Bethany Hall Long is Blowing It
My sense is that Bethany Hall-Long REALLY wants to be Governor someday. If I’m right, she is making a big mistake by not primarying the weak, distracted, friendless, checked out, dithering John Carney. She’d have one candidate to beat – a weak, distracted, friendless, checked out, dithering candidate. But if she waits her turn and runs in four years she’ll be facing a platoon of tough, determined, fighters in a primary. Simply put – she is blowing it.
This same logic goes for Sean Lynn and if not Lynn, whatever candidate Delaware United, and/or Mom’s Demand Action are looking at supporting. Take Carney out in 2020 and you have a walk to the Governor’s office in an Anti-Trump wave year. Wait, and you’ve got a tough uphill fight.
I disagree. The ONLY path that BHL has is the ‘you’re next’ path.
On her own, the Chamber and the other scions of the Delaware Way would go with Carney 10 times out of 10. He HAS a vision, their vision. Why do you think that government-assisted ‘economic development’ is now exempt from FOIA? Because John did what they said, that’s why. They’re not deserting the HMS Green Eyeshade.
Only a progressive challenger can beat Carney. Or perhaps Delcollo…
That’s a fair point. Her vision is constricted. And yet… she has a slim chance if she takes on Carney mano a mano with some contrived pretext of a vision.
She has no shot if she waits for the laurel to be put on her head by the Chamber’s Pharisees.
You’re kidding. With what base? Her voters are Carney’s voters.
And a true progressive isn’t going to win statewide for awhile. That said, if we finally moved the federal and state primaries to the same day it’d make it a lot more likely.
With Carney’s base. By hustling for votes in a way that would make Carney’s head spin. But yeah, I get that it is highly unlikely.
And a true progressive is going to win statewide when on wins a primary, because the Dem primary is the statewide election now.
Correct. Can’t see her out hustling Carney.
I agree on the primary, that’s why it’ll only happen in the near future if the progressive can piggy back off of a national based turn out election.
Look, BHL isn’t going to primary Carney because she doesn’t have the courage to give up the safety of having a do-nothing job for the next four years.
Then she’s going to lose a primary in 2024 because, a la Carney in 2008, she will be unable to distance herself from the governor’s unimaginative leadership and some Dem, any Dem, will sweep in, a la Markell, offering some sort of “vision” and move on to victory. I’d bet on Townsend — talking a progressive game on the campaign trail and then running the office in the well-established corporate lawyer mode.
Well same math applies to Townsend. Why wouldn’t he run against one weak, distracted, friendless, checked out, dithering candidate instead of a platoon of strong candidates.
Yep, but Townsend is too close to Carney on the issues to consider primarying him — Tweedledum/Tweedledee. With BHL/Townsend, you’d see some shades of difference.
No. BHL was the candidate who Carney wanted to run with.
Townsend, for example, would support raising taxes on Delaware’s wealthiest. That is a bridge too far for BHL. Hell, the only reason why BHL came around on marriage equality was b/c of that fundamentalist church down in Red Lion who demonized her. Which was real stupid on their part.
Take a look at the bills that he sponsors. He’s much more willing to put himself out there on behalf of progressive causes.
Dude Townsend would pull a Markell on all of you so fast it wouldn’t even be funny. He’s just another Delaware corpartist who likes to act like he’s a little progressive.
All politicians will eventually betray voters because they are politicians. The point is to get as much done as possible in-between the betrayals.