Delaware Political Weekly: March 24-30, 2012
1. Breaking Rumor!! Cloutier to Face Primary Challenge??
Such a juicy rumor that I broke down and used excessive punctuation and gratuitous bold-facing!!
The scuttlebutt in Dover is that Judy Travis, who ran against Rep. Bryon Short in the 7th Rep District in 2010, is planning to primary Cathy Cloutier for the 5th Senatorial District seat. Chris Counihan has already filed for the D’s, and is a strong candidate, having garnered 45% against Cloutier in a previous run. Travis has had her eye on elective office at least since she was passed over to run for Wayne Smith‘s vacated rep seat back in 2007. You remember. The newly reelected Smith left office to become the President and lobbyist for the Delaware Healthcare Association. Smith handpicked his next-door-neighbor over Travis to run for the seat. His neighbor lost to Bryon Short. Twice. But, I digress. For those who think that Cloutier would be a shoo-in in a primary, just remember that Cloutier also ran on the Working Families Party line in 2010. That’s the line offered by Brian McGlinchey and other labor guys. Don’t think that would endear her to Rethug primary voters, and I wouldn’t be totally shocked to see Charles ‘Bouvier de Flandres’ Copeland do to Cathy what he’s doing to Priscilla Rakestraw. Continue to banish moderates from the Party. Needless to say, were this scenario to occur, the R calculus for taking over the Senate would have to be, um, recalculated.
2. Spivack Enters IC Race
I have but one question: Why? At a recent candidate’s forum, Spivack essentially agreed with everything Mitch Crane said. The only possible result of Spivack’s being in the race would be to throw the primary to Karen Weldin Stewart, something Spivack says he doesn’t want to do. Spivack, unlike Crane, has no real experience with insurance issues. I thought that Spivack ran as a true progressive against Castle. Might I suggest that, as a true progressive, Spivack could do a lot more good primarying Tom Carper than inadvertently helping to reelect an insurance commissioner who is both clueless and unethical?
3. Is It Smyk, Or Is It Schmuck?
My answer: Both. Yet another state trooper, and this one with the arrogance of John Atkins, has focused his self-proclaimed big gun on a House seat. Steve Smyk has filed to run for the newly-created 20th RD, which has migrated from the Pike Creek area to Milton, Lewes and environs. The Democratic candidate is Marie Mayor. Who is Steve Smyk, you ask? Allow me to quote from my Pre-Game/Post-Game of January 11:
Finally, yet another state trooper, and one seemingly with a high Asshole Quotient, has thrown his steel-toed jackboots into the political arena. One Steve Smyk will run for a newly-created House seat in Sussex County. He met with the House R Caucus in Dover yesterday. Allow me to quote this would-be ‘Honorable’ from the linked News-Journal article:
“They’re very angry that I went to a Republican side,” Smyk said of the Democrats. “[But] I don’t fit well in Democratic skin.”
“They’re afraid of me,” he said of the Democrats.
When a cop is this full of himself, the people he is sworn to protect should be justly afraid of him. He seems to like people being afraid of him, and the guy carries a gun, after all.
Smyk’s comments earned this rejoinder from Pete Schwartzkopf, according to the News-Journal:
“I’m disappointed in the original comments he made,” said Schwartzkopf, the House majority leader from Rehoboth Beach. “If you want to be that kind of candidate where you want to attack people right off the bat, then go to D.C. That’s not how we operate in Delaware.”
This guy is the head of the Delaware State Troopers Association, and he’s from Sussex County. That probably makes him the favorite in this race. Not that he deserves to be.
4. Deborah Hudson Gets a Democratic Opponent
Good, looks like quite an accomplished person as well. Frann Anderson has filed to challenge long-time incumbent Debbie (Capano) Hudson. Anderson is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and describes her practice thusly:
I began my career as an Art Therapist and over the years I have broadened my treatment approach through the practice of Clinical Social Work. I have over 29 years of experience working in the mental health and addictions fields with a commitment to children and adolescents, the LGBT community, survivors of trauma and those challenged by depression and anxiety.
Hey, I would have settled for her just not being a state cop. To have someone with this unique skill set for a candidate is a big plus. Not to mention, she brings a perspective rarely seen in Dover. I commend her for taking on this tough challenge, and look forward to hearing more from her throughout the campaign.
5. Filings, We Have Filings
Sen. Harris B. McDowell, III, D-1st District; Rep. Lincoln Willis, R-29th; Rep. William Outten, R-30th; and Harold Brode, D-For Kent County Register of Wills.
That’s it for this week. What’d I miss, and whaddayathink?
Tags: Cathy Cloutier Delaware; Judy Travis Delaware; Dennis Spivack Delaware; Steve Smyk Delaware; Frann Anderson Delaware; Deborah Hudson Delaware;, Steve Tanzer Delaware; El Somnambulo;
The Delaware Political Weekly is one more reason to love Fridays.
This is the Democratic Party, not the Royalist Party.. Spivack has every right to run; the people shall determine the merits of his candidacy, not Crane’s political insider fan club. Why is he running? Ask him. He sure outshone Mitch the other day…
I have never seen this phenomenon of every single entrant into a race having his motives impugned, attacked by Crane supporters (one was even called an anti-Semite by the Crane campaign), being asked to withdraw–immediately upon entry–because one candidate is terrified of competition and insiders have decreed that he shall be crowned insurance commissioner. If Crane is as great as alleged he will win easily…The elephant in the room is people know Crane is a great policy wonk but a bad candidate…hence the terror over competition by his most ardent supporters…He could only win by riding anti-Karen sentiment, hence the desperate Santorumesque need for a 1-on-1 race. He is toast in a 4 or 5 way race. Maybe if he can’t handle anything other than a 2 person race HE, as the progressive flavor of the week, should be challenging Carper or Carney…
Spivack has not even begun raising money, he has not completed a platform, he has not given a single speech, etc. It is too early to demand any withdrawals and too early to designate him a mere spoiler. After all, it is Spivack, not Crane who has name recognition…Spivack promised a more proactive and innovative office than Crane, who spent most of his time lashing out at his former boss. Saying they said the same things is Crane campaign rhetoric. There will be a lot of overlap but since when does that result in the earlier entrant “deserving” the office more? Carney and Markell agreed on most things. How dare Jack run, right?
The last IC primary was something like 42-40-18. I wouldn’t be surprised if we have three candidates finish above the 20% mark in this race with Gallagher in the single digits. It will be utterly hilarious if Spivack finishes ahead of Crane, a very real possibility. Crane is an insider folk hero. No one in the real world knows who he is.
If Crane wants insiders to hand him a nomination he should join the Republican Party…
Clueless is subjective and a fair shot. Unethical is objective and calls for substantiation, got any? So 9 more filings and Karen can run against 12 angry men:)
How about Mitch withdrawing? If the sole objective is to remove Karen Weldin Stewart from office and the obstacle to that is having multiple opponents why doesn’t Crane take his own advice? Make the utilitarian decision to narrow the field. Spivack has a better shot at winning than Mitch. He has some name recognition (Mitch has zero) and he has never implemented any of Karen’s consumer policies. He can’t be tarred with her record, he can’t be accused of running out of personal animus toward his former boss and he has proven he can win a statewide primary. Will any Crane supporters call on Mitch to put beating Karen before personal ambition? Any takers…
Spivack had every right to run for Insurance Commissioner and make the argument that he was the best candidate, but if he wanted to do that, he should have done it in 2011. You can’t jump into a primary less than 6 months out and expect to raise the money and build the organization necessary to win a statewide primary. My prediction is that he drops out in a couple months when he realizes there’s no groundswell of support for his candidacy and he doesn’t have a realistic shot at winning.
Had? Decreeing who should or should not run is not very idealistic, is it?
You are incorrect. LOL at statewide organization. Not much organization is required for a down ballot race–Mitch himself did not even have any staff until recently. Money means little. Look at who the present commissioner is. She won with little money, no endorsements.
That isn’t your prediction; that is your hope. If Spivack is that weak you and other Mitch supporters wouldn’t be so afraid of him…after all, he won’t be on the ballot in September..
Tom Savage got 18%. Whoever finishes third between Crane and Spivack can surely manage at least that. Karen likely will win but one of the two main challengers could squeak past her.
Idealist, will you ask Mitch to withdraw? The paramount goal is defeating Karen, right?
It’s a sad state of affairs for the KWS camp when it’s clear they’ve completely given up on trying to defend her horrendous record and instead can only cheer on a potential spoiler.
See, here is the game, toss out a straw man “horrendous record” but give no specifics. Then rant about the crowded race or something else that is irrelevant. The bottom line is on September 11 around 11 there will be one candidate left standing to face the “R”. My money is on KWS. The campaign against KWS here is built almost entirely on specific personal animosity and in some cases out right hatred. While interesting to watch they rarely win elections.
You may be right about KWS winning, but you are wrong if you think that win is based on anything other than incumbency
Horrendous Record
http://www.caesarrodney.org/index.cfm?ref=45100
Now I know what you’re going to say, “Caesar Rodney Institute, those right wing cranks don’t know what they’re talking about.” However, this report hits pretty hard and Commissioner Stewart has not been successful in making it go away.
Nice dodging of the question on Mitch withdrawing…The paramount goal is defeating KWS. The more candidates there are the easier it is for the incumbent to win. Therefore if Mitch, Spivack, or Gallagher withdraw the chances of Karen losing increase. Will Mitch take his own advice and make the utilitarian decision to winnow the field? Idealist you are a big Crane supporter…Why not call on Mitch to practice what he preaches? Or is he only in it for personal reasons?
Spivack a spoiler? What makes you so sure Crane will finish ahead of him?
LOL at the Crane camp citing the CRI…
You’re asking the candidate who has raised the most money from the most donors and has the most endorsements from elected officials to drop out? Yep, I’m the one you should be laughing at.
There was a time when I would have really cared about this primary race being a three way. That seems like decades ago to me now.
Prediction: KWS wins this primary in a walk with 41% of the vote.
Unfortunately for KWS, Idealist is quite right that she’s never been able to live down the CRI investigation. There’s a quid pro quo for Spivak and I’m quite sure the Democratic Party in DE will be less than delighted to have to see this whiner back on the ticket.
And you need to be here under one name, Democrat. There won’t be another warning.
My point is proven in a flash:). Where is the quid pro quo? any evidence thereof? Also again, the best evidence is the discredited (except this one time) CRI. If you want to defeat her you might want to try actual campaigning….just sayin’ Jason your number looks pretty accurate.
Since I’m not running for anything, asking me to campaign is sorta stupid even by KWS standards.
And how if you actually try to address the CRI issues in some rational and detailed and convincing fashion and then we can talk quid pro quo.
semantic games are always fun. people campaign for others pretty regularly. Quid pro quo seemed to refer to Spivak, whats the relation to CRI? As to CRI I personally assign ALL of their work to the bullshit category. Speaking only for myself bullshit needs no answer. Finally Jason’s number still looks good.
Moving goal posts? Do as I say, not as I do…You need to change your name. Hypocrisy is not very idealistic…Crane supporters and Crane himself are arguing there needs to be a smaller field, preferably a two person field to beat Karen. White, Spivack and Gallagher are all to sacrifice themselves to the greater good of defeating Karen. Why not Mitch himself? Spivack would have a good chance of winning if Mitch took his own advice…Do it for the consumers!
LOL at endorsements. When is the last time they mattered?
Close Jason. My prediction is KWS 37, Crane 30, Spivack 26, Gallagher 7. It is early so I will revise later but this seems reasonable right now.
She clearly said “there is a quid pro quo for Spivack.” What is it and present the evidence to support yet another smear from the Crane camp?
Ok, I will return to posting as anon.
“You need to change your name. Hypocrisy is not very idealistic”
First of all, love the pun and really all of the “idealist” puns you’ve made. Every time I tell myself there’s no way he can top that last pun, you prove me wrong. When your candidate loses in September, I think you just might have a future doing stand-up.
Second of all, I can assure you that Cassandra and I are two different people. In fact, I’m going to tell you a little secret since you are clearly new to Delaware Liberal. Cassandra is one of the contributing bloggers on this site. Notice her name under the articles she has written?
LOL. What is your prediction for all 4 candidates? If your candidate is such a lock why so much fear of Spivack, Gallagher and previously White? You can’t have it both ways…
I couldn’t care less about who is who and made no comment to that effect. What I have noticed and referenced was a series of attacks from Crane supporters on any other person who enters the race…strange since he is such a lock and has all these insider endorsements…
Why should Crane be exempt from his own logic? Why not withdraw on behalf of the consumer and let Spivack replace Karen?
As to CRI I personally assign ALL of their work to the bullshit category. Speaking only for myself bullshit needs no answer.
Well maybe that dodge will work better for you than it is for KWS.
It’s a sad commentary on Delaware politics and the lack of informed voters that a totally substandard, corrupt and uneducated individual with a room temperature IQ is said to have a chance at actually winning reelection simply because she is the incumbent. If she actually gets back in to screw up the DOI some more and continue to take money that would otherwise go to the state of Delaware, Delawareans will have only themselves to blame. DE isn’t known to be the 2nd most corrupt state in the nation for nothing, and KWS and her ilk are part of the reason.
Did you guys know that, according to the Correlates of War (COW) Project, there have been more deaths in intrastate (Civil) wars than in interstate (international) wars? If you exclude WWI, WWII & Vietnam (which, lets face it, were both civil and international wars in scope – they were just Mongolian Cluster****s) the score card is: Civil Wars 6.1 million dead and International War 5.6 million dead.
I don’t know why, but the above discussion made me think of that for some reason.
More unsubstantiated smears from a Crane backer lol…”corruption” despite no evidence of it.
Hey anon, you’re wasting your breath here. The LOLs are on you and your idiot girl who stood behind the door when brains, ethics, and morals were passed out, and you know it.
Joe Connor: “My money is on KWS.”
Uhhh … wasn’t some of your money *from* KWS?
Do you have a point? I make no secret I provide services for compensation .it amounts to approximately 12 hours per month. Thanks for pointing that out.
12 hours a month. thats about 1 hour every other day, for 24 days, plus the week of the red tide makes 31 days. wait, how old is KWS?
Hey Phil you are an ignorant piece of pond scum,have a nice evening.
you’re right, after your stint, you probably dont much care for women anymore.
Like I said , pond scum, I have survived far worse than your anonymous crap. This is a politics blog, a subject about which you know nothing. Go hit the Wal Mart and try to buy some sef esteem , punk.
How do you know that I know nothing about politics?
This is starting to look like a blog about the GOP primaries. Instead of infighting, you people should concentrate on the best way to get rid of incompetent uneducated Karen Weldin Stewart. She’s in the pockets of the insurance industry, so she’ll always do their bidding just as she has in the past. She doesn’t give a damn about consumers because they’re not paying her, no matter how much she tries to convince people otherwise with her recent efforts to appear consumer-oriented. It’s all more lies from KWS like the ones she used to get elected in the first place. Enough is Enough.
That woman’s entire tenure, topped by approving the Highmark/BCS merger against Beau Biden’s opposition and the wishes of Delaware policyholders, is a prime example of why the insurance commissioner needs to be a consumer advocate who is professionally and educationally well qualified to do the job. That person must be of high integrity and morally and ethically beyond reproach. The only one in the running who has the right background is Mitch Crane. None of the others could hold a candle to Crane when it comes to protecting and serving Delaware consumers because they simply don’t have the right experience. I hope you all get your act together soon. You know what the consequences will be if you don’t.
That ship has sailed. Would a Republican IC represent an upgrade? I doubt it.
I wasn’t suggesting it should be a Republican, all of whom are wasting their time in Delaware anyway, just that people should focus on the task at hand. Like any stupid incumbent with a crappy record, removing KWS from office is not impossible with the right opponent. That person is Mitch Crane.
I have one question for KWS fans, is the Captive Bureau running in the black yet, or are her crony appointments still keeping the Bureau in the red? That money she’s wasting on giving campaign donors and her buddies high paying jobs they don’t show up for should be going into the general fund to the benefit of all of us.