Chris Christie: Delaware “missed opportunity” for the Senate

Associated Press: WASHINGTON (AP) — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie says the Senate race in Delaware was "a missed opportunity" for his fellow Republicans to pick up the seat long held by Democrat Joe Biden.

Tea party favorite Christine O'Donnell won the GOP nomination in an upset over moderate Rep. Mike Castle. But she lost the general election Tuesday to Democrat Chris Coons.

Christie says he was proud to have endorsed Castle.

O'Donnell ran a nontraditional campaign that opened with a TV ad saying "I'm not a witch." National Republicans had hoped the race would help them win the majority in the Senate.

Christie told NBC's "Meet the Press" that "I think Delaware was a missed opportunity to have a really good U.S. senator." 

I am going to have to disagree with my governor on this one.   First, Christine O’Donnell was a weak candidate.  Sorry to say it but it is true.  As a Tea Party candidate, the left, the GOP establishment and the media was going to play pile on.  We saw it time and time again throughout this election.  So, when Christine O’Donnell’s turn for the assault came along, she should have been prepared. She simply could not handle the onslaught.

That being said, Mike Castle was the wrong man for the times.  From now to 2012 Republicans are going to have to face some very tough votes in order to bring spending and the deficit under control.  In order to pull that off, every Republican and a few Democrats will be needed in the Senate.  Time and time again, we have seen liberal Republicans like Mike Castle, foil GOP plans by failing to live up to conservative principles.  Both Republicans and the nation cannot afford such fickleness now.

So while Chris Christie may believe that it is important to have another R on the team, the reality is that the quality of the R’s in the senate matter more. 

Perhaps a strong willed man like Chris Christie could keep wayward senate Republicans in check; but I have little faith in Mitch McConnell doing so.

You can see the full video of Chris Christie on Meet the Press at The Right Scoop.

Via: Memeorandum

Via: Associated Press

Via: The Right Scoop

Video: The Christine O’Donnell – Chris Coons Debate

I am playing catch up and have just finished watching the Coons-O’Donnell debate. Good Lord, this was a long debate.  Basically this was a three on one debate, Chris Coon, Wolf Blitzer and Nancy Karibjanian vs. Christine O’Donnell. I am hard pressed to think of a more lopsidedly moderated debate.  Again Blitzer and Karibjanian should take note of how Mitch Fox moderated the Reid-Angle debate. Mitch Fox was only in the tank for the people of Nevada and not for any candidate.

The moderators seem to constantly nudge Coons to go after O’Donnell’s statements. They repeatedly reminded him that this was the “discussion portion” and he could discuss (i.e. attack) what O’Donnell just said.

Chris Coons could not have been more condescending and dismissive of O’Donnell if he tried. Just look at the 52 minute mark to see what I am talking about. Ouch, how rude!

What I thought was funny was that Coons, Blitzer and Karibjanian treated O’Donnell like she was some crazy space alien, even when she continually turned in a sane and thoughtful performance. If they were banking on everyone thinking she is nothing more than a rightwing wacko, they will be mistaken, because O’Donnell was nothing but credible and sane.

Despite, O’Donnell being able to hold her own and come off as a credible candidate, I think what was needed here was for to eviscerate Coons with a killer sound bite or set him back with a series of awkward moments. That did not happen, so it will be interesting to see how if O’Donnell improves her numbers between now and November 2.

I do have to ask, who picked those God awful student questions? Those student questions were so far behind the times it was ridiculous. Are we to believe that college students who are just about to enter the job market are more concerned about stem cell research than the economy?  Puleeeeeze!

I think O’Donnell’s best moment came when she answered the education question (see the 36:30 mark).  O’Donnell gave a well delivered jab at Coons and a clear explanation of what is wrong with the system.

Second best O’Donnell moment was this:

“I would argue there are more people who support my Catholic faith than his Marxist belief.”

So very feisty!

I also think O’Donnell did a better job than Sharron Angle at delivering charges against her opponent. Clearly, O’Donnell was not afraid to go at Chris Coons.

Video h/t: Breitbart TV

Video: Christine O’Donnell’s ad; “I’m Not a Witch”

ABC News: ABC's Michael Falcone reports:

“I'm not a witch," Delaware Senate candidate Christine O'Donnellassures voters, who may be concerned that she once "dabbled" in the dark arts, in a new ad released by her campaign on Monday.

"I'm nothing you've heard," O'Donnell continues in the 30-second spot -- the first of the general election -- "I'm you."

The ad features a spare background, quiet piano notes and O’Donnell, the GOP candidate who has sparked controversy for her past statements on witchcraft, abstinence and evolution, among other things, speaking directly into the camera. 

“None of us are perfect, but none of us can be happy with what we see all around us,” she says. “Politicians who think spending, trading favors and back-room deals are the ways to stay in office. I’ll go to Washington and do what you’d do.”

O'Donnell defeated Rep. Mike Castle, R-Del., to win the Republican Senate nomination and is facing off against Democrat Chris Coons in the general election. Her campaign has gained notoriety from a steady stream of video clips released by television personality Bill Maher, whooften featured O'Donnell as a guest on the show he hosted for nearly 10 years, "Politically Incorrect."

In the ad's finale, O'Donnell repeats one of her opening lines: “I’m you."

I think this ad is going to be extremely effective. I said in an earlier post, that Christine’s O’Donnell’s (and Carl Paladino’s) greatest strength is that they have clean hands as far as the mess in Washington is concerned.  This ad plays nicely to those strengths. O’Donnell confronts the rumors and points out the very poignant fact Washington is broken.  She speaks as a true outsider (i.e. one of us) looking in.

Graphically speaking though, I am not sure why they chose to put O’Donnell in a black dress with a dark blue background. Those colors scream Halloween and witches. If I had shot the video, I would have chosen to put O’Donnell in a Palinesque red jacket against a white background. This would have evoked thoughts of Christmas rather than Halloween, thus giving some more distance from the witch meme.    At any rate, I still find the ad is still highly effective.

Via: Memorandum

Via: ABC News 

Christine O’Donnell on Socialism in America

As left goes about digging up less than flattering videos of Christine O’Donnell almost  daily, I think this video serves as proof as to why voters chose her over Mike Castle. 

Some thoughts on Christine O’Donnell

Last Tuesday, US Senate candidate from Delaware, Christine O’Donnell delivered one of the biggest upsets of the year. No sooner did she do this, all hell broke loose.  Vicious attacks have been flying at her nonstop. 

While we would have expected such attacks from the left and their complicit media buddies, it is very revealing to see the attacks that are coming from the GOP establishment.

Never before have I witnessed such blatant examples of Sore Losers. Her defeated Republican opponent Mike Castle leads the pack.  His refusal to endorse O’Donnell was just the first example of bad form.  Castle continued to flash his Sore Loser credentials by blaming Sean Hannity and other conservative talk radio hosts. Give me a break! His vote for Cap and Trade probably had more to do with his defeat than anything else.

Right on the heels of Sore Loser Castle is Karl Rove.  Has this guy no shame? One of the very reasons why Republicans were shown the door in 2006 and 2008 was because of the very brand of conservatism Rove championed in the Bush administration.  So for Rove to carry on the way he did on Hannity over O’Donnell’s victory was just shameless.

Memo to Rove: Your political instincts are yesterday’s news.  A new political narrative is being written as we speak. The old playbook no longer applies. The days of stacking the House and Senate with anyone so long as they have a R after their name (quantity vs. quality) is over.  The people have spoken (repeatedly).

Finally on the Republican side is Charles Krauthammer. I am quite dismayed by his comments on O’Donnell. Krauthammer is one of the people whose opinion I seek out.  However, Krauthammer has been showing an elitist streak that I find less than appealing. I first noticed it with his opinions on Sarah Palin and now with Christine O’Donnell. Does O’Donnell have a steep climb to win in Delaware, yes she does, but to dismiss O’Donnell the way Krauthammer did is just so short sighted.

Regarding O’Donnell herself, I don’t believe she is the strongest candidate the Tea Party could have backed. That being said she has two big things working in her favor.  First, she is not the establishment. This is important because the establishment (both on the left and the right) has failed the nation.  Ten percent unemployment, sky high record deficits and no respect for the will of the people all add up to the establishment being an undisputed failure. Christine O’Donnell, despite her witchcraft comment, and other past comments, has something the establishment doesn’t have … clean hands. O’Donnell had nothing to do with the unemployment rate, nothing to do with these crazy deficits and nothing to do with the tone deafness in Washington. Add to her favor the fact that she is willing to stand against all of those things and her candidacy no longer looks so kooky.

The other thing working in O’Donnell’s favor is the fact that she is a woman battling against many foes.  In American culture there is always something unpleasant about ganging up on a woman. Right now Christine O’Donnell finds herself fending off attacks from both the right and the left. Worse yet, those attacks often seem so over the top. It is almost like she is being held up to a much higher standard.  Where was all these criticism about nuttiness when Al Franken ran for the Senate? I think if the left, the media and the GOP establishment continue in their fever pitch to discredit O’Donnell, they will turn her 15 point deficit in the polls to a 15 point lead, because Americans love to root for underdogs.

In the end, I think if O’Donnell takes Palin’s advice and concentrates on communicating to the people of Delaware rather than the national media, she might be able to raise herself in the polls.  Senate races are local races. In the end it is only the people of Delaware who will decide her fate and should they elect her, they will be the only people she has to answer to.

Via: Memeorandum

Via: NPR

Via: News Reel Blog

Via: Michelle Malkin

Via: The Right Scoop

Via: Breitbart TV

Via: Fox News

Via: Delaware Tomorrow

Via: Politico

Via: Politico

Via: The Hill