Exit Polls: Castle would have probably lost to Coons

*
Rebecca Sinderbrand, via CNN's Political Ticker, serves up a morsel of food for thought that Tokyo Rove and other Conservative Lite^® loudmouths who have been slamming Gov. Palin for her endorsement of Christine O'Donnell in the Delaware race for the U.S. Senate should chew on:

"If GOP voters are feeling any buyer's remorse, they may take some solace in one surprising stat: despite pre-election polls that showed longtime Republican Rep. Mike Castle handily beating Coons in a hypothetical matchup, the voters who turned out today said they would still probably have sent Coons to Washington over Castle, backing him 44-43 percent."

- JP

New poll suggests a Castle write-in effort would hurt Coons more than O'Donnell

*
It is quite possible that a write-in campaign, such as Congressman Mike Castle is currently considering, could hurt Democrat Chris Coons more than Republican Christine O’Donnell in the Delaware campaign for U.S. Senate, according to new polling results published today:

A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Delaware voters finds Coons with 49% support, while O’Donnell earns 40% of the vote. Castle, a longtime congressman who lost to O’Donnell in the state’s GOP Primary, picks up five percent (5%). Another five percent (5%) remain undecided. To see survey questions, click here.

Polling for write-in campaigns is always challenging, so results should be interpreted with caution. For this survey, Rasmussen Reports asked respondents about a choice between Coons and O’Donnell without mentioning Castle. That is the choice voters will see when they enter the voting booth. However, when response options were offered to survey respondents, Castle’s name was mentioned.

Oh, yes, a Murkowski-style write in campaign by Castle cuts the far left liberal Democrat's lead over O'Donnell down to single digits. Run, Mike, run!

Related: A Jeffrey Lord must-read at The American Spectator.

- JP

Castle campaign disses Delaware voters for not electing their guy

*
From the stuck on stupid campaign of failed candidate Mike Castle comes an e-mail which basically chastises the state's voters for electing Christine O'Donnell instead of Castle:

Some 30,500 Republicans have embarrassed the dickens out of the state of Delaware by voting for a candidate who has no chance of winning the general election, is a verifiable liar and cheater with no known means of employment other than her campaign money and has nothing to claim as a campaign platform other than whatever the tea party stands for.

[...]

This is a woman who will stoop as low and often as necessary to fool voters who, for the most part, know nothing about her or her so-called policies or positions.

Excuse us, but attacking the voters for not annointing your candidate the day after the election, besides being petty and vindictive, doesn't seem like the smartest move. It's more than just sour grapes; it reeks of waspish whine.

Guess that endorsement is out of the question, then...

- JP

GOP establishment shows its ugly backside in wake of O'Donnell victory (Updated)

*
The Republican Party establishment is acting like spoiled children who didn't get their way in the aftermath of Christine O'Donnell's stunning upset victory in Delaware. The first bad ol' boy to show his hind end was Karl Rove, as Michelle Malkin comments:

I just finished watching Karl Rove trashing GOP Senate primary winner Christine O’Donnell. It was on Sean Hannity’s FNC show. Might as well have been Olbermann on MSNBC. The establishment Beltway strategist couldn’t even bother with an obligatory word of congratulations for O’Donnell. He criticized her “character” and “rectitude” and claimed she hadn’t answered questions about her financial woes. She did so here. Rove mocked her security concerns as “nutty.” Yet, her concerns have been more than justified. See here (second video clip).

Rove came across as an effete sore loser instead of the supposedly brilliant and grounded GOP strategist that he’s supposed to be. Expect more Washington Republicans to start sounding like Tea Party-bashing libs as their entrenched incumbent friends go down.

Then, before O'Donnell even had a chance to deliver her acceptance speech, Dan Riehl relates:

... the NRSC rushed out to say they will not support her. Video here via The Right Scoop. One source I spoke with claims that RNC Michael Steele is purportedly going to go to Delaware to support Christine O'Donnell. As I said earlier on Twitter, the NRSC is dead on the web as far as I am concerned.

@NRSC Cornyn is one of the most incompetent NRSC heads ever. Now you won't support us? You are DEAD on the web ....

I would encourage all grassroots and conservative activists and bloggers to, not just ignore them, but proactively work to run-down whatever web based initiatives they choose to employ until this matter is resolved. John Cornyn should be held accountable and removed from his NRSC position.

Finally, Mike Castle proved to be as ungracious in defeat as he was during the campaign. Channeling his inner Lisa Murkowski, the old goat refused to endorse O'Donnell:

A Rep. Mike Castle (R-Del.) campaign source confirmed to The Hill late Tuesday that the longtime congressman will not be endorsing Christine O'Donnell.

[...]

As to whether the national party would back O'Donnell, a Castle campaign source said the campaign has no knowledge of their thinking but said "they should save their money."

Gov. Palin's appeal for unity seems to have fallen on deaf ears, at least as far as the old guard is concerned.

Meanwhile, Jeffrey Lord wonders if the GOP is suicidal.

This is disgraceful behavior. The grassroots is going to have to completely take over the Republican Party and throw these corrupt bums out. But we will do it. The GOP will be the party of Reagan again if we have to drag every one of these sour old power-addicted ruling class elitists kicking and screaming out the door.

Updates...

Bravo, Jim DeMint. The South Carolina conservative Senator's PAC has set a goal of raising $174,000 for O'Donnell by next week.

Ed Morrisey has some excellent analysis and commentary at Hot Air.

Stacy McCain at The American Spectator: "This Changes Everything."

Dan Riehl looks at last night's winners and losers in the media.

Christine challenges her critics in the GOP establishment as she make the round of morning talk shows.

The GOP establishment feels the heat and turns on a dime.

- JP

Palin-Backed O'Donnell Wins Upset in Delaware

*
From the Associated Press:

Conservative activist Christine O'Donnell earned a stunning victory in Delaware's Republican Senate primary Tuesday, riding a wave of tea party anger and advertising dollars to oust U.S. Rep. Michael Castle.

O'Donnell's shocking win gave new energy to the tea party movement, which targeted Castle after victories by Republican tea party candidates in the Alaska and Nevada Senate primaries.

With all precincts reporting, O'Donnell won 53 percent of the vote to 47 percent for Castle, who was rejected by Delaware Republicans as being too liberal, just like the crowd in Washington DC who are running the country into the ground.

The AP piece goes on with the oft-repeated government-controlled liberal media meme about what a hard time O'Donnell will have defeating Democrat Chris Coons in November and how this result means that the Republicans won't be able to take back the Senate in 2010, yada, yada, yada. We'll just have to see about that.

Meanwhile, it's a great victory for the O'Donnell campaign, Gov. Palin and the Tea Party movement.

- JP

Murky to Castle: 'Be prepared, they'll come at you hard'

*
The most lightweight GOP Lite in the Republican party told CNN that he received a phone call from fellow RINO Lisa Murkowski after her defeat in Alaska at the hands of Joe Miller, Sarah Palin and the Tea Party Express. The Murky message was in the form of a warning:

"I actually received a call after the election saying, 'Mike, you need to be prepared, they'll come at you hard,'" Castle said after a campaign stop in Millsboro, Delaware. "It was part of a broader wake-up call that's been going on for several months now."

Imagine that! Those intolerant conservatives wanting to replace Vichy Republicans who collaborate with the the Democrats on their neosocialist agenda. Why, the nerve of those people!

- JP

Jeffrey Lord: Ruling Class vs. Country Class battle picks up speed with Palin endorsement

*
At TAS' AmSpec Blog, Jeffrey Lord comments on how Gov. Palin's endorsement of Christine O'Donnell in Delaware has accelerated a classic battle between the Ruling Class and the Country Class:

Yesterday, the Country Class Sarah Palin went on the Country Class Sean Hannity Show to endorse the Country Class Christine O' Donnell over the Ruling Class Mike Castle in the Delaware U.S. Senate primary.

And thus far, the Ruling Class Castle has refused to accept an invitation from the Country Class Mark Levin Show to discuss his Senate race.

Both moments are clues to the status of different players in the increasingly vehement rebellion that every poll in America is picking up.

Lord also traces the genesis of the warfare between these two classes in his TAS essay "The Ruling Class Hits Christine O'Donnell" here.

Listen to Levin's take on these developments at Mark Levin Fan.

- JP

Quote of the Day (September 9, 2010)

*
W. James Antle, III at the American Spectator's blog:

"Now that Sarah Palin has endorsed Christine O'Donnell for Senate in Delaware, the O'Donnell campaign is starting to look like a typical Tea Party success story along the lines of Rand Paul in Kentucky, Ken Buck in Colorado, Sharron Angle in Nevada or Joe Miller in Alaska... No Republican to the left of Castle is likely to be found, not even in Delaware... Basically, Castle's strongest argument is that he can win in November... But the trouble is, as far as I can see this argument hasn't worked so well for establishment candidates going as far back as the NY-23 special congressional election in 2009 -- and Castle shares more than a few ideological traits with Dede Scozzafava."

- JP

A virtual endorsement for Christine O'Donnell?

*
So far, Sarah Palin has not formally endorsed Christine O'Donnell in the Delaware GOP primary race for U.S. Senate. We're sure that she has good reasons for withholding a formal nod to the candidate, even though O'Donnell seems made for a Palin endorsement. She meets all of the governor's criteria: conservative woman, underdog, fiercely pro-life, believes runaway spending and crushing debt are eroding our freedom, etc. Also, Tea Party Express, which Gov. Palin persuaded to get behind Joe Miller in a major way, has given its endorsement to O'Donnell. Perhaps the governor is concerned that in left-leaning Delaware, her own endorsement would do O'Donnell more harm than good. We don't know for sure. The 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate has been very careful with her endorsements -- or lack of same -- in the blue states.

But Gov. Palin sometimes lets others speak for her through social media, or she at least lets them drop the hint while she remains officially silent on a contest. Tuesday, for example, the governor was one of a couple of dozen Twitter users (including Mark Levin) who retweeted Tammy Bruce’s O’Donnell endorsement:

"HeyTammyBruce @marklevinshow Thank you so much for that RT ;) It is appreciated! @ChristineOD is great, her election must a major focus for us all"

The Delaware race is indeed a critical one. As expected, the Vichy Republicans are going all out for Mike Castle in this contest, which means they are viciously attacking O'Donnell. What is exasperating is that the Conservative Lite drinkers are joining with RINOs in the effort to kneecap her. The only choice in this primary should be a no-brainer for any conservative worth his or her salt. Castle is such a RINO that he's down there where Arlen Specter was before the latter changed his party affiliation to match his voting record. As Jennifer remarked at Cubachi:

"When it comes to Representative Mike Castle, he makes McCain look like another Jim DeMint."

Christine O'Donnell is getting the full treatment that was given to Sarah Palin by her own party's establishment, seeking to demonize her and destroy her political career. This, along with O'Donnell's issue positions and her status as a "Sister Grizzly" should explain Gov. Palin's retweet. It may be as close to an all-out endorsement as she thinks she can afford to make at this time.

The O'Donnell campaign, however, is not afraid and makes no secret of the fact that it would love to have Sarah Palin's full endorsement:

“We would be honored and humbled by Sarah Palin’s endorsement,” said O’Donnell spokesman Matt Moran, putting a heavy emphasis on the “would be.” He went on to say that Palin “of all people knows the politics of personal destruction, when the establishment is threatened and uses slander and lies to protect” an incumbent.

Christine O’Donnell and Gov. Palin did get a brief chance to meet face to face in Washington on the morning of the Restoring Honor rally. But whether the governor's support for O'Donnell will go beyond the implicit stage is something maybe only Sarah Palin knows. Only time will tell, but the clock is ticking, as the election is only eight short weeks away.

- JP

Will Gov. Palin endorse Christine O'Donnell for the U.S. Senate?

*
Though she has been considered a long shot in her GOP primary race against Rep. Mike Castle, a recent Rasmussen survey shows Christine O’Donnell's poll numbers increasing, while Castle's are in decline.

O'Donnell told Politico earlier this week that she has contacted Gov. Palin's camp and requested an endorsement from the first woman to be nominated for vice president by the Republican Party. She already has the backing of Susan B. Anthony List, the pro-life organization which gave birth to Team Sarah, and CWPAC, the political action committee of Concerned Women of America. O'Donnell has also been endorsed by bloggers Erick Erickson at RedState and Pamela Geller of Atlas Shrugs.

We have to believe that Gov. Palin is seriously considering O'Donnell's request for an endorsement. Her positions on the issues appear to be nearly identical to those of the former Alaska governor, as we pointed out here last month. Castle, on the other hand, opposes the repeal of ObamaCare, and voted as a Congressman for Cap-and-Trade and the the $700 billion TARP bill. Like Obama and Biden in the Senate, Castle voted against the troop surge for Iraq in the House.

It's Biden's seat in the Senate, with four years left on an unexpired term, that that both O'Donnell and Castle are vying for. Polling shows either Republican would give Democrat Chris Coons a good run for his money, but Castle is the very picture of an establishment Republican, while O'Donnell is a Reagan/Palin conservative.

Ed Morrissey has a video of the Right Online interview with Christine O’Donnell posted at Hot Air. It's video worth watching. And Stacy McCain weights in here. Patience, Stacy, patience.


- JP