…will be the primary for US Congress between State Rep. Bryon Short and State Senator Bryan Townsend.
It is a battle of the present (and, one hopes, the past) of the Democratic Party vs. a more progressive future.
Make no mistake: Bryon Short is the chosen heir to the mantle of middle-of-the-road mediocrity personified by Tom Carper and John Carney. He, or more likely Ed Freel and his ilk, have chosen ex-Carper staffer Mat Marshall to run his campaign. Carper’s ‘Brain’, Ed Freel, is calling the shots from his UD bunker. Short, of course, served in Carper’s congressional office, and has made no bones about his friendship with Carper and Carney. You may also recall that Bryon Short bottled up a minimum wage increase in his House committee until the bill was essentially emasculated. Although strong on social issues, Short’s principal legislative focus has been on cutting yet more ‘red tape’ that, according to the Chamber and its allies, hobble businesses in Delaware. In fact, Short essentially had a committee created just for him with this run in mind: The (get this) House Economic Development/ Banking/Insurance/Commerce Committee, aka The Business Lapdog Committee.
BTW, some people in the Party have suggested that Carney’s delayed announcement was designed to give Short a head start while the congressional race was officially frozen. As in forcing Townsend to wait until Carney made up his mind on which office to seek while Short, with Carper and Carney’s clandestine blessing, plowed straight ahead.
The good news is that Bryan Townsend was not buying Carn(e)y’s third delay. First, John was waiting for Beau, then, he delayed due to a death in the family, and now he’s delayed his announcement yet again due to a hip operation. Bryan Townsend has reportedly snagged Delaware’s best political operative to run his campaign. Erik Raser-Schramm has agreed to be Townsend’s campaign manager, and there is a strong rumor out there that he will soon be joined by another top Democratic operative. In only three years, Townsend has amassed one of the best progressive voting records in Dover, and has successfully sponsored (as in ‘passed and signed into law’) some real substantive legislation. While both he and Short are equally strong on social issues, Townsend has been a much more forceful advocate for economic equality and progressive education reform than the go-along-to-get-along Short.
This is why the same party insiders who campaigned en masse for the ethically-bankrupt Tony DeLuca against Townsend are working hard behind the scenes for Short. In order to control the Party and its corporate donors, they need to control the elected officials. Short is perfect for their Corporate Carper/Coons/Carney vision for the Party. Townsend, OTOH, appeals to the rank-and-file, the traditional Democratic constituencies who have been cast adrift by the putative Democratic leaders. He’s also really smart, so he should appeal to people who like their officials to be more intelligent than the average bear.
It’s gonna be an epic battle. The choice is clear: More Carper-Carney DINOism, or the best chance for progressive change that we’ve had in, like, forever.