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GOP losing hope to take back congress, Tea Partys fault

Posted on September 15, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

With polls showing significant GOP momentum this fall, Republicans in recent weeks began to believe they had a real chance of retaking control of the Senate in November. But a major primary upset at the hands of a tea party insurgent on Tuesday may have put the Senate GOP's dreams of a majority at serious risk. In the biggest electoral surprise of the night, conservative activist Christine O'Donnell defeated longtime GOP Rep. Mike Castle in Delaware's Republican Senate primary. Castle, a moderate who once served as the state's governor, had been so favored to win in November that his decision to run had reportedly influenced Democrat Beau Biden, son of Vice President Joe Biden, to abandon plans to seek his father's old seat. But with O'Donnell's come-from-nowhere win Tuesday night, top Republicans in Washington now see virtually no chance the GOP will be able to pick up the Delaware seat this fall. As a result, they admit their already slim chance of winning back Republican control of the Senate is likely dead. “It's hard to see a path for us,” one senior Republican official, who declined to be named while discussing party strategy, told The Upshot. “Never say never, but it has become much harder for us after tonight.” According to Public Policy Polling, just 31 percent of Delaware voters believe O'Donnell is “fit” to hold office. She trails Democrat opponent Chris Coons by 16 points, according to the latest PPP survey. On Tuesday night, the National Republican Senatorial Committee issued a tepid statement of congratulations to O'Donnell, but a GOP official told Fox News the party has no plans of putting money into the race. Still, O'Donnell's surprise victory was significant win for the Tea Party Express, which spent $250,000 at the last minute to boost O'Donnell's campaign. Since the first primaries in early spring, she's the eighth tea party-endorsed candidate to defeat an establishment-backed GOP contender in an election cycle that has been dominated by voters choosing change over experience. Two weeks ago, Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski lost her primary race to Joe Miller, who was backed by Palin and the Tea Party. Other surprise tea party wins among Senate candidates this year include Sharron Angle in Nevada and Rand Paul in Kentucky. In Florida, Marco Rubio was also endorsed by tea party activists, although he's tried to move toward the middle since winning the primary last month. The difference between O'Donnell and other tea party-backed Senate candidates is she's running in a state that traditionally elects moderates. O'Donnell, a perennial candidate who once argued against masturbation on a MTV special, is not likely to move toward the middle, as Rubio has, and she doesn't look to benefit from the same anti-incumbent wave that's driven Angle's poll numbers against Harry Reid in Nevada. That's the key reason why national Republicans are so loathe to embrace O'Donnell's candidacy. Not that she cares. “They have a losing track record,” O'Donnell told CNN Tuesday night. “If they're too lazy to put in the effort that we need to win, then so be it.” http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_upshot/20100915/el_yblog_upshot/tea-party-victory-… added by: littlwarrior

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George Stephanopoulos Touts Attacks By O’Donnell Opponents: She’s a ‘Nutty,’ ‘Mentally Unhinged’ ‘Liar’

Posted on September 15, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Liberal journalists don’t usually highlight Karl Rove as an authoritative voice, but that’s what George Stephanopoulos did on Wednesday’s Good Morning America. Interviewing senatorial nominee Christine O’Donnell, the ABC host touted the conservative strategist’s dismissal of the Delaware Republican for saying “some nutty things.” Stephanopoulos also played up charges by Delaware’s Republican Party Chairman Tom Ross that O’Donnell is a “liar” and “mentally unhinged.” The ABC host wondered if her primary victory could “help the Democrats.” Stephanopoulos noted only negative news for the surprise winner of the Delaware senatorial primary, asserting that “…The national Republican Party is not going to give you any funds.” (This later turned out not to be true .) Later in the show, news anchor Juju Chang would label the liberal Mike Castle, O’Donnell’s defeated primary opponent, ” a mainstream Republican .” During Wednesday’s interview, Stephanopoulos never mentioned Castle. Instead, he parroted, “We saw that the Republican Party chairman in Jon Karl’s piece there, he went on to say, that you’re ‘not a viable candidate.'” Piling on, the host continued, “…You ‘cannot be elected dog catcher in Delaware.’ [Ross] went on to say that you’re either a liar or mentally unhinged.” Stephanopoulos then played a clip of Rove, on Fox News, slamming O’Donnell. When candidate Ned Lamont beat Joe Lieberman for Connecticut’s Democratic primary in 2006, journalists gushed over the insurgent “anti-war” politician. The Washington Post deemed him a “fiscal conservative.” A transcript of the September 15 segment, which aired at 7:04am EDT, follows: 7am tease GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: And this morning, Tea Party shocker. CHRISTINE O’DONNELL: No more politics as usual. STEPHANOPOULOS: Another Sarah Palin mamma grizzly wins, this time in Delaware. But, could this victory help the Democrats? 7:04 STEPHANOPOULOS: And the big winner joins us now. Christine O’Donnell from Delaware. Good morning. Thank you for getting up so early. And congratulations. Did Sarah Palin make the difference here? CHRISTINE O’DONNELL: Thank you, George. Yes, she did. All summer we’ve been working very hard to get out there. Give the voters an opportunity to meet me, to know me. So that I’ve been asking them that when you vote for me, I want you- I want the vote to mean something. I want it to be a vote of confidence. So, when the mud-slinging started, I was very encouraged that what a lot of people said was, “We knew what your opponent was putting out wasn’t reflective of who we know you to be.” And when Governor Palin stood up and so boldly made a statement that she supported me, it allowed them to get past the politics of personal destruction, to look at the message and look at the fact that I wanted to make this race about the issue. How we’re going to get jobs back in Delaware. How we’re going to defend the homeland of our security. And she helped to get it back on track. STEPHANOPOULOS: You’re going to need all the help she can give right now. She’s going to need to raise some money for you. ‘Cause we just heard Jon. Karl say the national Republican Party is not going to give you any funds. O’DONNELL: Well, that’s a shame. But they never thought I could win this race. And I believe that we can win without them. This is about giving the political power back to we, the people. And we proved the so-called experts wrong. So, I think a few of them, perhaps, may have their pride hurt this morning. But, you know, I didn’t count on the establishment to win the primary. I’m not counting of them to win the general. I’m counting on the voters of Delaware. And we’re going to work hard to make sure that we take our message to them. STEPHANOPOULOS: But- But you are going to have to answer some questions. We saw that the Republican Party chairman in Jon Karl’s piece there, he went on to say, that you’re “not a viable candidate.” That you “cannot be elected dog catcher in Delaware.” He went on to say that you’re either a liar or mentally unhinged. And Karl Rove, President Bush’s former political adviser, was on Fox News, very tough, talking about your checkered background. O’DONNELL: Right. STEPHANOPOULOS: Saying you say some nutty things. And, listen, he went on to say, you have to answer these questions. KARL ROVE: Why did she mislead voters about her college education? How come it took her nearly two decades to pay her college bills so she could get college degree? How did she make a living? Why did she sue a well-known and well-thought-of conservative think tank? STEPHANOPOULOS: Can you answer those questions? O’DONNELL: Yeah. Everything he’s saying is unfactual [sic]. And it’s a shame. Because he’s the same, so called political guru that predicted that I wasn’t going to win. And we won. And we won big. So, I think, again, he’s eating some humble pie and he’s just trying to restore his reputation. But, again, I’m counting on the voters in Delaware. Like I said this, is about giving the political process back to the people. People are tired of what’s going on in Washington. These failed policies that don’t represent them. My Republican opponent did not have a record to stand on. He supported the Democrats more than he supported the Republicans. And when we started gaining momentum and we started gaining credibility in this race, it made the Republican establishment look like lazy people who did not care about their principles. But I hope that we can put that behind us because if they’re really serious about winning, I was ahead in the general election, according to Rasmussen, before this Republican cannibalism started. So, if they were serious about winning, we could repair the damage done and move forward. And that’s the challenge I put out to them. But, if not, I truly believe we can win. STEPHANOPOULOS: You call it Republican- You call it Republican cannibalism, saying that what Karl Rove is unfactual. But it is true that you had conflicting statements about your college record. That you had- That the big issue in the campaign was failure to pay back taxes. O’DONNELL: That is not true. STEPHANOPOULOS: Failure to pay campaign debts. Failure to pay your mortgage. So, can you clear that up? O’DONNELL: That’s simply not true. We addressed all this stuff. Absolutely. Absolutely. And first of all, they also said that Ronald Reagan wasn’t electable. We’ve addressed all of this stuff on our website. It took me 12 years to pay off my college loans. I’m not a trust fund baby. Most Delawareans can relate to having to work hard to pay for their own college education. I was never dishonest about that. They made up an accusation about an IRS tax lien. The IRS said, “Oops, it was a mistake.” They cleared it up right away. We presented my opponent and the republican administration, showing them that the IRS had admitted to a computer error. They chose to ignore the truth because they don’t have a record to stand on. And it’s humiliating when the party gets behind this guy who they say is the only one who can win. But doesn’t stand for anything that the Republican Party stands for. So, they have to cling to these baseless accusations. And it’s a shame because I want to go into this general election telling the Delaware voters the proposals that I want to introduce in Washington to get jobs back into Delaware, to get our economy back on track. To take care of our veterans. And as we move forward, I hope that my Democratic opponent learns the same lesson that my Republican opponent learned. That dirty politics will backfire. In a state like Delaware, where it’s small enough to get to know all of the voters, that’s exactly what we intend to do this next month and a half. It didn’t work for Castle. It won’t work for the Democrats. STEPHANOPOULOS: And we will be watching. Congratulations again. Thanks for your time this morning.

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George Stephanopoulos Touts Attacks By O’Donnell Opponents: She’s a ‘Nutty,’ ‘Mentally Unhinged’ ‘Liar’

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Memo to Slate’s Weigel: Those Who Live in Glass Houses Shouldn’t Throw Stones

Posted on September 15, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Anxiety was pretty high in the heat of battle with the race for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate. However, a lot of that tension exists beyond the state of Delaware and there have been self-proclaimed conventional wisdom wizards critical of how the electoral process in Delaware has worked itself out. One of those has been former embattled Washington Post blogger Dave Weigel, who in a Slate.com post dated Sept. 14, took a few shots at conservative talker Mark Levin, calling him a “creep” for his criticisms of The Weekly Standard John McCormack , author of an unfavorable story about Delaware U.S. Senate nominee Christine O’Donnell. “This is absolutely pathetic,” Weigel wrote of Levin’s critique. “No, Mark, when reporters investigate female candidates, they are not ‘obsessed,’ any more than you’re obsessed with Hillary Clinton when you call her “her thighness” and ‘Hillary Rotten Clinton.’ They’re reporting. For all of your posing about legal theory and the Constitution, you make it pretty clear here that you’re a political hack.” But Levin responded promptly by reminiscing about Weigel’s prior “JournoList” transgressions by compiling his own list of so-called “Weigelisms” and posted him on his Facebook blog : “This would be a vastly better world to live in if Matt Drudge decided to handle his emotional problems more responsibly, and set himself on fire.” “Follow-up to one hell of a day: Apparently, the  Washington Examiner  thought it would be fun to write up an item about my dancing at the wedding of Megan McArdle and Peter Suderman. Said item included the name and job of my girlfriend, who was not even there – nor in DC at all.” “I’d politely encourage everyone to think twice about rewarding the Examiner with any traffic or links for a while. I know the temptation is high to follow up hot hot Byron York scoops, but please resist it.” “It’s all very amusing to me. Two hundred screaming Ron Paul fanatics couldn’t get their man into the Fox News New Hampshire GOP debate, but Fox News is pumping around the clock to get Paultard Tea Party people on TV.” Of course, Weigel apologized for these comments, but if he were serious about that apology and sincerely wanted to try to re-establish some modicum of his credibility, one would think he would refrain from labeling his opponents as “creeps.”

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Memo to Slate’s Weigel: Those Who Live in Glass Houses Shouldn’t Throw Stones

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CBS: ‘Controversial Tea Party Candidate’ In Favor of Abstinence, Against Porn

Posted on September 14, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

In a report on the Republican senate primary in Delaware on Tuesday’s CBS Early Show, correspondent Nancy Cordes portrayed tea party favorite Christine O’Donnell’s conservative social views as being on the fringe: “[She] has crusaded for abstinence and against porn. Writing once that ‘when a married person uses pornography, it compromises the spouse’s purity.'” Cordes noted O’Donnell’s position on those issues following a sound bite of primary opponent Mike Castle declaring: “I think she’s too extreme for Delaware.” In another sound bite after Cordes’s comment, editor-in-chief of The Hotline, Reid Wilson, explained: “If Christine O’Donnell wins the primary election she’s going to have a very difficult time winning in what is still a very blue, very Democratic state.” In concluding the report, Cordes observed: “…until recently this seat in Delaware seemed like it was in the bag.” Fill-in co-host Erica Hill replied: “Ah, but no longer.” Following the report, Hill interviewed O’Donnell, focusing on the candidate’s position in the polls and financial issues being raised in the campaign. Throughout the interview, the headline on screen read: “Primary Day; Controversial Tea Party Candidate Takes On Establishment.” Here is a full transcript of Cordes’s September 14 report and Hill’s interview with O’Donnell: 7:00AM TEASE: ERICA HILL: Primary day. Voters in more than half a dozen states head to the polls today and all eyes are on tea party candidates looking for big upsets, including a key Senate race in Delaware. We’ll speak with the woman at the center of the contest. 7:01AM SEGMENT: HILL: First, though, we turn to politics this morning. The tea party and voter anger. There are more primary elections today around the country and tea party candidates are hoping to upset some more established Republicans. CBS News congressional correspondent Nancy Cordes is in Washington this morning with the latest. Nancy, good morning. CORDES: Good morning, Erica. There are primaries in seven states and D.C. today. But the one that everyone is watching is in Delaware, because who wins there could very well determine whether Republicans have a shot at taking control of the Senate. It was a $250,000 pledge from the Tea Party Express that vaulted Republican Christine O’Donnell from dark horse to contender in the Delaware Senate primary. CHRISTINE O’DONNELL: There’s a tidal wave coming in Delaware and we’re riding it and my opponent is drowning in it. CORDES: Everyone thought her opponent would be a shoo-in. Mike Castle is a popular nine-term Congressman and former Delaware governor. But the newest polls show them neck and neck. MIKE CASTLE: So I think she’s too extreme for Delaware. CORDES: O’Donnell, a former marketing consultant, has crusaded for abstinence and against porn. Writing once that ‘when a married person uses pornography, it compromises the spouse’s purity.’ REID WILSON [EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, THE HOTLINE]: If Christine O’Donnell wins the primary election she’s going to have a very difficult time winning in what is still a very blue, very Democratic state. CORDES: And that is why Republican leaders are putting all their muscle behind Castle. CAMPAIGN AD: She didn’t pay thousands in income taxes, had to be sued by a university for thousands in unpaid bills. CORDES: O’Donnell is hoping to even the score with a late endorsement from Sarah Palin. Who’s also recording robo-calls for her. SARAH PALIN: Christine will help usher in the real change that we need to get America on the right track. CORDES: The stakes are so high in Delaware because Republicans must win this special election for Vice President Biden’s former seat if they want a real chance to reclaim the Senate. They need to win ten Senate seats to do that, and until recently this seat in Delaware seemed like it was in the bag, Erica. HILL: Ah, but no longer. CBS’s Nancy Cordes joining us from Washington this morning. Nancy, thanks. And Republican U.S. Senate candidate Christine O’Donnell joins us this morning from outside a polling station in Wilmington, Delaware. Good to have you with us this morning. O’DONNELL: Good morning, Erica. Thank you for having me. [ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Primary Day; Controversial Tea Party Candidate Takes On Establishment] HILL: As we just heard from Nancy, you have the support of Sarah Palin at this point, you have the support of the Tea Party express. But Freedom Works, which is the group backed by Dick Armey which has backed a number of tea party candidates, has not given you its support, saying that they see you as a weak candidate, they don’t believe you can win in a general election. But as Nancy noted, some of those polls showing you creeping up. Why do you feel that you can not only win here but also convince moderates and even some Democrats to vote for you come November? O’DONNELL: You know, people didn’t think that we would get this far in the primary, either. And I think that that’s a lazy way out to say that we can’t win. We have a winning message that after the primary we’re going to take into the general election. A message that resonates with independents and Democrats. Because the people who are struggling economically, it doesn’t go by party lines. Our message is that we need real economic growth, based on the private sector. We need to create jobs by getting the government out of the way of the small business owner and the entrepreneur. We can’t afford more of these big spending bills that my Republican and Democrat opponents support. Commonsense men and women here in Delaware know that that’s not sustainable. And I’m fortunate, because my opponent has – he can’t stand on his record, so he’s resorted to character assassination. And it’s backfired. It’s really exciting that the voters are seeing right through that. They’re tired of politics as usual, and they’re rallying behind me, because they trust me to represent them in Washington, a much-needed real change in Washington. HILL: There’s been some focus on both your experience, you’ve never held an elected office, and also some questions raised about your own financial history. It took 12 years for you to get your college degree because you hadn’t paid off some loans. There were some leftover campaign debt. You mentioned the importance of finances, and of the economy, and of jobs. Can voters trust you, then, someone who has had financial trouble? O’DONNELL: Absolutely. Erica, thank you for this opportunity to clear the record. All of those accusations are addressed on my website, Christine2010.com. And when the question of financial responsibility comes into question, you have to look at how I handled those financial difficulties. I’m an average hard-working American. I’m not a multimillionaire like my opponent. Of course in this economy I’m fallen on hard times. But I worked hard, I sacrificed, I made the decision that I needed to make things right. I came through to the other side in a very strong position. I made it through the difficult times. That’s what the voters are seeing. Financial responsibility is making your obligations right. My opponent has cashed a government paycheck, a taxpayer-funded government paycheck, for over four decades. So when he makes those accusations that that’s irresponsible because someone has struggled, he’s insulting the voters. And I think that’s where the backlash has come from. And that’s why so many former people who once supported my opponent are now on my side. Because it’s this obnoxious sense of entitlement that this position should be handed to the next anointed king. It’s sad. HILL: I want to take a look – I want to take a look at your support before we let you go. You’ve had some endorsements from outside the state of Delaware. Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina has endorsed you and we mentioned Sarah Palin. How much of your funding, though, how much of your volunteer staff, is actually coming from within the state of Delaware? There’s been some criticism that too much of it is a national, not a local level. O’DONNELL: Well, we have an army of volunteers that have given us the strength we need to get the national attention. And my opponent, over – about 70% of his donations come from out-of-state corporate special interest PACs. So we’ve got a lot- HILL: Why do you feel that national attention is so important to this race for the state of Delaware. Why do you need it? O’DONNELL: Well for us, we’re relying on the grassroots support. We are not a party apparatus. So when the – when Palin and DeMint and Sean Hannity and others have come in and gotten behind our grassroots effort, it was a vote of confidence for we, the people, and a vote against the politics of personal destruction. So what they were saying was, enough is enough. This election, the focus of this election, should be how we’re going to get private sector jobs back in Delaware. How we’re going to defend the security of our homeland. How we’re going to take care of our veterans. When the national support came in, it was saying enough is enough. Let’s talk about the real issues- HILL: Okay, we’re going to have to leave it there O’DONNELL: And that excited our war-weary troops who have gotten us this far.                      HILL: We’ll have to leave it there. O’DONNELL: Thank you very much, Erica. HILL: But we’ll be watching the results. Christine O’Donnell, thanks.

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CBS: ‘Controversial Tea Party Candidate’ In Favor of Abstinence, Against Porn

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Rick Sanchez: Some ‘Far-Right’ Tea Partiers Wouldn’t Vote for Reagan, Too Liberal

Posted on September 14, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

CNN’s Rick Sanchez thinks that Ronald Reagan wouldn’t even be conservative enough for certain members of the Tea Party. In lieu of tomorrow’s Republican Senate Primary in Delaware, Sanchez gave his take on the prospect of the state’s Tea Party voters ousting another moderate Republican establishment candidate in favor of a more conservative choice. “But you know what’s interesting about this,” Sanchez remarked, “I mean if you put this in perspective, Ronald Reagan would be taken out of the mix by some of these more far-Right Tea Party folks. Richard Nixon would never have become the President of the United States.” “I mean, there’s really a move that comes not even right-of-center, really far Right, pushing out the guys that are closer to the middle,” Sanchez stated. He asked if it wouldn’t be harder for Republicans to win an election with a fringe candidate rather than with an establishment candidate. Meanwhile, CNN correspondent Jessica Yellin disagreed with him over his assessment of Tea Party voters and Reagan. “One, I suspect many Tea Party activists would disagree with you on Ronald Reagan, because Reagan is a hero to many of them,” Yellin responded. But Sanchez wouldn’t budge. “We would quibble back with immigration, for example. Ronald Reagan would say – Ronald Reagan would be called by anyone in the Tea Party today a “pro-amnesty Republican. That’s what he would be called.” “Well, everybody reads history the way they want,” Yellin answered. Sanchez described the establishment candidate in the primary, Congressman Mike Castle, as “respectable” and “conservative enough” for the region. Castle has a lifetime ACU rating of 52. A transcript of the segment, which aired on September 13, at 3:21 p.m. EDT, is as follows: RICK SANCHEZ, CNN anchor: Not finding Congressman Mike Castle, Republican, conservative enough, the Tea Party is now pushing candidate Christine O’Donnell in the Republican primary. And Jessica Yellin’s all over this primary for us. I mean, this is interesting. Because, you know, once again, you got a guy like Mike Castle, most people think Mike is a, you know, respectable, Republican, conservative enough, especially considered for his region. I mean, we’re talking about a Republican from the Northeast, we’re not talking about an Arizona Republican for example. And yet, they want to crush this guy. What’s going on? JESSICA YELLIN: Well he’s a middle-of-the-road Republican in a state that’s pretty middle-of-the-road, and he’s very well-known and popular statewide, Rick. But he – but tomorrow when the primary is held, only Republicans can vote. Democrats and Independents cannot vote in it. So it’s a close primary, and this year you know what has happened to moderate, middle-of-the-road Republicans. They’ve largely been targeted by these Tea Party candidates, and the latest development is that Sarah Palin has now recorded a robo-call for Castle’s opponent, Christine O’Donnell, which she’s broadcasting on the radio here. And it essentially accuses “establishment Republicans” of being desperate in trying to smear O’Donnell with “vicious” personal attacks. So it’s become very personal, very mean, in a state that really is not used to this kind of harsh campaigning. It’s very new to Delaware voters. SANCHEZ: But you know what’s interesting about this, I mean if you put this in perspective, Ronald Reagan would be taken out of the mix by some of these more far-Right Tea Party folks. Richard Nixon would never have become the President of the United States. I mean, there’s really a move that comes not even right-of-center, really far Right, pushing out the guys that are closer to the middle, which means when they do have a general election, they probably will get the support; or I imagine they’re thinking about this, and I don’t know if we’ve done any reporting on this – would it be harder for them to win some of these elections, in Delaware, for example, if you’ve got somebody who’s on the far right as opposed to the middle or even right-of-center?” YELLIN: Two points. One, I suspect many Tea Party activists would disagree with you on Ronald Reagan, because Reagan is a hero to many of them. And you can quibble about whether his policies actually square with what they say now, which is – SANCHEZ: Well, you can start – well, you could, you could – I mean, we would quibble back with immigration, for example. Ronald Reagan would say – Ronald Reagan would be called by anyone in the Tea Party today a “pro-amnesty Republican.” That’s what he would be called. YELLIN: And I’m sure they’d be – I’m sure they’d be happy to quibble with you over it, Rick. But – SANCHEZ: Well they couldn’t, it’s the policy! He’s the guy who – I mean they couldn’t. He’s the guy who actually did that – YELLIN: Well, everybody reads history the way they want. SANCHEZ: Alright, go on. YELLIN: Um, the, uh – the point that you’re making, which is that are some of these candidates unelectable – is actually a point that some Tea Party groups are concerned with. You know Dick Armey who runs FreedomWorks, that very active national umbrella group that supported a lot of Tea Party candidates, his group says no, they’re staying out of this race and they’re not going to back Christine O’Donnell, this Tea Party candidate because they don’t think she’s electable. There’s just too much, and too many reasons why they don’t think she’ll win. So that’s an unusual wrinkle this election season. And there are a lot of Democrats that are excited about the prospect of O’Donnell winning, because they actually think that means Democrats would hold the seat statewide. Democrats agree she is not electable statewide. So she’s a risky gamble for the Republican Party.

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Rick Sanchez: Some ‘Far-Right’ Tea Partiers Wouldn’t Vote for Reagan, Too Liberal

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Matthews Admits: Maybe I Was Smart Not to Run For Office This Year

Posted on September 13, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Well you have to give Chris Matthews credit for admitting the obvious. On Monday’s Hardball, as he overlooked the bad environment for Democrats this midterm season, Matthews appeared grateful he didn’t make his much rumored run for Pennsylvania’s Senate seat, as he asked one of his guests: “Do you think it could be the year where guys…like me were smart not to make the run?” [ audio available here ] The admission came during a segment in which Matthews, the Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza and local radio talk show host, Dan Gaffney of WGMD, were breaking down the prospects for Christine O’Donnell to upset Republican Mike Castle and go on to win the general election for the Deleware Senate seat with Gaffney explaining that it was a distinct possibility since there is “a lot of anti-establishment, anti-incumbent sentiment” in that state, calling that race “a crap-shoot.” This caused Matthews to wonder, if in fact, that attitude extended to Pennsylvania as he asked Gaffney the following question: Let me go to Gaffney, a fellow Irishman, while I’ve got you on the show, I’ve got to ask you this. Do you think it could be the year where guys like Beau Biden and guys like me were smart not to make the run? I’m looking at this situation. You cannot predict this year! It is a crap-shoot! And they’re so anti-establishment out there, that they recognize your name and they say, “I knew that name three months ago.” They don’t like you. Isn’t that true? The following exchanges were aired on the September 13 edition of Hardball: CHRIS MATTHEWS: Welcome back to Hardball. The Republican primary in Delaware, the little state of Delaware, tomorrow could have big implications for the Republicans nationwide and their ability to take over the U.S. Senate, which is possible. Republican Mike Castle is fending off a tough challenge from Tea Party candidate Christine O’Donnell and polls show she’s in the race of his life, actually that’s a close, too close to call. … MATTHEWS: Joining me is Delaware radio talk show host Dan Gaffney and WashingtonPost.com managing editor Chris Cillizza. Dan, give me a sense do the voters of Delaware know how important this vote is tomorrow. That this could affect the, I guess you could call it the outside chance of the Republicans grabbing the Senate as well as the House, come November. DAN GAFFNEY: Yeah, I think many of them do, but some of my talk radio callers don’t care. They are more interested in winning the actual battle than the war and there’s such a wind of anti-Castle, you know there’s a wind of anti-Castle wind in the air and even when presented the fact that Castle has a better chance of beating the Democrats, many people don’t care. They want to vote him out any way. MATTHEWS: Boy that sounds like the Democratic left sometimes. That sounds like November Doesn’t Count. I grew up with it, it’s called NDC. Cillizza, you’re, you’re shaking your head positively. The one thing about a polarized electorate is it doesn’t care about practical electoral consequences. CHRIS CILLIZZA, WASHINGTON POST: Yep. MATTHEWS: By the way, I want to give a salute, if not a positive salute, a reality check to the far right. Bob Bennett was knocked off, the guy that beat him, Lee is going to win the general. Crist, Crist has been bumped out of his party but Rubio could well win that. He’s ahead in the polls down there. Specter was knocked out of his party, but Toomey is well ahead by about seven points in PA. And who am I missing? Murkowski. Well I gotta bet, what’s his name up there, Joe Miller is gonna win that, or if he gets in that thing clean, one on one. So you could argue that the Tea Parties have had a pretty good record of positioning themselves to win generals. Maybe not in Nevada, but other places. CILLIZZA: Chris, first of all, isn’t it amazing that we’re talking about Delaware? You’ve got the New Hampshire Senate race, you’ve got New York, you’ve got Wisconsin, we’re talking about Delaware. This is a state we never thought we would be talking about. Number two, that states you just listed: Alaska, Utah, those kind of states. The one thing that’s different, this is Delaware. This is a Democratic state. Mike Castle’s been elected for more than 40 years. He’s been the governor of the state. He’s been the at-large representative. This is not a state where whoever winds up being the Republican nominee, Utah, Alaska, has a big leg up in winning. Not sure if they’re gonna win, but that’s a big leg up. MATTHEWS: Okay let me give you, let me give you, let me give you some history, young fellow. Joe Biden, back in 1972, bumped out a guy who had won the House seat, and let’s go in here Dan, you’re the expert, had been a House member, a Senate member, for x many terms, and a governor, just like this guy Mike Castle. Joe Biden, at the age of 29, knocked him out of the seat and held it for what? 40 years. So isn’t it possible that Christine O’Donnell could be a senator for life. We don’t know. GAFFNEY: Well let me tell you, what my original opinion was that if she wins the primary tomorrow, we would say “Hello, Senator Coons.” That was my original opinion. MATTHEWS: Right. GAFFNEY: But now I’m starting to think that if she pulls it off tomorrow, if, that’s a big “if”, she could do anything. If she can beat Mike Castle in this state, she can do anything. MATTHEWS: What’s your state like these days? Is it as unhappy as the rest of the country and could it say, you know what if she isn’t quite prepared or maybe this other fellow Coons has more executive experience, the usual logic way we make decisions may not be in play this year, there’s so much anger. GAFFNEY: No it’s very emotional Chris. MATTHEWS: Yeah. GAFFNEY: It’s very emotional. There’s a lot of anti-establishment, anti-incumbent sentiment. The Tea Party movement is strong. There is a strong sentiment, especially in the southern part of the state. There are only three counties, the two lower counties, much more conservative, much more likely to go to Christine O’Donnell. The upper county, Newscastle, is urban, it’s the city of Wilmington. Much more likely to go toward Mike Castle. However, will he win enough in Newcastle to take the whole state? It’s a crap-shoot. All of my political pundit friends are saying the same thing to me, “I don’t know.” MATTHEWS: Well Let’s talk about the country. Chris go back, let’s pull back and look at the whole country. CILLIZZA: Sure. MATTHEWS: People watching now from California want to know this. It’s possible with Boxer in play, with Patty Murray in play, with Harry Reid in play, with Russ Feingold in play- CILLIZZA: Yep. MATTHEWS: That the Democrats could lose the Senate. It’s very possible, on a bad night, a what do you call it, a wave night, well you’re the expert, right? Delaware matters. CILLIZZA: Look I would say Delaware, you used the word in the intro Chris – shoe-in. And I thought to myself, that’s exactly right. We considered this like, I met Chris Coons, I like Chris Coons, I didn’t think Chris Coons was gonna beat Mike Castle. I agree that Christine O’Donnell, you never know what’s going to happen if she wins, but she’s not as strong a candidate as Mike Castle in the general election. Doesn’t mean she can’t win, but she’s not as strong a candidate. So if you take Delaware and move it into the “We don’t know” category. Now you’re looking at rather than winning two out of the three of Wisconsin, Washington and California, now you’re talking about winning all three. Is it possible? Yes it’s absolutely possible. MATTHEWS: Ha! I love it! CILLIZZA: Polling, polling in all three suggests it could happen, but it seems odd to me. I think Wisconsin, in order, I think Wisconsin, California, Washington, even the most sort of optimistic Republican strategists I talk to say, “Look we’d love to win two out of three of them that would make a great night.” But two out of three and losing Delaware that means they’re probably not in the majority. MATTHEWS: Okay there’s others than. I think you’re so smart. Let me go to Gaffney, a fellow Irishman, while I’ve got you on the show, I’ve got to ask you this. Do you think it could be the year where guys like Beau Biden and guys like me were smart not to make the run? I’m looking at this situation. You cannot predict this year! It is a crap-shoot! And they’re so anti-establishment out there, that they recognize your name and they say, “I knew that name three months ago.” They don’t like you. Isn’t that true? GAFFNEY: Well I think Beau Biden, yeah it is true. Beau Biden should have gotten in this year. I mean he, he probably is… MATTHEWS: Could he have beaten either of these candidates? Could have beaten Castle or beaten O’Donnell? GAFFNEY: Yes, I think he could have. Not that I would’ve supported him but I think he could. Yes. MATTHEWS: Really? GAFFNEY: Beau Biden? Absolutely.

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Matthews Admits: Maybe I Was Smart Not to Run For Office This Year

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The Democrat Party’s Long and Shameful History of Bigotry and Racism

Posted on September 8, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

A common attack upon conservatives and republicans by the ultra left is to engage in what has come to be known as “playing the race card” but is more accurately described as racial McCarthyism. Hardly a day goes by without a member of the far left wing falsely accusing conservatives of racism, bigotry, and a wide array of similar nasty things. They are not only dishonest, but they often border on the absurd, as in NAACP leader and hyper bigot Julian Bond's recent implication to his organization that Bush administration officials supported confederate slavery. Amazingly, Bond's statements went without condemnation from the radical Democrat party or others in his organization. Not surprisingly, in all the lies and accusations of racism by the radical left wing, the truth becomes distorted not only about the Republicans but also the Democrats who make these accusations themselves. For instance, you may or may not have heard Democrat Senator Robert Byrd's outburst of racist bigoted slurs, more specifically the “n-word,” on national television in March of 2001. Amazingly, this incident of blatant racism on national television drew barely a peep from the NAACP, Jesse Jackson, Julian Bond, Mary Frances Berry, or any of the other ambulance chasers who purport themselves to be the leaders of the civil rights movement. In contrast, the main source of well deserved criticism for Byrd's racist outburst came not from any of the so called leaders of the civil rights movement but from from Republican Majority Leader Dick Armey (source). The race hustlers Jackson, Mfume et al turned a blind eye towards this act of racism by one of their own party, at most issuing an unpublicized slap on the wrist, or, as was more often the case, making not a peep. But where the race hustlers turn a blind eye and spew their lies, it is up to conservatives to set the record straight with the truth. In response to the growing practice of racial McCarthyism by prominent left wing Democrats, it is necessary to expose the truth about the Democrat Party's record on Civil Rights: http://gopcapitalist.tripod.com/democratrecord.html added by: congoboy

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NYT Bemoans Republican’s Fake Candidates, Ignored Nearly Identical Democratic Ploy

Posted on September 7, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

At the New York Times, Republican ploys to get ringer candidates on the ballot are front page news. Attempts by Democrats to do the same thing – on a larger scale – are not worth covering at all. “Republican Runs Street People on Green Ticket” blares the headline on the front page of today’s Times. Arizona GOP operative Steve May has recruited three “street people,” as the Gray Lady calls them, to run as Green Party candidates, which will likely siphon votes from Democrats running for the same seats. “The political establishment here views him as nothing more than a political dirty trick,” Times reporter Marc Lacey wrote of one of the street people. The paper’s new-found concern for political dirty tricks was nowhere to be seen, however, when a Democratic Party official ran 23 candidates on the specious “Tea Party” ticket in Michigan. The state Supreme Court recently ruled that The Tea Party cannot appear on the ballot in November. The Times helpfully offers the Democratic position on the controversy in Arizona: The Democratic Party is fuming over Mr. May’s tactics and those of at least two other Republicans who helped recruit candidates to the Green Party, which does not have the resources to put candidates on ballots around the state and thus creates the opportunity for write-in contenders like the Mill Rats to easily win primaries and get their names on the ballot for November. Complaints about spurious candidates have cropped up often before, though never involving an entire roster of candidates drawn from a group of street people. “It’s unbelievable. It’s not right. It’s deceitful,” said Jackie Thrasher, a former Democratic legislator in northwest Phoenix who lost re-election in 2008 after a Green Party candidate with possible links to the Republicans joined the race. “If these candidates were interested in the democratic process, they should connect with the party they are interested in. What’s happening here just doesn’t wash. It doesn’t pass the smell test.”… Besides the Mill Rat candidates, the Democrats smell a rat in other races, including one in which a roommate of a Republican legislator’s daughter ran as a Green Party candidate in a competitive contest for the State Senate. They cite a variety of state and federal election laws that the Republicans may have violated in putting forward “sham” candidates for the Green Party. Meanwhile, about 2000 miles away, Jason Bauer, a Democratic Party official in Oakland County, Michigan, resigned after being caught red-handed in his role stacking the ballot for his party in 23 races. His plan: to create a “Tea Party” – with no ties to any group associating with the tea party movement or any other conservative cause – to draw voters away from Republican candidates in those races. Jonathan Oosting reported at Mlive.com: The Oakland County Democratic Party says it has requested and accepted the resignation of operations director Jason Bauer in the wake of accusations he notarized campaign filings for a fake Tea Party candidate. “We are saddened by this situation, but cannot condone his alleged actions,” the OCDP said Sunday in a released statement. “For the sake of the organization, we must part ways effective immediately.” Oakland County Clerk Ruth Johnson, a Republican candidate for secretary of state, announced the allegations against Bauer on Friday, noting she had turned over documents to the county prosecutor and Michigan Attorney General’s office for further investigation. Was a crime committed? Well, the Detroit Free Press reminds us that “Misusing notary public designation is punishable by suspension or revocation of the notary status and a civil fine of up to $1,000.” Aaron Tyler, one of the 23 “Tea Party” candidates, said his name was filed without his knowledge. “I believe a fraud was committed,” he told the Free Press. Despite these facts, the New York Times has yet to run a single story on the Michigan controversy – a controversy that has already claimed the job of one Democratic Party official, and could, like the case in Arizona, lead to some form of legal action. Is the Times only concerned about “political dirty tricks” when Democrats stand to take the hit?

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NYT Bemoans Republican’s Fake Candidates, Ignored Nearly Identical Democratic Ploy

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Kanye West’s 2008 VMA Set Was Born At Obama’s Nomination

Posted on September 4, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

Genesis of West’s memorable performance of ‘Love Lockdown’ is uncovered on ‘VMAs: Revealed’ this Saturday. By Mawuse Ziegbe Kanye West performs “Love Lockdown” at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards Photo: Getty Images Kanye West’s most memorable VMA appearance to date is probably that whole Taylor Swift nonsense that went down at the 2009 show. But one thing for which the Louis Vuitton Don can always be counted on is a stunning live television moment — whether he’s been invited to the stage or not. His most triumphant appearance arguably took place at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards , when the Chicago MC mounted an innovative rendition of his spankin’ new single “Love Lockdown.” Kanye ditched the hard-hitting rhymes for heartfelt vocals and closed the show with 20 Taiko drummers pounding out the song’s thunderous rhythms. It was a new direction for the star, who bravely risked wiping out his street cred and weathering worldwide fan backlash for his inventive, genre-melding sound. Like Madonna writhing onstage in a wedding dress, Lady Gaga hanging from the ceiling smeared in fake blood or Eminem leading an army of blond doppelgangers into Radio City Music Hall, Kanye West’s 2008 set had all the makings of a signature VMA moment: a tricked-out performance from a major superstar laced with the slightest hint of WTF. However, executing West’s appearance was a mad dash to the VMA finish line, with the show’s organizers and the artist careening toward super-firm deadlines in the race to pull off the performance. In the special “The VMAs: Revealed – Presented by New 5 React Gum,” premiering on MTV at 11 a.m. Saturday, the whirlwind creation of 2008’s “Love Lockdown” set is broken down by the people who made it happen. The idea for West to wrap up the VMAs with his 808s & Heartbreak single popped up at an unexpected venue: The 2008 Democratic National Convention. As Barack Obama accepted his party’s nomination to run for president, VMA executive producer Dave Sirulnick and West met up in Denver to discuss the MC’s latest work and MTV’s upcoming awards show. “It was phenomenal because it was this whole new thing that Kanye was doing,” Sirulnick says of hearing demos of Yeezy’s new music. “You could see how this could play perfectly as a close to the show.” However, once both parties agreed to have ‘Ye close out the VMAs, the real madness began. To find out how West went from a meeting in Colorado to belting out “Lockdown” at the 2008 VMAs, catch “The VMAs: Revealed – Presented by New 5 React Gum” on Saturday at 11 a.m. The 27th annual MTV Video Music Awards will be broadcast live from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles on September 12. The party starts with MTV News’ VMA Pre-Show at 8 p.m., followed by the main event at 9 p.m. ET. Fans can go to VMA.MTV.com (or text VMA to 97979 if they are Verizon subscribers) to vote for Best New Artist from now through September 12. Related Artists Kanye West

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Kanye West’s 2008 VMA Set Was Born At Obama’s Nomination

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Kanye West Apologizes To Taylor Swift For 2009 VMA Interruption

Posted on September 4, 2010 by Benny Hollywood| Leave a comment

‘I’m sorry, Taylor,’ West wrote on Twitter Saturday morning. By Paul Cantor Kanye West and Taylor Swift at the 2009 Video Music Awards Photo: Jeff Kravitz/ FilmMagic Kanye West took to his Twitter account Saturday morning (September 4) to readdress the 2009 Video Music Awards , when he fatefully interrupted Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech . “I’m sorry, Taylor,” he wrote. “We’re both artists, and the media and managers are trying to get between us. She deserves the apology more than anyone. Thank you [Twitter co-founders] Biz Stone and Evan Williams for creating a platform where we can communicate directly.” Expounding on the backlash he received, he wrote, “If you Google a–hole my face may very well pop up 2 pages into the search. … There are people who don’t dislike me … they absolutely hate me. People tweeted that they wish I was dead … No listen. They wanted me to die, people. I carry that.” Kanye went on to say that the media vilified him. He alluded to his claim during a 2005 NBC telethon for Hurricane Katrina that “George Bush doesn’t care about black people,” as a point for which the media was looking to pay him back. He noted that in the VMA aftermath, the media played the race card and turned it into an angry black man versus innocent white girl issue. “Even though the NBC telethon was widely praised y’all didn’t think they was just gone let me get away with that did y’all???!!!” he questioned, rhetorically. “The media has successfully diminished the ‘receptive’ audience of… KANYE WEST. …taking a 15 second blip the media have successfully painted the image of the ‘ANGRY BLACK MAN.’ The King Kong theory. With the help of strong will, a lack of empathy, a lil alcohol and extremely distasteful & bad timing … I became George Bush over night.” Kanye also said that he had a song he’d written for Taylor. Should she not be receptive to that idea, he said he’d perform it for her. “She had nothing to do with my issues with award shows,” he wrote. “She had no idea what hit her. She’s justa lil girl with dreams like the rest of us. Beyonc

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