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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2010

NEW AP POLL CONFIRMS REPUBLICAN STRENGTH – AT 6:30 P.M. ET:  A new AP poll out today shows increasing Republican strength, as the election grows near:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Tilted toward the GOP from the start of the year, the political environment has grown even more favorable for Republicans and rockier for President Barack Obama and his Democrats over the long primary season that just ended with a bang.

And this despite the fact that the journalistic establishment is doing its thing for the Dems, big time.

The country's pessimism benefits the out-of-power GOP, which clearly has enthusiasm on its side. Far more people voted this year in Republicans primaries than in Democratic contests, and the antiestablishment tea party coalition has energized the GOP even as it has sprung a series of primary surprises...

...Indeed, Republicans expected turnout of 30,000 to 40,000 in Delaware on Tuesday. Some 57,582 people showed up to vote as tea party-backed Christine O'Donnell upset moderate Rep. Mike Castle for the Senate GOP nomination.

And...

Overall, it's an extraordinarily dreary backdrop for Obama's beleaguered party. And with just seven weeks until Election Day, Democrats are running out of options to mitigate widespread expected losses of House, Senate and governor's seats from coast to coast on Nov. 2.

Finally,

With less than two months to go, Democrats are focused on slowing a GOP wave that could give Republicans control of Congress and on trying to fire up their deeply dispirited Democratic base while stemming the flood of independents who now are leaning strongly toward the GOP.

They haven't gained traction with warnings that electing Republicans would mean a return to George W. Bush's policies. Now, Democrats are trying a different tack by elevating - and subsequently tearing down - House GOP leader John Boehner, the likely House speaker should Republicans win control. They're also pouring millions of dollars into advertising designed mostly to make GOP candidates unacceptable instead of highlighting their own accomplishments.

But there's no certainty any of those tactics will work.

COMMENT:  But, combined with a fear campaign, they could work in some areas, which is why the GOP must run as if it's 20 points behind.

September 15, 2010      Permalink

CHRISTINE, YOU KNOW WE ALWAYS LOVED YA – AT 2:57 P.M. ET:  The Republican establishment today bit its lip, arrested its pride, and announced support for Christine O'Donnell, the insurgent who won the GOP Senate nomination in Delaware:

In a clear sign of the grassroots pressure on Republican leaders, National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Cornyn just put out a statement embracing Christine O'Donnell -- a dramatic contrast with his group's curt response last night -- and writing her a big check.

It's a remarkable reversal, and a vivid illustration that the base is in charge and has the leadership running scared.

The NRSC is sending O'Donnell a check for $42,000, the maximum possible under current rules.  Press reports say that contributions are pouring in from other sources – so many contributions that the O'Donnell website crashed.

We didn't support Christine O'Donnell.  We can't deny our doubts about her.  But we sure hope she wins in November.

September 15, 2010      Permalink

AYOTTE WINS N.H. – AT 2:14 P.M. ET:  From AP:

CONCORD, N.H. — New Hampshire has certified former state Attorney General Kelly Ayotte (AY'-aht) as the winner of the Republican primary for U.S. Senate.

Ayotte was endorsed by former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and won a narrow victory over Ovide Lamontagne (LAH'-mohn-tayn). His conservative credentials and courting of the tea party pulled him close in the final days of the campaign.

Lamontagne has until 5 p.m. to decide whether he'll seek a recount because the margin of victory fell within 1.5 percent of the total votes cast.

Her victory, if it stands, puts the GOP in a solid position to hang onto the Senate seat being vacated by Judd Gregg.

September 15, 2010      Permalink

SNIPPET OF THE DAY – AT 10:02 A.M. ET: 

From AOL News:  Does the Loch Ness Monster Have English Relatives?

I've asked this question for years.  Thank goodness it's finally being answered.  I just love a free press.

September 15, 2010      Permalink

THIS IS PATHETIC – AT 9:12 A.M. ET:  While Americans render their negative verdict on Barack Obama, Europeans remain in his corner.  And why not?  He's trying to turn America into Europe, complete with economic decline, cultural vagueness, and spiritual emptiness.  Other than that, he's a truly great man.  From the Politico:

Europeans may still like Barack Obama more than Americans do, but they’re turning against him on Afghanistan.

A survey released Wednesday finds that 78 percent of residents across 11 European Union countries approve of the way the president handles foreign policy generally. That’s a 5 percentage point dip from last year, but it dwarves the 52 percent of Americans who feel the same way.

They're turning against him on Afghanistan because we still have troops there, and have asked for European help.  Mustn't do that.  Mustn't divert attention from the march toward socialism and Islamism.

Despite a relatively small and largely expected dropoff that naturally comes with the exigencies of governing, Obama’s numbers stand in stark contrast to George W. Bush’s. For the last three years of Bush's presidency, they hovered around 20 percent.

Of course, Europe's leftist press had nothing to do with that.

Bush stood up for his country, a sin in Europe.  Obama bashes his country.  Applause, applause among the European opinion makers.

Europeans like the way Obama has handled climate change.

Bush had the nerve to raise questions.  Must not, must not.

COMMENT:  Some West European countries will essentially disappear in the next half century, due to falling birth rates and increasing Islamization.  So the opinions shouldn't be that shocking.  They're consistent with a civilization determined to commit suicide.

September 15, 2010     Permalink

QUOTE OF THE DAY – AT 8:52 A.M. ET:  Let us not forget what this election is about.  It' a referendum on Barack Obama, a referendum he must lose. 

Why must he lose?  In part, it's because Obama has failed at the first responsibility of a president, that of commander-in-chief.  This is especially true in Obama's imposition of a cynical, defeatist deadline for withdrawing American troops from Afghanistan.  Tony Blankley has it nailed, in the Washington Times:

Petraeus has now made a play for Obama to reconsider the deadline. In a recent television interview, he said it is his duty to give the commander in chief his "best professional military advice" about whether July is too soon to remove troops. Separately, other policymakers have begun suggesting the July withdrawal may not be firm, injecting a hint of ambiguity into official statements. But in last week's Oval Office address, the president reconfirmed, precisely, that the withdrawal shall begin in July, as he ordered in his West Point policy announcement speech last year.

In the retirement speech of one of our greatest fighting generals, Gen. Stanley McChrystal -- whose self-inflicted career immolation still remains unexplained, but undoubtedly patriotically motivated -- we may have been given a first hint of his motivation when he observed: "Caution and cynicism are safe, but soldiers don't want to follow cautious cynics.

They follow leaders who believe enough to risk failure or disappointment for a worthy cause."

Amen, amen.  Soldiers followed George W. Bush.  They seem less enthusiastic to cheerlead for Barack Hussein Obama.

September 15, 2010      Permalink

LAST NIGHT – AT 8:23 A.M. ET:  Most of the buzz, of course, surrounds the victory of Christine O'Donnell over Mike Castle for the GOP Senate nomination in Delaware.

We hope O'Donnell goes on to win in November, although the odds are heavily against her.  However, let me not mince any words:  I see signs that the Republican Party is making the same mistakes the Democratic Party has made since the 1960s, becoming a rigid, ideological force.  America is an idealistic country, not an ideological one.  The genius of American politics has always been its sense of the practical.  Unlike Europe, transitions from one party to the other in the halls of government rarely produce great trauma or convulsions.

Contrast Ronald Reagan with Barry Goldwater.  Goldwater was a rigid ideologist, whereas Reagan was a practical, innovative conservative who knew how to talk to the nation and appeal to the great American center, where elections are won.  Reagan became president, Goldwater remained a semi-important senator.  Reagan changed the nation, Goldwater did not.

The main reason Obama and his party are in deep trouble right now is that Americans realized, too late for the 2008 election, that the Obamans are rigid, leftist ideologists.  They will be sent a message.

I think the tea party has added enormously to the excitement and vigor of the campaign.  The movement will bring many conservatives to the polls.  But it is a movement, not a party.  It is not expert at what parties are supposed to do – win general elections, not just primaries.

Tea partier Christine O'Donnell is a highly flawed candidate, already behind in polling for the general election.  In Nevada, weak tea party candidate Sharron Angle has, through her blunders, turned an easy GOP victory against Harry Reid into a horse race.  In New York, the tea partiers got behind Carl Paladino, who has now won the GOP nomination for governor.  But Paladino is a crude amateur who, frankly, is an embarrassment.  It won't matter much in very blue New York, which will elect Andrew Cuomo, son of Mario, as its next governor.  But it could have been a better fight.

In New Hampshire, even Sarah Palin's backing wasn't enough to assure Kelly Ayotte the Republican nomination for the Senate.  She's still locked in an almost dead heat with a tea partier, with votes being counted. 

I pose this question:  What happens the day after election if we wake up to find that the Republicans fell just two or three votes short in their quest to take over the U.S. Senate, and the losses were in Delaware, Nevada and perhaps New Hampshire?  What happens will be a civil war in the Republican Party, just when we need unity.

Bill Buckley said it best.  He advised voting for the most right-leaning viable candidate in primaries. 

This election is about the future of the nation, about stopping the leftist freight train choo-chooing through Washington.  Demanding ideological purity in the Republican Party will not do it.  Reagan never demanded it on the Republican side, Roosevelt never demanded it on the Democratic side. 

We need a political revolution in Washington, not the French revolution.  Be careful with that political guillotine.

September 15, 2010      Permalink

NEW HAMPSHIRE – AT 8:10 A.M. ET:  The race for the GOP Senate nomination in New Hampshire has still not been decided.  With 86% of the vote counted, Kelly Ayotte is leading Ovide Lamontagne, 38% to 37%, with only a thousand votes separating them.

This race is important, and an Ayotte victory is important.  The seat is currently held by Republican Judd Gregg, who is retiring.  So this is a race to hold on to a GOP seat.  Ayotte has an excellent chance of doing just that.  Her opponent, an insurgent, does not.

We'll keep you posted.

September 15, 2010     Permalink

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2010

PRIMARY BULLETIN – AT 12:43 A.M. ET:  With 57% of the vote counted, Kelly Ayotte has taken the lead in New Hampshire, 39-38%.  We'll be signing off now, but will give you the New Hampshire final result in the morning.

PRIMARY BULLETIN – AT 12:12 A.M. ET:  With 43% of the vote counted, Kelly Ayotte is almost even with Ovide Lamontagne in New Hampshire. 

PRIMARY BULLETIN – AT 12:06 A.M. ET:  Charlie Rangel won Dem renomination in New York's Harlem, defeating Adam Clayton Powell IV.  As I understand it, there will be a feisty GOP candidate opposing Rangel, but Rangel is probably a shoo-in for reelection in November.  Harlemites are very loyal, and tend to rally round leaders in trouble.

Carl Paladino, a wealthy insurgent, has won the GOP nomination for governor New York, defeating establishment guy Rick Lazio.  (You may recall Lazio as Hillary Clinton's opponent in Clinton's first race for the Senate from New York.)  Paladino has about as much chance being elected governor in November as Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has of being elected prime minister of Israel.  Paladino has no credentials, is crude, has indulged racism and bigotry, and has no place being on the ticket.  His opponent will be Andrew Cuomo, who should have an easy time winning.  The GOP could have done much better. 

PRIMARY BULLETIN – AT 11:33 P.M. ET:  With about 27% of the vote in, Ovide Lamontagne's lead over Kelly Ayotte in the New Hampshire GOP senatorial primary continues to shrink, and is down to four points.  The trend is toward Ayotte, who is the establishment candidate, but is also Palin-endorsed.

PRIMARY BULLETIN – AT 11:13 P.M. ET:  In New York, with 33% of the vote in, ethically challenged Congressman Charlie Rangel is leading challenged-in-other-ways Adam Clayton Powell IV, 50% to 24%.  I doubt if Powell can overcome that.

PRIMARY BULLETIN - AT 10:49 P.M. ET:  Vote counting in New Hampshire appears slow.  It seems, with a bit more than 20% of the vote in, that Ovide Lamontagne's lead over Kelly Ayotte is shrinking, and is down to about six points.  We may have a long night waiting for this one to be resolved.

PRIMARY BULLETIN – AT 9:41 P.M. ET:  There may be another upset in the making in New Hampshire, where tea-party candidate Ovide Lamontagne is running ahead of state attorney-general Kelly Ayote, for the GOP Senate nomination.  Ayotte, although less conservative than Lamontagne, has the support of Sarah Palin.  She is also considered far more likely than Lamontagne to win the general election.  The seat is currently held by Republican Judd Gregg, who is retiring.  With about a sixth of the precincts reporting, it's 46-35 for Lamontagne.

MAJOR BULLETIN:  The Associated Press has just called the Delaware GOP Senate primary for Christine O'Donnell, the tea party/Sarah-endorsed candidate.  Lightning has struck.

PRIMARY BULLETIN – AT 9:02 P.M. ET:  Now, with 47% of the Delaware vote in, O'Donnell leads Castle 55-45.  That will be a difficult lead for Castle to overcome.  This could be a political earthquake in Delaware, but O'Donnell will have a tough time in the general.

PRIMARY BULLETIN – AT 8:54 P.M. ET:  Christine O'Donnell, the tea-party favorite, has taken an early lead over Congressman Mike Castle in the GOP U.S. Senate primary in Delaware.   With 22 percent of precincts reporting, O'Donnell leads, 56-44.

Polls in New York close at 9 ET:  The key race there pits veteran Congressman Charles Rangel, under a very serious corruption crowd, against Adam Clayton Powell IV, who's only been accused of rape...twice.  We're a quality state.

Stand by for more.

WHAT?  WHAT?  YOU MEAN...GOP CAJONES?  WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN? – AT 7:46 P.M. ET:  We have wonderful news.  Some Republican senators have learned that they're men, and have decided to do something to honor the breed.  They're taking on President Obama over a foolish provision in a disarmament agreement with Russia.  Never thought we'd see the day.  From the Washington Times:

Senate Republicans are challenging the Obama administration on the new strategic arms accord with Russia, proposing new language to the treaty's ratification resolution that would bar limits on U.S. missile defenses.

A draft ratification resolution, sent out on Monday by Sen. Richard G. Lugar, Indiana Republican and ranking member of the Foreign Relations Committee, would prohibit a U.S.-Russian panel established in the treaty from forging side agreements on missile defenses. The Senate panel is scheduled to vote Thursday on the treaty signed earlier this year.

Lugar?  Lugar?  That marshmallow has come alive?  I have now seen everything.

The administration on Monday dispatched Rose Gottemoeller, assistant secretary of state for verification, compliance and implementation, to talk with Republican staff about Mr. Lugar's draft. One Senate aide said Ms. Gottemoeller is opposed to the draft's language because it will complicate treaty implementation with the Russians.

My heart breaks.  Maybe the administration will ask for the Bolshoi to perform at Ground Zero as compensation to Moscow.

Ms. Gottemoeller and State Department spokesmen declined to comment on the Republican draft resolution.

Republican support for the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) is important for the White House, which has made Senate approval of the treaty a high priority and the centerpiece of its "reset" policy with Russia. The treaty, which requires 67 votes in the Senate for passage, would further reduce the Russian and U.S. nuclear missile arsenals to 1,550 deployed warheads.

COMMENT:  Now we're getting some common sense into the START talks.  It isn't Ronald Reagan doing the negotiating.  It's Barack Obama.  Republicans must be ultra-vigilant before Obama gives away the store, then raises our taxes to change the lock.

September 14, 2010       Permalink

NEW POLL SHOWS GOP ON THE MARCH – AT 7:19 P.M. ET:  A new Fox poll shows the extent of Republican dominance in the current campaign, at least so far:

Florida GOP Senate nominee Marco Rubio has jumped to a 16-point lead over independent Charlie Crist, according to the latest Fox News poll, as Republicans make gains across the country on dissatisfaction with President Obama's agenda.

In the first round of Fox News battleground surveys for the 2010 election, Republican candidates for Senate and governor in Florida, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Ohio and California all kick off the election season in contention or ahead.

In each of the states, large numbers of voters believe that the Obama agenda is hurting their local economy.

The surveys covered 1,000 likely voters in each state and were conducted by Pulse Opinion Research for Fox News on Sept. 11.

Polls of likely voters are the ones we like.  It's pretty clear from this and other polls that Rubio is making great strides in Florida, and that former Republican and current Governor Charlie Crist's gambit, becoming an independent, isn't paying off.

As for other states, I think Pennsylvania looks solid:

Opposition to the policies of the Obama administration is helping Republican Pat Toomey gain an edge in Pennsylvania’s Senate race, according to a new Fox News poll.

Toomey drew 47 percent support among likely voters, compared to 41 percent for Democrat Joe Sestak in the race to replace Sen. Arlen Specter. Eleven percent were undecided.

And Ohio, often seen as a national indicator, also brings smiles:

Republicans hold the advantage so far in the battleground state of Ohio, a new Fox News poll finds.

Republican Senate candidate Rob Portman held a 7-point lead over Democrat Lee Fisher among likely voters -- 48 to 41 percent. Democratic incumbent Gov. Ted Strickland trails GOP challenger John Kasich by 5 points -- 48 to 43 percent.

We should note that both the Florida and Ohio Senate seats are currently Republican, so the GOP is looking simply to avoid losses in those states.

The Pennsylvania seat, if Toomey takes it, would be a turnover.

California and Nevada are critical to the GOP's chances of taking the Senate.  The Senate seats are both held by Democrats.  Nevada is a case where the Republicans may have blown a superb chance by nominating a less-than-stellar candidate in Sharron Angle.  Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader, is fighting for his life and was considered a goner not many months ago.  He's made the race even because of Angle's blunders.

California would be a superb pickup for the GOP, as it would retire intellectually limited Senator Barbara Boxer.  Her GOP opponent, Carly Fiorina, is competitive in an overwhelmingly Democratic state:

Sen. Barbara Boxer is in a statistical dead heat with Republican challenger Carly Fiorina, while Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman holds a 6-point lead over Democrat Jerry Brown, a new Fox News poll finds.

COMMENT:  We are racing toward election day, now seven short weeks away.  As in war, the victory may well go to the side that makes the fewest mistakes.  There'll be more and more polls examining the races we've just covered, and we'll report them.

September 14, 2010     Permalink

SNIPPET OF THE DAY – AT 9:06 A.M. ET:

RAMSGATE, England, Sept. 13 (UPI) -- A British court heard an automobile thief was arrested after he put gasoline into a stolen diesel-powered car.  Police said Daniel Boxall, 27, of Ramsgate, England, was arrested June 12 along with passenger Richard Lloyd after the $20,000 Audi A4 broke down at the side of a road, This is Kent reported Monday.

We simply must find a way to get car thieves to read instruction manuals.  Until we do, we cheat the criminal class and increase its sense of oppression.

September 14, 2010      Permalink

ELECTION UPDATE: A TRUE SLEEPER CANDIDATE – AT 8:52 A.M. ET:  There is no more competent governor in American today than Mitch Daniels, the governor of Indiana.  And naturally, there is "that kind" of talk about him, as The Politico notes:

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels has been holding a series of private dinners with top Republican business leaders, policy hands and donors from around the country since this spring, an indication that he’s thinking more seriously about a presidential bid than he publicly lets on.

The dinners, which take place at the governor’s mansion in Indianapolis, are meant to introduce Daniels to a class of GOP heavy-hitters who could both finance and advise a White House campaign.

And...

Both attendees and Daniels’ advisers said the governor is not using the sit-downs to request commitments or even talking in any detail about the prospect of a run.

Rather, the intimate get-togethers are more like get-to-know-you sessions – the political equivalent of a first date – in which the governor can tell the story of what he’s done in the Hoosier State and gauge interest in a possible candidacy and his visitors can get a first-hand look at the Republican who’s been winning so much insider buzz.

Daniels would probably make a fine president.  The problem, though, is that he'd have to get elected.  That is a complication that has frustrated many men.  If truth be told, Daniels has a speaking style that can render the residents of cemeteries even more dead.  He is an instant cure for insomnia. 

I heard him speak at a small meeting earlier this year.  Nice guy, personable.  But he has that roundabout, philosophical way of speaking that makes you wonder what he's really saying. 

Look, maybe this is the right time for a guy like this – a politician who doesn't sound like one.  He could be the unique guy who wins despite the rules.  But he'll have to convince a public with an attention span of ten seconds.

Intriguing, though.  I hope he runs just to give an unusual guy a shot.

September 14, 2010      Permalink 

ANOTHER MAN OF PEACE, IN THE PROCESS OF BITING THE DUST – AT 8:31 A.M. ET:  Troubles are building up for the imam behind the Ground Zero mosque.  It was revealed yesterday that one of his former, and major, associates, is a 9-11 truther who makes speeches denouncing the idea that Al Qaeda was behind the 9-11 attacks.   Today the troubles are more basic: 

An imam at the centre of a dispute over plans to build a mosque near ground zero is being sued by a northern New Jersey community where he owns two apartment buildings.

Newark's The Star-Ledger newspaper reports the lawsuit was filed on Monday in state Superior Court by Union City, which is just across the Hudson River from New York and has about 70,000 residents. It says the lawsuit charges that Feisal Abdul Rauf hasn't addressed complaints by tenants and orders from the city to correct code violations.

Well of course not.  He's too busy promoting harmony among the world's religions.  Yeah, right.

The lawsuit identifies Rauf as sole officer of building owner Sage Development LLC. One building has been vacant since a 2008 fire. The other contains 16 apartments.

COMMENT:  So, if the complaint is correct, Mr. Ground Zero Mosque is a deadbeat landlord, as well as a man who partnered with a 9-11 truther, as well as a man who has an associate in the mosque project with a long criminal record, as well as a man who believes America had a role in the attacks, as well as...

Oh but wait.  Christiane Amanpour introduced him on TV as a moderate.  What more do we need?  The man is clearly a prince.

Yuch.

September 14, 2010     Permalink

IT'S ABOUT TIME – AT 8:23 A.M. ET:  No guarantees here, but at least the Justice Department is acknowledging that, Houston, we have a problem.  From Fox:

The Justice Department's internal watchdog said Monday it would launch an investigation into the Justice Department's enforcement of civil rights laws, eliciting praise from Republicans on Capitol Hill who have been blasting the Justice Department for months over a controversial voting rights case.

For more than a year, Republicans and others have been questioning why the Obama administration reversed course on a federal lawsuit against two members of the New Black Panther Party, who were videotaped outside a Philadelphia polling station on Election Day 2008. The two were dressed in military-style uniforms, and one was holding a nightstick. The issue escalated in June when a former Justice Department attorney, J. Christiam Adams, alleged it was all part of an Obama administration policy to avoid prosecuting minorities, an allegation the Justice Department has strongly denied.

On Monday, the Justice Department's Inspector General said his office does not have legal authority or jurisdiction to investigate the handling of the New Black Panther Party case specifically, but it does have authority to look "more broadly [at] the overall enforcement of civil rights laws by the Voting Section," including "information about cases such as the New Black Panther Party matter and others."

COMMENT:  If the probe is conducted honestly, it could be one of the most important Washington investigations in years.  Dropping that case was an outrage, but the action was consistent with the hard-left views of many of the people Eric Holder has brought into the Justice Department. 

But the key words here are "conducted honestly."  Sometimes a probe just provides a legal cover-up.  We might also add that skilled bureaucrats have ways of holding back information, making a thorough probe impossible.

Stand by on this one.

September 14, 2010      Permalink

ELECTION UPDATE:  SEVEN PRIMARIES TODAY – AT 8:06 A.M. ET:  Today is the last of the major primary days for this election season.  Our great national nightmare is almost over.

The key primaries will be Republican, with tea partiers and the GOP establishment sometimes clashing.  The Politico reports:

WASHINGTON – The primary season is ending as it began, the Republican establishment on one side in state after state, and tea party activists on another.

The competition is particularly strong in Delaware and New Hampshire, where GOP senatorial nominations are the prize, and New York, where Republicans pick a challenger for an uphill fall campaign for governor.
Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Wisconsin and Maryland also hold primaries Tuesday, along with the District of Columbia.

Among incumbents, veteran Democratic Rep. Charles Rangel of New York and Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty face particularly stiff challenges — one because of ethics charges in Congress, the other after conceding to voters he has behaved arrogantly over the past four years.

Rangel is opposed by Adam Clayton Powell IV, son of the late Congressman Adam Clayton Powell, who Rangel defeated for the Congressional seat in 1970, some 40 years ago.  Rangel faces serious corruption charges.  Powell is no Boy Scout either.  He's been accused of rape twice and was convicted of driving while impaired.  But, hey, it's New York.  Those are minor issues.  It isn't as if he was convicted of disobeying a party boss.

In Delaware, veteran Rep. Mike Castle, a moderate, vies with Christine O'Donnell for the nomination for a Senate seat. O'Donnell has the support of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as well as tea party activists. New Castle County Executive Chris Coons has no opposition for the Democratic nomination.

This is the major story of the night.  Castle is certainly no movement conservative.  He is from the old school of GOP moderates.  But, bottom line, if he's nominated, he's the overwhelming favorite to be elected. O'Donnell, an ideological conservative, is a lightweight, to put it mildly, with considerable personal baggage.  She would likely be defeated in the general election.  This is Joe Biden's seat.  I hope the GOP doesn't blow it over ideological purity.

In New Hampshire, Democratic Rep. Paul Hodes is unopposed for the Senate nomination, and Republicans are settling a multi-candidate race. Former Attorney General Kelly Ayotte campaigned with the support of the party establishment and Palin, while Ovide Lamontagne claimed backing from tea party activists. Bill Binnie and Jim Bender campaigned on the strength of their records as businessmen.

Again, Ayotte stands a good chance of saving this Republican seat, currently held by Judd Gregg, if she's nominated.  Her opponent stands virtually no chance in the general.  Sarah got this one right and went with Ayotte.

The election is seven weeks from today.  We have seven weeks to stop the train wreck in Washington.

September 14, 2010     Permalink