Mike Castle makes it clear, he won't be part of the Republican opposition

In case you missed it, the Washington Post told us yesterday that Mike Castle had made his decision about how he will vote if elected to the Senate. Columnist David Broder spent time following Congressman Castle around the state. First, let me show you the way Mr. Broder describes Delaware's lone Congressman:

"the early favorite is Mike Castle, the state's former governor and longtime congressman at-large, a throwback to the kind of progressive Republican the Northeast used to elect regularly." (Emphasis added)

David Broder has just told us that Congressman Castle IS a Progressive (although those of us who follow his votes could have told you that YEARS ago). Congressman Castle takes this to a new level when he describes to the house party (a high end fundraiser) attendees:

"His reason for running, Castle explained to voters at a house party here, is that "I'm in the minority in a [Republican] minority of 435 people, and the rules and procedures make it difficult to express my independence. In the Senate, I hope I will have more impact."(emphasis added)"

So Congressman Castle feels like he is in a minority of a minority in the Republican House caucus. Why is that? It could be because Mike Castle is a Progressive Republican in the House and tends to vote more often with the Democrats than the Republicans (the Americans for Democratic Action group lists Castle as voting with the liberals 65% of the time in 2008). Castle was not yet done describing his plans for the U.S. Senate. Broder says:

"Later, Castle told me, "I don't go there with any notion of just building up seniority, but I think I can make a contribution there in the fields I've worked in. I don't plan to be part of the [Republican] opposition. I think I can do more than oppose." (emphasis added)"

Friends, Republicans, Americans, lend me your eyes...(put them back in your head first)...Congressman Mike Castle is not your friend. He does not care about you, or me, or our children. He doesn't care about anything but Mike Castle. He is going to grow government, give himself and his friends in Washington more power and he WILL betray the Republican party and the people of Delaware.

Please do not let this man fool you anymore. He has made his intentions clear. Cap & Trade, DISCLOSE, Cyber-Security, Bail-outs, Government takeovers of business, tax increases, etc. These things WILL pass with his signature, he has guaranteed it. Please do not let this happen. Do not let him destroy America. I urge you to support Christine O'Donnell in every way that you can. She will go to Washington and fight for the people.

Hey Mike...Join the Club

As i was scouring the net today I came across a story over at WorldNet Daily called "Obamacare reversal? House 75% of the way there". It was written by Bob Unruh who generally does excellent work. So I stopped and did some reading. Apparently Representative Steve King from Iowa (a Republican of course) issued a discharge petition against the Universal Healthcare bill passed by Congress early this year.

As of July 27th the bill had 162 of the 219 signatures it needs in order to pass. One signature that has not yet been added to the petition is that of Delaware's lone Congressman Mike Castle who is embattled in a Primary race against Christine O'Donnell. The winner of the primary is likely to be Delaware's next Senator. This begs the question, "What are you waiting for Mike?"

His opponent Christine O'Donnell has been a strong advocate of defunding and repealing "Obamacare" since it was passed in March and has been at odds with Castle over how to best deal with the new law. Castle favors "fixing" the bill that amounts to a complete government takeover of the healthcare system. The bill came just months before Great Britain (the country that was touted as proof of the success of socialized medicnine) announced that it was going to begin privatizing it's healthcare system in order to correct problems with the system and stem the skyrocketing costs. Other European countries cited by Democrats are also considering scrapping their Socialized Medicine plans.

Yet still, Congressman Castle remains silent. Castle's office has not yet commented on the petition. His opponent O'Donnell has indicated that she would in fact support the petition if she were in Congressman Castle's place. When asked for comment Christine said:

"Obamacare is more about government seizing control of 1/6th of the American economy than it is about affordable health care choices. It will cripple American small businesses and discourage entrepreneurship. We need to replace Obamacare with a bill that will lower the cost of American health care by promoting competition.

Unlike my opponent, I will fight to defund and repeal Obamacare."

The Obamacare bill has been reported recently to cost the taxpayers more than $1 Trillion dollars including billions of dollars in new taxes, nearly $500 million from charity based non-profit hospitals and $70 billion from those who "don't buy government-approved health insurance". It's reported that "force some 87 million Americans to drop their current coverage" despite assurance by President Obama to the contrary.

I must ask again Congressman Castle, will you sign the petition and kill Obamacare before it starts killing Americans?

When Just Being a Republican is Not Good Enough

This post is in direct response to the post on fellow Delaware blog, DelawareTommorrow: http://www.delawaretomorrow.com/troubling-trends-the-price-of-silence/#comments

The author of this post claims to be a "mainstream" conservative.  Is this the same mainstream conservative, like Mike Castle who votes for Cap&Trade, the DISCLOSE Act, against the Iraqi surge, against supporting the missile defense shield three times?

Is the same the mainstream conservative contingent that is happiest when aligned with fellow progressives?

Let's get right down to the crux of this.  This country is at a crossroads.  We are at a place in our history where the federal deficit is north of $13Trillion, the unemployment nationally is above 9.5%, consumer confidence is down, the equity markets are soft and economic indicators are still weak.

The problem with mainstream conservatism is that is stands for nothing.  Absolutely nothing.  The Republican Party nationally and in every state needs to stand up to limited government (in accordance to the U.S. Constitution, national defense, and promoting LIFE and LIBERTY.  After that, we can sit around the campfire, singing Kumbaya and talking about the frivilous initiatives such as the environment, etc.

We need hardcore discussions on how to slash the size of the government -which agencies to cut, what programs to cut, what staff to cut.  We need hardcore discussions on cutting taxes to allow businesses and individuals to be able to create jobs and be innovative to open new businesses.  We need hardcore discussions on how we are going to protect every American man, woman and child from the next terrorist attack, and how we are going to secure our borders.

More importantly, conservativism not pragmatism (aka progressivism for Republicans) is the only way to win.  We must offer a true fiscal, social and national security conservative alternative to the liberals.  Failure to do so, will cause the Delaware GOP continued losses and lost credibility as an opposing part to the Democrat's encroachment into our daily lives.

This is not a time to dance through the tulips, because you disagree with the Tea Party, or the pro-life movement, or the 9/12 constitutional groups. The only way for the GOP to win nationally and in Delaware is to unite all groups, and welcome them into the fold.

Delaware will cast deciding vote again

For those of us who grew up in the Delaware Valley, the story of Caesar Rodney's ride from central Delaware to Philadelphia is as legendary as Revere's ride through Massachusetts. Anyone who has seen the HBO Miniseries "John Adams" will remember Rodney bursting through the doors with Thomas McKean only moments before casting the deciding vote in favor of Independence from Britain. For those who may be reading this and are not familiar with that historical moment, Delaware has the nickname "The First State" and that nickname relates to the ratifying of the U.S. Constitution by the state. However, Delaware was also the first state to secede from England having done so 3 days before the whole of the states declared their independence. Rodney's ride overnight and through the rain from south of Dover, DE (present day capital) to Philadelphia, PA (approximately 80 miles) signifies what it means to be a Delawarean, you do what you have to do and you do the right thing.

Delaware is again poised to be in the position of casting the deciding vote. This time it is to save America from a lame duck Obama led Congress. Both the House and Senate have made clear their intention to stall major legislation until the fall. John Fund recently wrote a piece about the Democrat plans for passing bills like Cap and Trade in the Lame Duck session. You'll note this part of the post specifically:

"there have been signs in recent weeks that party leaders are planning an
ambitious, lame-duck session to muscle through bills in December they don’t want
to defend before November. Retiring or defeated members of Congress would then
be able to vote for sweeping legislation without any fear of voter retaliation."

This means that the Senate and House leadership has decided not to pass any major legislation until after the election but before the winners are seated. All of the winners except ONE actually. As Robert Stacy McCain (no relation) wrote the other day, Christine O'Donnell is now gaining significant ground against liberal Republican Mike Castle in the special election to replace Joe Biden in 2010.



The key words there are "special election" and you will learn why in a moment. Senate Democrat leaders on climate change have specifically targeted Cap and Trade legislation as one of the bills they do not have support for, yet. Thus far there has been opposition to passing this dangerous legislation from the entire GOP caucus. Keep in mind, the U.S. Senate has 4 "moderate" Republicans in it's ranks. Olympia Snowe, Orrin Hatch, Susan Collins and Scott Brown have all been known to support Democrat bills when given proper cover.



The "special election" in Delaware means that the winner is seated immediately. That can be both good, and bad depending on who wins. If Mike Castle wins, who passed Cap and Trade (raises energy costs by $3,000 per person annually), Financial Regulatory Reform (created massive government bureaucracy and kills jobs) and who wrote the DISCLOSE Bill (1st Amendment killer) all in the last year while a member of the House of Representatives and who has voted with liberal democrats an average of 60% of the time over the last three years, he will have the chance to do it again. That is unless Delaware decides that they've had enough. There is another choice and her name is Christine O'Donnell. Christine has promised to help kill bad legislation during the lame duck session and to hold the fort against the Progressive assault until the Conservative wave washes in reinforcements in January. She will be the key brick in the wall that holds back the sea. We MUST ensure that she is elected to the U.S. Senate and that Mike Castle has a GREAT retirement ceremony.

Senate delays Climate Change Bill till fall

Harry Reid (D-NV) announced today that the Senate would delay taking up climate change legislation until the fall. He cited a packed schedule before the 2 week August fall break and the fact that Senate Democrats cannot overcome the Republican filibuster on the issue. Senate Democrats have not been able to woo even Susan Collins or Olympia Snowe (both Republican Senators from Maine) to their side. Could there be another story at play here? Could Reid be waiting until after the November elections?

Two top climate change legislation supporters in the Senate echoed the Majority Leader's remarks about the lack of Republican support. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) said

"we don't have any Republican support to overcome a filibuster on (climate change legislation) at the moment." (emphasis added)

Additionally, Senator John Kerry (D-MA) who has helped lead the effort to reach a deal on a Cap and Trade plan said Thursday that "the chances of this bill are very tough right now." (emphasis added) He also noted that those who have not yet signed on to support legislation relating to climate change fear possible retribution from voters.

That's 3 top Senate Democrat leaders all citing a lack of support for climate change legislation from Republicans in an election year. This begs the question, if Congressman Mike Castle (R-DE) and Mark Kirk (R-IL) are drafted into the Senate this year, will it embolden Snowe and Collins in Maine, Orin Hatch from Utah and Scott Brown from Massachusetts? Snowe and Collins can usually be counted on to "reach across the aisle" and submit to Democrats, Hatch is a Progressive Republican and Scott Brown has enacted similar Cap and Trade legislation in Mass. Adding Mike Castle, who is both a global warming hoaxer and a Progressive with a history of voting with the Democrats and who last year voted to pass full Cap and Trade legislation out of the House of Representatives is almost a gimme for Senate Democrats to start the flip-flop express.

Remember, Mike Castle voted for the House Cap and Trade legislation that would raise energy bills nationwide by nearly $3,000 per person annually. The Senate version of Cap and Trade legislation does remove a mandate for alternative energy sources (like solar and wind) and alters some minor points of the House version which supposedly reduce the cost to consumers slightly. If Castle is willing to sell out and raise individual energy rates by $3,000 you can bet he'll do it again at $2,500 just as quickly. Castle's history of supporting the Democrat machine is well known and documented. According to reports from Americans for Democratic Action, Mike Castle voted with liberals 50% of the time in 2007, 65% of the time in 2008 and 55% of the time in 2009 (including Cap and Trade). Given this evidence, it's highly likely that Reid and other Senate Democrats await the arrival of Castle and Kirk to help sure up support for another job killing bill that will increase costs on Americans across the board.

It should be noted that Mike Castle's opponent Christine O'Donnell has pledged NOT to vote for any Cap and Trade legislation and has vowed to stop Congress from destroying the American economy and shutting down our energy production. You can read more about her at www.christine2010.com.

Join Team Christine at the Delaware State Fair

Come out to the state fair this week and show your support for Christine O'Donnell. Team Christine would love to see volunteers enjoying the festivities of the state fair wearing your TEAM CHRISTINE t-shirt. Make sure to take pics and send them to us at pics@christine2010.com

also....

Team Christine is looking for volunteers to work the Delaware State Fair. Meet Team Christine at the entrance to the state fair at 5 pm tomorrow wearing your Team Christine T-shirt. If you do not have a t-shirt, Krystina will get you one when you get there (first come, first serve).

Feel free to contact Krystina at krystina@christine2010.com for the State Fair schedule.

Christine O'Donnell lays out legislative priorities

One week after a Rasmussen Reports poll showed that Christine O'Donnell currently wins in a general election against Democrat Chris Coons and days after adding the Susan B. Anthony List to her ever growing list of endorsements, O'Donnell fires another shot at her detractors.

First, O'Donnell lays into her Primary opponent Mike Castle

"Mike Castle is an enemy of the free market," claims O'Donnell. "He voted for Cap and Trade, the single most dangerous bill proposed in American history. If enacted, that legislation will cripple American industry, cause energy prices to soar and destroy American jobs. Barack Obama himself said that Cap and Trade would make energy costs 'necessarily skyrocket.' Yet Mr. Castle continues to support the bill." (Read more about Cap and Trade here)

Time after time, Mike Castle's votes prevent the free market from functioning the way it should: rewarding winners and penalizing losers. His vote for TARP enabled a $700 billion never-ending bailout for the very financial industry wizards who caused the subprime mortgage crisis. With American tax dollars, Mike Castle has made multi-millionaires out of the worst culprits of the Wall Street fiasco."

"Mike Castle voted for Cash for Clunkers. He voted against a measure to balance the federal budget within ten years. He voted against earmark reform. The list goes on and on."

"Mike Castle's voting record proves beyond a reasonable doubt that he is for special interests, against the free market, anti-Second Amendment, pro-abortion and he's even for sanctuary cities. It's a preposterous record. Calling himself a Republican is borderline schizophrenic, confused about his own political identity."

"Mike Castle is the worst kind of career politician. To be a Republican, you must stand and fight for America's founding principles of limited government," continues Christine O'Donnell. "That notion is lost on Mike Castle, and Delaware deserves better leadership. Today, I'm releasing five legislative priorities that any Republican except Mike Castle can and should get behind."

For months, elite Republican leaders in Delaware and Progressives in the Republican party have claimed that even if Ms. O'Donnell can beat Mike Castle in the primary election and Chris Coons in the general, she has not given an indication of her legislative priorities. Their attacks have even caused rank and file Republicans and some T.E.A. Party members to be wary of voting for O'Donnell for U.S. Senate. To those who question what Ms. O'Donnell will do when she gets to Washington, she has issues the following 5 Legislative Priorities:

1) Lower personal income taxes, capital gains taxes and corporate income taxes so that we can restore economic growth, create jobs and stability for our small businesses and working families.

2) Defund and repeal Obamacare.

3) Enact a 2-year capital gains tax holiday to spur economic growth and new investment, inject capital into the consumer market and free up capital for lending to small businesses.

4) Secure the border.

5) Restrict the federal government from using taxpayer funds for abortion.

To learn more, please visit http://www.Christine2010.com/

What do you say Delaware? Is it time for Delaware's Senators to be fiscally responsible? Is it time for Delaware's Senators to be defenders of the Constitution? Is it time for Delaware's Senators to get government OUT of Free Markets? Isn't it time that the First State became a leader in America again? Isn't it time we brought out our inner Caesar Rodney?

O'Donnell garners major endorsement

“Delaware families deserve the pro-life leadership Christine O’Donnell so capably provides,” said Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of SBA List Candidate Fund. “Unlike her primary opponent who has an explicitly pro-abortion voting record, O’Donnell has expressed her strong determination to be a vocal advocate for women and unborn children in abortion debates on the floor of the U.S. Senate.”

These words came from the Susan B. Anthony List Candidate Fund who endorsed Christine O'donnell today. This is a significant endorsement in a state like Delaware which although leans Democrat in registration is more of a pro-life state. This is not the kind of endorsement that can turn an election by itself like an endorsement from Sarah Palin or Jim Demint could. However, when you add it to the ever growing list of organizations and individuals endorsing Christine you end up witha whole new picture. The Susan B. Anthony List now joins Common Sense Communities Society (Delaware's T.E.A. Party endorsement), One Nation PAC, Erick Erickson of Redstate.com, Nationally syndicated conservative talk star Mark Levin, Citizens United, Pam Geller (Atlas Shrugs), Joanne Herring, and Catholic Families for America.

Couple this with the results of a poll released July 15th by Rassmussen Reports which shows O'Donnell now holding a 41-39 lead over New Castle County Executive Chris Coons and you have the making of a winner. Also, as O'Donnell's conservatism gives her campaign rise, the outright Progressivism of her primary opponent, Congressman Mike Castle is bringing the house down around him. Castle has lost 9 points since April and has dropped below 50% in polling against Chris Coons. Castle is holding on to a 47-36 lead which is STAGGERING when you consider that Castle has been Delaware's lone congressman since 1992.

Castle's fall, O'Donnell's rise and Coons' inability to rise out of the 30 percent range all are signs of the T.E.A. Party's positive influence on the 2010 elections in EVERY state. Those who would claim otherwise, are spinning the truth. Indeed, a look at the numbers behind O'Donnell's lead over Coons shows that Delawareans are every bit as T.E.A. Partied up as any other state. 51% of Delawareans favor repeal of the healthcare bill, 58% desire a law similar to Arizona's to be enacted in Delaware and 64% believe that the economy is getting worse or staying the same. Look for November to be a referendum on both Congressman Mike Castle and President Barack Obama.

Rasmussen Poll: Christine O'Donnell beats Chris Coons

In a July 12-14th Rasmussen Poll of 500 Delaware voters, Christine O'Donnell beats Democrat Chris Coons 41% to 39%.  This is extremely positive and cements Christine's viability to win both the September 14th primary against Mike Castle and the general election on November 2 against Chris Coons.

The sentiment of Delaware voters is consistent with that that propelled conservative candidates ahead of liberals in election after election this past year.  Some interesting trends emerging in Delaware:

• 51% (41% Strongly favor, 10% Somewhat favor) repealing the health care bill
• 58% favor Delaware enacting similiar immigration reform as was passed in the state of Arizona
• 56% disagree with the Department of Justic suing Arizona over the passage of their immigration bill
• 58% agree that immigration refrorm should keep out national security threats, criminals, and those who come here to live off our welfare system.
• 53% agree that off-shore oil drilling should be allowed.
• 43% agree (vs 38% disagree) that deepwater oil drilling should be allowed
• 56% believe that the 2009 Stimulus Bill has either hurt the economy or had zero impact on the economy.
• 89% rate the U.S. economy either poor or fair.
• 43% believe economic conditions in the U.S. are getting worse, and 21% staying the same
• 66% believe that the U.S. is in a recession

Margin of Sampling Error, +/- 4.5 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence

Based on these trends, the sentiment of the Delaware voter favors a conservative over a liberal for the 2010 election.  That trend favors Christine O'Donnell to take the U.S. Senate seat (Delaware).

Rasmussen Poll: http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/elections/election_2010/election_2010_senate_elections/delaware/toplines/toplines_delaware_senate_july_14_2010
 

Castle cites "scheduling conflicts" in his refusal to debate Senate candidates

A Newark based educational group called Founders Values joined with Smart Girl Politics to host a United States Senate candidates debate at Cokesbury Village on Friday July 9th 2010. The event was supposed to kickoff at 7PM and the 4 declared U.S. Senate candidates were invited. Christine O'Donnell, a conservative Republican candidate for U.S. Senate who is challenging Congressman Mike Castle for the right to run against New Castle County Executive Chris Coons (Democrat) and Libertarian candidate Jim Rash in the general election.





Both Christine O'Donnell and Jim Rash RSVP'd that they would attend almost immediately upon their invitation in the beginning of June. Chris Coons and Mike Castle recieved their invitations at the same time as O'Donnell and Rash but did not reply. After repeated contact attempts and discussions with senior members of the Coons and Castle campaign staff, the debate was canceled on July 6th due to the inavailablity of half of the invited candidates. While Chris Coons has still not officially declined or acknowledged the event, Mike Castle did release a written response which is dated July 7th. The following is from an email sent by a Castle campaing staffer:

From: Danielle Varallo [mailto: dvarallo@castleforsenate.com]
Sent: Friday, July 09, 2010 3:58PM
Subject: Founders Values Event

Dear Evan,
This was placed in the mail yesterday, and we wanted to make sure you had
recieved a copy. See attached letter.

Thanks,
Danielle
--
Danielle Varallo
Mike Castle for U.S. Senate

(below is a copy of the letter they sent...ask yourself if this is acceptable)

Congressman Castle was given a full month to respond and chose to do so with a letter dated 2 days before the event? This is unacceptable.

Taxation Without Representation?

While this term comes from the Colonial Era, it is still relevant here in Delaware.  Just ask the citizens of Sussex County, Delaware. Delaware has one lone Congressional seat.  U.S. Rep. Mike Castle (R-DE) is the current office holder.  Yet, he fails to have a constituent advocacy office in Sussex County.

Is this fair to the residents of Sussex County who can only liaise with his office via phone, Internet or mail?  What is Mike Castle afraid of that that he cannot represent this county, a conservative one at that, by having an office there?

There is a Georgetown, DE office number listen on his site http://www.castle.house.gov/Contact/, but no address:

Wilmington Office

201 N. Walnut Street, Suite 107
Wilmington, DE 19801-3970
p: 302.428.1902
f: 302.428.1950

Dover Office
300 South New Street
Dover, DE 19904
p: 302.736.1666
f: 302.736.6580

Georgetown Office
p: 302.856.3334

Washington Office
1233 Longworth HOB
Washington, DC 20515
p: 202.225.4165
f: 202.225.2291

Sussex County residents deserve better.

Will Delaware Be Saved by This Person? Don't bet on it.

I am America... We Are America

Rollins/Castle campaigns playing dirty?

In politics there is a standing rule, you don't mess with the other guys (or gals) signs. You certainly don't do it when it's on private property.

Apparently supporters of Mike Castle and Michelle Rollins don't like the fact that their opponents (Christine O'Donnell and Glen Urquhart) are gaining more and more vocal supporters. Recently there has been a rash of vandalisms and thefts of Urquhart and O'Donnell yard signs and support posters. Some of them have been spray painted and others have been simply stolen right out of the ground.

Some folks may claim that this is just the act of children, mischevious teens with nothing better to do. Others may blame the extreme left but if it's a group of leftists, why would they leave the Castle/Rollins signs in place? Are THOSE Republicans more palatable than O'Donnell and Urquhart to the extreme left? If so, does that mean we should support them?

My final question on who is reponsible is a look at current events, both Urquhart and O'Donnell have recently made big gains on their opponents thanks to major blunders by Castle and Rollins. More and more signs and showings of support have cropped up across the state and money has been flowing in hand over fist. This is especially true for Christine O'Donnell who brought in 1/3 of her total fundraising goal in the 24 hours after the DISCLOSE Act became major news. Now, all of a sudden, Uruquhart and O'Donnell signs are being vandalized and stolen. Does it sound like a RINO running scared to you?