Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Christine O'Donnell Comes Full Circle

Full disclosure on a couple of things here:
  1. I did in fact endorse and work for Christine O'Donnell in 2010.  I thought she was the best available candidate for the job and she stood for the alternative to the establishment good old boys network that has sold our country down the river.
  2. I will support the eventual Republican nominee in the General Election because any of the available GOP candidates are far better than President Obama and will undo many of his most dangerous and harmful policies.
With those things said, let me say that this move by O'Donnell is not a surprise.  Months ago she all but endorsed Romney with campaign donations and made it quite clear that Romney was her guy.  Many of us told her that this was a bad move.  Christine rallied the grassroots, the anti-establishment, the rank and file conservatives who believe that the system is corrupted by the establishment elites who have much of the money.  It was her willingness to challenge the establishment and their figurehead, Mike Castle, that drove many new voters to the polls with hope for a change in the system.  I must admit, I'm disappointed in this move to endorse Romney.  I watched her interview with Sean Hannity where she made a lukewarm case for how the "TEA Party" has a misplaced dislike of Uncle Mitt (yes, he really is a distant uncle of mine).  She claimed (as did Ann Coulter before her...you might remember Ann Coulter as the one who said in February of 2011 that if Mitt Romney were the nominee, the GOP would lose) that Romney was clearly the most conservative candidate.  So let's take a look at Romney's conservatism:



Romney Care...

Pro-Choice in Mass...but Pro-Life in Iowa?

The Romney RINO scorecard...
“He can argue any side of a question. And sometimes you think he’s really believing his argument, but he’s not.”Ann Romney, the wife of Mitt Romney 

Ronald Reagan said:
“We don’t intend to turn the Republican Party over to the traitors in the battle just ended. We will have no more of those candidates who are pledged to the same goals as our opposition and who seek our support. Turning the Party over to the so-called moderates wouldn’t make any sense at all.”
“A political party cannot be all things to all people. It must represent certain fundamental beliefs which must not be compromised to political expediency or simply to swell its numbers. “Let our banner proclaim… and if there are those who cannot subscribe to these [conservative] principles, then let them go their own way.”
Don’t give up your ideals, don’t compromise, don’t turn to expediency — and don’t, for heaven’s sake, having seen the inner workings of the watch — don’t get cynical.”
Ms. O'Donnell (and Ms. Coulter for that matter), I would submit to you that calling Romney "the most conservative candidate" and lecturing the TEA Party groups who have bought your books, supported your campaigns and listened to your viewpoints, is...well poor form (I'm sure you can come up with your own analogy here).  Do not insult our intelligence by trying to claim conservative credentials that don't exist.  And further more, Ms. O'Donnell, as someone who shed more blood, sweat and tears for you in 2010 than almost anyone else, how DARE you trade on the influence and political star power that your supporters bought you with their diligence and hard work?  How DARE you insult our intelligence by pretending like we haven't looked at the mans record.  We looked at yours and we looked at Mike Castle's record.  WE displayed them both prominently and WE overlooked the silly things you said as a young woman because they were silly.  We highlighted the offenses Castle committed because they were offensive.  This endorsement is of course your own business but where you upset us was when you lectured the TEA Party groups who have pushed back at this announcement (which let's face it, was as transparent as glass long ago).

I submit that this move will only serve to portray you in the following light:
That you have now sold out to the same establishment forces (Mitt Romney, Karl Rove) who you spent all of 2010 fighting against when you defeated Mike Castle.  It took 1 year for you to go from the People's champion (despite losing the General Election) to the Establishment whipping post.

At this point, I'm not knocking you for your endorsement (again, if Uncle Mitt is the nominee, and he likely will be, I would support him against Obama) but for your lecturing of the very folks who made your run the sensation that it was...the TEA Party.   Shame...shame...shame.
 

3 comments:

  1. I've been saying all year that Romney = Castle in 2012. Poor form by Christine indeed. Good thing we tea partiers aren't lemmings...

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  2. With our conversation today, you said that the Teap Party does not need another unofficial leader. Unlike Mitt Romney, I will not take a paragraph out and re-publish what I wrote on the Delaware Tea Party website:


    When an outsider thinks of the Delaware Tea Party, right or wrong the first name that pops in one's head is Christine O'Donnell. She was a pioneer in Delaware. Sarah Palin took on the establishment GOP nationally. Tantamount to this, Christine O'Donnell challenged the Delaware GOP and their antiquated political views. She defeated the Delaware GOP in the 2010 primary and sent Mike Castle into retirement. She capitalized on a book deal. She WAS the most powerful principled conservative in Delaware. I have not met her, so I will reserve personal judgment for if I ever do meet her, but looking from the outside, it appears she has turned her back on the Tea Party and everybody that helped support her. Without the support of people longing for principled conservatives, she would be a fringe activist with no platform.

    I will not name names, but I have had my own problems with the Delaware GOP. When I met two people, I was promised a chance to get involved in politics. When I tried to follow up, I got ignored. Even as recently as a month ago I tried to call to inquire about getting involved in the mayoral race. Michael Brown had nothing to do with what I am about to write. I tried to contact a certain powerful woman in the Delaware GOP to help get me involved in the mayoral race. I thought that calling Michael Brown would be presumptuous, especially with no political record. I used every mode of communication out there. So I call a certain lobbyist who I met for a suggestion on how to contact her. He gave me her cell number. Problem was that it was a fake number. I gave him the benefit of the doubt and called him back thinking I screwed up. He gave me a different number, which was also a fake number.

    With being burned by the Delaware GOP, I felt that I had a connection with Christine O'Donnell. I wanted to meet her. I still want to meet her, but for a different reason. I want to respectfully tell her how I felt about her endorsement to Mitt Romney. Ms. O'Donnell gave me inspiration and lead me to believe that there is a market for a principled conservative. When I met these establishment people over dinner, I refused to kowtow to their moderate beliefs. I had the courage to stand up to them.

    Do I regret throwing away an opportunity to take the easy way towards politics? No! I kept my pride. If I could go the rest of my life without looking in the mirror, perhaps I would suck up to the establishment. There are too many mirrors in this world, therefore I stand up to what I believe no matter the consequences. Besides pride in myself, I have a set of friends who I deeply care for. If I sold out and became a typical unprincipled politician, I could never face them.

    If Christine O'Donnell is no longer the conservative voice of Delaware, here are two options. Rose Izzo is a very conservative woman. Her mantra is cut, slash and burn. A housewife with a steady career and family, she is ready to step up to the plate. Rose Izzo http://www.roseizzoforcongress.com/ knows what it takes to be a leader. Another person who is highly capable is Evan Queitsch http://www.evanqforde.com/. He worked on Christine O'Donnell's campaign so he knows how to defeat the Delaware GOP and carry on Ms. O'Donnell's conservative message. He is a former U.S. Marine, so he already knows what sacrifice means. I met him recently, and discovered that he is the real deal. Evan is extremely intelligent. I learned a lot from meeting him. Evan Queitsch is also the communications director for Founder's Values. http://www.foundersvalues.com./ This is a great conservative organization.

    I do not think that Ms. O'Donnell is able to speak on behalf of true conservatives in Delaware. If I am right, there is life after her.

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  3. After meeting Christine O'Donnell, my view has greatly softened on this stance. I admit that I was wrong.

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