I’m calling it: Ken Simpler will beat John Carney
After taking in Carney’s “shared sacrifice” budget proposal a couple of things have become clear to me.
1) Carney has no imagination. He isn’t a leader. He is just following along what Jack Markell did, right down to adopting Markell’s January swansong budget proposal wholesale. This budget shows no guts and fewer brains.
2) He doesn’t care about courting Democratic constituencies. The gutting of the Coastal Zone Act in order to preserve “offshore tax shelter” tax rates for wealthy corporations and individuals speaks volumes.
3) Carney is trapped in 1990’s. This budget does court two constituencies – the state chamber of commerce, and “moderates.”
Does he really think that he is going to run a race that ignores Democrats (because he thinks he has those votes tied down) while trying to appeal to the state’s persuadable Republicans? My sense is that he is thinking precisely that because it is what would have worked in the 1990’s.
This budget demonstrates that Carney thinks he can thread the same needle Markell did, being a fiscal Republican and a “Democrat” on social issues. The problem with that is that there is no Gay Marriage on the table to champion. Moreover, Republicans have a legitimate “fiscal conservative” candidate in Ken Simpler. Does anyone (other than Carney) think that he can get to the right of Simpler on revenue and cost cutting? I don’t.
“He doesn’t care about courting Democratic constituencies.”
I also meant to say that being against legalization doesn’t just make you anti-choice, but it puts you at odds with the civil rights community, and on the wrong side of the transparently racist “war on drugs.”
I don’t think Carney is stuck in the 90’s, I think he is unable to adapt to changing conditions. Ever. And when he does, is the usually the last person to do it.
Back during the Markell wars I witnessed first hand his inability to wrap his head around the gay equality movement as if he had never encountered or thought about it. He has feet of clay.
Dislike Carney and stand ready to hate his corporatist guts, but, neither do I want a Republican governor and that includes Simpler. “Fiscal Conservative” is code for tax cuts for the rich and corporations. If it doesn’t work in Washington then why the hell would it work here?
Which hurts Down ticket Dems more? The election of s fiscally conservative Republican or a fiscally conservative democrat?
Not that tired old argument again. Who gives a fuck about down-ticket Democrats when there are none at the top of the ticket?
You mistook the point of my comment.
My argument has always been that John Carney hurts down ticket legit Dems by muddying the waters about what “Democrat” even means. Carney, and “Democrats” like him are the very reason the Democratic Party is the least liked, most distrusted institution in America.