Associated Press: WASHINGTON (AP) — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie says the Senate race in Delaware was "a missed opportunity" for his fellow Republicans to pick up the seat long held by Democrat Joe Biden.
Tea party favorite Christine O'Donnell won the GOP nomination in an upset over moderate Rep. Mike Castle. But she lost the general election Tuesday to Democrat Chris Coons.
Christie says he was proud to have endorsed Castle.
O'Donnell ran a nontraditional campaign that opened with a TV ad saying "I'm not a witch." National Republicans had hoped the race would help them win the majority in the Senate.
Christie told NBC's "Meet the Press" that "I think Delaware was a missed opportunity to have a really good U.S. senator."
I am going to have to disagree with my governor on this one. First, Christine O’Donnell was a weak candidate. Sorry to say it but it is true. As a Tea Party candidate, the left, the GOP establishment and the media was going to play pile on. We saw it time and time again throughout this election. So, when Christine O’Donnell’s turn for the assault came along, she should have been prepared. She simply could not handle the onslaught.
That being said, Mike Castle was the wrong man for the times. From now to 2012 Republicans are going to have to face some very tough votes in order to bring spending and the deficit under control. In order to pull that off, every Republican and a few Democrats will be needed in the Senate. Time and time again, we have seen liberal Republicans like Mike Castle, foil GOP plans by failing to live up to conservative principles. Both Republicans and the nation cannot afford such fickleness now.
So while Chris Christie may believe that it is important to have another R on the team, the reality is that the quality of the R’s in the senate matter more.
Perhaps a strong willed man like Chris Christie could keep wayward senate Republicans in check; but I have little faith in Mitch McConnell doing so.
You can see the full video of Chris Christie on Meet the Press at The Right Scoop.
Via: Memeorandum
Via: Associated Press
Via: The Right Scoop
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9 comments:
I completely agree with you.
Personally, I'm glad the "R"s didn't get both houses of Congress; there's no reason for me to believe that they wouldn't behave just as badly as when the Dems had full control. You know what they say about absolute power...
I think that their was no good choice in that race. O'Donnell had many issues, a Clintonian relationship to the truth among them.
I am glad that I didn't have to vote in that state. The fact that she got as much as she did says a lot about where the electorate is, Biden won by very wide margins.
I don't see why we should think Republicans have changed. This election and the lack of support for this candidate...just because whe wasn't hand chosen...leads me to believe that NOTHING Has changed with the grand old party. We'll just have to wait and see.
You would be weak too if you had to fight several opponents, among them the party that selected you as their candidate.
alan Green got more4 support from his party that O'Donnell, Miller, and Ankle got.
But they had lots of support for the certified RINO loser in California.
I for one am taking names.
And I am sending ZERO dollars to anybody but candidates and their PACs.
The GOP needs to stop worrying about third parties and start ensuring that they are one of the three.
I'm less sanguine about this since O'Donnell's loss doesn't change the balance of the Senate. Castle making the 51st Republican would have meant more than just his vote (whichever way it would have gone) on the floor of the Senate. It would have meant committee chairs and majorities, scheduling of votes, and whether bills even made it to the Senate floor. But since the Delaware seat wouldn't have been the 51st Republican, that doesn't matter so much.
However, much of O'Donnell's negatives were known before the primary, and her supporters didn't care about them. It's hard to blame the RNC for "piling on". O'Donnell was a deeply flawed candidate, and most of her supporters flat-out denied it.
The bottom line to this is that we've got to nominate good, solid conservatives and thoroughly vet them, rather than just jump on the bandwagon of someone who happens to sound good at one moment in time.
Clarence, I'm going to agree with you and disagree with you at the same time. Christie is wrong but for the wrong reasons. It's not that O'Donnell couldn't handle the attacks, it's that the GOP couldn't handle the attacks. They refused to stand up for her. The supported the LOSER>
Christie is just plain wrong here.
I wrote about it here. http://rightcoastconservative.blogspot.com/2010/11/as-much-as-i-love-chris-christie-he-is.html
It's a bitch when the rubes select somebody to represent them that the elites don't approve of, isn't it?
We are taking names however.
I some time ago stopped sending money to the national organization. Only candidates and their PAC's will ever see another dime from me.
Roll on RINOs, have a ball with your temper tantrums.
But you might want to consider this: If you don't stop worrying about third parties, pretty soon you are not going to be one of the three.
good post and observations
yes, cod was a weak candidate - but where were the "good" staunch conservative candidates? did any step into the breech?
the poser republicans were ok w/ their liberal buddy vs seeking a principled solution - gov cc's take not good (such observations dilute his own conservative bona fides)
lastly, after cod won the nomination, the republican establishment reaction was absolutely disgraceful - they should be held accountable - right up to snubbing the effetist karl rove and his "strong support of conservatives" ... time for new blood, "thank you for your service, enjoy retirement"
It really is a shame the GOP in Delaware didn't have a strong, electable candidate like Biden or Obama.
Getting one past the people there would have been a problem--maybe they can gerrymander all the thinking Republicans into The Plantations some how.
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