Think I'm going to endorse such people? Think again!

In my humble opinion, Mike Castle sucks. As a pro-gun control East Coast Republican, he epitomizes the word "RINO."

And it is my considered opinion that his opponent, Christine O'Donnell, also sucks. But maybe it's not PC to say that about a woman, so I need to stress that I don't mean that literally. From what I have read, she is an extreme social conservative with personal problems that will make her unelectable in the general election, and the consensus is that she has no chance of winning.

Still, I like the idea of derailing a RINO who is being shoved down the voters throats by an arrogant party establishment.

OTOH, I also like the idea of winning elections.

The case can be argued either way. I honestly don't know whether it would be better to hold my nose and vote for Castle, or hold my nose and vote for O'Donnell. Either way (if I lived in Delaware), it would mean holding my nose to vote for whichever Republican makes it onto the ballot.

Plus, Delaware is not my state. So, in balance I haven't weighed in on this stuff and I wouldn't have, but I think the idea of calling Mike Castle gay carries things too far. I wouldn't like the spreading of this rumor if it were true, because it evinces a clear attempt to appeal to the basest and most irrational prejudices of the voters.

That would be bad enough if Mike Castle were gay. But it seems beyond debate that Castle is not gay. So the attack on him for being gay is not merely grounded in anti-gay prejudice, it is dishonest.

For that cheap shot alone, O'Donnell deserves to lose.

The problem is that Castle does not deserve to win.

Delaware Republicans are faced with two awful candidates.

(Nothing new about that.)

MORE: I cannot stress enough that I have been holding my nose and voting Republican for many years now in general elections. And I am sure I will continue to be some sort of loyal nose-holding Republican in the general elections in years to come.

What I find especially annoying here is that in order to vote for either Castle or O'Donnell I would have to hold my nose in order to vote in a primary election.

Sorry, but that is just unfair.

I know I can't control everything, but I wish there could be a rule against having to hold your nose when voting in primaries.

Having to hold your nose should be limited to general elections.

MORE: GayPatriot has an interesting take (and many damning links) about O'Donnell, and thinks she is a mistake.

The quality of a candidate matters. Just because someone is running as the conservative insurgent against a moderate from the party's establishment does not mean conservatives should rally 'round her banner.
Commenter Fred Beloit offers the "What's Worse Razor" as a way to decide:
What's worse?
O'D embarassing herself, those who voted for her, and the Senate or putting in someone who too often supports Reid, Obama, and the deranged libruls? Some senators embarrass the Senate every day, Biden was one. Little harm done. Voting in lib policies? Catastrophe!

I'd vote for O'D. Could she win? That depends on how many think like me. I will never knowingly vote for a lib Republican. Never.

I think that just as a good a case can be made that Castle is worse as can be made for the proposition that O'Donnell is worse (if for different reasons).

What annoys me the most about this is that there are many small-l libertarians in the Republican Party who don't like either candidate, but have so little say in the matter that they are being virtually disenfranchised.

UPDATE: O'Donnell won 53%-47%.

If I lived in Delaware I guess I would have to hold my nose and vote for her.

Democracy sucks, but I guess it beats the alternative.

posted by Eric on 09.13.10 at 09:00 PM





TrackBack

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://classicalvalues.com/cgi-bin/pings.cgi/10044






Comments

I gotta disagree with you on that.
I am much more comfortable with my vote when I am holding my nose at all times.
Voting against is a much more reliable system.
When you're all excited about a candidate you wake up with President Barack Obama.

I will admit I'm pretty much up to rubbing jalapeno juice in my nose before holding it because the stench of my recent votes has been pretty bad.
They like a big gov't just fine, they just want to grow it more slowly.

We need a crew of gov't-shrinking crazies running Congress.

I'm wondering if it might be better/easier to get the Libertarian Party to be a little more pragmatic.
Relax on their social stuff and just get the gov't shrunk. They can stop the drug war after they get rid of the Dept. of Education and every, single Czar there is.

Veeshir   ·  September 13, 2010 11:07 PM

O'Donnell is for pre-marital chastity, and against using masturbation while celibate.
THAT should get her a lot of votes...in the about-to-enter-a-convent category.

Frank   ·  September 14, 2010 12:44 AM

I don't live in Delaware and this is a tough one. But I think I've found a way to decide. Using the What's Worse Razor.
What's worse?
O'D embarassing herself, those who voted for her, and the Senate or putting in someone who too often supports Reid, Obama, and the deranged libruls? Some senators embarrass the Senate every day, Biden was one. Little harm done. Voting in lib policies? Catastrophe!
I'd vote for O'D. Could she win? That depends on how many think like me. I will never knowingly vote for a lib Republican. Never.

Fred Beloit   ·  September 14, 2010 10:25 AM

As nearly as I can tell, looking from a thousand miles away at a State where I have never slept overnight, Frank J, Stacy McCain, and Dan Riehl have it pretty much right.

Castle is a Republican because he blundered into the wrong line at sign-up time, and never bothered to correct the error (IMAO). Arguments as to his electability must address the fact that a minimal investment in ads elevated a genuine flake to parity or better (McCain). And the primary reason the race is interesting outside DE is that it is a contest of strength between Democrat Lite d/b/a Beltway Republicans and the TEA party movement(s), with Palin as a significant player aligned with the latter.

We'll know part of it tomorrow, and the rest Nov. 3rd.

Regards,
Ric

Ric Locke   ·  September 14, 2010 11:35 AM

We had a Classic hold your nose general election in Illinois in 2004.

Communist Obama vs Theocon Keyes. I voted for Obama. The rest, as they say, is history.

M. Simon   ·  September 14, 2010 02:00 PM

I'm not so much in favor of O'Donnell as I am against Castle.
He voted for a Kucinich bill for impeaching Bush for instance.
http://www.congress.org/congressorg/issues/votes/?votenum=401&chamber=H&congress=1102

There are two groups trying to teach each other a lesson.
The voters have spent 3 elections trying to get the GOP to figure out they need to act like conservatives which erupted into the tea partiers spending a vocal year+ trying to do the same.

Our political betters in the GOP have been spending 5 years trying to get us to understand we need to shut up, send money and vote for them because they're "better than the Dems".

How much worse would McCain have been? He would have allowed the DemCong pass all kinds of bad bills and the descent into statism would have been much slower but no less inexorable.

Obama, Pelosi and Reid just turned the heat up too high, too fast, so the frogs figured out what was happening.

Which was what some people said had to happen when they said they couldn't vote Rino in the last 3 elections.

Veeshir   ·  September 14, 2010 03:51 PM

I'm not so much for Castle as I am against O'Donnell. I think that she's, to put it succinctly, a psychotic loon with no ethical compass. I'm against her mainly because I think she can do more damage to the country with scandals than Castle can with half his votes going to the other side.

Phelps   ·  September 14, 2010 05:57 PM

The difference is that I don't vote GOP because they're GOP, I vote GOP because they're the closest to my values.
Or at least, they're supposed to be.

When they crap on my small gov't wants, well, why should I vote for them?
Because they're not as bad as the Dems?
Pass.
I would rather see 535 Ron Pauls than 535 John McCains.
And if my choice is between a McCain and Obama in 2012?
Gus Hall.

Veeshir   ·  September 14, 2010 06:51 PM

"Communist Obama vs Theocon Keyes. I voted for Obama. The rest, as they say, is history."

Had I lived there I'm sure I would have done the same at that time. I'm not sure I wouldn't still. (Yes, I know he'd likely not be president if Keyes had won - but we might have had worse - they could have perhaps gotten elected a competent socialist.)

Kathy Kinsley   ·  September 15, 2010 10:54 AM

Post a comment

You may use basic HTML for formatting.





Remember Me?

(you may use HTML tags for style)


September 2010
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
      1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8 9 10 11
12 13 14 15 16 17 18
19 20 21 22 23 24 25
26 27 28 29 30    

ANCIENT (AND MODERN)
WORLD-WIDE CALENDAR


Search the Site


E-mail



Classics To Go

Classical Values PDA Link



Archives



Recent Entries



Links



Site Credits