2010 Elections, Political News

As a college kid working in his White House, I saw what he’s talking about.

No one fought harder to defeat Christine O’Donnell than the Delaware Republican Party. But the conservative marketing consultant won the GOP Senate primary this week and state party Chairman Tom Ross issued a statement Thursday afternoon calling for party unity (although we couldn’t help but notice that he makes no specific reference to the O’Donnell victory). “After a hard fought primary it is time to come together and unite over our shared principles and determination to rescue our economy from the destructive policies advanced by Democrats,” Ross said. “The Delaware Republican Party plans on doing what it does every election year – working hard for our candidates. We have reached out to the [national Republican campaign committees] to ensure that our candidates have as much support as possible,” he continued. “The winds of change are blowing hard in Delaware and together we can take our state and country back. I will honor my commitment to our party’s grassroots activists and continue to serve as Chairman of the Republican Party of Delaware.” It was Ross, of course, who said last week that O’Donnell could not win an election for dog catcher.

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Delaware GOP Chairman: Time to Unite

The past Tuesday evening of this week marked the opening of the new St. Louis Tea Party headquarters in south St. Louis city. A young patriot waves at passerby. ©Dana Loesch, no unauthorized reuse. Volunteers gather to celebrate. ©Dana Loesch, no unauthorized reuse. Tea party merchandise. Profits go to ordering materials, paying utilities. ©Dana Loesch, no unauthorized reuse. Headquarters' sign. Logo by Chris Loesch. ©Dana Loesch, no unauthorized reuse. Love this kid. ©Dana Loesch, no unauthorized reuse. Volunteers. ©Dana Loesch, no unauthorized reuse. A litany of public officials and candidates, both democrats and republicans, were officially invited; 3rd District's Ed Martin was the only to show. I myself had personally invited Mayor Slay, of whom I've always thought well, and we missed his presence. We hope more can join us at similar events in the future. ©Dana Loesch, no unauthorized reuse. Committee Chair Jen E. helps with the good ol' fashion south side BBQ. ©Dana Loesch, no unauthorized reuse. OMGBBQ!!1! ©Dana Loesch, no unauthorized reuse. Volunteers, citizenry. ©Dana Loesch, no unauthorized reuse. The free pocket Constitutions handed out by the Block Captain Brigade. ©Dana Loesch, no unauthorized reuse. Gateway Pundit Jim Hoft grabs the door for one of the younger patriots. ©Dana Loesch, no unauthorized reuse. Volunteers. ©Dana Loesch, no unauthorized reuse. Volunteers, Martin Baker. ©Dana Loesch, no unauthorized reuse. STLTP Co-Founder and leader Bill Hennessy with a volunteer. ©Dana Loesch, no unauthorized reuse. The fellowship lasted an hour past the intended time. ©Dana Loesch, no unauthorized reuse. If you would like to get involved with the Block Captain Brigade liberty evangelism program which works neighborhoods on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, please email Ben.Evans@stlouisteaparty.com. Thanks to all who came out and all the amazing volunteers to so selflessly give of their time and talents to advance the cause of limited government and individual liberty. Filed under: Photos/Cartoons , tea party

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In Photos: St. Louis Tea Party Headquarters Opens

Must I say upon whom I placed my bet ? “Kerry is the guy whose political instincts are always wrong. This guy’s presidential campaign was a punch line,” Reynolds said. “To call the Tea Party extremists is a joke.” Other great quotes in the link as well. Filed under: Awesome , Hi-Fives

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Glenn Reynolds vs. John Kerry

Roughly 11 hours after tea party-backed Christine O’Donnell shocked the Republican establishment in Delaware’s GOP Senate primary, National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Sen. John Cornyn (Texas) promised to “stand by all of our Republican nominees, including Christine O’Donnell.” “I reached out to Christine this morning, and as I have conveyed to all of our nominees, I offered her my personal congratulations and let her know that she has our support,” Cornyn said in a statement. “This support includes a check for $42,000 – the maximum allowable donation that we have provided to all of our nominees – which the NRSC will send to her campaign today.” It was widely reported late Tuesday night that the NRSC would largely ignore O’Donnell, who is thought to have little appeal to the independents and Democrats who dominate the First State’s political landscape. O’Donnell defeated establishment-backed Rep. Mike Castle, who was favored to win the Senate race in November had he become the Republican nominee. Cornyn did not rule out the possibility that the NRSC would make independent expenditures in the Delaware race, which is covered by the expensive Philadelphia media market. But he didn’t offer much cause for optimism for the cash-strapped O’Donnell campaign, which reported just over $20,000 in the bank as of Aug. 25. “We remain committed to holding Democrat nominee New Castle County Executive Chris Coons accountable this November, as we inform voters about his record of driving his county to the brink of bankruptcy and supporting his party’s reckless spending policies in Washington,” Cornyn said. “In the weeks ahead, we will decide where to best allocate additional financial resources among the large number of competitive races at stake this November. While it’s not in Republicans’ interest to advertise our spending strategy to our opponents, it’s worth noting that just yesterday, the NRSC’s first independent expenditure ad aired in support of Dr. Rand Paul’s campaign in Kentucky, where we firmly believe that he will win in November.” Public Policy Polling released a survey Wednesday morning that showed O’Donnell well behind in general election matchup, although the poll was conducted before her upset victory on Tuesday. Coons begins the contest with a 50 percent to 34 percent lead over Christine O’Donnell, the survey from the Democratic firm found. Meanwhile, Castle would have led Coons by a 45 percent to 35 percent margin, according to a survey of 958 likely Delaware voters taken Sept. 11 and 12. It’s worth noting that PPP is the same firm that released a poll that showed O’Donnell ahead of Castle in the days before Tuesday’s primary. The new survey found that O’Donnell is much better known but much less liked than Coons, with a 29 percent to 50 percent favorable/unfavorable rating to Coons’ 31 percent to 33 percent favorability rating. Forty percent of those polled said O’Donnell is too conservative and the poll found that 49 percent of respondents said O’Donnell not fit to hold public office. “A small group of Delaware Republicans most likely cost their party this seat and any chance at gaining control of the Senate last night,” said Dean Debnam, president of Public Policy Polling. “What has looked like an easy Republican win the entire cycle now looks like an easy one for the Democrats.”

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Delaware: Cornyn ‘Personally Stands By’ O’Donnell

Is anyone else glad that the primaries are over and the healing can begin? Here’s the shooting-star-the-more-you-know bit: it’s healthy and encouraged for conservatives to fight over candidates and vet folks to find the best solution. After the boiling process, however, everyone needs to mop up the mess and hug it out. Hopefully that can now happen. Delaware was the most contentious of the night’s primaries. Mike Castle is taking his ball and heading home : A Rep. Mike Castle (R-Del.) campaign source confirmed to The Hill late Tuesday that the longtime congressman will not be endorsing Christine O’Donnell. [..] As to whether the national party would back O’Donnell, a Castle campaign source said the campaign has no knowledge of their thinking but said “they should save their money.” And the spin : Rep. Mike Castle acknowledged Tuesday the results of the Republican Senate primary here would serve as a national test case of whether a moderate can survive in a party increasingly dominated by the tea party movement. Insert dramatic lispy falsetto here: OMG! Those tea partiers are sooo extreme! Those extreme extremists! Here I am, just a simple moderate who, according to my voting record, is to the left of the actual moderates out there who are now polling closer to center right! Castle refused to get back on the party base of limited government so the voters revolted. Voters , he’s just not that into you . The point has been made that the NRSC, who dropped trou and defecated all over Christine O’Donnell’s win by immediately announcing that they will not support her general campaign . That’s fine. The NRSC can do what it wants and forget the “R” in its name. Some folks have aimed to defend it by pointing out a tiny handful of grassroots-supported candidates like Rand Paul whom the NRSC endorsed – but it doesn’t change that fact that their record isn’t solid, it’s barely an even break. It doesn’t change that the NRSC’s decisions can have a negative or positive effect on voters. It doesn’t change the fact that we’re all supposed to be on the same team and regardless who makes it out of the primary, everyone should suck it up and unite. It also doesn’t change that this behavior by the NRSC is a vestige of conservative apathy which, until recently, plagued the right. It’s a ripple, a consequence still being reaped from lack of action, lack of checks and balances. I said this on Twitter, it’s time for the tea party to put its money where its mouth is. When you take on the beltway and win, you better help your candidate accumulate some cash. I hope everyone who opened their mouth about O’Donnell and pushed her as a candidate now unites and donates money and/or time to help her take the general. She needs cash on hand, not promises on Twitter. Any less from her webernetz supporters is posturing and poseuriffic. People also complain about the process. Don’t like it, change it. It’s that simple. We’re not going to have perfection in one election, maybe not even two, and as I said last Sunday, you’re not going to change a generation of government dissolution in one election cycle. It’s a hard task and if you care enough about your convictions to stand on the street corner with a placard, you better care enough to put some muscle behind them. Standing and holding signs is the easy part. You wanted a grassroots candidate, you got it, and now it’s up to YOU to make her win in the general a reality. Malkin notes a 26 – 9% difference in Delaware voter turnout, favoring GOP. Other races I’ve watched: Grassroots’ Lamontagne – Ayotte in NH, Ayotte leads, barely. NY’s Paladino takes Lazio (anyone could take Lazio, really. Chairy from Pee-Wee’s Playhouse could take Lazio, IMO). Paladino coasted on grassroots support. I’ll be on Fox and Friends tomorrow a.m. to discuss. Filed under: Election 2010

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Primary Super Slapfight!

Christine O’Donnell and the Tea Party Express shocked the GOP establishment in DC and Delaware alike Tuesday night, winning the First State’s GOP Senate primary . Will this effectively ensure the seat remains in Democratic hands come November? Tea Party Rage

Another Tuesday in September brought another polling dump by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. A DCCC release Tuesday morning touted recent polling that showed the party in good standing in eight competitive Democratic-held districts. The release comes a week after the DCCC pushed out a dozen polls that also showed good news for Democratic incumbents around the country. The recent emphasis on polling appears to be part of a concerted effort to push back against the story line that the prospects for House Democrats have grown increasingly gloomy heading into the final stretch before Election Day. Over the past couple of months the DCCC was criticized for not releasing its poll numbers while Republicans dribbled out a steady stream of favorable survey data. Tuesday’s release included DCCC internal polling and polls conducted by Democratic campaigns. The DCCC also included outside group polling information. The release included polling from districts that have long been considered battleground targets, such as Nevada’s 3rd, as well as less high profile races like Oklahoma’s 2nd, which, despite it’s strong conservative leanings, hasn’t been considered in play so far this cycle.

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DCCC Releases New Round of Polls

President Obama’s first (last?) midterm general election is almost engaged. Today’s round of primary nominations begins the final push. Last Big Tuesday of Primary Season It’s been a long and fascinating primary season, with most of the heavy action on the GOP side . What A Difference A Month Makes For Castle In early August, CQ Politics traveled to Delaware to report on the race for Vice President Joseph Biden’s old Senate seat. At the time, Republican Rep. Mike Castle was comfortably ahead of his primary opponent, Christine O’Donnell. Ayotte’s Lead Narrows in N.H. GOP Senate Primary Former state Attorney General Kelly Ayotte holds a 7-point lead over surging conservative businessman Ovide Lamontagne in the Granite State’s crowded Republican Senate primary, according to a poll released late Sunday night by the Democratic firm, Public Policy Polling. Bill Clinton featured in 11th hour robocall for Rangel Former President Bill Clinton has recorded a robocall supporting New York Rep. Charlie Rangel, who is facing five Democratic challengers in a primary race. GOP Maintains Generic Ballot Edge The latest Gallup tracking poll finds Republicans leading the generic congressional ballot among registered voters by five points, 48% to 43%. While the survey has been volatile over the last few months, Republicans since the beginning of August have averaged 48% and while Democrats have averaged 43% — identical to this week’s results.

National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Cornyn (Texas) remains optimistic that his party is headed for major gains in the Senate on Nov. 2, but he still believes flipping the chamber is a two-cycle project more likely to come to fruition in 2012. Following the five-week August recess, Cornyn sees nothing on the seven-week political horizon that could significantly shift voters away from favoring Republicans. If anything, Cornyn asserted in a brief interview Monday evening, whatever happens on Capitol Hill during the September work period is more than likely to hamper Democratic efforts to resuscitate their political standing. “I don’t think anything that happens here, for example, over the next few weeks, can make things any better for the Democrats. It could make things worse,” he said. “I think the trend line has been pretty consistent and is not going to change much between now and November.” However, two potential sore spots for Cornyn — Senate races in Alaska and Delaware — remain unresolved, and in both cases the NRSC chairman declined to predict an outcome.

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Cornyn Likes Outlook, Hopes for GOP Control of Senate in 2012