Sean Barney is running for Congress
Long rumored as a possible candidate who will have the backing of the VoteVets organization, Sean Barney officially announced his congressional campaign this morning. Here is his announcement email:
Over the past few weeks, we have witnessed terror strike deep in the capital city of a close ally. The attacks in Paris demonstrate the sheer inhumanity and barbarity of the Islamic State.
Today, thousands of Syrian refugees, men, women, and children, are fleeing the tyranny of the Islamic State. We are right to raise our guard in times of uncertainty. That’s why these refugees are undergoing one of the most rigorous screening processes in history. Yet some in Washington would rather replace the balance between prudence and humanitarianism with a surrender to fear.
Times like this define the character of who we are as a nation. We must choose whether we respond to a threat or let a threat undermine who we are. We must choose whether we succumb to cheap politics or hold true to our core values.
In calling for America to accept Syrian refugees, I choose to stand up for the values that make us uniquely American, a path I believe will make us safer as a nation by embracing these families and children fleeing violence and tyranny, rather than forcing them to languish in refugee camps that can destabilize our allies and become recruitment grounds for terrorist organizations like ISIS.
I remember a similar climate after 9/11, when terror reached our shores. I enlisted in the Marines, and eventually served our nation in Iraq. And I saw firsthand what happens when leaders react to the politics of the time, rather than make the prudent decisions that are in line with our national interest and our moral purpose.
It’s clear in the face of this threat that we need real leadership in Washington that will put principle over politics; that will uphold the principles of liberty, justice, and compassion that define our nation; that will ensure we confront the threat of ISIS without recklessly sending our brave men and women into harms way without a plan.
That is why I have decided to run for Congress — to represent the people of Delaware and put service and principle over the politics of fear and division that has poisoned our government and hurt our country.
I have always tried to make a difference. The events of the past few weeks have made it clear to me and my family that I can make a meaningful difference again. Today I announce my candidacy for Congress. I humbly ask for your support and for you to ask your friends, family, and neighbors to join our effort.
I applaud Mr. Barney for his stance here, joining Bryan Townsend, Lisa Blunt Rochester and Bryon Short for accepting the refugees after they complete the vetting process, and for standing up to those cowards who both preach fear and then hide behind it.
I wonder though, if Mr. Barney intends to focus his campaign entirely on foreign policy. Earlier I have written about the Congressional Primary Lanes, and how each candidate in this getting-crowded primary needs to have a base of support among the many factions of the Democratic Party.
You see the candidacies of Townsend, Short, Rochester and even Barney make sense politically at the start, because each has a base of support in the party. If you picture a primary race as a NASCAR race at Dover Downs, each party faction is actually a lane on the track that allows the candidate to get out in front and start running. Ideologically, Bryan Townsend is in the Progressive lane as the candidate of the Progressive faction of the party while Bryon Short is in the Carperdyne Systems lane as the candidate of the Carper-Markell-Corporate Democrat faction of the party. Lisa Blunt Rochester has well positioned demographically as she would be the first African American and first woman to win state-wide Federal office, plus she is from Wilmington with the Blunt family name. Sean Barney, if he runs, would have Veterans’ support.
Barney definitely seems to be courting his faction of those primarily concerned with foreign policy and the military. And that is good for starters, since that is his base of support.
Who wins the primary depends on which candidate can occupy more than one of the Congressional Primary lanes. Can Barney win over Progressives from Bryan Townsend, or corporate moderates from Bryon Short? Can Rochester break out of her base and win over Progressives and moderates? Can Townsend or Short win over veterans? It is going to be interesting to watch. We haven’t had this crowded yet factionally disparate a primary in the Democratic Party for statewide office in my lifetime (born 1976), so I am looking forward to it.
But Dennis E. Williams and any other candidate thinking about getting in: We are full. Go elsewhere.
“Go elsewhere…”
Like governor. Take on that stooge. It is frustrating to have so many decent candidates to replace a guy who sucks and is moving into an important office unopposed.
^Agree 100%^ Governor Elect John Carney’s record doesn’t merit the cake walk he is getting.
Ditto on the first two comments. I would vote for any of the four congressional candidates over Carney for governor.
Does Bryon Short share the same position on Syrian refugees? That wasn’t clear to me, based on the story in TNJ .
It’s probably fair to say Sean Barney is “joining” other candidates in his position. He wasn’t yet an official candidate when the story ran last week. However, he was vocal about his position earlier —
https://twitter.com/SeanBarneyDE/status/666579665222557697
https://twitter.com/SeanBarneyDE/status/666721828057034752
http://www.delawareonline.com/story/opinion/2015/11/15/support-troops-give-strategy/75681632/
In a news release he also “immediately called for the United States to instead step up its refugee resettlement program, accepting 200,000 refugees, 100,000 from Syria.”
I agree: It makes sense he would focus on foreign policy and national security. It’s clearly a strength. The news release also suggests he will likely address other issues. We’ll see in the year ahead.
Where did you see that release? I can’t find it, and I won’t believe it until I see it.
Is it his strength? I’m sorry, what evidence is there, at all, that foreign policy is his strength? Or he has any discernible strengths as a political candidate, at all?
Who are these Sean Barney supporters that are clamoring for his leadership in Delaware? VoteVets is a DC organization. And they don’t just throw money at any asshole who served in the military and decides they want to run for office. They give money to people who can actually win.
Now’s he’s a progressive? He worked for Third Way.
And now he’s the “President of a Venture Capital Firm”, because Denis O’Brien gave him a “job”? Like he gave John Carney, a “job”? At least Carney had actually done economic development and managed a state budget.
What happened with that job he had with Seitz for about five minutes? ::Crickets::
Some intrepid reporter should talk to the folks who supported/worked on his last campaign and see who they are supporting now. Tom Carper would be a good start.
Geezer, I’m sure one of your colleagues could forward it to you. Though, it would be helpful if all the candidates added online newsrooms to their websites. In time.
CamWyo, I heard Sean address his work with Third Way last year at a Progressive Democrats meeting. You may want to connect with him, if you’re actually interested. To sum up, he outlined the progessive policies he helped author, but very sincerely regrets — and even outright rejected — the organization’s positions on many other issues.
I understand Sean’s former campaign manager supports him and his friend, Bryan Townsend. Therefore, he is not participating in the race. I wouldn’t expect Senator Carper will support Barney, Blunt Rochester or Short in a primary race.
If you’re suggesting Sean is not qualified for his current position, you should take another look at his resume. Sean was a senior aide to Senator Carper, advising him on economic and national security policy, and later, policy director to Governor Markell. Sean earned his bachelor’s degree in economics from Swarthmore College and then a master’s degree from Columbia University. After returning from Iraq, he studied law at Yale Law School and economics and public policy at Harvard, where he was a fellow at the Center for Public Leadership and received a master’s in public administration.
c’est la vie sounds like she wrote Barney’s website. Just sayin.
Good resume. Heroic, even. Probably some good liberal bona fides from back in the day when Democrats were interested in the crap poor people had to endure. After the last outing, I’m not sure what kind of campaigner he is though. Chip Flowers probably took some votes, but Ken Simpler seemed pretty beatable to me.
anon, I cut and pasted the copy from LinkedIn and his website.
Here’s the news release …
Sean Barney launches campaign for Congress,
Iraq veteran pledges leadership post-Paris
Calls for the US to accept 100,000 Syrian refugees
WILMINGTON, Del., Dec. 1, 2015—Sean Barney, a decorated Iraq war veteran, announced today that he is running for Congress. Responding to calls that the country turn away Syrian refugees after the attacks in Paris, Barney immediately called for the United States to instead step up its refugee resettlement program, accepting 200,000 refugees, 100,000 from Syria.
“Times like this define the character of who we are as a nation” said Barney. “We must choose whether we respond to a threat or let a threat undermine who we are. We must choose whether we succumb to cheap politics or hold true to our core values. For the sake of our security, we should embrace these families and children fleeing violence and tyranny, rather than force them to languish in refugee camps that will destabilize our allies and become recruitment grounds for ISIS.”
Barney enlisted in the Marine Corps after 9/11 and fought in Fallujah, Iraq, where he was wounded in action and received the Purple Heart. He served as a military and foreign affairs advisor in the U.S. Senate and since his service in Iraq has advocated for a renewed emphasis on diplomacy in U.S. foreign policy. He called on Congress to debate the country’s military strategy against ISIS and pass a Use of Force Authorization.
“If you tell the Marines, take Raqqa, the Marines will take Raqqa, just as the Marines took Fallujah,” he said. “But ISIS controls Fallujah today, despite the sacrifice Marines made taking that city during the Iraq war, because we never had a long-term strategy in Iraq. Our political leadership in Washington owes our fighting men and women a long-term strategy before they send young Americans to fight and die in Syria.”
Barney is currently President of InfoVest, a Delaware venture capital firm. He previously served as policy director to Governor Jack Markell, helping Markell pass legislation raising the minimum wage, ending mandatory consecutive sentencing, creating universal background checks for gun sales, passing marriage equality, and establishing civil rights protections for transgendered Delawareans.
“Marines have a code of honor. We leave no one behind. Yet in this country and this state that I love, we are leaving people behind in droves. We are better than that. It is time that we start acting like our better selves and building a Delaware and an America again that embraces opportunity.”
Barney is a graduate of Swarthmore College, Columbia University, Yale Law School and the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. He lives in Wilmington, Delaware with his wife, Nikki, and their daughter, Sophie.
Follow Sean Barney on Twitter.com/SeanBarneyDE and at Facebook.com/SeanBarneyDE.
^^^quotation marks are your friend. Is that you, Joe Biden? 🙂
Lot’s to like here:
– called for the United States to step up its refugee resettlement program, accepting 200,000 refugees, 100,000 from Syria.
-we never had a long-term strategy in Iraq. Our political leadership in Washington owes our fighting men and women a long-term strategy before they send young Americans to fight and die in Syria.
– help(ed) Markell pass legislation raising the minimum wage,
– end mandatory consecutive sentencing,
– create universal background checks for gun sales,
– pass(ed) marriage equality, and
– establish(ed) civil rights protections for transgendered Delawareans.
– we are leaving people behind in droves. We are better than that. It is time that we start acting like our better selves and building a Delaware and an America again that embraces opportunity.
All good. Maybe he can be the one to articulate traditional democratic values? The one thing I hate is apologetic Democrats (like Governor Elect John Carney). Barney doesn’t sound apologetic here.
I wish he would have spoken this forcefully when he was running for treasurer.
AQC, he was running for *treasurer.* How are any of these issues relevant to that office?
An unapologetic Democrat running for that office could have plenty to say about being *treasurer*
-Democrats are more competent.
-Democrats don’t favor creating government deficits by giving tax breaks to the wealthiest individuals and corporations.
-Democrats realize that the government has a legitimate role to play in creating a level playing field.
-Democrats don’t prioritize the needs of the wealthy above the working class (Tom Carper excepted)
– Etc.
Pretty much all of what Matt Denn said when running for *Insurance Commissioner.*
-Democrats don’t believe in shutting down the government for shits and giggles.
Jason330, fair enough. I recall he spoke to the third item often, but I think you’re right about your other points.
I enjoy the spin… “He was a terrible candidate because he was running for Treasurer! This is different! He can actually talk about Iraq now!!”
Please… so he just wants to run for *something*. Fine. Just say it. He can’t hold a job and has burned about every political bridge in the state. But maybe if he loses again we can finally be done with this whole sad spectacle.
It’s good — not sad — that someone with Sean’s intellect and heart wants to make Delaware a better place.
I’m just saying he did not present as very assertive in his last campaign. I wanted him to win.
The great thing about being a “senior aide” and “policy adviser” is you get to take credit for the good things then deny you had anything to do with the bullshit like the foot dragging on a half assed minimum wage bill, giving tax breaks to anyone and everyone who promised to bring jobs to the state. Or while working for Carper, killing banking/credit card reform and the public option.
In other words if working for Carper, Markell and Third Way are on your resume you are one notch above a f’ing republican and not even worth getting in the race.
Thanks. I could not find that release.
That said, I think his position about accepting 100,000 refugees, while I agree with it, is political suicide. For that matter, so is getting involved in a four-way race, considering that another loss in another Democratic primary will put him one loss away from Mike Protack/Mike Miller territory.
This would be Barney’s first primary loss, Geezer.
Plus Mike Miller really stands in a class by himself, you have to admit. It’s a sign of how far the Ds have come that he was actually the nominee twice.
* or how much the Rs have fallen
Geezer has a point. The one thing Barney hasn’t learned from Markell or Carper is timing. They are masters at it. Barney seems to have mistimed this one.
@SW: You’re right, I’m wrong. But he was losing to Flowers when Flowers self-destructed. Other than in the auditor races, who’s the last Democrat to lose to a Republican in a state-wide election? Other than Barney, I mean?
Seriously, what is there to recommend starting this guy at this level? His bloody shirt?
And the Ds ran Miller twice not because they thought he was competitive, but because they got credit for running a minority (in races they knew they would lose anyway). It’s no sign of anything.
Also, I’ve met both Miller and Protack. They’re both paranoid narcissists.
I question both Barney’s timing and his pitch.
If you’re going to jump into a four-way race, you had better be sure you’re going to win. (Otherwise, you’ll be lumped with a bunch of also-rans. See Santorum, Rick, and Huckabee, Mike.)
Low-interest voters might equate military experience with knowledge of foreign affairs and defense issues, but there’s a big difference between being an enlisted man and Wesley Clark or David Petreaus. And while Syrian refugees might be the big issue this week (indeed, perhaps they are already past the point of being the big issue of the week), it’s not one that a congressman in the minority party will be able to impact. Want to get voters’ attention in a Democratic primary? Focus on the four Es — economy, employment, education and environment.
If he continues to focus on foreign policy, the ex-Marine will be marching out of step with the likely primary voters.
I don’t think you can judge him for his loss in the treasures race. Not in a year with such pathetic voter turnout. It was a hard race to get people excited about, and I don’t think people ever really saw what a horrible person Simpler was on the campaign trail. Basically calling Barney a fake veteran and not a hero to his face. If it had not been a midterm year he would of won.
In short Ken Simpler is an asshole
Oh really? Here’s a link to a story about what you’re talking about. Doesn’t sound much like your memory of it:
http://www.delawareonline.com/story/firststatepolitics/2014/10/21/treasurer-race-personal/17611239/
Having received military training — brainwashing, basically — counts as a minus, not a plus, when I’m deciding whom to vote for. I realize he’s just following the Carper formula of currying favor with veterans, but I despise it no matter which party the practitioner represents.
The D’s “ran Miller” for no other reason than he filled out the paperwork to run and paid the fee.
Barney’s biggest problem is he is uninspiring.
Geezer, what is your source for this claim?: “But he was losing to Flowers when Flowers self-destructed…” Flowers was significantly down in internal polls and he knew it. That was only a week or so before his tearful resignation.
There has already been a lot written here and elsewhere about how Delaware’s voter turnout was a record low in 2014. Add to that, 45 percent of Republicans voted, compared to just 36 percent of Democrats. The low liberal voter turnout is relevant context.
mediawatch, you’re right. Sean was not among the military’s top brass. He wasn’t even an officer. But, he certainly wasn’t the typical, barely-out-of-high-school enlisted Marine. Sean already held two college degrees and was working on national security and foreign policy when he joined the Marines. He very well could have been commissioned as an officer. But, I have great respect for his decision:
“It did not seem right to me, at such an age and in such a time, that I should be sitting in Washington in the position of a deliberator and debater. As one privileged to participate in debates that would have serious consequences for people of my age and generation, it seemed more appropriate that I should be there to experience the consequences alongside them.”
Page 25: http://bulletin.swarthmore.edu/bulletin-issue-archive/wp-content/archived_issues_pdf/Bulletin_12_2006.pdf
oh my god. was anyone on this thread alive two years ago for that campaign? sean lost because he’s a bad candidate and had a bad campaign. thats why you lose elections. ken simpler was a good candidate, and had a good campaign and won – in a state that has a non-existent republican party structure.maybe he’s an asshole. i have no idea and it doesn’t really matter. serving in the military does not make you a) immune to criticism; b) automatically eligible to lead
and crying every time someone throws an elbow and draping yourself in the flag doesnt make me think you’re a leader or brave… it makes me think that you’re a desperate asshat.
“off year” “low voter turnout” “no one excited about that race”
Dumb excuses that losers make. you know who was excited about the race? all of the fucking people who voted for ken simpler and not sean barney. take the wahhmbulance back to the station.
and if we were as smart as those ivy league degrees make him seem, he wouldn’t be running. it’s sad because everyone in the state knows this is pathetic. but when he gets 15% in the primary and doesnt raise any money, maybe he can find another state to “lead”. like where he’s actually from and not where he parachuted in 3 years ago.
One reason why nobody was ‘excited about that race’ was b/c Barney gave voters nothing about which to be excited. He provided nothing to allay concerns that he was merely the latest off the Carper Cyborgenics assembly line.
Maybe he’s talking about Syria b/c he doesn’t want to talk about economic fairness. I, too, found the focus on foreign policy pretty, what’s that word, uninspiring. I want to know how he REALLY feels about the Third Way crapola he helped push.
I don’t remember any pols but I do remember that in spite of all the baggage Flowers was carrying he beat Barney pretty handily in the debate. In fairness, Flowers is a very talented debater. After Flowers campaign imploded, Barney was beaten again in the debate against Simpler. Barney may be a great guy with great ideas, but that campaign smacked of opportunism IMO.
This office may actually be a better fit for him than Treasurer, but he’s got to have a compelling message and be able to articulate why he is the best candidate for this job. Sounds basic but it wasn’t there 13 months ago.