Why Is This Man Smiling?

Filed in Delaware by on February 13, 2009

carney_for_congress

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  1. nemski says:

    In all seriousness, John Carney should announce his candidacy next week just based on Castle’s vote.

  2. pandora says:

    That would be sweet.

  3. jason330 says:

    It would get a lot of earned media.

  4. El Somnambulo says:

    Excuse El Somnambulo for not jumping on the Carney bandwagon.

    Yes, it is true that Carney got screwed by Minner and the Bidenistas. Yes, it is true that Carney could likely take out Castle.

    But, what if Castle doesn’t run again? What if Carney already knows this?

    Is the same John Carney whose campaign mantra seemed to be ‘it’s my turn’ suddenly going to discover the ‘vision thing’ he lacked during the campaign for governor?

    If Castle is out or, even if he’s still marginally in, is Carney the best prospective person we can send to DC?

    Sure, Carney will be a reliable D vote in Congress and better him than Castle. But, to El Somnambulo, he has the soul of a back-bencher.

    Let’s exercise some patience here. Why clear the field for Carney when there’s so much time for other qualified candidates and, perhaps, better Democrats, to emerge?

  5. Miscreant says:

    “blah, blah… Why clear the field for Carney when there’s so much time for other qualified candidates and… blah, blah”

    Who? Biden Junior?

    Shit.

  6. caped crusader says:

    You don’t need vision to be a Congressman. You don’t need to be a Decider. You don’t need to be a great orator. You need to represent your constituents. You need to have a good constituent relations staff, which Roth was famous for. Carney is more suited to Congress.

    Who else did you have in mind, El Som?

  7. El Somnambulo says:

    El Somnambulo isn’t carrying on a stealth campaign for anyone. He just doesn’t see why the progressive community needs to coalesce around Carney so early. It’s not like he has been a darling of the progressive community, and it’s not like Karen Harpy-Nagle can beat him, so why not wait?

    What if a Karen Peterson or someone similar is interested? Isn’t that at least a contest that would be worth having?

    That’s why ‘Bulo’s advice is “Chill”.

  8. anon2700 says:

    Carney has shown some guts, if nothing else, in fighting the Markell machine. He may not be perfect, but he sure was willing to fight.

    Karen Peterson seems to be a lot of talk and very little action, except on open government, anti-Minner issues. She could have stepped forward and primaried RAM, but didn’t.

    Other than her, who else is there? Kowalko? Seems happy in the GA, and his mild hippie-ness probably won’t go over well with Kent & Sussex. Schwartzkopf? Nah. Beau? Hahahaha.

    Face it. If Carney doesn’t run, we’re going to get a KHN-Mike Miller faceoff again, UNLESS Castle announces his retirement early. Then we’ll see a flood… ambitious NCCo council members, Kent Levy Court members, former legislators. But if Castle waits until the last minute… and why wouldn’t he? … it’ll be the Revenge of the Nitwits all over again.

  9. El Somnambulo says:

    El Somnambulo is fine with Carney running, he is not trying to chase him out of the race. El Somnambulo thinks that Carney running for Congress is a good thing. And ‘Bulo indeed does think that Carney’s in.

    El Somnambulo just doesn’t want the progressive community to go ‘all-in’ on Carney’s candidacy this early. After all, shouldn’t he have to at least earn that support? For the most part, he did not win that support in the gubernatorial primary.

  10. Unstable Isotope says:

    I’m with El Somnambulo. I would like to think that Carney learned something from the primary race and the potential screwing for the Senate seat, but I need to see evidence of this. I’m not willing to settle for just a Dem when I can have something better. I’m definitely shifting to the “better Democrats” part of “more and better Democrats.”

  11. La Narcolepsia says:

    La Narcolepsia suggests that Senor Carney is fiscally and socially conservative and will break your liberal hearts – starting with gay rights. During the primary, he offered nothing that showed a spark of independence or thoughtfulness. The sense of entitlement should be evaporated by now, though.

  12. anon2700 says:

    “I’m not willing to settle for just a Dem when I can have something better.”

    The problem with that is you could also end up with nothing.

    Politics is not a perfection sport.

  13. cassandra_m says:

    True, it isn’t a perfection sport, but there is something to be said for letting the process work to get to better candidates than just trying to create the inevitability of one. This time last year, the inevitable candidate for President was waking up to the fact that maybe she wasn’t.

    I’m absolutely with El Som here — candidates should be earning our support and if Carney didn’t do it 6 months ago, I really don’t know why he would now.

  14. a. price says:

    “Carney has shown some guts, if nothing else, in fighting the Markell machine. He may not be perfect, but he sure was willing to fight.” – anon

    Carney WAS the machine. the delaware dem party put all their money and force behind him in the primary to try and defeat Markell. the Markell “machine” was a grass roots movement- what the force behind a candidate SHOULD be. I have nothing against Carney (now) I just want to make sure history is accurate. Castle is a poop-head

  15. Suzanne says:

    “. After all, shouldn’t he have to at least earn that support? For the most part, he did not win that support in the gubernatorial primary”

    Amen to that. I told Carney during the gubernatorial race that I have a problem voting for a candidate that just hasn’t done ANYTHING to convince me that he is the right one for the job. If he wants my vote in the future, he has to earn my support and not wait until election day. I want him to have a clear vision and I would like for him to drop the temperament of a sleeping pill and just get a little bit more animated. We have enough puppets in politics already.

  16. It’s too frikken early. Jimminy H Crickets we are not even two months in.. let’s give it a year before we start matching up rivalries or we will have a perpetual campaign. This last election just wore us the hell out, and most of the public is sick of politics. They don’t want to hear a bunch of promises and campaigning. now they want answers, solutions, and action.

    Now is not the right time.. give it a year so you actually have new issues to run on so feet aren’t sticking out of mouths come time to actually ramp up the campaign.

  17. crap says:

    a. price: A machine doesn’t have to be the party in power. It can come from massive organization and loads of money, which Markell had in spades.

  18. caped crusader says:

    crap’s contention that somehow a machine that is well organized to raise money and win is a bad thing is, well, crap. Tell it to David Plouffe.

    I prefer the Markell machine over the same tired old Delaware Way contraption run by union goons, Nancy Cook and assorted lobbyists — almost all of which dutifully supported Carney.

  19. crap says:

    dear caped,

    sorry, you’re reading waaay too much into my post. where the heck did i say a machine is a bad thing??

    i’m just saying that a machine doesn’t necessarily have to be a daley-style machine. it can be a markell machine, or a plouffe machine, exactly.

  20. caped crusader says:

    thanks for the clarification, crap.

    Cordially, caped.

  21. liz says:

    The democratic party in Delaware is the MACHINE. Jack just figured out a way to use the machine against itself, and then for added measure got Dennis Rochford a repuke to get 3500 republicans to switch to democrat to elect Jack.

    We the people should be against, and opposed to any freaking “party machine”, the party machine is not representing voters, it represents the power elite regardless of party.

  22. liz says:

    Carney is not a moderate or progressive. He wouldnt support single payer health care, wouldnt even hold a hearing on it, lied about it, and kept it from even being discussed.

    Carney is just another C student, with no foreign policy experience, doesnt know the national issues, therefore why would we back this hack?

  23. jason330 says:

    The worst Democrat is better than Mike Castle.

    Further, any Democrat with experience in elected office is better than any Democrat that has never been elected to anything.

  24. The worst Democrat is better than Mike Castle.

    Further, any Democrat with experience in elected office is better than any Democrat that has never been elected to anything.

    Gotta love Jason’s sarcasm-absolutism. I’m starting to pick up on it more easily now.

  25. Jerophonic says:

    Hey! Carney’s no C student.

    I’ve seen him parry questions on education and the budget, and he knows his stuff. Sometimes his deliberate speaking style is mistaken for slowness, but he’s quite sharp.

    El Som makes a narrow point, and I agree. Carney would make an excellent candidate, but it’s way too early to get locked in.

    No need to trash Carney.

  26. Miscreant says:

    “… any Democrat with experience in elected office is better than any Democrat that has never been elected to anything.”

    Where does John Atkins figure in this contrivance?

  27. jason330 says:

    Obviously I was talking about in a race to take Castle’s seat. Anyway, updated per your input.

    Further, any Democrat with experience in elected office not named John Atkins is better than any Democrat that has never been elected to anything.

  28. Unstable Isotope says:

    Heh heh, Miscreant.