Night of the Long Knives and Pitchforks

Filed in Delaware by on November 9, 2010

Well, it didn’t take long for the O’Donnell faction of the GOP to begin the civil war. At last night’s meeting of the Sussex County GOP Committee, Don Ayotte, who is a contributor over at that other political blog (you know the one, the one run by Delusional David) demanded Tom Ross’ head.

According to Jud Bennett, a member of the committee,

With absolutely no regard for the rules, Don Ayotte, with the backing of a vociferous and determined, stacked house, demanded that a Sussex County Resolution be passed, censoring State Chairman Tom Ross for his actions concerning Christine O”donnell (sic) during the Primary campaign and after. According to the resolution, Tom Ross had said “Christine O’Donnell could not be elected to dog catcher”. He also “did not support O”donnell properly after the Primary”, according to Ayotte’s resolution– in which O’Donnell upset Mikle Castle in the wake of Tea Party support.

We all knew that this day was coming, but Ayotte, who is known for his extremist views at the other blog, couldn’t even wait a week. All of us over here at DL are socialists and Marxists and he’s the sane one. Bennett continues:

Vitriol, shouting, and a total break down of order transpired. Ron Sams tried to explain that this action would serve no productive purpose in unifying the party. Moderate Republican, Maria Evans expressed her views in opposition of this action, and denied the validity of Ayotte’s proposal. She also held up a tape recorder, saying that she was taping the whole deal, which no doubt will be played on the internet, and on all the local and national TV and radio stations.

I’m beginning to think this is why Dan Gaffney tweeted today “and people wonder why I don’t join the ‘club’.” Better to steer clear of this mess, Dan.

But wait, there’s more. Bennett “called for a point of order–suggesting that only official committee members are allowed to vote on something like this and it requires a quorum of 50 voters.” After this– Ron Sams brought those Sussex Committee members to the front to count them. Only 31 were present, making any official action not relevant or legal.” But Ayotte and his teabagging fellow travelers would have nothing to do with the rules.

They wanted blood, they wanted to punish, and they wanted it known that Tom Ross needed to go and this was to be a vote of no confidence. County Councilman Vance Phillips called for a planned vote on the resolution at the next meeting, but Ayotte and company would not hear it. Finally, Ron Sams said, “you want to vote, go ahead. The unruly crowd , in a voice vote, overwhelmingly supported the resolution, with a few squeaky nays in opposition.

Standing on the sidelines urging on this unruly mob, with their torches and pitchforks at hand, were Vance Phillips and Sam Wilson, two members of the Sussex County Council. Both of these guys make Joe McCarthy look like a moderate. According to a friend of mine who was at the meeting, both of these fine gents moved that the resolution be placed on next month’s agenda. My guess is that they will ensure that there is a quorum present to vote on the motion. This is also what Curly has been advocating since the primary – he wants Ross’ head on a pike.

In closing his email to his Coastal Conservative Network, Bennett said this:

Regardless, without compromise, with this “take no prisoners”, vitriolic attitude, the Delaware GOP will not rebuild, will not heal, and will continue to lose elections. This is not the right way in my opinion, but I’m just an old dinasaur. So be it.

Dave Burris probably saw this in his crystal ball, which is why he left the party. And if the GOP splits, their caucus in Leg Hall will continue to shrink.

h/t to Independent

Tags: , ,

About the Author ()

A rabble-rousing bureaucrat living in Sussex County

Comments (33)

Trackback URL | Comments RSS Feed

Sites That Link to this Post

  1. She Won’t Go Away : Delaware Liberal | November 11, 2010
  1. Call me crazy but the Sussex Republicans have a point. The Delaware Republican party did attack Christine O’Donnell before the primary. Why shouldn’t Tom Ross resign for being out-of-step with the party?

  2. Also, under Tom Ross’s watch Democrats in the Assembly now have 2/3 majorities in both houses and the Delaware GOP lost one statewide office. That’s a record of failure.

  3. cassandra m says:

    And Tom Ross wasn’t wrong, either. Christine O’Donnell *couldn’t* get elected dogcatcher.

    Probably the only good news for Delaware Republicans is that its Sussex contingent isn’t the entirety of their party.

  4. cassandra m says:

    In fact, it is probably the Sussex contingent who should resign — they were the ones who spoiled an almost certain Senate pickup, not Tom Ross.

  5. MJ says:

    If you can bear to read it, you should go over to batshitcrazypolitics.net and read their version of the meeting.

    As a party leader, Ross has lost 2 Senate races, a congressional seat, and all of the statewide elected positions save one. And that is a failure. But he knew what would happen if COD beat Castle and he tried to prevent it. And he was right in filing the complaint with the FEC against her.

  6. Ross is out of step with the Delaware GOP. He should resign. He’s the guy in charge, he should take the fall. I don’t think we can argue that Ross did undercut the U.S. Senate candidate and failed to get the favored candidates nominated.

    BTW, here’s the Delaware Politics post on the Sussex Republicans meeting.

  7. LOL on this part:

    And in closing let me point out one thing that did happen, that gives me pause. Among the Tom Ross apologist in the room there was one woman who was very vocal. She was also taping the meeting with a digital camera. Let me say as an O’Donnell supporter who witnessed this tracker style of intimidation. A tactic used by the Castle campaign and the Coons campaign. A tactic reminiscent of “Big Brother”. I find it despicable, that this so-called Republican would use these strong-arm tactics against fellow members of the GOP.

    So taping a meeting is now intimidation and strong-arm tactics? Considering how much conservatives freak out by being accurately quote by Media Matters I shouldn’t be surprised.

  8. cassandra m says:

    Ross shouldn’t bear the burden of the south of the canal insane people. He ran candidates that were nominated by his party — one a close sure thing and the other potentially competitive, especially in a wave year. Ross may not represent the teabaggers and the half literates over at DP, but he certainly wasn’t the one who spoiled anything.

  9. MJ says:

    Isn’t it odd that Frank Knotts won’t name this person with the camera, and then later in the comments Don Ayotte does? Everyone knows it was Maria, and props to her for not kowtowing to the teabaggers.

  10. Bandit says:

    When will they realize Delaware will never elect an ultra conservative statewide? I too love the supposed intimidation tactics by taping meetings…laughable!!

  11. When will they realize Delaware will never elect an ultra conservative statewide?

    I don’t think they got the message.

    From comments:

    Rick, youre premise is wrong. Delaware is not “a very liberal state”. It’s a very uninformed state and there are quite a few people living the entitlement mentality. It’s a very union controlled state. These are all things that can be fixed, changed, altered but it’s going to take a message that is more than just “Be a Republican because…you shouldn’t be a Democrat.”

    Say what you want about the losses in the state and say what you want about Christine and Glen losing but if you look at the debates that stayed on the issues (it’s difficult to do that but go back and look) the ball was shifted to the right. Carney and Coons, wether you believe them or not, ran on altering Obamacare (including removing mandates and reducing the IRS’ role in enforcement), extending the Bush tax cuts (at least for some people) and individual freedoms. The window in the state shifted farther right this year than ever before.

    The down ticket losses were the D’s flexing their muscles and you know what, that is fine, things will be hard for the next couple years as the D’s drive THIS truck into another ditch (what’s good for Obama is good for me too). The people will awaken but we needed to begin the process.

    Shorter GOP: Delaware voters are stupid.

  12. anon says:

    Dave Burris probably saw this in his crystal ball

    If by crystal ball you mean “email inbox,” then you are probably right.

  13. MJ says:

    Anon – Burris changed his party affiliation well over a month ago. And my bet is that one reason he left is because of the purity tests that the Sussex contingent is going to propose for anyone who either wants a party position or wants to be a candidate.

  14. Jason330 says:

    I like UI’s point. The DE GOP is not Tom Ross’ and MiKe Castle’s GOP. It is Christine O’Donnell’s GOP now. Time for Ross to go.

    BTW – Poor Maria. Surrounded by moronic fuckwits riddled with political rabies. She must have felt like Will Smith in “I am Legend.”

  15. RSmitty says:

    Even a couple of mice with human brains knows well enough that I consider Maria a friend, but one of the things that I admire more is her willingness to throw herself into a situation, regardless of how outnumbered she may be, and she does not waver. Granted, she was not alone in her feeling, but severely outnumbered and cetainly standing the tallest among that end of the debate. Greatest thing is, she used their own tactic, the very same tactic they used to begin their wave of self-exaggerated discontent. Anyone remember Crazy Eileen and all the fun follow ups? Oh, that’s right, once real facts came against them, they suddenly didn’t like cameras. Guess Maria forgot that about them and good thing she did (trust me, she forgot nothing).

    As for the parnoids’ comments on that other site, just consider the liklihood of them standing virtually alone in a roomful of heated, frothing opposition “armed” only with a camera. Think they’d do that?

  16. Jason330 says:

    Good point. Who thinks that the guy who threatened to put a bullet in Ross’ head was in that meeting?

  17. Aoine says:

    naw- he was from out of state

  18. Blu_Coq says:

    If you don’t want your statements on video, it’s because the majority of us don’t want your opinion, or you in office.

  19. Exactly Jason. Mike Castle lost the DE GOP when he failed to keep people from switching parties to vote for Markell and failed to get them to come back. The Brandywine bluebloods are outnumbered now in the party. They no longer control it. It should be controlled by someone who reflects the party.

  20. Aoine says:

    Don Ayotte is a scary scary person – especially after I saw him on the news last night – UGH – get some dental care!!!

    he apparently acted like a spoiled brat, screaming nd yelling and went after Maria big time – who ALWAYS videos the meetings

    next out will be the tar and feathers and we will be back 60 years

    that is the American they want back

    they really are the American Taliban and Don Ayotte is Osama bin Laden

    of course he’s too stupid to realize that Vance Phillips and Sam Wilson are using him to do the heavy lifting – they are the puppet masters, but will let dummy Ayotte take the hits

    It’s better that a soap opera watching them cannabalize themselves

  21. anon says:

    Good lord, their comments are frightening–wanting to work harder to indoctrinate New Castle Countians to be more conservative through conservative talk radio and education. They can keep the crazy in their small part of the world–that sh#^ won’t fly up here…

  22. Dr. Crazy says:

    Well, they sure showed Tom Ross wrong. Look at how many dogs she caught.

  23. Aoine says:

    more like bitchs really……….

    Don Ayotte topping the list of course

  24. liberalgeek says:

    Wow. I just read those comments. There is lunacy wrapped in derangement over there.

  25. liberalgeek says:

    Actually, as I think about it, there is some symmetry between What happened at Delaware Politics and what is happening to Delaware Republicans. A “conservative” party guy builds an audience that attempts to put a Republican spin on Democratic Delaware. He invites several writers that represent the spectrum of voices on the right. He attempts to eject one of the more loony of them (Frank). In the end, he leaves to pursue other interests and the insane take over the asylum.

    If anything, I fear that DelawarePolitics.net presages what is to become of the Delaware Republican Party.

  26. a.price says:

    the real scary thing is, someday one of those loonies might win. It is very possible they could fill up the state senate and house with teabags… take over smaller local governments with teabags. the Nazis of Indian River will start to spread out all over the state…. maybe we should sponsor a bus to take the sane refuges north of the canal then take out the bridge.

  27. Aoine says:

    naaw – just wait them out – some are so old/crazy that in 10 years or so they will either be institutionalized with dementia

    or

    wearing Depends and drooling on themselves

    actually, I think some of them are doing that already

  28. RSmitty says:

    Ken Grant gives the rioting villagers something to chew on (looking at the comments, I think the dish was a little too bitter for them).

  29. anon2 says:

    a. price I find your idea intriguing, but all of the canal bridges would have to be taken out.

  30. Aoine says:

    here is the Republicians new plan = but this one is good

    some high points I want to comment on: by Jason O’Neill

    Wednesday, November 10, 2010Picking Up the Pieces
    With the losses statewide last week, Republicans throughout Delaware should re-focus on 2012. While the election losses of 2010 may sting for a while, crying over spilled milk will not do any good. In analyzing the carcass of what is left of the Delaware Republican party, there is plenty of work to be done. And besides, we only have 717 days until November 6, 2012.

    If Republicans and the conservative movement are going to win in 2012, we must unite and address the serious road blocks that have plagued us for the last twenty years. These road blocks are not new, but have failed to be addressed by the Republican Party leadership since the Delaware GOP lost dominance due to the local power loss left by the Du Pont Co. Ever since the Du Pont Co. focused on its global businesses, the Delaware GOP has been seething from loss after loss.

    So how do we fix this? We must fix three things: leadership, (YOU DONT HAVE ANY) minority outreach ( YOU DONT HAVE ANY) and technology.(YOU CAN BUY IT BUT ARE YOU SMART ENOUGHT TO USE IT)

    Clearly, the leadership of the Republican party is more interested in protecting its own power, than winning elections. We must re-organize the Republican party as one not of a few, but one that identifies with like minded citizens who wanted a limited-government, and want to keep more of what they earn. NO THUGS, NO RACISTS, NO SCREAMING FOOLS IN SUSSEX

    In May 2011, Republicans will convene for its annual convention. This convention will focus on who will be the new face of the Republican party and who will take us to victory in 2012. Clearly, we cannot continue to move forward with the same leadership team. The new leadership team must unite the conservative movement, and those that consider themselves ‘moderates’.

    With that unity, the challenge of uniting the very conservative Sussex county and the more liberal New Castle county is a tall order but can be done. A one-size fits all model for all three counties will not work. What works in Sussex, will not work in New Castle. However, competent leadership teams in each county can unite behind a fiscal conservative message, and with that we can win in 2012 statewide. In pockets where social conservatism can gain ground, go for it.

    The second item on the list, is to bring like minded Delawareans of all races and religions into the Republican party.( AFTER DEMONIZING THEM AS THUGS IN THIS CYCLE>> GOOD LUCK WITH THAT( Three initial and separate initiatives should focus on reaching out to the African-American9( ARENTL THEY ALL LAZY SPOILED AND ON WELFARE), Hispanic/Latino ( OMG – DONT YOU ALL THINK THEY ARE ILLEGAL) and Asian Indian citizens.( OH OK – THOSE MUSLIM TERRORISTS YOU HAVE DEMONIZED FOR YEARS) The Republican party must be willing to go into these neighborhoods and barrios (DONT HISPANICS LIVE IN NEIGHBOORHOODS TOO?) to communicate and reach out them.

    Many African-Americans and Hispanic/Latinos are deeply rooted in faith, and share the same values the Republican party does ( RIPPING FAMILY APART WITH DEPORTATIONS – SURE LATINOS love THAT!!). They share family values, but more importantly, it is the fiscal conservative message that will unite them behind the Republican brand.

    The Delaware Republican party has ignored the city of Wilmington to its detriment, and with the 2012 mayoral race we can reclaim it. Rumor has it, Republican Councilman Michael Brown will be seeing the mayoral nomination. If the Republican party can elect Mike Brown as Wilmington’s next mayor, we can make serious inroads into the African-American community in Wilmington. GOOD LUCK WITH THE LATINOS – I ALREADY SENT WORD UP THERE THAT THEY WANT TO USE YOU – AGAIN! HINT – PASS OMPREHENSICE IMMIGRATION REFORM AND WE MIGHT LISTEN THEN. AND GET RID OF YOU RACIST ELEMENTS

    Republicans statewide must also be willing to reach out to the Hispanic/Latino community.OH YEA – I CAN SEE RICK AND DON AYOTTE IN KIMMYTOWN GEORGETOWN STARING AT EPOEPL THEY CANNOT TALK TO….RICK – WHO WANT TO ROUND THEM UP IN TRUCKS With this, we must be willing to speak the language and understand their culture. (GOD YOU CANNOT EVEN LOOK US IN THE FACE!!AN DUDE I GOT SOME HOT SAUCE FOR YOU Many Hispanic/Latinos have deeply rooted faith and family values,YA THE FAMILIES YOU RIP APART WITH DEPORTATION and the conservative message is a natural fit. If we embrace them, and do not ignore them, they will come back to the Republican camp.

    The last demographic that must be embraced is the Asian-Indian community.( AHHHH THE MUSLIM TERRORISTS) Many in this community are small business owners and professionals who are natural fit to the fiscal conservative message. This is a must for the Republican party, if we are to remain competitive in the state electoral politics. This demographic, as well as the Hispanic/Latino demographic are the fastest growing. YUP, AND WE WILL BE RUNNING YOUR RACISTS ASSESINTO THE MUD IN 10 YEARS – AFTER YEARS OF FACIST RACIST DISCRIMINATION – WE REMEBER THAT TOO

    The last item on the repair list for the Delaware Republican Party is to address its reluctance to embrace technology. While the party does have a web site, it is not engaging nor welcoming. NEED A TRANSLATOR – I KNOW ONE!! The web site must be interactive and relevant with the aim to sell the re AND BI-LINGUAL!!ader on the party platform, how to get involved and how to contribute. The Party must also leverage its Twitter account and engage Facebook to build a community of its members.

    Currently, the Delaware Republican party is using the same technology model that plagued John McCain in the 2008 Presidential race. John McCain with a IT staff four was dwarfed by now President Obama who had an IT staff of 96. The Obama camp also had its own social networking site, and leverage mobile technology.

    In politics, you cannot run an Eisenhower campaign in an Obama world. This is so true, especially in how politics and technology fit hand in glove. Technology is the vehicle to deliver the party platform to the voter, and if done right, engages them into the process. Technology must be a major focus , if Delaware Republicans want to win in 2012. Ignore it, at your peril.
    Posted by Jason O’Neill at 9:53 PM Email This BlogThis! Share to Twitter Share to Facebook Share to Google Buzz

    CAPITALS MINE – -IM SORRY I COULD NOT RESIST!! SOME WHITE DUDE SITTING IN A CORNER TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO SPEAK TO :ALIENS: BASICALLY
    AND MINIRITIES THAT WILL NEVER TRUST THEN

    WELL HE;S TRYING – I SEEMS SINCERE BUT HE DOESN;T GET THE WOUNDS ARE DEEP AND THE DIVIDE FOREVER>>>>>

  31. Dr Crazy says:

    Actually, he has a point that Latin and Asian Americans, including most Muslims who indeed are professionals and business owners, and have conservative social values WOULD be a good fit for the GOP if, somehow, teabaggers could stop hating them for a few minutes. But that’s not likely to happen.

    Given a choice between the perception that I might pay slightly higher taxes, and a bunch of “constitutionalists” who do not support my freedom of religion and think they are fighting a war against me, if I were a Muslim I’d take my chances with the higher taxes.

  32. Aoine says:

    @ crazy – yes he does – problem is….these idiots down south and the rest of the 9/12ers OR Tea Baggers have done SO much to demonize that contingient of the population that they would rather have hight taxs than a group that sees them as either terrorists or illegal in this country

    not only that….but it is generational – the chilfren of those families see the same thing and there is empirical daat that it does happen – look at California – always a red state – then Prop 187 – and presto whammo – you cannot get a R out there a solid win for long and its been that way for 20 years

    there is NO unringing the bell that they themselves rang! NOw they are stuck with aging, fearful white people who in 10 or more years will simply be off the scene.

    and with Latinos flexing muscle in Nevada, Texas, New York California, etc they better come up with some idea – they are the fastest growing demographic and the right is scare to death of them.

    they should have courted them 15 years ago – that would have been wise – and the Asian-Indian community 10 years ago – but no

    again short-sighteness has done them in.