It’s too bad we won’t see that race in Delaware. I have great respect for Beau Biden, the incumbent Attorney General of Delaware who is politically savvy and policy smart, but he has decided not to run for his father’s former US Senate seat.
After just a year in office, the Obama/Biden team in the White House is not faring well, and to say that the Democratic Party is in disarray would be an understatement.
What I hope that Obama figures out soon is that one of his only players whose contributions have been on target on economic policy, on Iraq, on nuclear and other WMD issues, on relations with Russia and China, and even on Afghanistan has been his own Vice President. Everyone else seems to be flailing around (well, mostly everyone — there are some good standouts). Biden, in contrast, weighs in when he is given the chance with solid policy alternatives and keeps his powder dry otherwise.
I don’t believe in supporting either political party unconditionally – and gladly support a number of Republican and Independent public officials.
House Representative for Delaware (the whole state) and now Senate candidate Mike Castle is one of these — and though I would have liked to see Beau Biden run for the seat and probably would have supported his candidacy, I’m going to support Castle in Beau’s absence.
Mike Castle is a centrist, sensible, main street Republican who believes in science, rationality, and thoughtful policy debates. I don’t agree with Castle on everything — but he won my support for his challenge to the Bush/Cheney regime on stem cell research.
Mike Castle was also President of the Republican Main Street Partnership — an alternative to the flat earth, pugnacious crowd evolving over the last decade and a half in the Republican caucus. Amo Houghton, who was perhaps my favorite Republican Congressman in years past, founded the group that Castle took over.
So, while Dems will take a hit on their roster, Castle represents a breed of sensible, pragmatic Republicans that we need more of in the Senate and House.
— Steve Clemons
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