DELAWARE WATCH
You know what? I just might endorse Ting in this race. I read Carper's apology for voting against the right-wing gay marriage PR stunt, and I was left thinking "Whuu?"
PS. I just went looking for that apology and he has since softened the wording of it. Pretty slick that Tom Carper.
Dana,
You miss a couple of points but make some good ones.
Yes, if the Professor is the nominee Carper will win and win big. Everyone knows that. Also, I think you were correct in the analogy with Hillary Clinton. At this point in the race you need to be offering specifics on jobs, education, retirement and health care. I am , the Professor doesn't. But when you get in the race late at the behest of a few insiders and have no ideas except build a border fence that is what you get. Listening is important but let's face the facts. People want to know about substance.
I agree Flag day is not the property of veterans. Still, when veterans die we get a flag for our service at our burial and while on active duty every day we have a ceremony for raising and lowering the flag.Remember Iwo Jima? It was all about the Flag.
Delaware has about 70,000 veterans in a state of 830,000 and they are all eligible voters. When you do the math we are a large block and in a poll we did with veterans 86% said they would not vote for the Professor. There goes about 20,000 votes this fall in a race where only about 250,000 are to be cast.
The Professor wraps himself in the flag now which is ironic and very convenient especially when the article above his announcement was about a veteran who died serving. The same thing the Professor avoided while he was a privileged kid going to an exclusive school.
Whether you agreed with Viet Nam or not I think grabbing flag desecration as an issue against Carper who is a respected Veteran shows a shallowness that reaches an all time low. What about Carper's miserable support of the Bankruptcy Bill ( he thinks 30% is not too high for credit card rates)or lack of health care in Delaware or a safe retirement? These are real issues.
As for the Professor attacking me, I always need a laugh but I feel sorry for the Professor. Maybe he forgets his heroes, Reagan and Gingirch both took three tries to get where they ended up. Maybe, he wants to call Mike Ramone who lost a primary and two straight general elections but now is is getting big GOP support in a rematch? Is he the Lyndon Larouche of Pike Creek?
Lastly, the GOP in Delaware has been losing statewide races by an average of 15% in challenger races. If tax cuts, flag desecration and a border fence is all you have to offer that 15% will go up after this fall.
If you want real substance go to
www.mikeprotackforsenate.com
Have a great day.
Mike Protack
Mike-
Is that your third website for this campaign? Between the blogs, your first website, and this one, I don't know which line of garbage to listen to from you.
Anonymous, feel free to offer your advice. Yes, we renamed the site because we found from polling that people need to recognize the name and office as quickly as possible and the first site did not do that well enough, so we changed. Plus this site is much easier to edit and maintain.It was a wise choice.
As for the Blog, that changed with the site so it was very convenient to do both at the same time. Again, a wise move.
Calling plans for Universal Health Care, safe retirement and pensions, better education accountability and job protection and creation garbage is a new twist. If it was, then Congress would not have a 23% approval rating.
Still, I appreciate your opinions.
Mike Protack
Good morning, everyone.
Have a nice day.
the posts keep getting sillier.
Dana,
why do you put so much importance on a political tradition?
why is it traditional for statewide candidates to do a three county announcement tour?
There are plenty of reasons to bet against Ting( the power of incumbancy chief among them). The location of his "official announcment" isn't one of them.
I would not count Ting out just yet!
I only hope and pray the progressive Dems come up with a realistic, viable candidate to primary Carper before it is too late.
I am hearing rumors that the philandering, pants-zipping-challenged, wife-beating, Carper may be in for his just desserts.
There are rumors that a campaign (unaffiliated with the R’s) will emerge to “swift-boat” Carper, highlighting how his life-long misogynistic, good-ol’-boy ways have translated into numerous anti-woman votes in the U.S. Senate. That Senator Carper has repeatedly voted against women in the U.S. Senate. He is the anti-woman candidate!! And when you vote for someone that beats and cheats on his wife that is what you should expect. There may even be a woman who had an affair with Carper that is about to come forward. And that a website may be set up so Delaware women can relate stories concerning the Good Senator’s track record at political events and fund raisers where he has hit on them, made inappropriate comments about their breasts, or tattoos, or engaged in other activity that would clearly be recognized as sexual harassment if this was any state other than Delaware.
I personally have heard many stories where Carper, when in small groups of people (two or three people) at non-profit fundraisers, has made quite unfathomable comments to women, while rubbing their arms, and leering at that their breasts.
I do not know why any woman would vote for this filth.
Rosie, your point is well taken. You and I need to talk. I share most of the goals progessives have but we may not agree on the way to accomplish them.
I have more credibility on the economic issues than Mr. Carper that is for sure
Let me know if you want my email or phone number. I am aware of the info you speak of with Mr. carper.
Mike Protack
I am hearing rumors that...Carper may be in for his just desserts.
If you know something, say it.
In the meantime, maybe some medication could help you contend with those voices in your head.
A viable Democrat must come forward to run against Carper in the primary. Delaware needs to do to Carper what Connecticut is trying to do to Lieberman.
It is all about the "ABC's" Anyone but Carper!
The Democrats in Delaware are not giving us real choices, that is why we get stuck with a candidate like Carper. Tell me honestly, what state outside Delaware do you think Carper could get elected in?
Umm.. Janet Rzewnicki tried bringing up the wife-beating in '96. That obviously did her a lot of good. I HIGHLY doubt any attempts to use that against Carper will be met with results similar to the ones the GOP saw the last time that was tried.
I agree that this could be a different world, than in 96 and Rzewnicki. Everyone has heard the talk about Carper cheating on his wife. That would be different! It is how he got elected to the House in the first place. How quickly we forget: Thomas B. Evans, Jr. and
Paula Parkinson. The hypocrisy of Carper’s womanizing should be too much even for Delaware.
sigh....
This is getting to be like Al's old blog. Just a bunch of cranky R's pretending to be D's.
Whatever floats your boat, I guess.
Karen Peterson for Senate in 2006!!!!! We all know she could beat carper in a primary.
Karen Peterson has my vote for U.S. Senate in 2006!!!!!!!!!!
It would be a dream come true if Sen. Peterson, became a U.S. Senator.
Karen Peterson could have beaten that fraud Michael Castle.
Passing up that golden opportunity, what makes you think she'd be interested in helping out your guy - Ting?
This post has evoked some very lame and evil comments.
Mike Protack, you were on WDEL today referring to the imbalance of blacks in the County Paramedic crew and you accused blacks of a few steriotypical things that were insulting and outrageous to people of sound minds: you said...
1). The EMT system is so important that the standards should not be lowered so that blacks can get those jobs...the implication being that blacks are unqualified.
2). The EMT job does not pay much so that blacks must not be going for them because they don't want to work that hard for the low pay...the implication being that blacks are too lazy to work hard for less and/or they have a weaker work ethic than other races.
Mike, I am embarrassed for you.
I say that the numbers 5 black:103 other shows an imbalance that must be reflecting something other than lack of interest in the job for people of color.
I've got several inside, night-of-the-occurance sources who tell me that something shady definitely went down between Carper and his wife. Of course, my source would never go on record, but something nasty DEFINITELY transpired that night and that scumbag Carper has been reaping the benefits ever since in his pointless and ridiculous political career.
Nancy,
I think you might have been listening to another program. I did not infer any of the things you mention.
If you remember my first point was that no remarks that were racial in content were acceptable by the folks who were talking to Mr. Street. Al Mascitti corrected me that there wasn't any proof of that. I agreed but again said that had to be the first comment-no racial references by the callers was acceptable.
I did say that the EMT standards should not be lowered, that is correct. We all deserve medical care that is high quality at the moment it is introduced. No reference or implication was made about any one or any group.
I mentioned pay only with reference to the Union guy who called in on vacation in North Carolina. I am a union member and I said it must be tough for him to recruit with wages and benefits they offer compared to other occupations.
The numbers of 5/103 do not prove any racism, overt or covert. If some hiring rule or requirement is restricting anyone from the EMT service I haven't heard it. If there is I am sure a lawyer would have challenged it by now.
Nancy, color has nothing to do with how I deal with anyone.
If there is something to be embarrased about it is the educational system that holds so many good people back from productive careers and the overwhelming votes that some politicians get when they produce so little for the people who blindly vote for them.
Still, thanks for voicing your concerns.
Mike
"Yes, if the Professor is the nominee Carper will win and win big. Everyone knows that."
Spoken like a candidate.
The intent of my post is that when two Repub candidates offer us, on the one hand, as evidence of creative thinking announcing a candidacy in 1 county only and, on the other, that a great moral offense occurs when a former Viet Nam War protestor announces his candidacy on Flag Day, then this is the level of the discourse from the 2 Repub candidates makes it a near certainty that Carper will win.
“At this point in the race you need to be offering specifics on jobs, education, retirement and health care. I am , the Professor doesn't. But when you get in the race late at the behest of a few insiders and have no ideas except build a border fence that is what you get. Listening is important but let's face the facts. People want to know about substance.”
If Ting hasn’t offered any ideas beyond the border fence and announcing his run in Kent County only, then you have a valid point. Perhaps he will soon, though. I haven’t visited his web site in a while. (By the way, I intend to post his website, yours, your blog, Carpers campaign website & his blog if he has it still running. I just haven’t had time to get to it yet.
“I agree Flag day is not the property of veterans. Still, when veterans die we get a flag for our service at our burial and while on active duty every day we have a ceremony for raising and lowering the flag.Remember Iwo Jima? It was all about the Flag.”
Sorry, I don’t see how funeral ceremonies for fallen soldiers give them dibs on Flag Day. But I am just sentimental enough to get misty eyed when a soldier gives a mother the flag that was draped on her son’s coffin. I can still do that even though I opposed the war toward the end and I oppose the war in Iraq now. See how Flag Day is for me too?
“Delaware has about 70,000 veterans in a state of 830,000 and they are all eligible voters. When you do the math we are a large block and in a poll we did with veterans 86% said they would not vote for the Professor. There goes about 20,000 votes this fall in a race where only about 250,000 are to be cast.”
I know nothing about your poll or its validity, but I have no doubt that you were trying to make a pitch to the Republican veterans with your crack about Flag Day. I think you underestimate the tolerance of veterans. I doubt very seriously that the local VFW halls are filled w/ vets colluding against Ting because of it.
“The Professor wraps himself in the flag now which is ironic and very convenient especially when the article above his announcement was about a veteran who died serving.”
This is the kind of logic you would use to beat Carper? That is one of the silliest comments I have ever heard from a candidate. How is Ting responsible for the placement of articles in a newspaper.
“The same thing the Professor avoided while he was a privileged kid going to an exclusive school.”
Now you are beginning to sound like Nixon. I didn’t go to an exclusive school, but I am not envious of Ting. Why are you?
“Whether you agreed with Viet Nam or not I think grabbing flag desecration as an issue against Carper who is a respected Veteran shows a shallowness that reaches an all time low.”
Flag desecration itself is a shallow issue even if it came from a wounded vet running for office. It’s actually a wedge issue and little more than that. There is not a single credible argument that can be made supporting it.
“What about Carper's miserable support of the Bankruptcy Bill ( he thinks 30% is not too high for credit card rates)or lack of health care in Delaware or a safe retirement? These are real issues.”
Carper, Biden,.& Castle’s support of that atrocious bill is beneath contempt. They all knew that literally ˝ of everyone who goes bankrupt in the USA do so because they lack adequate medical insurance and can’t pay their medical bills. But they didn’t give a damn about that. They cared about the big finance companies and their PACs filling up their campaign treasuries. People should go look at their campaign finance records online. It tells you everything you need to know about why they supported that evil bill.
“As for the Professor attacking me, I always need a laugh but I feel sorry for the Professor. Maybe he forgets his heroes, Reagan and Gingirch both took three tries to get where they ended up. Maybe, he wants to call Mike Ramone who lost a primary and two straight general elections but now is is getting big GOP support in a rematch? Is he the Lyndon Larouche of Pike Creek?”
Yea, his Larouche statement was like you Flag Day business: below the belt & irrelevant.
“Lastly, the GOP in Delaware has been losing statewide races by an average of 15% in challenger races. If tax cuts, flag desecration and a border fence is all you have to offer that 15% will go up after this fall.”
I also find the Republicans “lose wish” perplexing. I can’t figure it out. But I do find myself thinking a great deal about Dallas Winslow. How his district was redistricted and up pops a DuPont (Copeland) to primary against him. I thought Winslow was very impressive as a legislator and as a person. I voted for him when he ran for AG and was sorry he lost. I thought he was an up & comer and the DE Repub party had a winner, destined for higher offices, in him. As far as I can tell, the DE Repub Party threw him over for a DuPont. I don’t seem to recall all the moaning and wringing of hands, all the horror that someone would actually primary in that race like I’ve heard from Repubs about you. And so this DuPont, he’s hasn’t been in office that long, is apparently the anointed candidate for Governor. So a heritage candidacy is an outrage if a Biden does it, but perfectly fine if a DuPont does it. That’s the DE Repub Party for you. Their hypocrisies don’t even have the virtue of being subtle. Even the most uniformed voters can see through them instantly.
At the present rate, unless something dramatic changes, I expect the Repub party to lose the state House in 08. I’ll bet you then that the Repub Party will form a prayer chain to make sure that petitions go up to the Almighty every minute of the day for Castle’s and Wagner’s continuing good health.
"why do you put so much importance on a political tradition? why is it traditional for statewide candidates to do a three county announcement tour?"
The obvious answer is that sopme traditions aree good ones & others are not. This little state of our has understood itself as factured by the competing interests for 3 counties almost from its inception. Therefore, to make sure that everyone feels included, candidates have announced in all three counties. That makes sense, sends a good message, if that is how voters in each of the counties feel.
"There are plenty of reasons to bet against Ting( the power of incumbancy chief among them). The location of his "official announcment" isn't one of them."
Look, Ting tried to sell his lassitude about announcing in all 3 counties as bright, creative idea. That was such transparent poppycock I'm sure I wasn't the only person to burst out laughing when I read it. But if that really is his idea of creativity, then just hand the race to Carper now.
"I am hearing rumors that the philandering, pants-zipping-challenged, wife-beating, Carper may be in for his just desserts."
Look, this site isn't a place for either dirty republican or democrat tricks. This crap has been aired before and a Repub candidate had to apologize for it.
Take this crap to some of the Repub blog sites. They'll probably reward you by making you an esteemed member of the DE Conservative Alliance.
"A viable Democrat must come forward to run against Carper in the primary. Delaware needs to do to Carper what Connecticut is trying to do to Lieberman."
God, what a wonderful thought that is.
"This is getting to be like Al's old blog."
Good analogy. I fear it will only get worse as we get closer to Nov.
Dana,
I agree with you that the accusations against Carper are crap at best, libel at worst. They don't have any place on this or any other blog.
However, I don't think your slam of the DCBA was necessary. I see the comments on your blog, not a Republican blog. I would immediately delete any comment that is of such libelous nature left on my blog (such as the one from "Rosie" and the one from Protack in response). Are you going to do the same?
"At this point in the race you need to be offering specifics on jobs, education, retirement and health care."
Dana, you right on the money! However, "at this pont," should be at any point. If a candidate can't focused on himself rather that bashing his oppoent then his campaign is about himself and not that of the people.
Mike, you were making some good ground over the last few weeks with the bloggers and I sense they we're evalauating with an open mind. Dude, your blowing it !
Ting took pots shots at you and you drag Ramone down, not good!
Dana, remember the work we did at he group home? Like a broken record we would tell the kids to, "focus on self not others."
The odds of anybody beating Carper are going to be very hard. Somebody better start selling a message people what to hear ! We're sick of the trashy TV Ads and the pain in the ass phone call from Robo Candidate ! We need a real voice with real people issues.
"I see the comments on your blog, not a Republican blog. I would immediately delete any comment that is of such libelous nature left on my blog"
Hey Kid, I'm not taking up for Dana , just his rights! Wait, Dana did you post I was full of shit or something to that effect? Whatever, it doesn'y matter that's you right and if I don't like I could go else where. Kid, you real won't delete a comment that was violating a law would you ?
So we use Dana blogs as a bunch of pigs fighting in the mud! If a candidates or current sitting politcal jackass ego can't take, TFB. It is people lke Dana, DT, yea even Jason and all anon that will help shape reform in politics.
Are you going to replace the 1st Amemdment with the 5th ?
Hey Puzzler, 5th sounds good, what ae you drinking tonight !
Kid,
I meant was't violating a law
Yes. I delete comments that are unfounded accusations or overt personal attacks. It has nothing to do with the 1st amendment; it's my blog and I can delete any crap I want to.
I was glad that Dana thought the accusations were "crap". I was just surprised that didn't prompt him to delete the comments.
Rosie has a 1st amendment right to say what she wants. And, an indicidual blogger has a right to delete her comments from his blog.
And there is the issue of libel. True, the threshold is higher when your writing about a public figure, but I think Rosie's comments could come close. I certainly wouldn't take the chance that I could be allowing libel on my blog.
Not to mention that I think circulating such rumors about a person is just wrong, and I wouldn't help to enable it.
Yes. I delete comments that are unfounded accusations or overt personal attacks.
I respect you point re: overt personal attacks. but would it be better to prove the unfounded acusations wrong and by deleting without proving it gives one the impression that you are sensoring to your opinion.
I see the Carper beating his wife thing going on. This is wrong and not fair to spousal abuse issues, Mrs. Carper and the Charter brat Carpers (smile on the brats)
I don't like Carper and some say I don't like Sokola but I would never stoop so low to reference their familes. Politicans are open game but families are not !
Kid, you have a lot of growing up to do.
You have deleted messages from your blog from me that you did not like.
That is your call, but it is more brave to let the chips fall and the accountability too.
Weak, Mike, weak, I stand by my observations.
Nancy, that's not true. I honestly don't remember deleting any of your posts, but if I did, it would only be because they were really bad personal attacks. I leave comment that disagree with me all the time. Go look at some of the comments you left on my blog calling racist and uneducated. They are still there.
What comments of yours did I delete?
well, I should not have used a plural because I only remember one erasure, and like the Protack message here, I call people out when I sense bias against people of color and I get that from you occasionally.
Do you remember what it was about? I honestly don't remember deleting any of your posts. I'm not trying to show you up by asking, I'd just like to know, so maybe I can explain why.
"However, I don't think your slam of the DCBA was necessary."
Really? How are the comments she made different in kind from Hube's false accusations that I am an anti-semite, DT's lies that I lied about something in the DE Repub headquarters, Ryan's deliberate distortion of Protacks comment here that he distributed at the DE Repub convention, etc? None that I can tell. I think she is a natural fit. The only interesting question is why have your joined forces w/ the likes of some of them? They are beneath you.
"I would immediately delete any comment that is of such libelous nature left on my blog (such as the one from "Rosie" and the one from Protack in response). Are you going to do the same?"
Why would I want to delete what can be used to expose the real identity of the person who make such a comment? I won't make that effort, but perhaps some one else will. That would be treat to see the mean SOB's exposed.
This post has evoked some very lame and evil comments.
Interesting that the post on Carper, more than any other, seems to bring out the anonymous nasties. I've long wondered where they all were, but I wouldn't have expected them to come running to a Carper topic. Worth some more pondering about whose ox was gored by this post and some of the comments.
I think Delaware should be having a serious discussion about whether there is a Democrat out there that could beat our Junior Senator in a primary in 2006. Otherwise, I agree with Dana the election is already over. There is no Republican candidate they could put up there that could beat Carper.
I can not help but wonder, whether if the left leaning side of the Delaware Democratic party united with the disenfranchised Delawareans and the liberals, progressives, the enviros, and all those that have left the Democratic party and are filling the ranks of the Delaware third-parties - - then maybe Carper could be beat. If they can do it in Connecticut, to Joe Lieberman, a man who was the VP candidate in 2000, then why can’t Delaware do it here to Carper?
Who is out there that we could get to run?
I agree that Senator Peterson could give Carper a run for his money, if outside interests like Moveon.org and others got behind the campaign, like what took place in Connecticut. But I am 99.9999% sure Senator Peterson will not run when she is up for reelection in the General Assembly in 2006.
So who else is out there?
What about Jack Buckley for U.S. Senate in 2006. He is coming off a huge upset win in his Red Clay School district election. And that was against the party’s chosen candidate -- Renee Purzycki. I think one of the other candidates he beat was heavily supported by the Delaware unions. At least it demonstrates that the typical crowd the D’s put forth can be beat in Delaware.
That was just a thought. I wish there was someone though.
I am tired of the candidates we are being given by the Democratic machine. It is time for a change in Delaware. And we have to do it now, or we will end up with Matt Denn for Governor in about 18 years. That is a scary thought!
I am sitting here wondering if someone like Jack Buckley could beat Carper if the Delaware left and progressives united with the help of outside money. This should be a serious discussion that is taking place!!! And maybe this post by Dana, realistically conceding the election in June, will be the start of that discussion.
I would put all the money my 527 (Delaware's first 527) can raise behind any credible, left-leaning candidate that agrees to primary Senator Carper.
But maybe I am just dreaming. This is Delaware after all.
Fine post about a primary for Carper... but why leave Biden out of it? Seriously - any beef Dems have with Carper can also be said about Biden. I voted for both those guys and they keep dropping turds on my head (like the bankruptcy protections repeal and the vote to confirm Hayden).
"As far as I can tell, the DE Repub Party threw him over for a DuPont."
actually it was the voters who made the choice, and you sound silly calling Charlie Copeland by his cousin's name.
class envy is just a reflex responce I guess.
Biden votes like a DEM 95% of the time or more....CARPER IS NOT A DEM!!!! He is not even worthy of DINO.
I am sending Dana a copy of the letter that Carper just sent to Freida Berryhill about the nuclear industry and hope that he can share it here.
Kid, I can not provide more than the memory of an erasure at your site so take my apology......but don't be an idiot and think that blogging etiquette invoves "showing people up". I do not think of this kind of discussion that way....even though the DT - Dana raging takes that sort of tone for sure!!!
Truth is truth, mistakes are mistakes and proof is proof so I must leave my response here as:
my memory fails me yet my conviction is steady....I honestly do not remmeber the topic.
Funny you brought up Winslow, Dana. Look deep and try to find who was one of Winslow's bigger roadblocks that year. A hint: his name is all over this comment thread. They just crapped on him because of a technicality which was not a violation like they tried to make it. On the same vein, it was not Copeland's problem or fault, either. He was simply annointed much like that other name from all over this thread. Now THAT is a coincidence (more so than I am willing to accept on that other topic of coincidence), or because of the irony involved, I shall call it a co-inky-dink!
Dallas Winslow was not one of the party faithful, so he got crapped on. Ah, I can feel my irritating wound starting to fester and ooze once more...
must...stop...now...before...soapboxing...again.
MP, if you want to legitimately raise the ire of some of your fellow party-mates, one: drop Ting's college past, you are doing yourself more harm than good (I don't care if someone tells you otherwise - it is not working), two: bring up Winslow's fate and the real circumstances around him. What will happen, the state party treat you like a bastard step-child? Seriously, I'm not intending to be overly sarcastic here. Look it up, it can be fun!
What a week I picked to quit sniffing glue. Now that was one of the more perfectly-timed brainless movies of all time.
Folks, Thanks for the advice. The quick retort is that when the Professor goes in the gutter he will get a response that is appropriate. I prefer to talk about issues like health care, retirement, jobs and Iraq.
We know that this primary race is ours for many reasons that I can't go into right now. Some of the things that are happening you folks think are unproductive have a reason and they are working.
The foundation is being laid for the fall campaign as we speak and we are very optimsitic. We open our Headquarters in a week and there are many other postive things happening.
Happy Father's Day.
http://betterdealfordelaware.blo...e.blogspot.com/
Mike Protack
This is no fun. Slinging mud is much more entertaining. Why are we (as party members) held to a higher standard than the rest of the world? Come on..if rumor & innuendo can break up Brad & Jenn, call DFS on Britny, kill princess Di & make Janet Jackson fat then why the heck can't it have some bearing in an election? People don't vote on issues anymore anyway.....
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