Democrats shouldn’t vote for Tom Carper. Period.
Without even going into his worst in the Democratic Caucus voting record, Tom Carper is currently giving Delaware Democrats the finger on giant bill boards. Perhaps as a response to Alex Pires’ giant billboards which forcefully deliver the the message “Alex Pires,” Tom Carper has invested in bill boards which essentially deliver his message “I love enabling Republican obstruction!”
The bill boards carry out the nonsensical, “I’m a bridge builder” message the TC rolled out a candidate forum earlier in the month. A bridge builder to what? To who? Isn’t Carper just a little too proud of his work enabling the Grover Norquists, Mitch McConnells and John Boehners of the world? If that is really why TC thinks he deserve to represent Delaware, doesn’t Pires’ observation that he has been in the DC bubble for far too long ring true?
Friends, If you are even a little aware of what the Republicans have done to the country, Tom Carper doesn’t want your vote. Tom Carper has nothing but contempt for you. It is that simple.
I’m not voting for him and I will urge everyone I know not to vote for him.
He’ll still win, but he will not be representing me when he gets back to Washington. On that much, we can all agree.
Alex Pires gets my vote. Spanarelli got my vote. I realize my protest will go unanswered but it is satisfying to me to know that I have not contributed to getting Carper re-elected.
That’s the spirit. These protest votes will be utterly invisible to everyone except ourselves.
Given the GOP obstructionism of the last four years, it would be quite accurate to say that Carper is following in the footsteps of Ted Stevens, building a “bridge to nowhere.”
Im in. This will be the least Democratic voting I’ve ever done. I WONT be voting for Tom Gordon, KWS, or Carper…. Delaware’s democratic party is starting to resemble an inbred European Royal family. Gotta get somr fresh blood in there
I responded to a telephone poll the other night. It covered all the races in Delaware, as well as the Presidential. Yes, I’m voting for Obama, Denn, Markell, etc. NO, I am not voting for Carper. I’ve been ignoring most of these poll calls, but now I’m thinking there might be a message to be sent, so I’m gonna start responding. It’s just my little way of protesting. 🙂
I guess I’m voting Green in Delaware this year.
TC lost my vote forever when he voted to allow torture under the Bush administration.
Amen on the torture vote. TC lost my vote forever when he helped derail the ACA public option.
He lost my vote when he enabled the ascension of Alito and Roberts to the Supreme Court, all in the name of bipartisan cooperation.
His bipartisanship has facilitated the worst right-wing priorities of the Bush Administration, including, of course, the War in Iraq.
Other than caucusing with the D’s, Carper has been far more hindrance than help to the progressive cause.
I’m likely going Green this year myself.
Carper lost my vote a long time ago.
Delaware Liberal would do more to advance the cause of not voting for Carper by actually posting an article in support of the Green Party candidate Andrew Groff.
The only problem with this majestic theory being that Alex Pires is a nutcase and Andrew Groff is an opportunistic nutcase.
It’s a sad day for America when one cannot help but suppose half the people running for public office are doing it solely to get access to the mental health treatment they so desperately need.
“The only problem with this majestic theory being that Alex Pires is a nutcase and Andrew Groff is an opportunistic nutcase.”
The dream outcome is for Carper to win by a plurality. That’s what makes it a protest vote rather than a vote of support for the opponent. Control of the Senate is at stake after all.
If there were any chance Carper would lose to either of those guys I’d rethink my protest vote. If you can’t bring yourself to vote for any of them do a write-in.
Write-in votes don’t get counted unless they are for declared write-in candidates.
That’s OK, it’s just for your conscience.
Hopefully the Carperbagger will retire after this next six year stint.
Pires has my vote!
I can’t believe Carper helping push through Roberts’ confirmation is being looked at as a bad thing a mere two months after Roberts upheld the ACA. Tom Carper is a moderate, and yeah, while I’m a liberal, I completely agree with what he said in response to Pires saying he’s the most corrupt official in the history of the state. Absolutely voting for Tom Carper.
Thanks Carper staffer! (I kid, I’m not outing anyone. But let’s face it, who could look at that flukey Roberts vote as a Carper win except a Carper staffer or perhaps Mike Castle.)
I can’t believe you’re blind enough to think that Roberts’ opinion in the Obamacare case was a win for liberals.
Roberts also gave us Citizens United. And Carper went all-out to weaken ACA and was probably deeply disappointed in the ACA ruling.
The Roberts court is a partisan joke. That Carper might be proud of it boggles the mind.
Haha, nope, not a Carper staffer. And I didn’t say it was a win for Carper, but blaming him for the confirmation of the only conservative justice on the Supreme Court who’s actually voted the other way is a little short-sighted, although yeah, Citizens United was a sham, but it could be a lot worse. We could have another Scalia as the Chief Justice.
You have to also remember that at that time the Republican majority was threatening to use the nuclear option which would have set an awful precedent that even complete gridlock is a favorable option to.
The fact is that there won’t be a supermajority in the Senate again for a long time, and because of that, you need people who can pull in weak Republicans and strong Democrats together. If Pires, or Groff, or even Spanarelli was actually elected, they wouldn’t have as big of an impact on legislation. You can complain about Carper being too pro-business and too conservative, that’s understandable..but going after the bridge building thing as a big middle finger to voters (who, in Delaware, love moderates) is a pretty odd thing to gripe about.
Carper is in for six, despite my vote, which happens to coincide with the end of Beau’s next term – assuming Beau wins re-election in two years and doesn’t make the gubernatorial primary a three-way clusterfuck in four.
And if Pires is right and Carper’s secretly ill and has to step down, Markell will just appoint Beau to fill it. Or Kaufman will serve again as a placeholder. Either way, this is TC’s last hurrah before he turns it over to Joe’s kid.
Don’t get me wrong – I think Beau would be a decent Senator – but the master plan nature of this disgusts me.
I don’t think Biden wants to legislate. He could have had the nomination in 2010 on a silver platter and he turned it down, and you could say it was out of respect for Castle but it was a race that it was clear Democrats needed to keep the majority and if he believed in it he would have done it. I think it’s much more likely that he’ll run for governor in 2016.
I don’t buy the Carper being sick thing whatsoever.
Pires represented minority farmers against discriminatory lending by the USDA and won, and he’s representing children who were the victims of that pig Dr. Bradley. He doesn’t gouge his clients after he wins lawsuits and he does a LOT of pro bono work for people in need. He is pro gay marriage. Period. He is pro women’s rights. Period. His employees love him. His parents never made it past 7th grade, but he broke the education cycle in his family and worked his way through college and law school. Is he crazy? No. He’s smart and competitive. He is the true Democrat in the race and he had my vote 2 seconds after he announced.
Please. How has Carper’s bridge building resulted in any moderation on the right? He kept the GOP from using the nuclear option? Bullshit. If anything he gave a bi-partisan patina to Republican egregiousness and allowed the extreme right run roughshod over the few Republicans left with any sort of conscience.
If carper’s “centrism” ever paid off in the Congress being LESS conservative – I sure haven’t seen it.
Tom Carper is a 65 year old man who has never received a paycheck that hasn’t come from a government checking account. His biggest accomplishment as Delaware’s Governor was turning the area between Astra Zeneca and AI Dupont Hospital into a hopeless rat maze. Someone tell me what makes this man a good politician worthy of re-election?
I guess my other question is why Democrats should be voting for John Carney, either.
“turning the area between Astra Zeneca and AI Dupont Hospital into a hopeless rat maze.”
Maybe you find it hopeless because you can’t find the cheese. I find it a great improvement.
you need people who can pull in weak Republicans and strong Democrats together.
I’m one of the few people here who buys this. Except I’d like to hear *in some detail* where Carper has done this in a way that the results are a reasonable solution for regular voters (and not the business interests who seem to get most of the goodies). Certainly neither the vote on torture OR the “bridge-building” re: the public option count here.
The thing that Carper is able to do (which Mike Castle was able to do too) is to coast along on the “moderate” label which pretty much means that he sees lots of people AND his name is attached to plenty of earmark projects. I’d bet a great deal of money that there aren’t alot of voters who actually know what his voting record looks like.
At least John Carney held a private sector job for a few days and learned that it’s not that easy to succeed in business, even with a political background. Carney’s also a local boy, I would imagine most of us know one of his 500 siblings. And if you talk to John Carney, he gets it, he’s understanding and compassionate when you talk to him about things that are important to you, and not politician compassionate, but human being compassionate.
I have never had a conversation with Tom Carper where I didn’t walk away convinced that he was a creepy cyborg.
“Tom Carper is a 65 year old man who has never received a paycheck that hasn’t come from a government checking account. His biggest accomplishment as Delaware’s Governor was turning the area between Astra Zeneca and AI Dupont Hospital into a hopeless rat maze. Someone tell me what makes this man a good politician worthy of re-election?”
That “hopeless rat maze” brought 4500 jobs to Delaware.
“That “hopeless rat maze” brought 4500 jobs to Delaware.”
Wow, that was the biggest bullshit statement I have ever seen on a blog. You do know that AZ was already here when Carper gave them over $40 million to bring their HQ from PA to 202, right? And is this where I point out that the AZ deal NEVER brought the employment or relocation numbers that the Carper Administration projected?
Maybe Carper should find a better staffer to defend him on this thread.
Im not a carper fan, but he wasnt responsible for the AZ mess. They were dishonest and let Deldot bankrupt itself by building them a road for future employees. You could say he should have seen than a big pharmacutical company would be greedy, but it’s not his fault.
“[PIRES IS] representing children who were the victims of that pig Dr. Bradley.”
Uhh, no. He’s representing Beebe Hospital against those children.
“That “hopeless rat maze” brought 4500 jobs to Delaware.”
In March 2010, 550 people at the Wilmington site were given pink slips. Last October, another 400 positions were eliminated. Another 7,300 cuts announced last February, although the number in Wilmington was not disclosed. All told, AZ has shed more than
Capital A Anon is correct that the job gains promised by AZ were never realized. Perhaps some management types moved from Delaware County to Delaware, but I’d guess that most didn’t bother selling their houses in Pa.
By the end of 2014, AstraZeneca will have laid off nearly 29,000 employees worldwide in a series of cuts that began in 2007.
Always depend on Jason to have his “I hate Carper” rant at least once a month. It’s like clockwork. It seems like the only Democrats DE Liberal likes are the ones who make a lot of noise and as a result can’t get anything done… Kowalko, Peterson, and now Pires. Starting to see a trend.
“Always depend on Jason to have his “I hate Carper” rant at least once a month.”
Where do we shove the absorbent cotton?
Greetings Carper staffers. You guys can’t really be nervous can you? Hmmm.. If you keep it up I might have to vote for Carper after all.
Black Rockwell is right. Jason, you are falling behind, could you pick up the pace please?
Two in one day…but I provoked by Chris Coons.
How come everyone who disagrees with your positions on a politician is all of a sudden a staffer? Whether its KWS or Carney or Carper. Does that make you feel better? I guest the 88% of people who voted for the guy in the primary and the 60% of people who vote for him every election are also staffers. No disrespect….. I’m a Bridge Builder
Carper VOTERS are just people working off name recognition. Carper SUPPORTERS are likely on the payroll. There aren’t any “Carper Democrats.” Anybody who supports Carper’s record would be just as happy being a Republican.
Well said. I would add that I use “Carper staffer” because it is pejorative. The payroll isn’t necessarily Carper’s. Senator Carper’s defenders are also likely to be Del Dem staffers, or DE GOP staffers.
Does anybody else think that Mike Castle was at least as much a Democrat as Carper?
No. One thing I’ll say for Carper is he voted with Democrats on the major tax packages. That was a reliable litmus test until 2010.
Of course, Carper voted with Republicans on Medicare Part D, which foreshadowed his work with ACA.
Thank you, Anon.
Del Dot rearranged Fairfax for the benefit of AZ. What was once a few simple intersections is now a colossal clusterfuck, and the promised jobs never materialized.
The only positive result from the whole ordeal was the renovation/salvation of the Blue Ball Barn.
“What was once a few simple intersections is now a colossal clusterfuck.”
If you prefer a factual sentence, that should read, “What was once the most dangerous intersection in Delaware has now been engineered out of existence.” Sorry for your fucking inconvenience.
Also, the “promised jobs” were moved here from Pennsylvania at the time. But please, by all means, continue your uninformed bitching.
Care to back up the “most dangerous intersection” assertion with some facts, geezer? Or are you just talking out of your ass?
Any data to back up the jobs claims?
IIRC, the number of jobs that actually moved to DE did not live up to the promise, and many of those jobs have since been eliminated. But I could be wrong. Please, by all means, correct me if I am.
I’d have to get the hard copies of TNJ from the library, as those stories date from the days when the electronic files disappeared from the paper’s own library. Can’t call DelDOT for the data tonight.
But yes, the data exists.
You are correct that the jobs didn’t last; IIRC, the layoffs began within a year or two of the merger of the two offices.
But that roadwork was long overdue, and contrary to the complaints of people who can’t stand change (don’t we call them “conservatives”?) and have never figured out how to negotiate a traffic circle, the new roads are actually quicker than the old ones for those traveling through the area (as opposed to within that area).
I won’t be voting for Carper. Too bad the vote will be split against Carper. I’ve liked what I heard from Pires but he was on republican talk radio, talking to republicans about himself mainly, not saying how he would vote on issues. (I like to know what repubs are up to.) Hope to hear more in the weeks ahead. I need to be sure Pires would vote like a democrat, not a republican who could possibly be after repub and democratic votes to get himself to Congress. Carper’s the devil I know. The others, I don’t know at this point. Pires is smart. I need to know more.