Reporters were all over the state yesterday covering the Castle-O’Donnell race. Dave Weigel, from Slate covered some campaign events and got some comments from Mike Castle.
There’s something almost quaint about this faith in the local media, especially when O’Donnell’s supporters are asked about the same stories. They, like many members of the Tea Party movement, don’t think that information in newspapers is definitive; it may even be inferior to what they hear from their friends or from talk radio. This is one of many reasons why Castle gets along with these activists the way a negotiator might deal with a hostage-taker.
“Some of the things they seem to advocate go beyond the norm,” says Castle. “I have trouble distinguishing sometimes between the factions out there that are in this ultra-conservative mode. You know—be it the patriots, or this Tea Party Express, or the different factions of the Tea Party. I’ve seen advocacy for eliminating the Department of Education, for example.”
He’s interrupted again—”Hi, Debbie!”—but keeps musing on how Tea Party activists shout down legislation by saying it’s unconstitutional.
“There are a lot of things that the federal government does that, you know, might not be explicitly in the Constitution per se,” says Castle. “There are a lot of things that the states do, too. And they’ve been doing it in some cases since the 18th century.” He shrugs. “I do suppose it is a good question to ask.”
It doesn’t sound like Mike Castle is taking the Tea Party very seriously, and that’s a problem. They’re going to be running his party soon and perhaps at least one of the houses of Congress.