Pires has Carper worried? I doubt it
First the tit for tat billboards, now this fundraising letter from Sen. Coons making a frowny face about that bad old Alex Pires. Click through to read it, but I’ll give my response to Senator Coons up here.
Dear Senator Coons,
Thanks for the letter. Instead of sending money to Carper, the guy who has enriched himself during his tenure in the Senate, I’ll send this advice; BE A DEMOCRAT. Delaware is a blue state and we don’t appreciate the way you worked to water-down the ACA and the way you constantly provide the extreme right wing with bipartisan cover for their extremist shenanigans.
Yours,
Jason330
For the record, Carper is not worried. He probably sees Pires as a chance to fluff up the campaign checking account.
Dear Jason,
I’ll never forget the early days of my campaign for the Senate, when most people thought of me as a long shot. There weren’t many people at my side in those first days and weeks, but Tom Carper was one.
He was a partner to me then, just as he was since my first campaign in New Castle County, and just as he is now in the Senate.
Tom has been a generous friend, colleague, and partner. He is the first person to sign up whenever I, or any Delawarean, needs help, which is one of the reasons why he has been such a tremendous senator for our state.
As you know, Delaware politics have always been known for their civility. No matter how much we’ve disagreed, we’ve always managed to do it respectfully and without using cheap personal attacks to score political points.
That tradition was shattered painfully in the 2010 Republican primary and it seems like those dirty political tricks will be part of our election again this year.
One of Senator Carper’s opponents has said he’ll pour millions of dollars of his own money into the election and another also seems to have no other ambition than destroying Tom Carper.
By fighting back against these dirty attacks, we can fight to restore the dignity to Delaware’s politics.
Tom Carper has been my partner, my colleague, and my friend, and I need him back in the Senate next year. Delaware needs him, and we need you now.
Best —
Chris
Not to mention the cover he and a few other Dems are providing to the Republicans who want to dismantle the Postal Service.
..and social security.
I got the email too:
WTF? When did Carper ever support a Castle opponent?
Writing a terse letter to Coons as to why you aren’t supporting Carper.
Yep, that’ll show’em.
Thats WAY better than working for a primary or 3rd party candidate.
Thanks!
You are welcome.
Puck,
While Carper may have a had a strong relationship with Castle over the years, Coons’ statement is true. Carper was by his side from day one of the senate campaign.’
Pires will spend gobs of money pontificating about the vast corruption associated with Tom Carper. What he does not do is explain his positions on today’s most pressing issues. He is non-committal at best, on most of the information on his website, and if approached, he waffles about and tries to pander to whoever he thinks you seem to be.
For me, the bottom line with Alex is that he is in it for himself. He is either a bored rich guy or has a particular axe to grind with Carper. Perhaps it’s a little of both? In either case he has little interest in helping anyone other than himself (in spite of his pandering statements to the contrary). Should he actually get elected, he has already committed to one term in office. I submit that he will become extremely bored after about 18 months in office and phone things in for the remainder of his term.
Speaking of phoning things in, please don’t forget that Carper has long-ago given up actually proposing legislation, much less, reading the legislation proposed by peers. His staff does all the heavy lifting and lobbyists complete the set. Tom avoids debates because he really doesn’t understand the issues or even endeavor to research things for himself. The hubris associated with a long-standing elected official (any person, any party) infers a level of entitlement and nobility in the mind of the official to the point where the official perceives he knows best and fails to connect with the actual experiences of who he is representing.
This hubris surrounds Alex Pires as well as Tom Carper. Both men have no real interest in representation, only power. So what is left is a Republican in Kevin Wade who stands for everything we saw in the Republican Party in Tampa, and a Green Party candidate who follows a liberal/progressive tack that makes Carper look like the Blue Dog that he is (DINO). The choices are coming into focus. The more Pires speaks, the less substance exists and what little erupts sounds awfully tea-baggy. Tom shies from debates and direct policy discussions because he has nothing to draw on other than the position papers he is handed by lobbyists. Back when I was in school, when someone represented himself through the work someone else did, it was called cheating.
It’s too bad that it’s all about money. That’s why Begleiter bars me from the CPC, U of D debates. My campaign runs on a shoe string and shoe leather. We all complain about money influence in politics, but when candidates emerge outside of that paradigm they are branded as “not serious”. Well, my friends, I am quite serious so I will be talking about the real issues and not the distractions at the forums and debates around the state. Listen and consider what you hear, and what you don’t hear. And please, be aware of when you are being emotionally manipulated. When no solution or policy position are proffered it is because there is none. That candidate is selling and not telling. Don’t be intimidated by their office. Ask the tough questions and follow them up when necessary.
Then vote for the candidate that represents how you want your government to serve it’s people, and not the other way around.
It is ridiculous that Andrew Groff is barred from the Senate race debates.
Andrew, can you site some examples of Pires’ pandering/waffling on issues?
I know he opened campaign promising to run as a single citizen, not affiliated with any party. Now he is on the IPOD ticket.
He also said he was going to submit double the number of required signatures to appear on the ballot, as unaffiliated. He did not.
What is the rationale for including Pires, but not Groff to these debates?
Cass — maybe Rusty Rudder is one of the sponsors?
Didn’t one of the debates have a polling requirement? Perhaps Groff didn’t make the cut that way.
Frankly, I think everyone on the ballot should be invited. We’re a small enough state that we don’t have 20 fringers running.
We’re a small enough state to not have alot of polling, either. But I agree that everyone who is ballot qualified should be invited.
When we get Pires in one of these debates, can someone ask him about his proposal for paying Senators the minimum wage?
What’s his point: the Senate should be populated only by people like him at Mitt who can afford to work for nothing, or that anyone picked off the unemployment line could do better than Carper in solving the nation’s problems?
“Hubris” isn’t the word I would use to describe Pires, I would use “confident.” I wouldn’t describe him as “bored” either, considering he runs a half dozen or so successful restaurants, where he is hands on, and has a very successful law practice.
He is the poster child for the American Dream. He’s a man who came from poor parents who didn’t make it past 7th grade, and he built a successful life with hard work, determination and COMPASSION.
Why not ask him about the mountain of pro bono cases he takes every year, or the civil rights cases he’s taken on during the debates?
Pires is no Tom Carper in the best ways possible.
Pires accused Carper of corruption, with no specifics. He then went off on a tangent about Carpers health. Finally he has communicated nothing but platitudes.
When there are questions raised about whether someone is a serious candidate, most folks can help but take note of his lack of gravitas. I’m sure he’s a nice guy and I even go to some of his restaurants but Senator? No. Despite the jokers that we have in Congress today (McConnell, whose singular goal was not the business of the nation rather to deny Obama a second term), it is important place, with important business which require serious people who are serious about governing.
Pires? Seems like a nice guy. One of my Senators? No.
@SussexAnon: I have had many of my friends and friends of my campaign speak directly with Alex. At the last debate in Dover sponsored by the NAACP, BCC, et al, Alex was on form as were all 3 US Senate that night (Carper begged out last minute). We had loads of time to take questions and supply answers. At the JCC event, there was tons of pandering with many candidates. I do not care to go into specifics, but suffice it to say it was observable to all at these events.
@SussexWatcher: There are 3 different ways to qualify for the U of D debates. 1) Raise more than $135,000. Neither Wade nor Pires report this amount on their FEC reports as yet. 2) Poll at 10% or better. Polls cost money, but Mr Begleiter from the CPC UD, assures me that there are many free polling agencies throughout Delaware. Anybody know one? Anyway, I’ll be presenting the poll conducted by this site back in May/June which had Carper at 42%, me at 17%, Pires at 16% and Wade at 7%, balance undecided. Hopefully this is sufficient.
@Anon: Please don’t misread my intentions in my statements about Alex. I think Alex is one of the good guys and I take no umbrage with any of his accomplishments or good works. We are not talking about his entrepreneur capabilities here. Alex and I have joined, as 3rd party participants, to struggle together to place all of our ballot qualified candidates in front of the public. However, as an analyst, I question his ability to fully devote himself to this challenging position given his other obligations back home. I cannot imagine how one, such as he, can let go long enough and allow other people to run these businesses. Not that it is impossible, but my extensive experience with these gentlemen who have enormous accomplishments, would inform me that they are high control individuals who have little verifiable trust in their employees. This is just from my experience working with the original founders of some major F500 companies. These folks will never admit to not being able to juggle all those balls, that is, until they don’t. Are we really willing to risk it? I submit that should he be elected we will get about 18 good months before the meltdown commences (that’s what I’ve observed in the past). First the denials are put on display, then the scapegoating commences, followed by unending changes in staff. Ultimately frustration and boredom sets in and Alex will check out and start phoning in the job. Just like Carper is doing now.
Why is it a good idea to have the same Senator in the job for 18 years? During the first 12 we see the disastrous calamities that have been perpetrated in this country, yet we hold no one accountable. Tom Carper is a party to the largest economic meltdown this country has experienced since the Great Depression. Yet, he, seemingly will get a pass. He has watched the countless bankruptcies, foreclosures, gutting of the middle class and our collective loss of our savings and investments. What has he done? Nothing seriously real. Oh, that financial accountability act? (See Matt Taibbi’s Rolling Stone article on that) How about his sell-out of our freedoms through the Patriot Act 1&2, and NDAA? How about his support of mountaintop removal coal mining and fracking in the Delaware Basin. To say that Tom is a Democrat is stretching things a bit.
If you are proud to be a progressive or liberal and wear that badge as one of honor, you must vote for one, regardless of party affiliation. Everything that has happened that is good for the common person in this country has sprung from the progressive movement. Don’t let the DINO’s shut us down.
PS, where are Tom, Kevin and Alex to weigh in on your concerns? Not here, I suppose. Do they think you are not important enough to address directly?
Mr. Groff, if you’re going to raise issues, you HAVE to go into specifics. Otherwise you’re at “I have here an envelope with the names…” I have sympathy for the problem of getting traction as an unendorsed or 3rd party candidate. BTDT. But this isn’t a cocktail party. If you have something to say about Senator Carper being inappropriate at the JCC, say it.Sad but true, you can’t suppose people will naturally treat every “candidate” the way they do a sitting Senator who’s held half the offices in the state. He’s a big dog.
@hereagain: I made no such insinuation that Tom made any inappropriate remark at the JCC at all. Please reread my post for better comprehension. I was, however quite clear with my criticism for Tom’s policy decisions later in the post (4th paragraph). If you need further clarification of any of those issues I would be happy to expand the discussion and be as specific as possible.
My endorsements are specific and humble: I am endorsed by the Lavender Greens (an LGBT group in the Green Party), the New Progressive Alliance, the Libertarian Party of Delaware, Presidential candidate Jill Stein, Presidential candidate Gary Johnson. I also work closely with the Sierra Club of Delaware, Occupy Delaware and Occupy Dover; though they do not provide direct endorsements.
Even “Big Dogs” sometimes need to be put down (figuratively speaking). US Senators are not royalty or even nobility. They deserve the same courtesy and respect as every good person. I confine myself to policy and composure in political discussions. Mud slinging is well covered by another candidate.
Cocktail Party? Where do I register? I’ll take a Manhattan.
I don’t think much of this approach as a way to convince voters, Mr. Groff, but maybe it works for you.
The remark I’m failing to understand is this one: At the JCC event, there was tons of pandering with many candidates. I do not care to go into specifics, but suffice it to say it was observable to all at these events.
If the pandering refers to an activity by the candidates, I asked for specifics. If the remark implied that organizers of the event pandered to sitting or favored candidates, I explained that.
I don’t know what you found in my post to take such a tone with me. I think it was a reasonable question, and I’m still hoping for a reasonable answer.
@heragain: The worst pandering I experienced at the JCC forum was in answer to the Red Line question relating to the Iran Nuclear War hysteria. Rather than confront the reality that we are, by no means threatened by Iran, and that Netanyahu has been lobbying for a first strike by the USA, nearly all federal candidates drew their “swords” and began seeing who could rattle them the loudest. Israel is our friend and ally and deserves our support and defense. That does not include drawing the USA into another war simply because they are currently politically represented by a war-monger. Other countries have gone “nuclear” without the need for us to instigate war upon them. I’m not happy about it but it is not worth the blood to make a point. India, Pakistan and Israel itself come to mind.
My objective that night was to point out that the language we use and our emotional reaction to the hyperbole can have disastrous affects on hundreds of thousands, if not millions of innocent people and that we must proceed purposefully and carefully as we have all experience with false flag operations from our own government dragging us into ridiculous wars such as Iraq. Further, we should not devote such important resources abroad when there are plenty of real problems that require our attention here at home.
I was hesitant to bring this up on this thread as it seemed somewhat off topic. But there you have it.
My apologies for being terse. I meant no disrespect.