The News Journal Notices The Shallow Bench

Filed in Delaware by on October 30, 2011

Today’s News Journal features a long article on the mess that is the Delaware GOP. Basically, the downstate Repuboicans still hate the Greenville Republicans and they are not holding hands and singing Kumbayah yet. The GOP is terrified that Christine O’Donnell will run again and terrified to anger her supporters. They can’t even get it together enough to get a candidate for a winnable race like Insurance Commissioner. Here’s a preview:

“I believe Greenville sooner or later has to wake up to the fact that what they want always loses,” said Rich Collins, a conservative Republican from Millsboro. “Until they do that, they will always lose.”

Recruiting candidates for statewide offices for 2012 has proved to be a tough sell because of the fear of another divisive primary.

“I think what people are worried about is, will we have the disaster at the top of the ticket as we had last time?” said House Minority Leader Greg Lavelle, the state party vice chairman. “Otherwise, you could be talking to Speaker Lavelle.”

As if! Regular readers of Delaware Liberal find this as no surprise. Unsurprisingly, the new GOP officials like John Sigler play down the rift:

“The rift isn’t quite as deep as people think it is and perhaps how deep some would like it to be,” Sigler said. “What I’m finding is there is unity in the Republican Party, that it’s time to end one-party rule.”

Definitely worth a read. Read it and come back and tell us what you think.

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  1. Delaware Cattle Call, Fall Edition [2012] : Delaware Liberal | November 2, 2011
  1. phil says:

    I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the DEGOP is hell bent on suicide.

    A downstate friend of mine is a little right of center, but what we used to call a reasonable republican before the teabaggers upturned the paradigm. He’s a young, articulate, moderate-ish, minority (!) republican, but he has completely walked away from party politics because the Sussex crazies have taken over and he knows there’s no longer a “machine” to provide support. Not just for him, but for anyone. The same old names will probably win in Sussex, but that’s in spite of the organization, not because of it. He tells me the forcing out of Ron Sams was probably the best evidence that the DEGOP had stepped off the cliff and wouldn’t be coming back any time soon.

    It’s all good news for us. I’d hate to have to run a local campaign against him if he had a support system that wasn’t the complete joke that the DEGOP is right now.

  2. puck says:

    Greenville is still getting exactly what it wants. It’s just that they are getting it from Democrats now.

  3. cassandra_m says:

    Rich Collins nicely depicts the mindset of the teajdists that are holding back the GOP — this rewrite of history assumes that the listener doesn’t remember all of the GOP successes in DE, the last of whom was Mike Castle. Or, the the last time the GOP had a winning streak, the Greenville crowd was calling the shots, and the downstaters were voting for borderline dixiecrats.

  4. Geezer says:

    Cass: It’s the same tune Mike Protack has been singing since the late ’90s. I think it no coincidence that the GOP hasn’t won anything since.

    What the Sussex teajadis don’t seem to realize is that, while development money and trailer-park landlordship might make people like Christian Hudson well-off by local standards, they simply don’t play in the same league as the du Ponts and Rollinses and Copelands. Their mascot should be Yertle the Turtle.

    Puck: Bingo!

  5. I had to laugh at Monsignor Lavelle saying that, had it not been for the split in the Party, you might be looking at Speaker Lavelle now.

    Uh, no. The D’s took over in 2008, and it would have taken more credible candidates than the R’s put forth to win back the House in 2010.

    But, hey, it gives yet another chance for Colin Bonini’s only rival for bloviator honors to get unearned free ink.

  6. Crunchy says:

    What is not being said here is that Ron Sams did a great job last year. The county party had great coordination throughout the campaign season, and their GOTV effort was the envy of democratic candidates in the county. This organization is partly the reason why the Rs virtually swept every race in the county.
    Then the teabaggers get rid of him.

  7. anon says:

    I call B.S. The organization had little to do with it. It was a combination of external factors that include COD at the top of the ticket, the national Republican tide, lackluster Democratic candidates (see: Cordrey, Dennis) and challengers for row offices with bases in Greenwood and Bridgeville.

    Sams was a good party leader, no doubt about that. But he can’t claim all the credit.

  8. just curious says:

    Crunchy….while I agree Ron Sams is a great guy and was a fine chairman..lithe GOTV efforts was not at all what it should have been. At the last minute County resources were diverted away from most races to focus on two districts. Checker/challengers werent in the polls and little was done for GOTV in areas elsewhere in the county.

  9. MJ says:

    Collins is going to run against Atkins next year. He’s the Executive Director of the Positive Growth Alliance (read – cut down all the trees and build homes that will stand vacant) and was behind the anti-Pete Schwartzkopf website (along with Christian Hudson) last year. He’s a sleazebag. If you want to hear him pontificate, you can listen to him every Monday from 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM on the Fatman’s show.

  10. JustSome Guy says:

    Richie, is a racist,homophobic, a bully and an all round punk. Those are his good qualities:)the PGA is a true 1%/1% wannabe operation. Atkins with 65%

  11. Geezer says:

    Call me crazy, but I would prefer Collins to Atkins. Collins is just your garden-variety pet pig for the developer/real estate interests. Atkins is a sociopath.

  12. Miscreant says:

    Either way, we’re fucked.

  13. anon says:

    If there is no GOP candidate in the Governor’s race don’t they get certified or something? I have a vague memory of hearing about a scenario in which Republicans don’t get automatic ballot access.

  14. puck says:

    Republicans have any number of wannabees who don’t mind getting creamed in an election, and don’t care how much their insane bleatings further discredit the GOP.

    Those are the people a Delaware GOP candidate will actually be running against, to make sure they don’t become the face of the GOP. I’m just not sure they have anybody left who is up to the task.

    Especially when the mainstream GOP is getting its agenda enacted by Democrats these days.

  15. liberalgeek says:

    Perhaps Delaware is finally ready for Dave Burris… 🙂

  16. puck says:

    Yes, Google may have finally forgotten enough to make that a possibility. I might have a few threads saved somewhere though…

  17. mediawatch says:

    Republicans should just nominate Markell. (For Jack, it would be a homecoming.) And, while they’re at it, Carper too.