When it comes to making sure the Democrats have some kind of coherent brand statement, Tom Carper isn’t a team player. And why is that? I happen to think that he believes he represents West Virginia in the Senate. It’s a theory. I didn’t say it was a great theory, but just check out the party break down (as expressed by the Cook Partisan Voting Index (PVI)) for the other conservative Dem Senators quoted in the Hill article.
- Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) R+3
- Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) R+5
- Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) Even
- Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) R+2
- Tom Carper (D-DE) D+8
Look how Carper sticks out like a sore thumb. …an infected, pus-filled, throbbing sore thumb. Now look how it makes sense if he is under some delusion that he is representing the Mountain State.
- Tom Carper (R-WV) R+13
From a PVI perspective, there are only 7 state more liberal than Delaware. Carper’s affiliation with that “centrists” Democrats makes no sense if he considers himself a Senator from the State of Delaware.
Applying Occam’s Razor, I would look no further than his list of campaign contributions for Carper’s hostility to the public option:
https://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.php?type=C&cid=N00012508&newMem=N&cycle=2016
I am always amazed by how cheap it is to buy a senator, and how few senators actually need to be bought to kill progress.
That theory is better than mine.
On the other hand, Carper is a native of Danville VA, not too far from West Virginia. So you might have something there.
“Look how Carper sticks out like a sore thumb. …and infected, pus-filled, throbbing sore thumb. ”
Surgical debridement and antibiotic treatment for an infection that bad ain’t cheap. I hope he has a good health insurance plan.
Amputation is preferable.
Yawnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn
This is why he needs to retire or be strongly primaried in 2018!!
JTF – You yawned one comment too soon. At this point only Father Time can threaten Mr. Mountain State.
Carper is 69 and in perfect health. I put his data into a longevity calculator and with his background lifestyle he will probably live to 95. If he keeps working until 90 (a reasonable estimate because the Senate isn’t exactly taxing), we will have him “representing” Delaware for another 21 years. So get your primary candidates ready for 2037.
You think if the party chair wrote him a letter telling him to step down in the interest of party unity he would?
Oh wait, Carper owns the DE GOTV operation and reminds people of that fact when he is running.
Time for Tom to call it a day…..
I would like to vote for someone like Colin O Mara.
Need fresh faces in there!
It’s like a blackmail vote. You vote for the corporate owned shill who will work against the interests of average people or a republican who will do the same but who has sexual hangup issues and is a religious nut. Sick of this
lol. That is a tidy summary.
Solution: That’s why you run a good primary with a credible, progressive candidate.
Problem solved!!
I mean yeah run against him. Good luck to Colin with that. With his strong Delaware ties and fundraising ability I’m sure he’ll do well.