1. ‘I Don’t Need No More Steenkin’ Debates’.
That’s the conclusion that Wilmington Mayoral candidate Dennis P. Williams has reached. He may be right. There have been something like 18 of them, and Williams has taken part in something like 17. However, recent surfacings of the famous Williams temper suggest that he may be staging a strategic retreat from the arena that often provides a glimpse into that temper. Perhaps it was the Montgomery jibe about Williams’ sealed police records (Williams got his police pension although he didn’t have the requisite time in), perhaps it’s just being in close proximity to the other candidates (Kevin Kelley is far from the ’empty suit’ pejorative that Williams hurled at him), but more than a little Jim Baker dismissiveness has begun to surface in Williams recently. I still rate him the favorite, based on both the ‘calculus’ and the easy demagoguery of the crime issue, but it hasn’t been the best 10 days or so for the candidate.
2. ‘We Don’t Need No Steenkin’ R Running for Mayor’.
The Rethugs will tell you that they ‘had no choice’ but to call for Kevin Melloy’s name to be removed from the ballot, in fact they have, but they’re, um, dissembling:
“He’s really given us no choice but to do this,” said John Rollins, chairman of the county GOP.
Melloy said he was under the impression from Rollins that, as an endorsed candidate, his check was a “mere formality” and would not be cashed. Melloy never would have run if he knew he had to fork over more than $4,500, he said.
Rollins said Melloy’s interpretation is “inaccurate” and all candidates are required to pay.
Yes, all candidates are required to submit the filing fee. But endorsed candidates generally have their checks held by the parties and returned to them. In essence, the Party pays the filing fee for the candidate if endorsed. And, let’s face it, John Rollins (as long as the Rollins family procreates, a Rollins will always have a position of power within the Rethug Party unless the family finances go south) has wiped his mouth, and probably other orifices, with bills of larger denominations than what the filing fee would cost.
Look, I’m not arguing that Melloy should stay on the ballot. There’s certainly an element of farce in what passes for his ‘political career’. Just pointing out that the real story here is that the Rethugs don’t want him on the ballot, and all this bullshit about having no choice but to throw him off the ballot is just bullshit.
3. Why Is Karen Weldin Stewart Endorsing Dennis Williams?
No, there’s nothing sinister about it, but I was dumbstruck when I read in the Sunday News-Journal profile of the race that she and Williams have allied themselves together. (Time for a brief off-topic rant. You guys know that I will link articles whenever possible. I’ve been trying all bleeping morning to link to the News-Journal profile that I referenced in this item. No luck. Also, the news search tool over there is just pathetic. Type in, say, Karen Weldin Stewart, and you’ll be inundated with obits of people whose first or last names were Stewart. Or type in ‘insurance commissioner’, and you get stuff for insurance companies. If there was anybody left to be embarrassed over there, they’d be embarrassed. OK, doctor, I feel better now. Now back to the point I was trying to make…)
Not so much from Dennis’ standpoint, but it strikes me as a huge mistake on KWS’ part. Why? If Stewart is to have any chance at all of winning statewide, she would need to run up a big margin in Wilmington, which is where most of her endorsements have come from. Here’s the problem. When you openly align yourself with a candidate, even the perceived frontrunner, you alienate supporters of other candidates. I doubt that even Dennis thinks he’s gonna get a majority in the primary. I peg the primary winner at something like 42% of the vote, maybe even less. Why would you go out of your way to give Wilmington voters a reason not to support you? Just stay out of the bleeping primary. Politics 101: Don’t give people a reason to vote against you. Karen Weldin Stewart has. Unforced error.
4. Lopez Getting Help From ‘Issues Advocate’ PAC.
The Cape-Gazette reports on the controversy regarding a commercial that was produced by:
“Project Restore America, a conservative, Wilmington-based political action limited liability corporation”.
I think that the controversy is a non-controversy, as the ad mentions Lopez’ name, but doesn’t mention the office he’s running for or encourages people to vote for him. However, people deserve to know who is behind these anonymous PACs’. In this case, we have an answer:
In the commercial, Project Restore America is advocating for issues such as reducing regulations on businesses and cutting Delaware’s gross receipts tax, Lopez said. “There’s no where in the commercial that says, ‘Ernie Lopez for state Senate’ or ‘Vote for Ernie Lopez,’” he said.
Paul Welday, a former staffer for the late U.S. Rep. Jack Kemp, R-New York, founded Project Restore America. In a press release, Welday said, “When we get down to the state level, we look for places and people that offer the greatest chance to put the economy back on the right track, and Delaware presents just such an opportunity.”
So, at least we have transparency from the Lopez campaign. Which is better than what we’ve been getting from Rove, Koch Bros., et al.
5. Glen Urquhart Has At Least One Supporter.
Well, two, if you count ‘God’. And God’s too busy trying to get a Voter ID card in Pennsylvania to help on Urkel’s campaign:
http://capegazette.villagesoup.com/business/brief/politics/a-letter-from-angela-urquhart/886381
6. A Clark/Gordon-Free Zone
Speaking of God, if indeed there is one, I fervently hope that He/She/Other exercises their ‘deus ex machina’ powers and directs a Heavenly-sent Roto Rooter truck to the next County Executive debate to suck up the effluence, aka, candidates, for this office, and deposit it/them somewhere near Be’elzebubba.. For those easily ‘faux-offended’, I’m speaking metaphorically here. I’m just so sick of the race and the flunkies who can’t stop talking about it. Not that this is gonna to stop them.
That’s it for this week. What did I miss and whaddayathink?