Campaign Make-believe
Sometimes endorsements can help a candidate. But a candidate should make sure their endorsement list is accurate.
Apparently, Karen Weldin Stewart doesn’t believe in that. On her website, which just went live recently, she lists Sen. Bruce Ennis, Sen. Bethany Hall-Long (whose name is misspelled), Rep. Dennis E. Williams, and Wilmington City Councilman Charles Potter. The problem is, none of these people have endorsed her. At least not this time around. Stewart also lists the sister of her Republican campaign manager as endorsing her. Yeah, that means a whole hell of a lot.
The website also shows Governor Markell in a slideshow next to the endorsements on the home page. I seriously doubt that Jack is backing her or gave her permission to use his picture. The one accurate endorsement and photo is one with Harris McDowell. In fact, I think I see McDowell’s hands pulling on the puppet strings.
Karen, you’re lying about your endorsements and you’re sure as hell lying about”fighting for consumers for the past 23 years.”
Comment by El Somnambulo on 16 July 2012 at 8:56 pm:
Dennis E. Wiliams was at Mitch Crane’s first fundraiser at Firestone. At least three of DL’s contributors were there and saw him.
Seriously, this is so amateurish as to be embarrassing. You can’t even get your own endorsements right?
Comment by MJ on 16 July 2012 at 9:03 pm:
Much less spell a state senator’s name correctly?
Comment by El Somnambulo on 16 July 2012 at 9:07 pm:
Not to mention ‘Sam Latham’ and ‘Gary Hines’. Oy.
Comment by MJ on 16 July 2012 at 10:56 pm:
Here’s another non-endorsement: I have it from good sources that Sen. David McBride did not endorse KWS and was surprised to see his name as having done so.
These phony endorsements are the last gasps of a sinking campaign.
Comment by george on 16 July 2012 at 11:00 pm:
Why is this such a surprise? Everything that woman has said and done and still says and does is a lie or stunningly stupid or both. She hasn’t been publicly outed as a fraud yet only because of her political connections like puppet master Harris McDowell. Which gives us something to look forward to when that ploy stops working.
Comment by george on 16 July 2012 at 11:16 pm:
Read the fourth paragraph in this link: http://www.ourcampaigns.com/CandidateDetail.html?CandidateID=23950 Too funny.
Comment by MJ on 16 July 2012 at 11:33 pm:
I got a screen shot of it in case someone tries to change it.
Comment by george on 16 July 2012 at 11:39 pm:
The funny paragraph is actually the 5th one. It looks like her own semi-literate self might have written it.
Comment by Another Mike on 17 July 2012 at 12:03 am:
“Currently she is seeking your vote as the next Insurance Commissioner for the State of Delaware. Because the current Insurance Commissioner is falling short on the leadership and service that you deserve, Karen has decided to make this commitment to you the policyholders of Delaware”
A very unique campaign strategy. Criticize your own performance, then run against yourself. Perfect. George nailed it.
Comment by Aoine on 17 July 2012 at 12:38 am:
pathetic
the dems have KWS
the Rs have Jeff Christopher
I suppose we all have burdens to bear
Comment by Aoine on 17 July 2012 at 12:53 am:
here is some more make believe from another campaign
DanGaffney US Senate candidate Alex Pires claims “Sen. Carper is not physically or mentally well”, says he is “very sick” “sedated” etc. 16 hours ago · reply · retweet · favorite
posted on WGMD by Dan Gaffney
Comment by cassandra_m on 17 July 2012 at 10:16 am:
Have you looked at the What They Are Saying tab? There’s 3 quotes from people setting up captives here and one not even attributed. What’s missing? Delaware Insurance consumers, which is the tale of this ICs office, right?
Comment by george on 17 July 2012 at 10:31 am:
What does being pro-insurance companies mean for an IC? Money. Stewart didn’t do it out of the kindness of her heart because she happens to have some special affinity for the companies. They pay to play. Pure and simple. It’s not like this is the first IC who’s done this. David Levinson was her boyfriend when he was IC in the late 80′s and early 90′s until he was indicted for corruption. He taught her everything she needed to know about how to get rich from payoffs and kickbacks. He even made the maximum contribution to her current campaign. She got enough money since January 2009 to retire very comfortably, and that’s up from a big fat zero when she took office. She’s lucky she hasn’t been arrested yet. Seems like she’d want to take the money and disappear instead of trying to get reelected. It’s a losing proposition.
Comment by Idealist on 17 July 2012 at 4:26 pm:
Jonathon Starkey’s take:
http://blogs.delawareonline.com/firststatepolitics/2012/07/17/karen-weldin-stewarts-endorsement-problem/
Comment by cassandra_m on 17 July 2012 at 4:32 pm:
This is choice:
She’s done the best she can do? Really? He can’t even talk about his endorsement in terms of accomplishments — just the usual incumbent protection racket and a pass on performance.
Then again, Williams has been the beneficiary of this kind of inertia too.
Comment by cassandra_m on 17 July 2012 at 4:44 pm:
From a little birdie:
Apparently after the AFL-CIO interviews, the board decided to not endorse in the ICs race (even though Sam Lathem has been “endorsing” her), even understanding that was a controversial decision.
Lathem is busy still trying to get KWS the official endorsement, apparently working from an interpretation of the rules that he says indicates that the group HAS to endorse the incumbent.
They endorsed Mike Brown too.
Now, this is an aside to my union friends. We love you over here in Progressivetown, but you sure don’t make it easy. Just the Highmark deal should have been enough to know that this ICs office does not have your interests at heart. Still — you have *rules* to endorse incumbents? And then you wonder why your D friends are so very fairweather. If working men and women are to have a voice and the power they should have, it is up to you to use yours alot better than this.
Comment by george on 17 July 2012 at 8:18 pm:
Just checked out KWS’s newly opened campaign website. That “23 years fighting for the consumer” is total bullshit. She was unemployed since she got canned in January 1993 from the DOI no-show job Levinson gave her, except for a couple of brief stints working for out of state IC’s she’d met through him who also canned her when they realized how uneducated and stupid she is. We know her supposed consulting firm Weldin Group exists only on paper. What a liar. Glad she got caught out with the endorsements. It’s about time someone did something about this farce of corrupt idiot KWS heading up the DOI.
Comment by SussexWatcher on 17 July 2012 at 8:52 pm:
When was David Levinson indicted?
Comment by Josh on 17 July 2012 at 9:01 pm:
David Levinson, indicted I was in boy scouts with his son. That makes no sense. He lost to SEN Roth, gave the great Grapes of ROTH speech. That shit seems slanderous.
Comment by SussexWatcher on 17 July 2012 at 9:33 pm:
Josh, I’m not able to determine if you’re saying Levinson was indeed indicted or he wasn’t.
I just want to know when it happened, if it did.
Comment by Josh on 17 July 2012 at 9:36 pm:
Not that I am ever aware of. David Levinson, indicted?!~WTF. I don’t believe that malarkey.
Comment by John Manifold on 17 July 2012 at 9:56 pm:
George is doubly full of toxic slag. I’m no Levinson fan, but he was never indicted, nor strayed from the nest.
Comment by MJ on 20 July 2012 at 6:38 am:
Now that Ciro Popiti has endorsed Mitch, I wonder if KWS and her munchkins will take his photo off of their website. I notice that she still claims that Charles Potter is endorsing her and is still using the picture of her and Jack.