Comment Rescue: Levin’s Money Hole
I’m not Mike Protack writes (in part):
With Levin waiting so long Markell has made it impossible for Loser Levin to be viable. Markell’s early money will be needed against Carney and the Dem machine but now Levin would have write a personal check of 3 or 4 million dollars, the money he got from screwing Delaware when he sold Happy Harry’s stores.
I don’t agree that Markell will need to spend alot in the primary, but is that fact that Levin will need to dig deep into his own pockets giving him cold feet?
The sage words of Jan Ting hang in the air, “When someone tells you that you’d be a great candidate, say ‘show me the money’.“
You’re looking at it backwards. Markell sprinted around the state, raising money from as many Republicans as possible because he knows when Alan Levin gets in, that becomes impossible.
Does anyone know how many Republican homes Jack held fundraisers in this year?
I love this
“Levin would have write a personal check of 3 or 4 million dollars, the money he got from screwing Delaware when he sold Happy Harry’s stores.”
that is such classical bullshit. Welcome to America complainers. Walgreens, CVS, Rite Aid they are everywhere. Not every state had the luxury of a private Levin run HH. I would like to see someone cite, pref I’m not Mike Protack , how he screwed delaware aside from some terrible Walgreens service, and really that’s not his fault.
What I don’t get is this, was Levin suppose to run HH til the day he died?
He might as well run HH till the day he dies. He sure as hell ain’t gonna’ run Delaware.
It will be an uphill battle for him.
You know this post is gonna get some hits, Levin posts always do, so can someone explain how he screwed DE
Because certain people think everything belongs to everyone. Ergo, HH belonged to Delaware, not to Alan Levin.
The only thing uphill about Levin winning the governor’s race is the registration totals. Everything else favors him.
I agree with FSP, everything favors Levin except:
1) registration totals;
2) the amount of money in his campaign;
3) his coyness with announcing which makes him a wishy-washy candidate;
4) Mike Protack;
5) no experience in government;
6) a body that has Type II Diabetes written all over it;
7) feel free to add
I like Alan Levin. He is truly a very decent person. He had every right to sell Happy Harry’s, and I admire him for wanting to do something else with his life.
However, FSP’s argument that ‘(t)he only thing uphill about Levin winning the governor’s race is the registration totals’ makes no sense. How about the fact that Markell and, yes, even Carney, have painstakingly built campaign organizations and raised significant money?
And how about the fact that Levin’s Mario Cuomo act (will he or won’t he?) has led people and money to look and commit elsewhere?
Had Levin decided back in September or so that he was in, FSP’s argument could be taken seriously. As it is, I think that whether or not Levin jumps in, R’s will be left wondering what might have been…
Awesome, the GOPerheads may go with Protack! Now that would be something.
Has Alan Levin woken up every day for 15 years, looked in the mirror and said “Good morning, Governor!” like Markell and Carney?? No. His ambition is to help the state. That’s all.
Look, you have one guy who’s been a success as the number one guy running things and has successful experience in the public and private sector. One. That’s it.
Money will not be an issue. Levin will outraise everyone else. That’s “outraise” as in other people’s money.
And Peter, your list is barely even worth mentioning, other than the fact that a) he does have government experience, both as a prosecutor, as Sen. Roth’s top adviser and as a member of several boards and commissions and b) He’s healthier than Ruth Ann was when she got elected.
We’ve not had a gubernatorial candidate announce that early, maybe ever. My father announced after Jan. 11, and so did Bill Lee. So while he got in after the other candidates, who have all been running for Governor for at least six years, he’s not wishy-washy at all.
You can accuse him of being wishy-washy only after he gets in, if he campaigns like Fred Thompson.
If only Mike Castle shared your confidence.
Uh, FSP, your father lost. So did Bill Lee.
And it’s not about when you announce, it’s at least in part about when you make the actual commitment to run so that you can build your team. If Levin has indeed made that decision, he’s done a good job of camouflaging it.
This cycle started much earlier than previous cycles, an historic amount of early money was raised, and many people who in previous cycles might have been Levin supporters placed their bets elsewhere.
Levin is on record as saying that, if he runs, it will not be to merely be a sacrificial lamb, and I believe him. If he doesn’t believe he can win, he won’t run.
Circumstances could well prove me wrong, but I honestly don’t think he’s gonna make the race. He’s a smart man, and I think he sees the writing on the wall. At least for this year.
“If Levin has indeed made that decision, he’s done a good job of camouflaging it.”
Yes, he has.
The rub I have w/the sale of HH is that the boy wonder didn’t share the profits of the sale with all the long time HH employees…minimum a bonus in the pay envelope. Now that we’re on the subject another rub is that Walgreens has increased the price of OTC products and discontinued some HH stuff.
RE: #12 That wacky weed will cause you to have fantasies and delusions. STOP IT!!!!
“The rub I have w/the sale of HH is that the boy wonder didn’t share the profits of the sale with all the long time HH employees…minimum a bonus in the pay envelope. ”
He made sure they all got to keep their jobs. You don’t think that item cost money in the negotiations?
So FSP is saying Levin, as Governor, will make sure all the old stand-bys keep their jobs? Merconi, Cordrey, Lofink?
Great. Go Levin.
dis –
Thank you for pointing out some of the many personnel mistakes of the Minner/Carney/Markell era. Please send your resume to the Levin office pronto.
I support Jack Markell. But, for the record, Alan Levin treated his employees great. My wife worked for Happy Harry’s, and he really was a great boss. He also shared the financial good fortune of the company with his employees, and he was generous with bonuses. People liked working for him.
For the record, I also think he would make a good Governor although I think he lacks Markell’s vision and a true raison d’etre for his candidacy.
However (and this is a point I’ve have failed to make clearly enough), because I do believe that timing is an essential x-factor in politics, I think he’s missed what should have been the best window to jump into this race. Many people who would be considered part of Levin’s constituency, including Chateau Country R’s, have signed onto Markell’s campaign. If you don’t believe me, scroll through the list of Markell’s grassroots supporters & see for yourself. That tells me that he likely will have to self-finance his campaign, to a large degree.
The irony is that, had he sold HH a few years earlier and run in 2004, he’d likely be the incumbent governor today. As I said, sometimes it’s all in the timing.
Steve living up to his name.
“So FSP is saying Levin, as Governor, will make sure all the old stand-bys keep their jobs? Merconi, Cordrey, Lofink?”
He takes care of those who he is responsible for, and you make THAT leap? You don’t have anything better than that?
So when is Levin going to announce that he is challenging Protack?
“The rub I have w/the sale of HH is that the boy wonder didn’t share the profits of the sale with all the long time HH employees…minimum a bonus in the pay envelope. ”
That statement couldn’t be more wrong. Whoever YOU want it to be , please don’t contribute if you can’t back up what you say. I know first hand that long time employees got what they deserved.
jason –
He’s not challenging Protack. He’s running for Governor – and my guess is within a week.
Why on earth would someone want to challenge Protack? To what, a spelling bee?
He’ll need to win against Mike P to earn the right to lose to Markell.
Jason, hows life living up markell’s ass?
How’s your face?
“O”….maybe those in management got some kinda pittance…..but as a (very)frequent customer (12 Meds per mo.) of HH/Walgreens I can assure you the front line staff DID NOT keep their jobs….stop by your local store and check it out…….or better yet send your wife.
I disagree Whoever, for Walgreens to come in and replace the frontlines like that would not only be expensive but a waste of time and impossible. The frontlines remained the same and they were trained on how to operate the new walgreens systems(the transition to their systems was the biggest challenge for the stores). The frontlines even got a raise buddy because it was now being run by a mega corp that could pay out.
So i don’t know, maybe at you local HH a couple of teenagers quit and some pharm techs got switched around, but definitely not what you describe.
How’s your face? That’s checkmate, bitch!
So let me get this right. After Levin got greedy and sold the stores then Walgreens gave employees a raise? What does that say about Levin- a bit greedy?? It took Walgreens to start paying a good salary. Let’s face it, every voter he would meet will ask or comment about the Happy Harry sale and none of it will be good. He will get killed by either Democrat.
Also, isn’t Levin the same guy who was going to stop taking Medicare and Medicaid at the pharmacy reimbursable rate was too low? Now there is a man of the people by goodness.
The state GOP must be brain dead beyond belief.
Too much Happy Harry Happy Hours at the pharmacy.
Levin is a loser before he even begins.
To challenge either Dem candidate Levin has to pony up at least $3-4 million of daddy’s money.
That’s just for a seat at the table.
Then he’s got spend much of that to beat Protack, which I doubt he can.
The days of voting for the super-rich silver-spoon millionaires is gone, at least in the GOP primary.
Protack is battle tested and really wants it.
So say, Levin spends a couple of mil trying to beat Protack, he still loses.
Levin is in a lose, lose proposition and the boys at the country club won’t help out.
No one gives serious money to multi-millionaires like Levin.
Silver lining is that mayble Dave Burris gets some table scraps from Levin to help with his dismal financial situation.
I know first hand that long time employees got what they deserved.
Republicans ALWAYS think (non-union) employees get what they deserve.
I attended the A Phillip Randolph Institute meeting today as I did last month. Today the speakers were Jack Markell and Mike Protack. Last month it was Alan Levin who seemed a bit uninformed on some issues, I hope John Carney stops by next month.
Markell and Protack were both on their game today with Markell going first and he talked a lot of policy, almost too much policy as the President had to get him to move one several times but still he had ideas and seemed committed to what he said. I still think of him as a bit of a spoiler against Carney but we will see.
Protack talked policy and numbers but mostly talked about values and experiences in life which were much more like mine.
I did not know there was Republican in the state who cared or thought about the little people, it was pretty clear Protack did. He talked about health care and education and the economic slowdown in Delaware with very personal stories and decent solutions in each area.
The best part of his talk was when he was asked twice about the Republican Party in Delaware and their undeniable free fall into obscurity. He could have taken some pot shots at the Republican party but he didn’t… he calmly said he thought the voters had spoken pretty loud and clear and there was no need for him to talk about personalities when the issues and answers were more important.
I hope Mr. Carney will visit us.
Mike, Jason O and Peter – What is this new slur about my “dismal financial situation?” Do you know something that I don’t?
“He made sure they all got to keep their jobs.”
And how many soon quit them because Walgreen’s is atrocious t0 work for?
And did Alan Levin potentially endanger Delawareans by selling HH to Walgreens, a company w/ a notorious history of serious medication errors?
See here:
http://delawarewatch.blogspot.com/2007/08/did-alan-levin-jeopardize-customer.html
To deny them the ability to sell the business to whomever they wish and to share the results of this sale with their shareholders and stakeholders, is totally counter to what I believe as an American!
*
Dana’s post had faded from my memory. It was disturbing enough when I read it the first time but the quote above, from the comments section, resounds today.
Has America become what the GOP has prioritized since Reagan’s time: beholden only to the stockholder bottomline?
Nancy: HH was private, it didn’t have any stockholders (not public ones, anyway). Either way,pPlease remember than corporations, by charter, must maximize shareholder value. They are not only “guilty” of the thinking you describe, they always have been.
Once again, a bunch of people whose monikers have never before graced a Delaware blog show up to tout Mike Protack’s bullshit, and once again the exact same terms are used — “silver spoon,” etc. And we’re expected to believe that “Paul,” the union guy, cares at all about whether Protack said anything nice or nasty about the Republican Party.
Tell us, Mike, when are you going to release the names of all your “donors”? I know the law doesn’t require it, but your credibility does. I frankly don’t believe you raised your money from donors, and unless I see some names I never will.
BTW, when are you going to hold a real fund-raiser — you know, the kind where real people show up and pay real money because they support you as a candidate? Let us know. Because until then your campaign is just what it’s always been — a novelty act.
Al, You must have been sleeping to not to have seen the upward progression of stock holder’s power that gained ground in the 80’s that it had never had and has not relinquished since.
Power over the corporate executives and lead staffers was largely seen as stripped away so that the ‘values’ of a, let’s say, ‘American family friendly business, were caput.
Loyalty to company and the company’s loyalty to town and employee began to take the second seat to the bottomline of dividend return.
That is not the corporate face of earlier eras no matter how much you work your mouth to try to make it so.