Comment Rescue – DE GOP in Critical Condition
Disbelief says:
…the word is: if the GOP loses this one, its all over but the shouting. Evidently, there is definitely one, maybe another GOPer, who will come out of the closet and switch sides should Short win.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not gloating. I don’t think its a good idea for either party to have a monopoly in the Legislature
He is right. I don’t think there is anything inherently great about a Democratic monopoly, and we liberals would have a lot of work to do to make a Democratic legislature live up to the best and highest ideals of the party, but that is down the road. What I want to know is how did the DE GOP fall so far so fast?
It is no secret that I think that he GOP’s horrible decay can be tracked back to Michael Castle’s mismanagement.
Castle was willing to ride on Bush’s coat tails and did not want to “rock the boat” when the national vision of Republicanism stopped making sense for many Delaware Republicans. The “holy than thou” social conservative hard right rhetoric turned out some voters for John Atkins and Wayne Smith but it failed to resonate with the white collar core of the DEGOP – worse than that, it grated on them.
Mike Castle let the state party drift without a mission or identity.
Tags: local R's
Where is Castle in these special elections? Any personal appearances, speeches, press releases, radio ads etc. on behalf of the GOP candidates? Surely “Old Sev–” I mean “Sixty Percent” should be helping out here?.
Did the Sussex guys tell Castle “Thanks but no thanks?” Or did Castle just not pick up the phone?
Calling Dave Burris…! Who is the cold shoulder giver? You or Castle?
Castle stumped/doornocked with Still when Schaffer, the Mayor of Smyrna, ran against Vaughn. I have a picture of them with their hands on each others’ wallets. (2004?).
While Castle didn’t help the state GOP in the last ten years, I think the fault is more properly blamed on the effete yet intellectually stunted State GOP leadership. Rakestraw, Still, Strine, et al have, through arrogance and narrow vision, created more Democrats in Delaware then the Democrat recruiting organization.
Castle’s ride on the Bush adminsitration’s coattails is certainly not attractive. But against people like Still writing nasty letters to and about GOP party members (now ex-party members) takes self-destruction to a whole new, more efficient level.
The recent, and the upcoming, purge of GOPers in elected office will only help the party cleanse itself, and, if some good, new blood can be recruited, we won’t have to worry about absolute power corrupting absolutely in the State Democrat Party. That said, my prediction is that things are really going to suck for the next six years for the State GOP. God Bless the thick skins of the Burris’ who have volunteered to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Bush has coattails?
Think back to the end of Bush’s first term. Castle has taken down all of his Bush praise and sycophancy, but he was all over how much safer we are now that our glorious leader had Johny Terrorist on the run.
Actually, Castle has probably done as much as any Republican could do to make voting Republican thinkable to Dems and Independents. But there’s only so much lipstick you can put on the pig.
I think that as we swing back towards the liberal side of things it will open the door or opportunity for the I’s to be a larger part of the process.
I think there is more of a chance that a 3rd party can gain more seats and we can have a government that is more representative of it’s people.
I hope at least that will be the case.
Actually Don, I think you’re exactly bass ackwards. If one party holds all the power, the I’s will suffer more inconsequentiality. Its the wars between the two major parties (at least, back when we had two major parties) that allowed the I’s to make some headway.
We all know lobbyists are fair-minded and impartial people, however, when the Dems hold all the power, these equanimical lobbyists are going to throw all resouses that way.
A one-party majority will prove the following maxim for the independents: “When the going gets rough, the weak get fucked.”