A Team Of Moderates
The News Journal decides what is and isn’t news. Chris Coons’s 3 county announcement – not news. Michelle Rollins appearing at a Republican event – news. Apparently appearances by Chris Coons or John Carney at Democratic events does not qualify as news either. Not only has the NJ covered two appearances by Rollins at Republican candidate forums, they’ve also declared her a moderate before she’s ever taken one vote in Congress.
Moderate Republican Michele Rollins made one of her first campaign stops for the U.S. House race deep in conservative territory Thursday.
That’s the very first sentence of last Thursday’s article on Michelle Rollins’s appearance in front of a candidate forum hosted by the 9/12 Patriots.
Rollins, 64, already has taken heat for her abortion-rights position, a spot on the board of Wilmington Trust, which accepted TARP funds from the federal government, and a one-time donation to Vice President Joe Biden’scampaign.
So, what positions make you a moderate, in the News Journal‘s eyes?
Opening with a speech about how she decided to enter politics because she was unhappy with health care reform, Rollins railed on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and told the crowd she wants to go to Washington to help dismantle Democrats’ overreaching spending.
A moderate, according to the NJ, is someone who hates health care reform, makes fun of Nancy Pelosi and doesn’t like Democrats. Oh, and she gives lip service to supporting abortion rights for women. The bar is set awful low to be considered a Republican moderate these days. I guess the NJ has decided that Rollins and Castle are a team – a team of moderates.
So, why is the News Journal giving so much coverage to Michelle Rollins and not Glenn Urquhart, Kevin Wade or Rose Izzo? Scott Spencer appeared before the 9/12 Patriot group – why not him? Where is the coverage of John Carney or Chris Coons?
If the News Journal decides they’d like to cover the Democratic candidates, a list of events can be found here.
Tags: DE-AL, Michelle Rollins, Mike Castle, News Journal
So, last week I was worried that a Republican press release would effect the newscycle on the day that Chris did his three county announce. HAH HAH HAH! There is no news cycle for WNJ, just Republican talking points ad nauseum. Gannett protecting the wealthy and misleading the rest. Sad, very sad.
9/12 Patriots are not a Republican group. A candidate’s forum is news if you say something. Coons just held a 3 county political rally to state what he already told them. They tend not to cover both announcements. You only get one shot is what they always said in the past. Stop whining. Have your candidates address some issues.
David – if you pulled your head out of your ass long enough to listen, you’d know that both Carney and Coons are addressing the issues that matter most to the people of Delaware. But then again, unless it’s something you want to hear, you and your ilk claim that Democrats don’t address issues. As usual, your argument fails.
How would David know what was and wasn’t said at the Coons event when the NJ refused to cover it. Isn’t that our point? I don’t see what Rollins said as anything new.
9/12 Patriots are not a Republican group.
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Good one!
Why are Democrats involved and invited? It is a conservative group. A lot of the people are Libertarians, Constitution Party, and Independents as well as Republicans. You confuse Republican with Conservative. That mistake often messes up your analysis and your ability to analyze trends politically. Just like all Democrats are not liberals, all Republicans are not conservatives. Just like all progressives are not Democrats, all conservatives are not Republicans.
Regardless, the 9/12 project was and likely will never be affilated with any party. The Patriots are an off shoot of that movement.
I get Mr. Coons communications. I haven’t seen anything beyond a campaign theme in a while. You wonder why he doesn’t get coverage? Even here I haven’t seen much of substance since JPS retired.
Watch out for this talking point:
[Rollins] said Wilmington Trust accepted Troubled Asset Relief Program funds from the federal government only because they were required, not because they were seeking a handout.
Wilmington Trust has still not repaid any of the $330 million in TARP funds. The federal government isn’t “requiring” the bank not to repay the funds.
WT’s lousy balance sheet keeps it from repaying the government.
I’m sure the government also required Rollins to increase her own salary after receiving the bailout funds. They certainly didn’t save the money to pay the government back.
MJ – Carney and Coons aren’t getting a ton of coverage at the moment because they don’t have primaries. Rollins, Urquhart and Wade do. (And, no, I don’t count Scott Spencer, and won’t until he actually shows he’s not a joke and a flake by filing.)
The News Journal does this every election cycle. They claim they don’t cover announcements unless something news worthy happens (like a former campaign staffer getting tossed out of a Senate announcement for asking for back pay, or a candidate for governor announcing he wants drivers licenses for illegals).
Actually, I wrote off Spencer when he started talking about launching a rocket to announce his candidacy and taking a whistle-stop train tour of Delaware’s 4 counties (the 4th county being “Blog County”).
When’s the last time you’ve heard the term “Moderate Democrat”? Wouldn’t Barack Obama be a “Moderate Democrat” since by 1970’s standards, he’s a Republican?
1970s standards? You mean when judged against Jimmy Carter, Scoop Jackson and Birch Bayh? Try again.
It’s a sad commentary on the far-rightist swing of the GOP that the term ‘moderate Republican’ even has to exist to differentiate the Mike Castles from the Crazy Eileens.
Moderate Republicans don’t really exist anymore. What we have now is Republicans who, every once in a while, pretend like they may vote for Democratic legislation. Then they vote with their Republican colleagues.