7thriv

Marketing consultant Christine O'Donnell upset Rep. Mike Castle in the Delaware Republican Senate primary tonight, handing the tea party movement a major victory and giving Democrats an unexpected chance to hold the First State seat.

O'Donnell, who is making her third run for the Senate in as many elections, relied heavily on national surrogates -- from the Tea Party Express to former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin -- to fuel a shoestring campaign against the iconic Castle who had held elected office in the state for more than four decades.

"The people of Delaware have spoken," said O'Donnell in her victory speech. "No more politics as usual."

The O'Donnell victory, which was considered a political impossibility as recently as a month ago, is a major boost for Democratic hopes of holding the seat once held by Vice President Joe Biden. New Castle County Executive Chris Coons was unchallenged for the Democratic Senate nomination.

There's been a lot of talk within GOP political circles about how O'Donnell is virtually unelectable. National Democrats, and her Democrat opponent Chris Coons are already rolling out the "too extreme for Delaware" talking point. This is typical

"Delaware Republicans chose an ultra-right wing extremist who is out of step with Delaware values. Christine O'Donnell cares more about imposing an extreme social doctrine than addressing the challenges facing working people," said DSCC chairman Robert Menendez in a statement. "Even the Delaware Republican Party Chairman has said O'Donnell is 'not a viable candidate for any office in the state of Delaware', and 'could not be elected dog catcher.'"

This somehow ignores the fact that Coons is on record has having been a "bearded Marxist" at one point in his life. From what I can tell, O'Donnell is an "extremist" only in the sense that she is a Reagan conservative who interprets the Constitution more strictly than has been the fashion the last few decades. Also, she is pro-abstinence and anti-porn (no joke, these are part of the "O'Donnell = Extremist" argument). This is extreme? As compared to a "bearded Marxist?" Seems like both candidates could be described as being at the far end of their respective political spectrums.

Here for your viewing pleasure is quick interview O'Donnell did with Robert Costa earlier tonight. Watch this and then ask yourself whether this is the new face of American Extremism:

Why you see civil rights being rolled back as she speaks! And here she is standing up to some unexpectedly hard questioning from Neil Cavuto:

Unhinged! Extreme! Not ready for prime time! Run away!

The truth is, O'Donnell's charming and has a quiet charisma that is much more appealing than that of the elderly, liberal Castle, or the glib former occupant of the seat she seeks. And the O'Donnell "scandals" are pathetic. She apparently had to do a short sale to save her house from foreclosure. Her 2008 campaign - run on a shoe string against Joe Biden - had about $20,000 in debt that hadn't yet been retired. Funny, I don't recall hearing anyone complain about Hilliary Clinton's millions in 2008 debt for which she and Bill are still holding fund raisers to retire. Then there's the matter of O'Donnell's graduation from college. She apparently walked across the stage in cap and gown back in 1993, but didn't get the actual diploma until she finished paying her tuition. As she points out, unlike a lot of people, she had to pay her own way. These aren't scandals. They are real life problems faced by middle class people whom liberals and "moderate" Republicans (but, I repeat myself) claim to be so concerned about. The only reason they are disqualifiers for higher office is because O'Donnell put herself in a position to deny Castle what he obviously believes is rightfully his.

There've been too many Castles elected to the GOP caucus (not to mention too many Coons entering the Democrats'). After the last couple years worth of destructive legislating, beginning with the Castle-supported TARP vote, it's clear that a significant percentage of the electorate (at least 30%, some fringe) wants to clean house. I don't know if O'Donnell will be "better," but she certainly can't do any worse.

UPDATE: I have to apologize for the screwy fonts in this post. Blogger isn't letting me change them for some reason.