Delaware Says Goodbye to Old Rubbish and the GOP Throws a Fit

Let me preface this post by saying that I suspect Delaware will go Democrat again this fall. Sadly, I doubt O'Donnell can be elected here. We're just too blue a state for her. But, at worse we end up with a Democratic ordained Presbyterian minister as our Senator. We could certainly do worse (Someone like say...Mike Castle). And all of that really isn't the point of what happened here last night anyway. Last night was about giving the boot to one of the few people I would truly call a RINO.

I mean, Mike Castle actually voted to go along with impeaching President Bush in 2008. Any conservative in Delaware knows that Castle would be more at home on the Democratic Underground than he would any conservative site. He actually makes McCain look like a stable, responsible member of the GOP. Those of us in Delaware have supported him in the House because, well, there hasn't been anyone running against him. O'Donnell actually marks the first real challenge that Castle has faced, and when considering his potential to be a key player in the Senate, this election became as much about defeating him as it did getting O'Donnell in.

And this is what the GOP doesn't understand. The GOP is so focused on taking Congress, that it seems their standards are playing second fiddle. There are elements in the party that so desperately want a majority, that they have turned rather nasty on anyone with whom they disagree. No place is this more clear than last night when Karl Rove lost his mind on camera...



Yes, it's so important that we have the majority, that we'll take whatever we can get! But surprise, the GOP is in for a shock. Rove tried to push the tea party leaders to "get in line" with the rest of the party, thinking he could co-opt the movement. While I'm not a tea partier, I have to say that I agree with them on this; give us actual conservative candidates who will represent economic frugality or the GOP can stop counting on our votes. I am a conservative first, and a Republican second. Sadly, it seems like we are awash in many who want to put the (R) first.

Ben Domenech from Redstate said it well,

Here’s my view: Conservatives should not tolerate the likes of Mike Castle because of the simple fact that a 51 member Senate with Mike Castle is a Senate where Mike Castle is the most important vote in the room. As Specter and others before him, that Senator will set the terms of policy debates, determining in advance what can succeed and fail. Those who advance the argument that a majority with Castle is better than being in the minority tend to place priorities on Senate committee chairmanships and staff ratios and lobbyist cash… a list which pales in comparison to the power they would wield as the broker for both sides. Again and again I saw this play out during my time as a Senate staffer, and anyone who tells you contrary is incredibly naive about the way legislative decisions are made.

As a friend of mine in the business of campaigns and elections has said, electing moderates simply to secure a majority for Republicans is a self-defeating proposition. We’ve seen this play out time and again. Career politicians abhor principle, and adore power and fecklessness. Their presence in Washington provides constant aid and comfort to the Left. They dilute the brand, confuse voters and sell out conservatives just at the moment they are needed most.