It is all just a little too neat and tidy.
If it was not Dave Burris and Randy Smith who kicked off this thing, I would say with 100% confidence that the Republicans undertook a coordinated operation to remove Mike Protack.
Since it was Burris and Smith, who I know to be honorable men, I can say that with only 50% confidence.
So what happened?
The turning point was probably the aborted Levin even in Sussex. Celia Cohen reported that the event was cancelled after Jud Bennett sent out an email to his 4,000 person email list that included:
..information he was given to undercut Levin’s appeal among Republicans — campaign finance records showing in recent years he contributed $1,500 to U.S. Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. and $1,000 to U.S. Sen. Thomas R. Carper.
Was that information from Protack? Probably. At any rate, had it gone on the event clearly would have been a debacle for the embryonic Levin campaign and a huge PR victory for Protack. Protack settled for the small victory of derailing the coronation of Levin temporarily. Indeed, the victory for Protack was short lived.
It was that show of strength which, no doubt, created a breaking point for Strine and Company. Since it was really looking like Protack was going to pull off an upset (or keep Levin from entering the race at all) the Republican Pharisees either suggested the FSP post (which is not conclusive about Protack’s involvement with the post card) or simply used it for their own purposes. From that point on the genie was out of the bottle.
Ron Williams is just an empty headed and willing stooge. He was just happy to beat Celia Cohen to a story for the first time in three years.
AND today Celia Cohen reports that Levin is taking steps to distance himself from his prior from his very public support of Joe Biden.
How nice of Mr. Levin to (today of all days) provide that nod to the few Republicans who happen to care about that sort of thing.