Reviewing a Troublemaker

So the News Journal got their copy of Troublemaker and true to form they set out on a campaign to not only destroy the book but to destroy the author. I was mad, REALLY mad, but just moments before I started writing this post, I read the following hit piece from Chad Livengood at the News Journal. It should have made me mad. Should have…but it didn’t. As I read through the piece, through the long list of backstabbers and second guessers. Through the list of names of people who campaigned for Mike Castle, who developed the “Kill the girl” strategy that the Delaware GOP imployed in a vain attempt to stop O’Donnell from taking down the most liberal member (former) of the U.S. House of Representative, a guy who had destroyed the credibility of every candidate he’d run against and not their policies, I realized something. These are sad examples of what politics has become. Some of these people were great success stories. Some have TREMENDOUS talents. Others are just corrupt political scoundrels. None of them have escaped with their souls intact. 

I’ll tell you, I could go on and on about Maria Evans’ failed career in media (I bet most of you have never even heard of Delaware Talk Radio have you?), Priscilla Rakestraw’s record of making false allegations to the employers of candidates she doesn’t like and Tom Ross’ outright sabotage. I could go on about the failure of the Delaware GOP to hold on to their seats long before the TEA Party came along. I could point out that in politics, it’s apparent that NO ONE is trustworthy or decent. I could…but I won’t because it doesn’t matter. 

Ken Grant can enjoy his time on stage tearing down the work of one of the finest human beings I have ever met (thanks for the extra book sale), laughing it up with all of the Delaware political monsters in the crowd. Priscilla Rakestraw can live out the rest of her short time on Earth being as mean and nasty as she wants to be. Maria Evans can take solace in the fact that she’s assisted in the personal destruction of someone just trying to make a difference. Steve Grossman can sleep well tonight knowing that he stabbed a person that he supported in the General Election in the back. Chad Livengood can rest easy knowing that he has taken an impressive career and splattered it with a huge black spot. Tom Ross can smile knowing that he, as Chairman, ensured she’d never win and Mike Castle, king of Delaware kings, can sit up on his throne in Chateau Country with Chablis and some brie and be content knowing that Christine has been beaten down.

The bottom line here is that all of this, from Day 1 of her getting into the race till now was predictable. Anyone who is anyone saw this coming. The News Journal has always been just a tin can and string away from the DNC HQ and let’s face it, the Delaware GOP elites have long ago realized that “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em”. Nothing I can say, no evil words, no backroom truth, no startling revelations about these cats is going to undo what they’ve done. So none of these people (except Mr. Grant…again, thanks for the book sale) is going to read Christine’s book. That’s fine, she didn’t expect you to. She didn’t write it for you. She wrote it for the people who TRULY supported her, not the ones who showed up just for the paychecks. She wrote it for the people who bucked the establishment trends, not those who buckle underneath it because they were born into it. She wrote it for the people who want to CHANGE politics, not the people who are desperately trying to keep it the same. She wrote it for conservatives and independents, not for progressives and liberals. 

Truth be told, Delaware is the small town of states. Just like any small town upstart who challenges the lifelong political culture of a backwoods North Carolina town, a challenger to the Delaware establishment will be ostracized and beat up. If that North Carolina challenger wrote a book, after facing down a popular Mayor in a heated election, it’s unlikely many town members would buy their book. The same thing is happening here. I don’t believe that many people in Delaware will buy Christine’s book, not because it’s bad, but because they are too closed-minded to see beyond their own irrational hatred of a true patriot. They hate me too and I just don’t care. Because you see, I know something they don’t know. I know that for every plank they tear out from underneath our feet, we receive yet another Blessing from God. By the time they have ripped all the planks out, we’ll be able to float away.

So the title of this blog said “Reviewing a Troublemaker” and we’ve spent a lot of time reviewing Chad Livengood’s predictable and sad hit piece. Now I’d like to take some time to do what a decent reporter in Chad’s shoes would have done which is to review the book. I’m not going to pluck out a sentence here or there about the most damaging parts of it though. I think Chad’s covered that, thanks Chad! What I’m going to do is tell you what you’re going to see in the other 350 pages that Chad didn’t bother to read.

“Troublemaker: Let’s do what it takes to make America great again” is a fantastic book that really brings you into the struggle that the TEA Party faces. For those of you who don’t know who the TEA Party are and what they stand for, Christine shows you who they are: They’re you. You’re frustrated by the lack of jobs, so is the TEA Party. You’re upset at the down economy, so is the TEA Party. You’re angry at the corrupt political class in Washington, so is the TEA Party. You’re worried about the future for your kids, so is the TEA Party. You’re scared that out nation is going in the wrong direction, so is the TEA Party and so is Christine O’Donnell. You see, Christine got one thing right in the infamous “Witch Ad”, she is you. We’ve all said things that we wish we hadn’t, we’ve all quoted something kooky from a story we read and we’ve all questioned authority. The difference is that the TEA Party has simply acted on that questioning and so has Christine O’Donnell. She stood up, like the TEA Party did and said “Enough is enough, we want our country back from the political elites and the special interest groups.” That’s why she took on her own party first. You see, Christine ran a write in campaign in 2006 when she was asked by some of the political establishment and some close friends (for different reasons) to do so. Her write-in candidacy was designed by the political establishment to do one thing, stop Mike Protack (another person who bucks the establishment trend and scares the crap out of the elites). For Christine, it was an eye opening look at politics in America. In 2008, she had think long and hard but she decided to seek the party’s nomination to challenge Joe Biden. Not because she liked the smears and lies and distortions from the 2006 campaign but because she loved Delaware, loved America and thought that Joe Biden was not the right answer for either one. Truth be told, most people in Delaware agree with her but elections here are more about WHO you know than WHAT you know (a simple glance through the current and recent Delaware political class will prove that). 

For a girl who grew up in a small house with a big family, Christine is surprisingly outgoing in public. Behind the scenes, as I came to know her, she’s quiet and thoughtful. She reminds of, well of me to be quite honest. She’s dealing now with what I dealt with throughout Jr. High and most of High School. She’s right on the edge of cool, right on the edge of being part of the crowd but there’s one problem, she won’t go along with their dastardly plans. She won’t drink that vodka or take that hit. She’s got one thing I didn’t have though, the willpower to see through convictions. See I eventually took that hit, drank that vodka and drove the getaway car. She won’t. I think that’s what inspires me about her. It’s what makes me want to defend her every chance I get, whether it’s using the left’s own science against them (Mice with human brain cells: Live Science & National Geographic) or calling them to task for using the same tactics against her that they rail against. The fact of the matter is that, as Christine explains in her book, she’s a Troublemaker because she won’t play ball their way. Yea, you’ll read about her childhood, her father as Bozo the Clown (and what a great guy he is) and her reversal from political liberal and pro-choice to pro-life conservative. She’ll walk you through her 2008 Senate campaign against Joe Biden and her 2010 Senate campaign against Mike Castle and Chris Coons. Sure, you’ll read a little about the infamous “Witch Ad” but you’ll also read about the real sad shame of the Widener debate when Chris Coons, a long time lawyer and a crowd of up and coming lawyers in the auditorium had trouble explaining the First Amendment to the Constitution. You’ll see how the political class will stop at nothing to derail those who it sees as obstructions to their goals and how they really just don’t care who they affect or how. I am personally well aware of this fact, their false accusations against me, labeled me a campaign finance violator and have cost me employment outside of politics. The book isn’t exclusive to political campaigning though. Christine offers some real solutions to Americas problems and many of them harken back to the original problem solvers, America’s founding fathers. While some will question these policy suggestions, those in the TEA Party and those with common sense will see them as excellent ways to move our country forward while returning our nation to the timeless principles of liberty that our founders held dear. 

Christine tells a story that many of us in the TEA Party could tell but there are so many different reasons to read this account. For TEA Party members, it will validate much of what you’ve felt over the last 10 years. For those going into politics, it really runs down the problems that you are going to face with taking on the established political class. For women, Christine shows the incredible double standard among not only the politicians but among the liberal media as well. If I had to summarize that part, I would say that the women’s lib[eration] movement only works if the woman in question is a lib[eral]. If she’s a conservative, feel free to bash away. Christine doesn’t come away whiney or downtrodden but rather stronger for the criticism she’s faced and wiser for the experience. She comes away more convinced than ever that conservatism is the right answer to America’s problems and you will too. The book is a must read for TEA Partiers, political novices and young women. It’s a snapshot of what Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann and even Hillary Clinton to some extent, have faced over the years and it’s evidence that the political class is running in abject fear of the TEA Party and conservative thought.

New Castle County is more BROKE than we thought

Recently, the News Journal broke stories (2 months too late) that prove Chris Coons is nothing short of a liar.  Both were from a report by Independent observer Dace Blaskovitz.  Coons spent more than 6 months telling Delawareans (especially New Castle County residents) that he was responsible with the County finances and that it was not in trouble.  He told us that everything was fine and that he was able to save the county from the brink of a fiscal meltdown.  Today, the News Journal's Chad Livengood has another story on the fiscal woes of New Castle County.  The new County Executive, Paul Clark (the man of a thousand ethics problems), has put in place a 30 person transition team ($$$$) to figure out how to get the county out of the HUGE hole it's in. 

What hole you ask?  If you've only been listening to Chris Coons, Paul Clark, Tim Sheldon and the rest of the Democrats in New Castle County government you would be unable to see the huge hole in county finances that they were hiding.  If County Council did not know the MASSIVE gap between spending and revenue existed then it is time to fire every single one of them (and this includes Councilman Weiner if he knew and was silent).  Folks, this is an absolute TRAVESTY of justice.  New Castle County began the new millennium with a $200 million SURPLUS and by 2015, if nothing changes, we will be $68 million in debt.  It will have swung 134% in the opposite direction.  This is DESPITE an increase in sewer fees of more than 60%, increases in other fees including the introduction of a new fee on contractors and a 54% increase in property taxes.  Does this sound like fiscal responsibility to you?  Could you do this at home?  Let's say you already had a huge savings account but were spending more than you made and you asked your boss for a raise of more than 60% and got it.  Now your pay has increased by more than 60%, you are spending all of your income and you still are eating into your savings account at more than 6% per year . You are to the point where you will be IN DEBT within 4 years.  Would it be time to go your boss for another raise or perhaps to address your spending habit?

Well according to Clark's transition team ($$$$) it's time to come to you for a raise.  Oh, Clark doesn't think that you property owners can afford more property taxes.  Instead he and his team will focus their "revenue enhancements" on "raising sewer bills to pay for federally-mandated improvements, charging for inspections of rental homes, cutting grass in county parks less frequently and county-wide reassessment of property values."  No mention of selling county land BACK to the private individuals who managed it before (like Carousel Park which was a net PLUS before the County took it over).  The report also calls for personnel cuts but it does not get specific except to say that the county should hire MORE employees in key areas.  In fact, the finance committee ($$$$) stated that it did not want to recommend specifics to actually FIX the structural problems with County government yet later in the report they call for Clark to lobby the General Assembly for the same 911 tax that Chris Coons lobbied for in 2007. 

The countywide reassessment of property values would be painful to some and easing on another.  The fact is that it MUST be done.  Homeowners today have their land values assessed at the 1983 level.  That's the same value as houses built almost 30 years ago.  Also addressed by the transition team is the suggestion that Clark address the county employee pay and benefits.  Currently many (mostly union members) county employees are receiving step increases annually and have MASSIVE pensions that are coming due more and more rapidly.  About 45% of the 1,400+ full-time county employees currently receive "step raises".  On the pension front, the report calls for the county pensions to be rolled into a more manageable 401(k) plan that is in line with private sector benefits.  This has of course, set the public employees unions into a tizzy.  Some of the county leaders have shouted that Coons and Clark have filled vacancies and then forced current employees to take pay cuts thereby punishing current employees.  ENOUGH!  I'm sick and tired of this stupid argument, hurting current employees by hiring new ones.  FOR YEARS the suggestions from every transition team and independent audit has been to deal with two things:

1. Public employee Pensions
2. The cost of the size of government (a.k.a. personnel costs)

And for years the unions and county managers have screamed that the county politicians are hiring new people and screwing current employees.  Meanwhile politicians have asked for the unions to take pay cuts.  Folks, they are both right!  The bottom line is that vacant positions must be eliminated and public sector employees must take cuts to pay and benefits.  It's unsustainable as it stands and the people don't want the cost for the services they are provided.  It's THAT simple.  That may mean we have to cut services or do more with less.  That is an issue that private companies face every single day.  It's called a tough choice and these politicians claim that they make them every day.  They are lying to us.  Their answer is to raise fees, that's the easy way out.  It's like us telling our bosses that we are going to TAKE a raise and not simply asking for it.

Folks, how long will we continue to sit back and let these people take every dollar we make in taxes?  When is enough going to be enough?  A sewer fee is no different than a property tax folks.  It's a tax in a different area of our life but it is a tax.  Are we that STUPID New Castle County?  Where is the line?  Please tell me, comment here, let me know, where do we draw the line?  When do we hold Chris Coons, Paul Clark, Tim Sheldon and the rest of these people accountable?  Electing Tom Kovach doesn't hold them accountable, Tim Sheldon is still on County Council.  Electing Tom Kovach is a STEP in the right direction but folks we need to elect people who will actually TAKE these steps that need to be taken.  We need to stop the union control of the county and work to bring the county back in line.  By balancing county government we will be able to focus on job creation in the private sector, returning companies like Dupont and others to prosperity by opening up new opportunities to bring their business efforts BACK to Delaware.  I say the time is now, what say you?

Vince Meconi is back (again)

This guy just won't go away!  Vince Meconi, longtime Delaware government bureaucrat and Democrat insider is back on government payroll.  Meconi has been at top levels of Delaware government since 1993 and one of those posts, as the head of DHSS led him to the land of infamy.  He was the head of the agency that was responsible for the Delaware Psychiatric Center abuses.  Meconi presided over rapes, assaults and retaliations against whistle blowers at DPC and yet was given a generous pension for his inaction.  While he led DHSS, Meconi hauled in a whopping $143,000 and his pension for all his failures is $7,633.56 per month ($91,602.72 per year).  Heck of a pay cut for someone who is used to a 6 figure salary but not to worry.  While Meconi was out of work when Minner left office, the new Democrat leadership under Markell was just as corrupt and as such, a lifetime bureaucrat holdover from Minner is useful.  That's why Markell hired Meconi and invited him to double dip.  While still receiving his pension pay, Meconi was given a job with the new administration, short term of course (the job lasted nearly a year) pulling down just $73,125 in taxpayer funds.  All together, Meconi's annual take of taxpayer funds came to nearly $165,000. 

Even the establishment politicians in the Republican Party see Meconi as a problem.  Greg Lavelle, one of the more establishment of the establishment Republicans, filed a FOIA request to look into the Meconi hiring.  Now Vince is back, this time at the County level.  Incoming New Castle County Executive Paul Clark has hired good old Vince to be the deputy chief administrative officer of New Castle County.  This is a post he first held with the State government under Tom Carper.  Is it any wonder that Delaware elected Chris Coons and John Carney to Washington?  The people of this state are gluttons for punishment and they love being taken for fools and having lifelong politicians steal millions from the taxpayers.  This just goes to show that in Delaware, just when you think you're out, they pull you BACK IN!

Background:
DPC stories
DPC Unions expect inquiries
Timeline of abuses

Mike Castle or "Mike Castle Republicans"?

There has been much posted about how the "extreme right wing" T.E.A. Party people won't support "Mike Castle Republicans" and how that will be the downfall of the GOP in New Castle County.  Much of it stems from the fact that conservative activist Christine O'Donnell defeated long time Republican Congressman Mike Castle in the recent U.S. Senate Primary.  That has left a sour taste in the mouths of some moderate Republicans who have projected a race between two individuals onto an entire group of people.  The fact is that the 2010 U.S. Senate Republican Primary was about Mike Castle and Christine O'Donnell.  Mike had drifted too far away from his base and had lost even the mantra of a fiscal conservative by voting time and again for bailouts, spending without limits and massive government growth.  Long ago Congressman Castle had shed the skin of social conservatism and alienated many in not just the southern part of the state but the north as well. 

For the T.E.A. Party groups, this election was about limiting government to the boundaries of the Constitution, stopping spending and keeping markets free.  Mike Castle had become someone who did not represent these values.  By contrast, Christine O'Donnell offered fresh ideas, a chance to stop the Obama policies that Castle had largely supported and a set of policies that would return America to the roots of prosperity that we have consistently returned to in times of trouble.  Castle also seemed to feel as though he was owed the U.S. Senate seat.  He did not feel like he should be accountable to the people of Delaware and specifically, he felt no need to listen to the T.E.A. Party groups.  It was clear that Congressman Castle had escaped his base in 2009 during a town hall meeting about the Obamacare legislation when he was asked a question about where in the Constitution it states that the government can be involved in health care.  His answer was that the Constitution doesn't PROHIBIT the Federal Government from that activity which ignores the whole premise of the Constitution.  The Constitution lays out specifically what the federal government MAY do and specifically (10th Amendment) leaves the rest to the people and to the states.  Christine O'Donnell by comparison had studied Constitutional government and understood the founding document.  In fact, in the General Election she would display her knowledge at a debate with the eventual winner of the General Election, Chris Coons which was held at Widener Law School.  Coons asserted that the phrase "separation of church and state" appears in the 1st Amendment of the Constitution and O'Donnell smartly challenged him.  As Coons backtracked, the student body of the law school showed their ignorance with laughter at Ms. O'Donnell's position.  The media of course went into red alert mode and tried to paint Christine into a corner.  Sadly, they showed the ignorance of their positions as the phrase "separation of church and state" does not appear in any of our founding documents but instead, in a letter from Thomas Jefferson to a group of Baptist Ministers in Danbury Connecticut written in 1802 which is not formal policy but rather a reassurance to the delegation that the United States would never adopt a national religion like England did.

The fact that Mike Castle was pro-choice and Christine O'Donnell was pro-life was not an insignificant position by any means but to make the leap that the media did in claiming that it was a deciding factor for TEA Party members is flat out absurd.  In fact, for all the work that the media and left wing did to paint Christine as a far right social activist, the truth bears a different story.  Christine stood for a limited government approach to many social issues by calling for those decisions to be made at the local or state level and not by the federal government.  She was also in favor of maintaining a healthy planet, reducing emissions and being good stewards of the land God has given us.  Another myth was presented when GLBT groups began protesting against O'Donnell and asserting that she was anti-homosexual.  The fact is that her staff was made up of perhaps the most diverse group of people ever assembled.  Nearly every race, gender, religion and sexual orientation was represented and she even had members from every mainstream political party working for her.  Christine is far from a bigot when it comes to any of these labels and looked for the best people for the job and not what they looked like, what they did in their personal lives or what religion they practiced. 

So you see, this was not an election about an ideologically pure ultraconservative candidate being nominated in a state overrun with leftists the way the media and the establishment has claimed.  Nor was it a referendum on all moderate Republicans.  It was about Mike Castle and a set of principles that he had abandoned.  It was about the base of the Republican Party standing up and being heard by the establishment that had made all of the decisions over the years and it was about busting up the backroom deals and "The Delaware Way" which was designed to keep the powerful in power and the regular citizens in the dark.  Christine accomplished something that many others had failed at in the past and while she didn't accomplish the ultimate goal, she has NOTHING to be ashamed of.  She's made it possible for regular people to run for office in Delaware again and she's inspired people to stand up for what they believe in.  She combined the very conservative folks in southern Delaware with the TEA Party folks all across the state and created a coalition across party lines that stood on principle regardless of the outcome. 

For many years, those conservatives and TEA Party folks had voted for Mike Castle and others like him under that old mantra that you vote for the most conservative candidate who can get elected.  The TEA Party itself is a melting pot of individuals from hardcore conservatives to moderate Democrats who are united around 3 main principles:

1. A government limited by the Constitution and all of the rules it contains.
2. A government that is responsible with taxpayer dollars and keeps taxes low.
3. Markets that are free and open to the people.

This is what makes the TEA Party continue to grow and what unites people across political party lines and despite establishment claims, this is what will unite the TEA Party and conservatives with establishment Republicans in supporting people like Tom Kovach in New Castle County.