Delaware GOP throws in with McCain
In typically tone deaf style the Delaware GOP is falling in behind an out and out loser, John McCain, for President.
McCain, who is staking his political future on the notion that we need to wade deeper in the Iraqi quagmire, has found some fellow travelers here in Delaware.
McCain already had the fortune to secure the early backing of Republican National Committeeman John R. Matlusky, one of the state’s top party officials, to provide Leavitt with entree to potential backers, contributors and volunteers.
“When you know who you’re for, you should jump in with both feet. I think McCain is someone who can tackle the problems of a very dangerous world,” Matlusky said.
Leavitt also has the advantage of working for a candidate who appears to be a good fit here — moderate enough for the moderate Republicans and conservative enough for most conservative Republicans.
And even Mitt Romney’s Camp is flirting with the Senator from Arizona.
In the end the only endorsement that matters is Michael Castle and Michael Castle has said it is McCain…so it is MCCain.
This reminds me alot of the leadership of the Delaware Dems going for Joe Lieberman last time. They had their insidery reasons and that was that.
You’re silly. McCain’s campaign wanted to meet Republicans. I helped make that happen, just like I will for any candidate. My personal preferences aside, I feel like as a GOP blogger, things like today are within my scope, and as a future county Chairman, I feel like it’s my duty.
Also, there are a lot of people in the DEGOP who have not made their preference known.
I’m telling you right now. The “leadership” is sticking you with MCCain. Just try to relax and think of England.
Leaving Matlusky out of it, establishment support for McCain would be another indication that many of these hangers-on simply just are incapable of ever ‘getting it’.
In 2000 I joined a grassroots network supporting McCain over Bush. It was a very committed groundswell, even in spite of McCain’s having flipped off Delaware (or at least its GOP establishment). Meanwhile, the party apparatus was placed in total servitude to Bush over McCain, in no small part due to GOP so-and-so’s personal connections to Bush extended family members.
As with all of their backroom choices the insiders stacked the deck in every way possible for Bush. Of course, the result was a candidate who twice lost Delaware and a president who has cost its GOP (including Mike Castle) in untold ways, endangering its very viability as an electoral force.
Now they want to embrace McCain, after so many of them trashed him in 2000. It seems like the common thread driving all this is risk-aversion, bad judgment, political myopia, and self-preservation at any cost. It is not way to lead a party nor shepherd the political process for the public’s best interests. We can do better.
I think Burris is showing an example of someone who can wholeheartedly support their choice candidate but without abusing and denigrating prospective leadership responsibilities by putting his position into service for that person, particularly at the expense of others. Hats off to you, Dave.
I’m telling you right now. The “leadership” is sticking you with MCCain. Just try to relax and think of England.
Even Kilroy the GOP nobody is sticking with McCain.
Kilroy, I was gangbusters in support for the (no-longer-existent) populist fundamentalist-bashing straight-talk McCain.
He lost me for good somewhere during his slow, rather desperate tranformation into a Bush-McCainiac or McCain-Bushie, whatever you want to call his now fully-hybridized and rather repellent political identity.
But hey, that’s just me.
My point above was not about McCain or Bush, it was about the pervasive self-interest and unaccountable failure of extant state GOP leadership over many years now.
Nothing good will ever come if we permit our party process, its focus, effort, or identity to be nationalized beyond Delaware, much less manipulated to this or any other such counterproductive ends. This dismal facet of party control from the top-down has produced dismal results from the bottom up. It is another reason why serious change is in order.
I love it when far left bloggers tell us “what’s really going on” inside the Republican Party.
Mark my words Hap,…no…print out this post and laminate it, and stick it to the front of your fridge with magnets that advertise a pizza place.
The DE GOP is going to put you to work for McCain. You will be doing yourself a favor if you just resign yourself to that reality now.
I keep having to remind myself that there are people out there who don’t know that Jason has no idea what he’s talking about most of the time.
Don’t resist it Dave. You want a happy life, don’t you?
“it was about the pervasive self-interest and unaccountable failure of extant state GOP leadership over many years now.”
I can agree with you on this! Now is the time for the grunts at the bottom to lead the leaders!