Uh…no. Can we keep it real please?
People who like going to movies like the sense of letting their imagination drift into the world being projected up on that big screen and allowing themselves to be swept up in the hopes and dreams of the characters. They like the feeling that those hopes are not simply lines being delivered with more or less artistic talent, but real life hopes related to a life more interesting, satisfying life than their own.
Similarly, when we talk about Tom Carper supporting a challenger to Mike Castle I think it is important for us to remember that we are talking about Carper the political artist and not Tom Carper the human being.
While I agree with Delaware Dem that people high up in the party seem to have figured out (at long last) that Delaware should be represented in Congress by a Democrat, I’m not allowing myself to dream that Tom Carper is on board with the program. Even Delaware Dem seems to be full of wishful thinking and hope that he can be recruited:
The party is behind him. The only people still missing physically today were Senators Biden and Carper, but I have been told from reliable sources that they have been in contact with the Bullock campaign and have offered their support. I want them out there with Chris too, and trust me, you and I will bring pressure to bear on our wonderful Senators in the coming weeks.
Offered their support?
No. The Carper/Castle marriage is too longstanding, too entrenched, too harmonious and self-supporting to come apart now. And I say now, because if Mike Castle ever needed to keep his political marriage together it is now.
But that is not to say that Carper will fail to provide a challenger with his usual lip service at Democratic gatherings or his usual token monetary contribution. I mean, Tom Carper is pretty untouchable and could probably afford to flat out endorse Castle if he felt like it, but why rock the boat in such an obvious way? There is no need for Carper to formally endorse Castle when the his past practice of going out on campaign events disguised as pork distribution ceremonies seems to work fine. And when we see Carper and Castle delivering some pork to Sussex county one day and see Carper saying nice things about a Democratic challenger the next, we know that there is a willing suspension of disbelief at work if we allow ourselves to believe that Carper’s “support” is genuine.
So let’s just resolve not to be taken in. My advice to anyone running against Castle is to forget about Carper. Face the fact that he is on the other side and move forward with that knowledge. That way everyone can avoid wasting valuable time and energy trying to garner his REAL support.