Comment Rescue: A Democratic Primary for the Right to Defeat Mike Castle
It is an article of faith among polticos that primaries are bad. After last season’s trashing of Dennis Spivack in the primary (which no doubt contributed a few percentage points to Castle in the general) I have to admit that I kind of warmed up to that line of thinking.
Now, Dana reminds me why I used to like primaries:
I personally hope there is a primary and I expect there will be one. KHN will be in, maybe Spivack (last word is he is waiting on the OK from his wife),and I heard today that another Dem (name not disclosed yet) will jump in as well. I wouldn’t be surprised (this will be a shocker) if Chris Coons jumps into the fray. I’m glad about this for three reasons:
1. Primaries are good for voters. I happen to know that is Bullock’s view as well.
2. Primaries give the eventual nominee prior publicity and create name recognition needed for the general election.
3. The fact that many want to jump into the fray show one undeniable fact: Castle is vulnerable now in a way he never has been before. One reason has to do w/ the “R” word. The USA is a mess and it happened during the 6 years that the R’s were in charge. The other is health which is a real concern. He’s getting up there and there were those 2 strokes. One doesn’t get healthier after strokes. At best one stabilizes for a while until the problems set in once more. We all know it to be true.
I hope my fellow Dems won’t lament a primary but embrace it & it will be truly democratic. There is no long-term future for any party that doesn’t embrace the resurgence of democratic participation that will occur over the next decades, thanks principally to the internet.
Thanks for the reminder Dana – may the best person win – and may that person enjoy the support of the other Democrats who had the guts to take a shot.
“Castle is vulnerable now in a way he never has been before”
I’ll disagree. He was more vulnerable last November. He had just had the strokes and his health was brought into question when he subsequently limited his public appearances. Additionally, the general public’s contempt for the Republican Party outweighed their contempt for the Democratic Party to a degree that hadn’t been seen in years. Nevertheless, Castle garnered %57 in the general election.
Now? Castle has been at a full work schedule for 9 months and the public’s contempt for the Democratic Party is making a comeback.
This is a primary for the right to receive 30% of the vote in the general election. The only thing that could give the other candidate a prayer of breaking %40 is the DCCC bleeding cash into the race in the months leading up to the election. That and Jason putting up 20 posts/week that end in “and yet Michael Castle continues to support George Bush and his failed Iraq policy and spit in the general direction of %70 of Delawareans, etc and so forth.” But not really.
Good old dh.
You have a good eye for finding and argument’s weakness, but an unhealthy affection for a man who continues to support George Bush and his failed Iraq policy and spit in the general direction of %70 of Delawareans.
Are you sure you are not Celia Cohen?