Politico Does Hit Job On Chris Coons
The establishment is really turning all its gears to make sure Mike Castle gets elected to the Senate. Politico just published an article on something Chris Coons wrote for a college newspaper in 1985.
An article Democrat Chris Coons wrote for his college newspaper may not go over so well in corporation-friendly Delaware, where he already faces an uphill battle for Vice President Joe Biden’s old Senate seat.
The title? “Chris Coons: The Making of a Bearded Marxist.”
In the article, Coons, then 21 years old and about to graduate from Amherst College, chronicled his transformation from a sheltered, conservative-minded college student who had worked for former GOP Delaware Sen. William Roth and had campaigned for Ronald Reagan in 1980 into a cynical young adult who was distrustful of American power and willing to question the American notion of free enterprise.
Chris Coons really does have an interesting background for a politician. He’s worked in non-profit public service, in the private sector and now as a politician. Leave it to Politico to make that sound like a bad thing. Did Mike Castle get a bad internal poll or something?
The source of his conversion, Coons wrote, was a trip to Kenya he took during the spring semester of his junior year—a time away from America, he wrote, that served as a “catalyst” in altering a conservative political outlook that he was growing increasingly uncomfortable with.
I guess the establishment would rather talk about Coons’s college days than talk about Mike Castle’s record. Just remember Republican Mike Castle’s record of hypocrisy: he voted against equal pay for women, against economic stimulus, against tax cuts for the middle class, against health care reform and against financial reform. He’s voted for budget-busting programs like wars for imaginary WMDs, tax cuts for the rich and deregulating banks.
Tags: Chris Coons, DE-Sen, Politico
Anyone want to take a guess on when Mike Castle’s campaign is going to tweet the Politico link? @MikeCastle2010
This is a negative piece? Now I want to campaign for the guy!
Why is this news? Good for him for breaking out of the sheltered world and experiencing Africa in the 1980’s…any 21 year-old who isn’t asking questions and just falls in line with their parents’ ideologies is a disappointment. Maybe someone can dig up the passage Mike Castle penned in the Magna Carta about protecting the wealthy…
This is why a feel-good low-information campaign won’t work for Coons.
Why are we getting more information about Coons from Politico than from Coons?
Coons should have already defined himself and set the narrative for the debate. Its a trap to try to get him on the defense. Coons needs to blow this off and go after Castle harder.
Jeez, didn’t anybody go to college with Castle who might have a few stories to tell?
A1, I called it a hit job because they took a rather innocuous article written by a college student about his time in Africa and made it sound like a negative. Calling Coons “a bearded Marxist” is generally not considered a good thing and then there’s this sentence:
An article Democrat Chris Coons wrote for his college newspaper may not go over so well in corporation-friendly Delaware
Politico is clearly saying this is a bad thing.
Somebody wrote something about Coons?!?! Who Hoo!!
anon,
I don’t think Coons is trying to run a low-information feel-good campaign. He knows he has to define his opponent as Republican Mike Castle. The local media, however, so far has refused to cover his campaign although they love Michelle Rollins.
Politico is basically a spin-off of Drudge, and usually reads like it — horse-race coverage for those in the government-industrial complex. I hope the Castle campaign does try to use this — it will be sign of its intellectual bankruptcy. Tune up those banjoes, it’s time to run those Mike Castle radio ads again!
Castle may have given this to Politico, but they won’t use it, because they don’t need to. UI I’m not a fan of Politico, but Coons’ title for his student newspaper article was: “Chris Coons: The making of a Bearded Marxist.” It wasn’t Politico calling Coons a Marxist, nor is he, I always thought he was too Chamber of Commerce friendly, and now I know from reading the link to Politico that Coons was a “founding member of the Amherst College Republicans.” Yuck! To me that was the most disturbing part of the piece. It’s one thing to register Republican because your Mom and Step Dad are Republican, but care so much about the GOP that you start up Amherst College Republicans, is a bit much!
Also, lets be real, while the article Coons wrote for the college newspaper makes him out to have this total transformation from spoiled little rich kid to bleeding heart liberal, how has he conducted his life since graduating from Amherst. He switched political parties. Big deal switching from the GOP to Democratic Party is pretty common in college. Most people register and adopt the views of their parents. Those from Republican families who go to college are more likely to switch than those who don’t. I imagine it has something to do with receiving an education, and being open to new ideas and points of view. Coons joking about becoming a Marxist probably reflect just how far right he was when he entered college, as opposed to adopting a far left view.
The problem I have with Coons’ newspaper article, not only is that I’m just learning about it from Politico, but the conversion didn’t seem to take, and I’m not talking about shaving the beard. Coons wrote that his belief “in the miracles of free enterprise … were largely untrue.” But what about his life since Amherst seems to reject corporate excess, or living a pampered life? When he was obtaining all those postgraduate degrees, was he paying the tuition with money he earned from hard work, or did his Mom foot the bill? And his only paid employment other than with NCC has been as Corporate Counsel for his Step Dad’s company. I don’t doubt that Coons has a good heart, and empathy for those less fortunate, but at least as County President, and as County Executive I’ve seen no evidence that leans strongly to the left (let alone anywhere close to a Marxist), his policies have been as pro-business and development as any GOP.
“Yuck! … It’s one thing to register Republican because your Mom and Step Dad are Republican, but care so much about the GOP that you start up Amherst College Republicans, is a bit much!”
Considering your other choice here is Castle, what do you propose? Holding our breath until we turn blue? Voting for Ralph Nader? Crying and shaking your rattle until Mommy comes back?
Someone having a political awakening in college is not news.
everybody knows that Chris is a Democrat because the Pubahs at the Republican State Committee told him he had to wait his turn when he first wanted to run for office…. there was no waiting list at Dem HQ.
Now he is toast downstate… the “dixiecrats” down there won’t come within 100 yards of him now.
We MUST get Ted to run!
And Geezer, isn’t that a problem? People complain I’m unelectable, and so we have to vote for Chris or be stuck with Mike. Fine. If the Democrats in Delaware want to roll over on this, we can. But no one can sound off about “no other candidate” while the district committees rush to make endorsements about a huge slate of folks about which they know less, apparently, than Politico.
UI – What has Coons done to be covered, other than announcing his campaign?
UI, my virtual tongue was in my virtual cheek when I said “This is a negative piece?” 🙂
Brooke: I guess it’s a problem for you. But not having name recognition and lacking the money to buy some isn’t some new problem.
If the two-party system isn’t working for you, I suggest you start talking up a new Constitutional Convention, because I don’t think the two-party system will die until we go to proportional representation of the parliamentary type.
“Now he is toast downstate… the “dixiecrats” down there won’t come within 100 yards of him now.”
They wouldn’t have anyway. The key to victory is Democratic turnout in NCCo and, especially, Wilmington. And it probably isn’t going to happen. Fivethirtyeight.com gives Castle a 90% probability of victory.
“We MUST get Ted to run!”
Great Caesar’s ghost! Kent, I want a story on why Superman won’t save us!
Geezer,
Of course I’m going to vote for Coons, and I won’t have to hold my nose, or hold my breath either. I’d never vote for Ralph Nader, because I’ll never forgive him for 2000, although I bet if I took a political/issue poll I’d find out I’m closely aligned with Nader’s view point.
I just read the Politico article differently than others. I don’t blame Politico for using Coons’ own reference to being a bearded Marxist. And frankly I don’t think anyone who has followed his career would think his policies have been Marxist-lite, let alone far left. I think his transformation was rather short lived. My take on Coons is that he has been very business friendly, and a bit too cozy with developers. In many respects I can’t tell the difference between Coons positions as County Executive, and those of a Republican. However, in the Senate his position on social issues will be more important than the coziness he’s had with developers at the county level. I actually don’t know his opinions on important social issues, and I’m just assuming they coincide with mine. If by some miracle Coons is elected in a year that doesn’t favor Democrats, I’m sure he’ll be a clone of Carper. While I’d prefer a Ted K to a Carper Clone, a clone of Carper is vastly superior to a Senator Castle!
Geezer, just because someone doesn’t like a candidate, or thinks they are a phony, doesn’t mean they won’t vote for them. I’m no fan of Carper, but I’ve voted for him in every general election, and will continue to do so.
No, Geezer, it really isn’t a problem for me. It’s a problem for democracy. I’m not running because I’m utterly wild about taking the train to DC, or I have to know how much body odor is produced in the Environment and Public Works committee. I’m running because I’ve been a Democratic Committeewoman for many years, and I have just stopped gritting my teeth because I’m told we have to put up with stupid, womanizing, corrupt, drunken and otherwise incapable representation from Democrats because the alternative is having the Republicans win.
I do NOT want a Republican, least of all Mike Castle, to get that seat. That’s the main reason I haven’t been running full out. I don’t want to be a spoiler. But I could not live with myself if I left this election completely in the hands of Chris Coons, because it’s MY (as a Delawarean) Senate seat and the Republicans CANNOT HAVE IT! I figure if you want good candidates you have to get them, but our current system makes it almost impossible to do that. I would be an excellent Senator for Delaware. I’m an ethical, compassionate person, and damn bright. I’ve held local office for many years and I’m not beholden to anyone.
Democrats could, and have, done a whole lot worse.
Comment by Geezer: “Politico is basically a spin-off of Drudge, and usually reads like it — horse-race coverage for those in the government-industrial complex. I hope the Castle campaign does try to use this — it will be sign of its intellectual bankruptcy. Tune up those banjoes, it’s time to run those Mike Castle radio ads again!”
I agree with you on Politico, although there are some on the Politico staff I can stomach Mike Allen makes me want to vomit. But it is wishful thinking to hope Castle will use this in any overt way. 1. Doing so would dignify Coons as a serious threat. When you are 23% up, and Nate Silver has you at 90% likely to win, there is no upside in going negative. 2. The article Coons wrote is old, it is older than Bob McDonald’s graduate school thesis that women should remain bare foot and pregnant, and stay out of the work force. More years have past since Coons wrote the article than Coons age at the time he wrote it. He wrote it 25 years ago when he was a 21-year-old kid, just old enough to legally drink. VA voters didn’t hold McDonalds thesis against him, and McDonald was 34 at the time. Normally a lot more thought goes into a graduate thesis at 34 than an undergraduate newspaper article at 21. And finally the views Coons expressed (anti corporate America/free enterprise) as a21 year old don’t appear consistent with how he has governed over the last 10 years as a NCC office holder.
Brooke, according the Department of Elections, you’re not a filed candidate. Committees can’t endorse non-filed candidates. Link
Sorry, I’m new here, who is Brooke? Obviously she wants to run for Senate, that much I figured out. Was she planning on running when everyone thought Beau was going to run? UI said she hasn’t filed yet, has the deadline passed?
I know, UI. There’s a $10,000 filing fee that separates the filed candidates from the not-filed candidates. I don’t know about your house, but mine doesn’t have that kind of change lying around. We’re endorsing now on the supposition that an endorsed candidate, expected to be Chris, thereby gets a leg up on fundraising from the national party. However, I’m filed with the FEC as a candidate, and the primary deadline is the end of July. http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=490210
Anyone curious about my POV can check my website, linked here, or look on facebook at the group http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=300664155468&ref=mf
The Democrats of Delaware have an easy choice for the US Senate race. Not a single vote for Coons! You would think he was running on the Developer’s Party ticket. Electing Castle would not automatically make the ethically challenged Clark the next NCC Executive. Voting for Coons would. The County could not survive an even more Pro-Development Executive than Coons. Under his leadership the UDC protections are being actively discarded. Remember, not a Single Vote! We can survive 6 years and look for a candidate that wants what the people want! Please Senator Kaufman, don’t let Coons take your seat.
who is Chris Coons?
Yes, $10,000 is alot of money but running for U.S. Senate is going to take several million.
So everyone says, UI. 😀 And I say, well, if we want to set the rules that way, we’ll have to take what we get, won’t we?
If you haven’t signed up for Chris’ volunteer list yet, you should, I’ll be wearing my new “Chris Coons for Senate” shirt at the flower market this weekend…..
I have a Mike Castle hit piece idea. Some in the media looks at his voting record and writes about it. Buuuurn!!! That would twist the old guys knickers.
The article was pretty lame, as is expected from Politico. Look back at the author’s other pieces and it’s obvious that he’s being fed from the operatives in the Delaware GOP. ho-hum, this is the same publication that reads like Dick Cheney’s own personal news wire.
My real question was why would Castle’s campaign be dumping this opposition research NOW? So early? When their candidate is allegedly 25 points ahead? That’s suspicious to me….
I don’t know if Chris will win, but he’s going to give these guys a hell of a fight in November.