As we saw with Mike Castle and Tom Carper when someone has the unmitigated gall to challenge a member of the Delaware Way elite, the first phase of response is denial. How do I know he is in denial? Well, he sent the same half-assed, photocopied press release to both the News Journal and WHYY in which he stands by his mighty bipartisanship skills and says that they are paying off in spite of no evidence that they are or will pay off...ever.
I’m...someone who works across the aisle to get done what we can in this environment to make our state and our community stronger.
He didn't bother speaking to anyone at either outlet, because why bother? As far as Coons is concerned this primary rates lower on his list of things to think about than if his 7:15 train running behind schedule. And that's a good thing for everyone.
Let's hope Coons is like Mike Castle. Castle's denial phase lasted up until about a week before he was beaten. By the time Castle woke up and scheduled his trip to the firing rage, it was too late. It would be awesome for Coons to maintain a similarly languid approach.
What is more likely however is that Coons copies Tom Carper. Navy Veteran, Carper was ever the cagey observer who noted Castle's screw up. Carper moved to the left quickly (if only temporarily). SImilarly, I expect we'll see lots of awesome progressiveness from Coons over the next few months. As with Carper, it will be a sham of course, but it will be nice to get a break from all the nonsensical "work across the aisle to get things done" blather.
