These back to back blizzards have allowed me to catch up on my reading, and here is something from Kavips that I missed last week:
Scott is the kind of guy who gets things done… Whether it is realistic or not, certain things like Sunday DART service, SEPTA rail to Newark, Fisker Electric Cars being built in Delaware, all have his fingerprints on them.
Single handedly, Scott Spencer has probably done more for transportation in this second smallest state, than any other person alive today… ( Joe Biden might be the exception for keeping Amtrack alive…. ) Scott goes as far back as pushing DART service past the 6:00 curfew that existed forever…. His efforts allowed banks and insurance companies to continue working past that early close up time…
In the future, we will see SEPTA go all the way to Aberdeen. There one can jump aboard a MARC and commute his way to DC… We will have commuter rail service from Philadelphia to Washington… Scott will have his fingerprints on that as well.. Soon (2011) 25,000 jobs will land in Aberdeen as the Army upgrades its operations there… With commuter rail, some of that money could find a home in New Castle County. At the same time, the demolition of the Chrysler plant and rebuilding of the University of Delaware’s Medical Center, will employ large numbers on this side of the state line.. It appears Newark will be booming soon. What a relief…. Of course, Democrats are the ones to thank… Use of government money to jump start an economy goes against every Republican tradition ever noted….
Kavips continues to go through Spencer’s proposals on Afghanistan, healthcare, and campaign finance reform, and while liking what he sees, can’t get past what is nearly certain to be a fruitless and unsuccessful campaign against the more well known former Lt. Governor John Carney.
And that is the dilemma. Scott has planned this run for a long time… He is loathe to give it up… He is a great guy, and a good Democrat… But despite his own best intentions, there must be a better spot in our state where he can accomplish more good, than running another idealistic Beiner-esque campaign across three counties… Those of us connected, must do our part to find the proper slot for this focused, intense, concrete, sharp, and visionary young man…. There has to be a position where he can do far more good for our state, than just lose to John Carney…
And while I agree it is highly unlikely that no matter his good ideas and history of good works Scott Spencer is going to beat John Carney in the Democratic primary, I am loathe to ever discourage a primary. Indeed, Scott’s good ideas deserve an airing in a campaign before any backroom deal is made to avoid a primary and place Scott in a more successful endeavor in local or state government. We here at Delaware Liberal will be providing Scott that platform in the future to air his ideas, through candidate interviews and the like, and we certainly invite Mr. Spencer to comment here and offer a guest post should he so desire. I think that is the better idea than to shuffle Scott away in order to avoid him losing to Carney. Surely Scott Spencer knows it is likely he is going to lose anyway, and yet he is continuing to run, and that should be respected and even encouraged.
I am not attacking Kavips for his concern, I just think his concern is not appropriate, for it suggests that losing to Carney means that Scott has no future in politics or government. And that is not the case.