Tag Archives: John Carney

Final Appeal – 2Q Fundraising

Today is the last day of the 2nd quarter. Candidates for federal office report their fundraising totals quarterly. It’s a bit of a political game to look at the fundraising totals to see who’s hot and who’s not. We have some local candidates that really need some help.

Chris Coons is taking on faux moderate Republican Mike Castle. Mike Castle never votes for bills he likes and also votes against bills he claims to support. He’s denied federal funding to Delaware, while showing up to take credit for projects he’s voted against.

John Carney is taking on part-time resident and full-time millionaire Michele Rollins. He’ll need money to compete against her, since she’s getting lots of free publicity and adoring press coverage by the News Journal.

Joe Sestak, after defeating Democrat-turned Republican-turned Democrat Arlen Specter, is taking on former Club for Growth president Pat Toomey.

If none of those candidates is your choice, you can give to the Daily Kos Orange to Blue Candidates like Jack Conway (KY-Sen), Alan Grayson (FL-08) or Joe Garcia (FL-25). Or you can peruse Act Blue to find the candidate you like best.

If we want progressive legislation we need a progressive Congress. Letting the teabaggers take over is not an option.

John Carney Interviews with Starboard Broadside

The U of D student known as Cpt Robespierre interviewed John Carney about a week ago on a wide range of topics and posted them up at dKos (go rec this) and his own blog. He notes that the topics are these:

Clip 1:
1. Offshore oil and the Deepwater Horizon disaster.
2. Electricity and the future of coal
3. The myth of clean coal
4. Mountaintop removal mining
Clip 2:
5. Clean energy transition as an investment for the future, not a burden now
6. What can U.S. and states do to promote clean energy development in the USA, not in other countries?
7. Green jobs in Delaware
8. Urban and rural benefits of a clean energy revolution
Clip 3:
9. Electric cars, Delaware, and automobile carbon emissions
10. Public transit in Delaware
11. Amtrak
12. Climate legislation

You can listen to or download this interview as a complete podcast (mp3) (approx 30 minutes 55 minutes)here. Or you can listen via these You Tube Clips:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPvby4RITg8[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnnGv8-vtuQ[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edLZcuf4sGg[/youtube]

I haven’t had a chance to listen to all of these yet, but it seems that trying to stop off-shore drilling off of the East Coast is top of the list. Post up your questions and comments on this interview — the interviewer has previously been really generous with his time in talking about his experience.

John Carney Chosen For DCCC’s Red To Blue Program

Former Lt. Gov John Carney has been chosen in the first group of “Red to Blue” candidates by the DCCC. This is good news for John Carney, because that means his race is being placed in high priority by the Democratic party.

Chairman Van Hollen joined DCCC Vice Chair Bruce Braley (IA) and Red to Blue co-chairs Allyson Schwartz (PA), Patrick Murphy (PA), and Donna Edwards (MD) to announce the first 13 candidates who qualified for the Red to Blue:

Ami Bera (CA-03)
Paula Brooks (OH-12)
John Callahan (PA-15)
John Carney (DE-AL)
Suzan DelBene (WA-08)
Lori Edwards (FL-12)
Raj Goyle (KS-04)
Roy Herron (TN-08)
Bryan Lentz (PA-07)
Rob Miller (SC-02)
Steve Pougnet (CA-45)
Dan Seals (IL-10)
Tom White (NE-02)

The Red to Blue program highlights top Democratic campaigns across the country, and offers them financial, communications, grassroots, and strategic support. The program will introduce Democratic supporters to new, competitive candidates in order to help expand the fundraising base for these campaigns. The very successful fundraising effort helped raise more than $26 million for Red to Blue candidates last cycle.

Memo to Michele Rollins: Bring It On!

Rethugs are virtually wetting themselves (except for the octogenarian Vicmead Hunt denizens, who really ARE wetting themselves) over the possible entrance of Michele Rollins into Delaware’s US House race.

Michele Rollins earned her entree  into Greenville gigagazilionaire circles the old-fashioned way: She married into it. A dewy-eyed 1963 beauty queen (the dew formed in the shape of dollar signs) marrying a buzzard-like arrogant plutocrat in a match made in accountancy heaven. Together, they engaged in a lifelong journey (his was far shorter as he was far older) of squeezing every ill-gotten penny they could out of the landscape. Hence, the ‘Rollins Building’, aka, “The Giant Phallic Symbol”, on Route 202 that was deliberately built in violation of carefully-negotiated deed restrictions, and the ‘Rollins Mausoleum’ at the old Brandywine Raceway site that bears no resemblance to the verdant-green design that Old Man Rollins put out there for public discussion. Unless ‘verdant-green’ and ‘moonscape’ are synonymous.

Her entry into the race would certainly warrant shining a light onto the avaricious couple’s business history.

Like Rethug chair Tom Ross, I, too, am excited about the heiress’s entry into the race. Castle/Rollins is indeed the Republican Dream Team…the Republican Dream Team circa 1962. Everyone in Greenville is excited precisely because everyone in Greenville is precisely who (whom?) the Dynastic Duo would purport to represent.  In other words, the Entitled are the only ones entitled to entitlements, just like the old days. This is the duPonts, Lamottes, Copelands, Stablers redux. Time to get the seersucker (emphasis on ‘sucker’) out of storage.

However, contrary to the PT Barnum imprecation that ‘There is a (seer)sucker born every minute’, this is quite a finite, if oligarchic, segment of the electorate. And their rapacious greed is their one defining factor. Granted, Rollins can self-finance, the real reason the Rethugs are urging her to get in. But, and pay attention, Democrats, her greatest strength is also her greatest weakness.  I’ll even write the paragraph that should appear in the Democratic Party press release:

“Michele Rollins and Mike Castle represent Delaware’s wealthiest citizens, and have devoted their careers to amassing and protecting that wealth, respectively. As such, they are ideally suited to head the Republican ticket.  Chris Coons and John Carney will represent those who truly need representation. In other words, they run to help those who have played by the rules and who, through no fault of their own, find themselves and their families struggling to make ends meet. These are people who could never afford a stay at that fancy Rollins Jamaican spa, but people just looking to keep food on the table for their family.”

Got it? Turn the perceived advantage for Rollins into a disadvantage. Run as true populists against those representing the entrenched big money interests.

This becomes a race only if Democrats let it become a race. And, by pairing Castle with Ms. Moneybags, I think the Rethugs have made Castle even more vulnerable. It’s easy to run against them as a team only concerned about Delaware’s To the Manor Born. Yes, it would require Coons and Carney to run as real Democrats, another plus. And (my fondest wish), the term ‘The Dynastic Duo’ makes it into the Delaware political lexicon.



Psst! Your Shallow Bench is Showing

Potential Republican Congressional candidate, Anthony Wedo dropped out of the race Friday.  I believe that this leaves only Fred Cullis, the guy who had a half dozen people (mostly family and volunteers) at his announcement.  They really have no one.

I asked Charlie Copeland if he was running and he was pretty clear that he wasn’t, but who else is there?

I don’t feel sorry for them one bit.

Rethugs Float Newark Developer as Carney Opponent

Bill Stritzinger, whose main claim to fame appears to be trying to build 280 houses on the Newark Country Club site, has been seen making the rounds in Leg Hall, escorted by Monsignor Greg Lavelle, as a prelude to a candidacy against John Carney for the U. S. House of Reps seat. It makes perfect sense for Lavelle. Pushing someone who would turn verdant green space into suburban clutter anywhere else but his own district is right up his alley.

Of course, Stritzinger doesn’t see it that way. He, of course, is merely expanding the City of Newark’s tax base. The gist of the project is that he would build a golf course/residential community just across the state line in Cecil County, MD., and would redevelop the Newark Country Club site for McMansions.

The proposed project, known pejoratively as Stritzingerville, has encountered problems and has raised some serious ethical questions. Nancy Willing wrote about this back in 2008, and it deserves reading now. Stritzinger makes clear in comments before the Cecil County Comprehensive Planning Oversight Committee that sewer requirements are ‘too burdensome and excessive… and lead to higher housing costs’. Right, why do septic when you can just dump waste into the river?

More on the pros and cons of the project from Newark City Councilman Ezra Temko’s website. The comments really flesh out the issues.

Anyway, this appears to be Stritzinger’s sole would-be accomplishment. Rethugs and others are invited to provide others.

If this indeed is the best that the Rethugs can offer, I say, “Bring it on.”

Nothing Delawareans like better than suburban sprawl and greedy developers.

Republicans Score Political Points, Kill Jobs

This just in from the News Journal, an important partner for the wind turbine tower construction project has pulled out of a partnership with Delawind.  You may remember that Delawind was attacked by the right-wing here in Delaware because one of their principles is John Carney.  Delawind had applied for financing from the state to make the project viable and the screams of favoritism and cronyism came from all of the usual suspects, Copeland, Burris, Anderson, Jensen and an assortment of would-be statewide office-holders.

The owner of Amer Industrial Technologies has decided that the kitchen was too hot.

“It became a political issue, so I don’t want it to hurt anybody’s feelings and so I decided nobody needed that,” Amer said. He said there were other disagreements, too. “I don’t like financing, and they do. And they needed money. I don’t need money,” Amer said

I suspect that Mr. Amer was put off by the whole deal because the Republicans poisoned the well.  I wonder how many jobs at Mr. Amer’s shop they have now cost? How many at Citisteel? How many at Transformative Technologies?

Some Republicans have started a campaign to get the word out about how technologically advanced and conducive to small business Delaware is, and yet they have now helped to scuttle one of the opportunities that Delaware had to start future-proofing our economy.  And all to score political points against John Carney.

PPP: Carney Win Almost Guaranteed

While PPP polled the Delaware U.S. Senate race, they also polled the open U.S. House seat. Carney holds a commanding lead, and has somewhat low name recognition:

Former Lieutenant Governor John Carney leads announced Republican candidate Fred Cullis by an overwhelming 47-24 margin and holds a solid 44-32 lead against better known potential Republican candidate Charlie Copeland.

None of the candidates, including Carney, are particularly well known. Despite his campaign for Governor last year and tenure in statewide office 54% of voters have no opinion about Carney. Among those who do 27% view him favorably and 18% unfavorably. Copeland is a blank slate to 66% of voters and Cullis is to 87%.

I’d like to add here that despite all the talk of the “unbeatable” Mike Castle, the much more unknown John Carney gets the same level of support as the much better known Mike Castle. PPP goes on to add:

In what’s shaping up as a tough year for Democrats nationally, the Delaware House seat is as close to a sure thing as they have when it comes to pick up opportunities.

John Carney is probably the happiest man in Delaware today.

wRong Willams, Clue — Clue, wRong Williams

Update: The online News Journal dropped the following line from Williams’ column:

And then, if some quirk of nature would defy all the universe and he would beat Carney, he would face former lieutenant governor, two-term governor and eight-term congressman Mike Castle.

Also, I could not find a correction anywhere on the site. Now, I need to go back to the dead tree edition and find out what else disappeared from Williams’ column.

I wonder how often this occurs at The News Journal?

******************************************************

Oh, this is rich.

I was reading wRong Williams as I am wont to do on Sunday morning, it is sort of a penance for my sins. Today’s column is regarding Democratic Congressional candidate Scott Spencer.  Delaware Liberal recently met Scott and he seemed a nice enough bloke, though going up against John Carney is very much the political equivalent of fighting against windmills. (It is no secret that I am heavily leaning towards Carney, but I need to examine all the issues and then make my final decision).

Williams op-ed piece is entitled “Some people go without clues” and focuses heavily on a lunch Williams had with Spencer. I thought the piece to be mean-spirited (yes, I know that’s the pot calling the kettle black) just because Spencer has some different ways he is going to run his campaign. Spencer’s campaign tactics might not work, but it is good to see a different tact being used.

But here is where we go wRong. Williams writes:

First, he’s going to be running in the Democratic primary against John Carney, a two-time lieutenant governor who just lost the gubernatorial nomination last year by less that 1,600 votes And then, if some quirk of nature would defy all the universe and he would beat Carney, he would face former lieutenant governor, two-term governor and eight-term congressman Mike Castle.

Huh? What? Castle isn’t running for Senate? Someone better tell Castle’s staff to change their website: http://www.mikecastleforsenate.com/. Yes, wRong Williams, somebody needs a clue, but it’s not who you think.

Down With Tyranny Evaluates John Carney

…with help from Progressive Democrats of Delaware and Delaware Liberal contributors.  The writer here also runs the Blue Progressive PAC and was looking for some input from the locals on John Carney’s progressive cred.  You can see the full blog post over at Down With Tyranny here.  The key evaluation comes from Rebecca, I think:

John is a solid Democrat with solid Democratic values. Having said that, he’s also a pragmatist. He won’t let perfection get in the way of progress. He got pretty beaten up at the last Progressive Dems for Delaware meeting and he never did disavow the Blue Dogs– at least that’s what I heard. His reply was along the lines of what I said above. He’s willing to take incremental steps forward if that’s all he can realistically get. John will never be like Rep. Grayson from Florida, but he is solid on his progressive values, and he knows how to work legislation. On the other hand, his campaign style is very centrist. I guess he feels safe there.

DWT also gets to something pretty key about John Carney’s current presentation to the world — neither his website or his Facebook page are really set up to tell you much about him or his positions yet. Maybe it is early, but once Castle announces, I would hope that someone around him would remind him that he is defacto on the national stage. I really hope that this data gets beyond the boilerplate soon.

Stoopid Rethug Tricks: Blasting Carney on Day Castle Enters Race

Perhaps they’re playing three-dimensional chess at a level that only dogs can hear. But does this make any sense to you? John Carney, the guy who is running for the seat that Castle is leaving, gets blasted by some junior league RNC ‘wordsmith’ on what should be Mike Castle’s day:

Andy Seré, spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, issued this statement:

“…As for career politician John Carney, he was the ‘frontrunner’ in 2008, too – how’d that work out for him? After eight years serving as Gov. Minner’s yes-man, Delaware voters rejected his brand of partisan politics then, and the only thing that’s different now is the office for which he’s shopping.”

Maybe this is just “Step on Your Dick Day”  at the RNC, but why blast Carney today? Isn’t this the day to celebrate the All Things Bright and Beautiful that Mike Castle Conjures Up? 

Do they think that Carney is gonna switch races? Do they want to lure Carney into the race? Or are they just PO’d that the young whippersnapper (aka under 70 years of age) had the temerity to hold Castle accountable?

I’m sure I don’t know. Your suggestions, please?

Carney Campaign Asking for $53 from You

I love teh social media. Yesterday I received an email on my Facebook from the Fan of John Carney for Congress page. The gist of the email (which is below the fold) was to ask John Carney supporters to donate $53 dollars to his campaign for congress at John Carney for Congress. Why $53? Because John recently celebrated his 53rd birthday. Great hook.

If your currently not sure about who your voting for Carney or Scott Spencer, why not donate $53 to both. And if you are a Republican, I have no idea of who you should send money to. Maybe Protack?

Continue reading →

Castle Sees Writing On The Wall

One of the Washington Post articles on Obama’s 100 days focuses on Delaware Congressman Mike Castle and his friend, Republican Michigan Congressman Fred Upton and their vote against Obama’s budget in January.

The money shot isn’t until the last two paragraphs when Castle is quoted as saying:

I’m not giving the Republicans a lot of credit for being particularly bipartisan over the years, either.

Sometimes it’s a lot easier to call Nancy Pelosi and Senator Reid and say, ‘Let’s get this done,’ and not worry about scurrying up Republicans. I would imagine the vote on the stimulus didn’t help, because they worked that and they didn’t get anything, so why bother?

With John Carney‘s recent declaration that he is running for Castle’s seat, Operation Restore Moderate Label is on and it is up to liberals like us to remind fellow Delawareans constantly that Castle’s voting record does not represent Delaware, but only the RNC.