually go to the Senate, then the American people will look ridiculous. Right now, it appears that Beck and Palin are the leadership and the chosen are Angle, O’Donnell, and Paladino. That selection might appeal to the tea party masses but it doesn’t to the people who aren’t part of a special interest group. In fact, most I have talked to laughed, and then got very quite because of their concern for their country.
If the tea party wants to reach American voters, they are going to have to throw in behind candidates who are properly vetted by someone, anyone, and they are going to have to offer up candidates who address fiscal responsibility issues as a main platform, rather than these extremist social conservatives who just talk the talk about fiscal conservatism. Regardless of the mood of the country, we need more Scott Browns and no people who are just jokes. These lastest ‘winners’ are a sure fired way to have defeat snatched from the jaws of victory.
Why not let the voters of Delaware decide? I know the political handicappers called it against O’Donnell for the primary but they were wrong.. They could be wrong for the general election as well.
They are the only ones who can decide.
Do you really think there are that many people in Delaware who would vote for someone who tells others that using condoms causes aids? Wasn’t it she who called her opponent an ‘old queer?’
Frankly, all 100 senators make decisions for us. I hope the people of Delaware are as horrified as I am and sent her packing. But, as you say, it is up to them.
Marin, how can you be a libertarian and have someone tell you absolutely no abortion. NO exceptions, even for rape and incest?
If this isn’t government interference in the most personal of ways, I don’t know what is!
I have always been confounded by the notion that the social conservatives will run on less government all while sitting in your bedroom, vicariously, telling you no birth control, in some cases, no abortion, and no sex other than missionary for procreation. God forbid a person is gay.
This is government interference, in the ugliest form. UFB!
@Moon-howler
Anyone that supports communism is dead to me. Its a murderous, hideous abomination. Coons may have matured, but I have found that most Democrat programs are not attractive to me. Castle was a opportunistic hack who seemed willing to do anything for power.
In every case where a conservative lost to a mainstream Republican or moderate Republican, no mention was ever made of how will the moderate attract the conservative vote. They didn’t need to. But in every opposite case, the conservatives had to make a case for attracting moderates. Apparently, loyalty is only a one way street. Castle had no loyalty to anything other than his pocket.
I consider an O’Donnell win the primaries a success. If she wins Biden’s old seat, great. If not, its still a win. Coons in office is no different than if Biden stayed in Delaware. The purpose of the Tea Party is not to win elections for Republicans. Its to win elections for conservatives and to put both parties on notice that business as usual will no longer be the case. This affects Republicans more, because the conservatives are putting them on notice that, since they did not learn the lessons of 2006, when conservatives stayed home, the conservatives are planning to replace them. What’s the use of having a Republican in office if that representative does not represent you? The GOP has paid lip service to its platform, and yet, acted as Democrat-lite. And it started under Bush.
MH, according to the election results 29884 people might just think that. Or, they voted for her knowing that the social agenda will go no where but the fiscal conversatism may. When the pendulum went far left two years ago I had a feeling that in two years it would go hard to the right. Healthcare and finance reform (as well as inattention to the economy) have brought us candidates that’ll move us in the polar oppisite direction. So, I would argue that any ‘extremism’ you see on the right are borne of the same extremism from the left.
I get where your coming from but the arguement doesn’t fly with me. For example, I can’t consume illegal drugs or marry my cousin or a host of other things where I am fully restricted from an activity. As I haven’t taken up arms against the government I guess I’m “ok” with those laws so a restriction on abortion one way or the other wouldn’t be much different.
You hear the words “reasonable regulation” tossed around on the gun issue. Why not “reasonable regulation’ on abortion or any host of other rights? See that double edged sword?
I’m no fan of social conservatives (the local KK Temptations is a great example of that run amok) but given the choice between a social con who is also a fiscal con and the wreckless dems we have in office right now.. I know where my choice will go.
If the Dems had not run the govt as full on progressives maybe we would not have been in this position.
For fair measure and in a nod to Cargo.. The out of control run amok spending happened with Bush (2nd Term). I would gladly take Bush (1st Term) back in a heartbeat. 2nd Term? Not too different than Obama in my eyes.
See…it IS all Booooossshhhh’s fault!!!!!!!! That and global wormening….
Marin, there is reasonable regulation on abortion. The outline and restrictions built into Roe v Wade are there for all to see. Additionally, some states have further regulation like informed consent and parental notification.
Cargo, I don’t understand your reference to communism. No one is arguing the ills of communism.
Coons supported communism when he returned from Africa. I don’t know what his current thoughts on the subject are.
I thought he was the executive director of one of the counties.
re Coons
How old was he? I used to be opposed to the death penalty was I was young and foolish also. A few scumbags changed my mind.
Coons, born in 1963, is an attorney and the twice-elected County Executive for New Castle County, the site of Wilimington and the largest of the three Delaware counties. He spent time on the county council before moving upstairs. He was only about 21 or so when he went to Kenya on a study abroad gig and came back with what seemed to be a belief that poverty in Africa and elsewhere was all the fault of the capitalist system and that America was among the chief villains. He claimed to have been a Reagan Republican in college but the Kenya experience in the mid-1980’s caused him to become a Democrat. Hence the college-age sobriquet of “The Bearded Marxist.”
I just love this example of youthful brillance. You spend a one-time, relatively short stint in one country in Africa and you pretend to become an expert on African economic problems. Hell, he should have been in those places in Africa where I was at about his age. I spent long years in Africa and still do not claim to be an expert on its problems. Most Africans I knew would have sacrificed one of their legs for an American visa. Incidentally, I spent a lot of time in pseudo-Marxist and other one-party African states. Talk about poverty flowing out of an ideological system!!!
Anyway, it seems to me that Mr. Coons might have a bit of a Bush I problem with regard to reading lips. During his first campaign for the County Executive post, he promised not to raise taxes. However, from what I have read, he has raised property taxes in New Castle County three times: 5% in 2006; 17.5% in 2007, and a whopping 25% in 2008. He’ll get hit repeatedly on this, even though he claims to be a cost cutter. Combine that with a national Republican effort to label Dems as a whole as tax-and-spenders, and Coons gets a double dose. Boy, it looks to me like he is already running away from Harry Reid’s “favorite candidate” and “pet” comments as fast as he can go,, insisting that he will be an “independent” voice in the Senate.