Patterico's Pontifications

9/14/2010

Primary Night Live Chat; UPDATE: O’Donnell Wins

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 5:51 pm



UPDATE: O’Donnell has won. The Associated Press has called the race for her.

Congratulations to her. Republicans now need to get behind her and support her.

Original post follows.

We’ll be concentrating mostly on the hot-button Delaware contest between Mike Castle and Christine O’Donnell, but remember that we have one going in New Hampshire as well.

This is going to be a modified live chat. I will do my best to let everyone participate as much as possible. However, I must hand-approve every comment — with one exception: a limited number of people can be approved to have their comments appear automatically.

As to automatic approval, preference will be given to recognized readers and subscribers/donors (big overlap there).

If you are not automatically approved, your comment may not appear, or it may take a while. I have kids to take care of, work to do, etc. My hope is that the people who are automatically approved can carry the chat, since I can’t be in front of the computer all night.

Have patience.

The usual instructions: You see the chat window below? Look at the bottom. Enter your name or pseudonym where it says “Your name.” Enter your comment in the second window just under that, and hit send. Again, I will have to approve your comment before it appears, unless you are chosen to have your comments automatically approved.

IMPORTANT: Note the buttons at the bottom. You will probably want to turn off “autoscroll.” It bothers a lot of people.

If your comment has not been approved and you are a regular reader I would recognize, you can e-mail me. I may be away from the computer but will probably have my phone on me.

62 Responses to “Primary Night Live Chat; UPDATE: O’Donnell Wins”

  1. I am going to take the same stance that so many O’Donnell supporters took…as far as I am concerned the Democrat can win. I think I was called a RINO enough times that I just have no desire to get behind a candidate I would not buy a used car from.

    Sorry, hopefully I will feel more charitable in a day or two..but look at this way, Reid and Pelosi and Coons are celebrating tonight along with Sarah Palin and Rush Limbaugh and Harry Reid and Mark Levin. Odd, isn’t it?

    Terrye (eec529)

  2. Bye Bye RINO.

    HeavenSent (e230a5)

  3. A principled, honest RINO makes for a wonderful Democrat. GTFO.

    HeavenSent (e230a5)

  4. John Cornyn’s NRSC sure knows how to make me feel good about not voting for Carly

    happyfeet (19c1da)

  5. NRC will pay a very heavy price for coming out so fast about not supporting O’Donnell.

    Next time I get a call they are getting a “Go F’ Yourself. Call me when you support 100% Conservatives. Not Olympia Snowe’s of this world.”

    HeavenSent (e230a5)

  6. Our National committeman in Iowa came out with a 10 point issues list and presented the idea that any candidate that failed more than two should have Party funds witheld, since I do not hold with Party officials vetoing the voter’s choice in a Primary I sent out an email to every delegate to our State Convention this summer with the news reports on this and why I felt he should be asked to resign I got about a 50% postive responce and only called a nasty name by one person. later this summer I got an audio file of him at a County Fund raiser making a speech on Party Unity and why we should support the winners of primaries 😉

    Dan Kauffman (3c9c17)

  7. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/14/health/policy/14health.html

    http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1925829,00.html

    Will this rancid piece of human trash be held to account for her vote?

    She is so compassionate, so liberal, so RINO.

    HeavenSent (e230a5)

  8. I hope there are a few more of you, HeavenSent. You really do help. Congrats to Right tonight. I’m sure in the long run, y’all can remember this night as a fun evening. I know I will.

    timb (c37aeb)

  9. “NRC will pay a very heavy price for coming out so fast about not supporting O’Donnell.”

    HeavenSent – A**hole move for the NRSC to make that kind of announcement tonight. Which 15 point underdogs do you think they should support heavily?

    daleyrocks (940075)

  10. Why should they waste money on someone who can not win? How many other candidates who are this far down are getting a lot of support from the Republican party right now? Not many, when there are races that can actually be won. Besides, I have been hearing for days how O’Donnell hates these people and their money etc, so why would she want their support now anyway?

    Terrye (007c3b)

  11. daleyrocks, I think they shouldn’t support her heavily, but should have given her enough support to see what her chances were. This is a valuable enough election to make some investment. Saying they can’t support her at all, until she shows promise, when majority rule is at stake, is completely contrary to the explicit point of the NRSC. She only has like $20k. they could have tacitly supported her with ads without actually sending her a check if they are concerned with her money handling issues.

    At any rate, I expect smarter leadership. They have to know this is a crack in the coalition and that it could affect other races and donation levels. They should have made a show of spending money in this race, simply to remain viable as an organization.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  12. Captain Cornhole should send all the sweet sweet NRSC monies to Carly cause John McCain thinks she’s aces!

    happyfeet (19c1da)

  13. Well, happyfeet, it’s not really clear who they are sending that sweet, sweet money too, but I agree, they should send as much as possible to Carly. she’s just such a huge improvement over Boxer, and she is extremely viable.

    I really wish you would stop asking yourself what Mccain or Cornyn thought about everything, just to spite them. Sure, they deserve it, but the country doesn’t.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  14. Fuck you, Mike Castle. We vote for conservatives, not Jerry Ford Republicans. You get that now, shithead?

    Kevin Stafford (abdb87)

  15. our little country will get what it deserves of that you can be sure I think

    happyfeet (19c1da)

  16. Sometimes it’s hard to like someone who speaks about my country like that while saying they are going to step aside and do nothing to stop the likes of Boxer.

    But I have turned my cheek to some amazing things and I can deal.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  17. If the NRSC can step aside and do nothing to stop the likes of Coons then I should think I’m well within my rights to not support Carly

    happyfeet (19c1da)

  18. next time, if the k3wl kid5 are going to twitter, can we have a separate chat for the rest of us?

    if you aren’t going to reply to our comments, why should we read yours?

    redc1c4 (fb8750)

  19. “If the NRSC can step aside and do nothing to stop the likes of Coons then I should think I’m well within my rights to not support Carly

    Comment by happyfeet”

    That’s strange. What could the NRSC possibly do to stop Coons? He just won the election. It’s far too late for the NRSC to fund Castle… he lost already. I’m confused. the only thing the NRSC could do at this point is make a futile effort in hopes that they show some solidarity with the Tea Party instead of driving a wedge. That has nothing to do with Coons winning. That’s a done deal. They should support O’Donnell, but the only person who can stop Coons at this point is Coons via some amazing scandal.

    And that’s just about the weirdest reason I’ve ever heard to stand aside and let Boxer win. What does this have to do with Fiorina? It seems a few people have built up a few Republicans in their head as so evil, that they are absolutely deranged about it and base all their views on spiting those few.

    Yeah, Mccain sucks. But he’s relevant to this issue.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  20. “If the NRSC can step aside and do nothing to stop the likes of Coons then I should think I’m well within my rights to not support Carly”

    feets – Team D is who you should be complaining to about the nomination of Coons.

    daleyrocks (940075)

  21. “I think they shouldn’t support her heavily, but should have given her enough support to see what her chances were.”

    Dustin – I agree they need to give her some support. Pretty ugly polling is coming out in the morning. Other races are closer and may be more winnable and more worth the investment. Those are the decisions the party needs to make.

    daleyrocks (940075)

  22. Whoever wins in California? It’s every bit as inevitable as O’Donnell’s defeat as far as I’m concerned.

    I’m done voting for establishment Republican whores.

    happyfeet (19c1da)

  23. feets – Nobody likes a whiner. Have a tasty beverage.

    daleyrocks (940075)

  24. Daleyrocks, the investment I’m asking the NRSC isn’t in beating Coons, a sure thing winner despite a lot of nuts pretending this is the NRSC’s fault (she’s lost how many Senate elections now?).

    It’s just that there is a larger issue than winning this specific obviously total lost cause of a race. It’s predictable that not funding someone who ousted the incumbent will imply unfairness. The money spent on this race would have helped bring some of the folks who don’t have faith in the GOP into the fold. Turnout will decide many contests, and that is a long term effort worth the burning away of money on whatever O’Donnell would have used it for.

    Happyfeet isn’t representative of the group I’m referring to. No insult to him, but some people won’t be reachable. They will continue to tell us how horrible the GOP is, forever.

    These establishment republicans that Happyfeet rejects ran the US Congress for 12 years with an average deficit of $104 billion. I don’t know what he’s fighting for or who he supports or what his plan is, but if it’s better than getting these establishment republicans back in place, I’m happy to consider it. But there is no happyfeet plan. He’s going to eat pancakes and America will get what happyfeet thinks it deserves.

    There are people who can be reached to join the coalition to stop the Obama deficit era, and various intrusions of government. And there are people who can’t be reached, who rejected Christie yesterday and will reject Paul Ryan tomorrow because he didn’t part his hair right. That’s OK. Happyfeet isn’t a voter anyway.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  25. BTW, O’Donnell is appealing to Hillary Clinton for an endorsement. And if you oppose her you’re a ‘whore’ sellout of conservatism.

    I don’t get it. It was pretty clear the whole time that Castle and O’Donnell were two lame RINOs fighting it out, with a lot of people thinking one of the RINOs was somehow conservative.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  26. It makes no difference if Coons is a surefire winner. It makes no difference at all. Whatever the odds, the feckless NRSC and Team R can nevertheless use the contest to showcase of a contrast of political philosophies… instead Team R is choosing to showcase its cowardliness – again – and so very soon after nominating the abjectly cowardly John McCain.

    That’s their choice and it speaks volumes.

    But Team R shouldn’t be allowed tell itself that there’s no value in demonstrating that it’s willing to fight for and defend the principles this O’Donnell lady espouses over and against those of her opponent.

    That’s a huge mistake.

    happyfeet (19c1da)

  27. red,

    I replied to many comments.

    You guys got to talk to each other in real time.

    Twitter requires way less attention and I had other things to do.

    Many enjoyed the Twitter fictionality.

    I warned ahead of time that I could not be fully engaged for all of this chat, which lasted all night — hours longer than usual. I participated actively during long stretches but could not all night.

    I am sorry if the experience was not optimal for you.

    Patterico (c218bd)

  28. Tonight John Cornhole and his timorous establishment Republicans told every Delaware Team R person what worked for and gave monies and showed up to vote for this O’Donnell lady that they could care less and that as far as they’re concerned the race is over.

    That’s indefensible.

    happyfeet (19c1da)

  29. That’s very well said, happyfeet, and I feel the same way. Coons is a nut.

    O’Donnell espouses the principles of Hillary Clinton and in various ways doesn’t appear to actually have conservative principles, but neither did Castle, so big deal (not snark, seriously, big deal if she’s a RINO too)! But anyway, you’ve explained the problem perfectly.

    It is a huge mistake.

    Delaware is a statist land of fools, but how are we ever going to change that if we just give up on it?

    As big a mistake as letting Boxer win because Fiorina got an endorsement from Mccain? No.

    I mean, Mccain > Hillary, right?

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  30. I must to bed.

    I am deeply disheartened by tonight’s events.

    happyfeet (19c1da)

  31. I reviewed the transcript. Probably spent two hours on the chat, one with attention divided while cooking dinner, and a couple hours on Twitter. All while trying my best to approve new comments.

    I could cut it off when I’m not around — but I tend to think you guys are interesting enough to talk to each other.

    Also, I said: “My hope is that the people who are automatically approved can carry the chat, since I can’t be in front of the computer all night.”

    Why do I feel the need to defend myself here??

    Patterico (c218bd)

  32. My 29 was directed at 26

    As far as

    Tonight John Cornhole and his timorous establishment Republicans told every Delaware Team R person what worked for and gave monies and showed up to vote for this O’Donnell lady that they could care less and that as far as they’re concerned the race is over.

    goes, well, yeah, the race is over.

    The voters didn’t get a conservative option and did they best they could to pick someone. They managed and I respect that.

    John Cornyn made a huge leadership mistake, but not because there’s a chance of beating Coons. That is a perfectly reasonable conclusion to draw. The only folks who don’t are being cheerleading stubborn optimists… and there’s nothing wrong with that aside from the idea these people should condemn an accurate analysis.

    Some of the people who worked for O’Donnell appear to be worthless and I hope to purge them from the Republican party for good. They are the real RINOs. This ‘He Impeached Bush’ ‘Is he Gay?’ and all the rest of that? Get out of the GOP, whoever came up with that garbage. Just go. A lot of these slimeballs pretended to be the Tea Party. they aren’t. Most O’Donnell supporters were a hell of a lot classier than this.

    We should do what we can for O’Donnell, rallying behind her because we’re a political party, us actual Republicans. Even though it’s a lost cause for winning the seat, that’s not the end of the issue.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  33. Why do I feel the need to defend myself here??

    Comment by Patterico

    You don’t. It was a good chat. the twitter kept it alive, but it’s something that some people didn’t quite understand. I think it improved the chat a lot.

    Maybe you’re still in the mode of reacting to the twitter flaming, but I think most folks enjoyed the chat. It was a little silly at the end, where there aren’t many commenters left, but that’s the nature of the beast. Just something to chuckle about.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  34. Why do I feel the need to defend myself here??

    a guilty conscience?

    that occasionally happens when you abandon your date….. %-)

    redc1c4 (fb8750)

  35. And another thing… I like happyfeet because he just says what he thinks. It opens him up to constant flack, but he doesn’t seem to care, which I think is also a likeable quality.

    But all this crapping on the GOP just gets so tiresome. It’s so much better than what we’ve got right now. We need to do what we can for the general election choices that take the country in a better direction. O’Donnell vs Coons is a no-brainer. Fiorina vs. Boxer is a no-brainer.

    People rarely admit to being spiteful, but I know that’s hardly an happyfeet exclusive feature. Still, unless you’re actually voting for/against Cornyn or Mccain, you gotta push their politicking aside when you decide on who’s actually on your ballot.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  36. There isn’t a chance in hell this Republican will get behind her.

    East Coast Chris (ded5f2)

  37. Against a guy who purports to be a Marxist, Chris?

    I do not trust O’Donnell not to let me down. In fact, the let downs have already begun. But it would be a lesser of two evils if she won, IMO. Which I realize is no longer feasible, which actually is a relief, as I don’t worry as much that she will repudiate conservatism much after she wins.

    We have an argument between a flawed noob and a marxist. Happyfeet’s nailed the real battle: to make a case for better policies, even if it’s not going to win the election. This is the silver lining. Castle did not afford us this opportunity, even if him losing shuts a different door for the GOP.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  38. Oh please, for weeks the O’Donnell camp has had nothing good to say about these people and now they demand that the people they have been dissing give them money? Why? As far as I am concerned the race in Delaware is over, in all probability Coons won it just because the demographics are so much in his favor.This is the state where Biden beat O’Donnell 65-35. Now we hear that the Tea Party people will blame the GOP if she loses…hell they will blame them anyway all the time for everything..so why waste the money when there are competitive people who need it more.

    I mean come on, do you think the Republicans Governors Association is going to spend a lot of money on the guy who is running for Governor in New York? Get real. They got what they wanted, their unelectable candidate. Let Rush and Sean and Sarah and Mark foot the bill.

    Terrye (eec529)

  39. “I just have no desire to get behind a candidate”

    That’s because your ass got pressed to your face.

    gary gulrud (790d43)

  40. What’s happening is the New-Old Whig(GOP)a leadership is changing into a Lincoln Anti-Slavery modern equivalent. If one votes for a candidate just because they’ll win then why bother voting at all. Intensity will win for O’Donnell in DE. It’s far, far better to vote for something than voting for the lesser of evils. Take a stand. Vote you beliefs. Imho, those that voted for Castle voted for Obamacare. Go take an aspirin and re-read the Constitution.

    cedarhill (516b7a)

  41. It’s a big disappointment to see Patterico aligning indirectly with the Washington Post.

    http://newsbusters.org/blogs/brent-baker/2010/09/15/washington-post-s-ruth-marcus-despondent-over-castle-s-defeat-and-o-don

    Nor Rove, nor Cornyn, nor Castle hisself, let alone the Powerline triplets, have shown any class in light of the Tea Party win in Delaware. The “bitter clingers”, aka Republican voters, just found out what members of “the club” think of them.

    I just wish Patterico had taken Michelle Malkin’s advice to take a deep breath before jumping into the middle of someone else’s domestic squabble.

    Born Free (9b46a7)

  42. you guys should link the the republican senate campaign throwing her under the bus.

    The nastiest part of that was the public dissing of her. Its one thing to decide not to give it to her, its another to announce it loudly to the world and on her primary victory night.

    Why do i get the feeling, though, that being that shabby toward her will help her rake in tea party money?

    Aaron Worthing (e7d72e)

  43. Coons is a left wing wingnut, Coons is still running on the Obama agenda, in the middle of a tsunami against it,ponder that for a moment, O’Donnell is not appealing to Hillary onideological grounds, but in the same way that Sarah did. the NRSC has been abysmally wrong, in every instance,

    ian cormac (6709ab)

  44. Born Free –

    Aligned indirectly? Careful with that guilt-by-association thing. I’m not going to love my kids, because Obama says he loves his kids?

    Some similar arguments I’ve heard really make me disgusted with those who do not seem to include personal integrity with ideological purity. And I probably would have voted for O’Donnell.

    I just shouldn’t need a shower after reading her defense.

    Amphipolis (b120ce)

  45. “The Boston Tea Party was protesting abuse of power. This is now trading public power for the abuse of private power,” Clinton said

    I’m not seeing this.
    Since when do voters abuse power ?

    Neo (7830e6)

  46. Comment by Terrye — 9/14/2010 @ 9:37 pm

    All I’m going to say is that if her opponents keep playing the “Pick on the Incompetent Girl” game, they may be shocked to find out who VP Joe Biden gets to swear in on Nov. 3.

    You have to admire Christine’s grit and perseverance in the face of such contemptuous opposition.

    Brad S (9f6740)

  47. Good Morning.

    Mike Castle lost cuz of his support for cap-and-trade. Deal with it.
    The voters chose conservative over not conservative. They ignored electable vs. non-electable and sane vs. crazy. Get used to it.

    Now what? I know what the Democrats would do. As a former activist Democrat and precinct captain, I assure you we would put aside (but not forget) our differences and support the primary winner. In Chicago, a yellow dog was our official mascot, not the donkey.

    I see in this morning’s news that Castle refuses to endorse the “crazy bitch” who beat him.
    This behavior appears as justification to those who voted against him. Failure to support O’Donnell is stupid, asinine, and typical Republican establishment behavior. It is the reason I now call myself an Independent; I could never be a member of “The Stupid Party”.

    Oh! And if the troops rallied ’round her, she could win. Looking forward to all the comments and reasons ’bout why you won’t.

    KobeClan (39eaf5)

  48. For people complaining about the NRSC not giving her money, that’s SOP when the polls show you’re unlikely to win. There’s only so much scarce $ to go around and you have to allocate it where it is likely to actually do some good. It’s just basic sound money management. It’s not like they’re punishing her or something. If the polls were to change and she looks competitive, then the NRSC would probably give some money.

    Some people are being remarkably un-adult. I thought that was a feature of the left but the adults seem to be drying up on the right as well.

    Gerald A (2b94cf)

  49. Btw, Castle is refusing to endorse o’donnell. Instapundit has the link and i think his comment is just right: “See, everyone said the Tea Party folks would be the angry spoilers, but again and again its the insider GOP types who are taking their balls and going home.”

    Its childish. If she lost, he would be demanding that she support him. And my guess is she would be.

    Aaron Worthing (e7d72e)

  50. If she lost, he would be demanding that she support him. And my guess is she would be.

    Would that make any sense? If her opinion of Castle is the same as that of most O’Donnell supporters that I can see, then the answer is no, it wouldn’t make any sense. What would be her reason? For the good of the Republican Party? Or just to show no hard feelings?

    In any case, she might try to use Castle’s non-support to her advantage, saying it shows she’s an outsider etc. But since Castle’s popular in DE with many Dems and middle of the road independents, that may not work that much.

    Gerald A (2b94cf)

  51. I don’t care for O’Donnell, but if the GOP leadership doesn’t reverse course ASAP on the funding spite I’ll support her solely out of principle. This is not the way to gain majority status, and if they’re that clueless as to what their own constituency is really looking for in their candidates then they deserve to be voted out – all of them.

    Dmac (d61c0d)

  52. “Oh! And if the troops rallied ’round her, she could win.”

    KobeClan = I would like to see your evidence for that assertion.

    daleyrocks (940075)

  53. Gerald

    my objection is making a big announcement of it on the night she won. It comes off as petulant and petty.

    Obviously if they really don’t think she will win, that is their perogative not to give it to her.

    Aaron Worthing (e7d72e)

  54. My my don’t we have a whole lot of
    “Those ignorant rubes should stay home, be seen and not heard, until their “betters” tell them what to do” sentiments here? Reminds me of a Slate article after the 2004 election I think the title was something like “The unteachable ignorance of the Red states”

    as to whether the GOP establishment should waste money on a candidate they think won’t win?

    Why not, “We are looking closely at every race and will make determinations based on what we calculte to be the most effective use of our resources”?

    I mean that might have been saying the same thing as they said, but sounds better and their timing indicates to me that we really should not trust them with running anything.

    I am willing to wager that if Castle had won they would be appealing to the losers to show Party Unity for the “Good of the Country”

    Some seem to think that sentiment doesn’t go both ways,

    One thing does have me puzzled, under what defintion of “fringe” does 53 to 47 fall???

    Dan Kauffman (e4d3c4)

  55. Castle formally announced last night that he’s not backing her?

    Gerald A (2b94cf)

  56. Comment by Dan Kauffman — 9/15/2010 @ 7:18 am

    What exactly are you talking about?

    The National Republican Senatorial Committee offered its congratulations to O’Donnell immediately after the result was determined.

    “We congratulate Christine O’Donnell for her nomination this evening after a hard-fought primary campaign in Delaware,” said a statement by Rob Jesmer, the NRSC executive director.

    However, a top Republican official told CNN on Tuesday night that O’Donnell will have to show she can generate viable support before the national party will give her money.

    “It is now incumbent on Sarah Palin, (U.S. Sen.) Jim DeMint and the Tea Party Express to help support her,” the official said on condition of not being identified by name. “They got her here. Now make it happen.”

    Gerald A (2b94cf)

  57. There is a good reason the GOP has perennially be called “Teh Stupid Party,” and this primary was definitely one of them. On one side you had a ridiculous squish, while on the other you had a person who was incapable of answering some very simple questions put to her. The Tea Party must do a better job of vetting their candidates in the future, because this win could actually have presaged a bigger victory in DE come November. Now, the nutbag socialist has a much better chance of winning – awesome.

    Dmac (d61c0d)

  58. UNITY NOW!!!!!

    I’m talking to all you jackasses, RINOs and morons we need to purge.

    daleyrocks (940075)

  59. on the other you had a person who was incapable of answering some very simple questions put to her

    You’re carrying Coons’ water!! Did you vote for Obama? I think I saw you hanging out with Pelosi!!

    Gerald A (2b94cf)

  60. O’Donnell ran a really ugly campaign. so did Castle. Without going into whether any of the charges are really bad or really true, it’s freaking obvious that a lot of people will not want to switch camps.

    I didn’t like any of them, and prefer them both to Coons. It’s real simple.

    By the way, I think my view is much more in line with most Tea Partiers than the so-called Tea Party express. A lot of O’Donnell’s supporters are saying it doesn’t matter if we win this seat, or going on and on to bash conservatives who picked the more likely winner in the general. That’s the real childishness. Be magnanimous. It’s not asking much.

    I’m not hopeful at all that this *choice* by the O’Donnell campaign to be extremely divisive after winning the primary is going to work at all. I want her to beat Coons, so that’s a huge annoyance. She isn’t this ray of perfection and reform, and we all know it. Castle was terrible, but he’s gone now and we need to move forward.

    If O’Donnell wants the support of the real Tea Party, and not just the ‘official’ one, she needs to act like a leader. It’s not her fault that some of the bloggers et al supporting her are acting foolish, but she should make nice with Castle supporters and her state voters at large. This should be easy without supporting dumb ideas like Cap and Tax.

    I hope no more dirt shows up, and I mostly hope Coons acts like a jerk and implodes.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  61. btw, the republican senate campaign has apparently backed off and said they support her now. good for them.

    Aaron Worthing (e7d72e)


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