Claire Snyder-Hall should primary Tom Carper
Claire Snyder-Hall would lose a Democratic primary to Tom Carper, but that’s not the point.
The Democratic Party needs the moral leadership of people like Snyder-Hall. I only hope that she isn’t already mobbed-up in the corporatist shit hole so much that she’d regard a primary challenge to Tom Carper as an affront to propriety. Her work with Common Cause gives me hope to think that she is not.
But if not to win, why run? That’s a legitimate questions, Snyder-Hall knows as well as anybody that running is hard. But I think a primary challenge from the left could help bring the discussion of income inequality back home to Delaware. It could make Carper account for his Republican voting record, and put issues from the environment to women’s health in play.
Tom Carper’s utter contempt for the party of Truman, Kennedy and FDR is well known, and on constant display. If he is not primaried, it could very well reveal our contempt for democracy.
That primary is a long ways away.
“That primary is a long ways away.”
True, but the goal is worthy to say the least.
The journey of a thousand miles is worth a thousand word pictures. ..or something.
YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Why not Claire? He has become ineffective. The current state of the Veterans Administration facilities in Delaware is just one example; there are a host of others! Your commitment, accomplishments and capabilities would make you a very viable candidate!
It’s as if Carper didn’t have a primary opponent and a third party candidate in the last election and everybody sat on their hands………..
Your outrage is justified but late.
Oh Please. Alex Pires wasn’t a primary challenger – he was a joke.
Sorry – Keith Spanarelli was the primary challenger. Keith who? Exactly.
uhm. He was the third party candidate.
Any port in a storm, my friend.
But he ran on being a one termer, wanted to close gitmo, leave Iraq immediately,and supported gay equality.
Yes he was a joke. No he wasn’t going to win. But acting like OMG Carper is SOOOO bad we must do something! The silence on Carper during the election was deafening.
Sorry, but Alex had me when he OPENED with “This man (pointing to Carper) is the most corrupt politician in Washington.” at one of the few candidate forums Carper bothered to show up for. And this blog slept.
A protest vote, is still a vote, Jason.
And like I said during the election. Sittin’ on the sidelines throwin pebbles (not even rocks) isn’t going to make a damns worth of difference.
This blog has said kinder things about not-a-chance-in-hell candidates before. Sad how Carper opponents didn’t get the same treatment. That is my point.
But rock on with your bad self. Who ever primaries Carper, I will be there. And I hope that you will be there too. Next time.
He needs to face a primary
But acting like OMG Carper is SOOOO bad we must do something!
And? Doing something is about replacing the guy or at least providing a credible threat of it, not tilting at windmills.
And this blog slept.
No, actually, we didn’t. We spoke about Alex Pires pretty regularly, including documenting the complete joke his campaign came to at some point. Why would you care what this blog did, anyway? If a blog could get someone elected, then I imagine you started one to support Alex Pires. Or did we miss all of that work on your part?
What ‘evs. I don’t have to prove the depth of my Carper loathing to you or anyone.
Said as if this blog hasn’t tilted at windmills before.
This blog spent a whole lot of time on the Pires campaign with no mention (to my memory) of his policies or platform. Which was progressive. And the Carper camp was more than happy to make it about the optics of the campaign and not about Carper. So, well played, Cass
I couldn’t work for Pires, I was working for other candidates at the time.
No need to be defensive Cass. You do what you do and I happen to disagree with how that went on this issue.
Like I said Jason, I will be there next time supporting whomever (or whatever, phonebook, cinderblock, salamander) challenges Carper.
I hope you will be too.
Claire’s doing great work at Common Cause. And she’s just gotten started.
Pires’ policies may have been more progressive, but he certainly wan’t running an especially progressive campaign. And it was *that* that was his biggest problem — not anyone at this blog. Accusing Carper of being deathly ill, questioning Carper’s military service and other tin foil hat stuff never added to any credibility progressive policies might have given him. Pires gave the Carper camp all the fodder it needed to play off of the optics of the campaign. And clearly the blog you started to help Pires win didn’t help, either.
No need to be defensive Cass.
No defensiveness here. Just pointing out what I always do — sitting behind a keyboard and complaining that other people are not doing the work you can’t be bothered to suit up and do isn’t exactly a winning electoral strategy. Alex Pires lost because he turned out to be an asshole candidate, not because this blog didn’t champion him.
Pires was a joke, but still Carper needs a strong primary opponent to run to the left of him. it won’t be hard because Tom Carper is as far right as a Democrat can get without calling thierselves a Republican.