Posts Tagged ‘freedomworks’

I don’t run into a lot of people from the left but Alan Rosenblatt was one of two guys from the left who debated at the Newseum during Blogcon

There is no reason why people can’t disagree on politics and get along, particular when both are RedSox fans. You’ve also gotta respect a guy who will debate in front of a totally hostile crowd.

Not because he supports Castle over O’Donnell, that’s just us disagreeing. And the headline is a whole lot better than the Huff Po version (kudos to Allah there). I take exception to this:

When the press comes to them the day after the election demanding to know why “the tea party” would hand a rubber-stamp Senate seat to Barack Obama,…

and later

She’ll probably get a bump and be within single digits after winning the primary, but once the Democrats’ negative ads roll out and the local press really goes to work, it may settle at an eight to 10 point lead.

Now make sure you read the context, he provides plenty and some of his analysis is pretty good but I have two issues with this stuff.

#1. The idea that an O’Donnell can’t win or is causing the GOP to forfeit the seat is not only foolish but harmful. O’Donnell couldn’t win the Del primary until she suddenly could. You win elections by…trying to win elections. You advance the conservative narrative by supporting candidates that support the conservative narrative, some guy on the radio named Limbaugh keeps saying that but we all know that he is just a flash in pan.

#2. If the liberal challenger on the democratic side was so impressive why did he not have a prayer against Castle? Why aren’t we hitting this guy instead of going on about how invincible he is? That is a self fulfilling prophecy.

This is the type of thing that loses races. If the race is lost in Delaware is won’t be because of O’Donnell’s it will be due to the GOP elevating her opponent while tearing her down. This will cost the GOP votes and cash from conservatives.

I do want to back him however on this statement, and those of us who support O’Donnell’s candidacy need to take this next section to heart:

(I know, I know: Chris Christie, Jim Geraghty, John McCormack, Patterico, Jay Cost, Guy Benson, Dan McLaughlin, the Powerline guys, Ace and his co-bloggers, me, and every other righty who’s grudgingly supporting Castle were only pretending to be sympathetic to the tea party before.)

These guys just happen to be wrong this time, they are not foes of the republican party, or the tea party and don’t spent their free time in clandestine puppy kicking clubs hidden under subway stations (Although Ace does bar-tend there on the side).

I will be very happy to have each one of them as an ally on the other 94% of the issues that we agree on and you should too.

…comes from this huffpo story than yesterday.

FreedomWorks Chairman Dick Armey and President and CEO Matt Kibbe today refused to endorse Delaware Tea Party favorite Christine O’Donnell in the state’s GOP Senate primary. “We stayed out of that race because we’re not convinced that Christine O’Donnell can win,” said Kibbe.

However if you read deeper in the article you see this:

However, Kibbe didn’t have kind things to say about O’Donnell’s primary opponent, Mike Castle:

I think the question for Mike Castle is, if he can’t win his primary, does he deserve to win the general? And we’ll see what happens tomorrow, but it’s always a judgment call as to who is the most competitive candidate, and I think the vetting of the primary and what the Tea Party activists have really asked for is an open primary where their candidates get a chance to run and compete and prove themselves, or lose.

The Goal? Set one batch of conservatives against each other. The Huff po and the left are salivating at the back and forth on the right over Christine O’Donnell, I don’t blame them, it is the only hope they have for any sort of victory, but I would suggest to my fellow conservatives that we should disagree politely rather than writing their fall campaign scripts for them.

As for Mr. Kibee I have to disagree with his premise, He call is a pragmatic one and there are limited resources to be used, but one supports a positions for a reason. If you think that Christine O’Donnell and her positions are better for the cause and the country you fight for her so she CAN win. I ventured deep into yesterday’s crowd they would agree with me. Pragmatism has it’s place, but if you want to lead, you have to do so from the front.

Update: Stacy says it well:

Stacy & I discuss the vital issues of the day

Public opinion is a moving target, and the purpose of politics is not merely to react to public opinion, but to change public opinion. You will never win a fight if you walk away from the fight, and that’s what happens when you say to yourself, “Well, Delaware is a liberal state; there’s no point even trying to elect a real conservative there.”

Conservatives ought not succumb to the defeatist argument that we should retreat, ceding political terrain to our anatagonists, simply because they are strong and we are weak. When will we be stronger?

If Republicans can’t elect a conservative in Delaware this year, at what future point will such a victory be possible? In 2012? 2014? Ever?

He’s got a great point there. He would have had it up earlier but as you can see he was busy last night

The photos from today pt 1

I have an awful lot to upload and I’ll get more detail available when possible