To me, this is the lede that must not be buried:
The Delaware Democratic Party, DSEA, and several other groups of whom you might expect better, endorsed Bethany Hall-Long for Governor even though they knew about her violation of campaign finance laws and other various and sundry unethical activities.
They knew, at least in part, because virtually BHL’s entire campaign team quit after she refused to exit the race following the reveal of her and her husband’s commingling of campaign funds with their personal finances. This happened well before the endorsements were made, but well after BHL’s refusal to release the Audit That Wasn’t An Audit.
This is why ‘the rats’ like Val Longhurst, Stephanie Hansen and so many others immediately scrambled to protect BHL: Because they, like Bethany, have personally benefited from the casual corruption that represents the Delaware Way: Jobs they don’t deserve, piles of someone else’s money at their disposal, power for power’s sake. That is what support of BHL is all about–protecting their ill-gotten turf. They, and BHL, have been enabled by the likes of Anthony Albence of the Department of Elections and State Auditor Lydia York, who have slow-walked information that would deep-six what remains of her campaign.
All these people know that BHL is corrupt, and yet they instinctively circle the wagons around her.
The Delaware Democratic Party, as we know it as a legal entity, is beyond redemption with its current leadership. (BTW, didja know that Betsy Maron only contributed to one legislative campaign this year?: A $600 max check to Our PAL Val Longhurst. A long way from the blue collar working-class roots of Betsy’s dad.) Editor’s Note: This post has been edited to remove a reference to ‘someone’s kid’ who a commenter suggested might be akin to casting aspersions on a non-public person. No such aspersions were intended.
We know that DSEA, under its current leadership, ignored its rank-and-file in endorsing BHL. We know that they have ignored requests from members to revisit the endorsement.
Pretty much Bethany’s entire campaign has been ‘endorsed by Democrats, endorsed by teachers’. I have a feeling that, come tomorrow, Democrats and teachers will put the lie to those claims.
After which, there must be an absolute housecleaning of those entrenched sell-outs who have protected their own turfs at the expense of the public and the Party. Real Democrats must reclaim the Party from the cynical insiderism that pervades it, and teachers must reclaim DSEA from, well, the same sort of cynical insiders.
Oh, and lest you wonder, it all starts by voting for anybody other than BHL tomorrow.