Delaware Republican Party Files FEC Complaint Against Christine O’Donnell UPDATE: RNC Robocalls for Castle?

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What kind of campaign does the GOP establishment wage against challengers? Scorched earth:

The Republican Party of Delaware has filed a formal complaint with the Federal Election Commission, accusing one of its own Senate candidates of illegally collaborating with the Tea Party Express.
Attorneys for the state party asked the FEC to launch an immediate and thorough investigation into conservative GOP candidate Christine O’Donnell “to remedy the alleged violations and to ensure that these violations immediately cease and do not reoccur,” according to the complaint filed Thursday. . . .
The complaint alleges that the O’Donnell campaign is “knowingly accepting illegal campaign contributions from the Tea Party Express PAC.” . . .
Delaware State GOP Chairman Tom Ross offered this statement:
“Christine O’Donnell needs to immediately call upon her third party supporters to cease and desist this illegal behavior,” he said. “This type of behavior has no place in our political process, and O’Donnell should denounce these illegal ads. Donors deserve to know whether they made an illegal donation so they can demand a refund and get their money back.”

When you take on the establishment, this is what you can expect in return. And when the grassroots are asleep, the establishment becomes arrogant.

UPDATE 11:10 a.m.: Angel Clark of the Examiner reports:

The RNC has allegedly been making “robo-calls” to voters in Delaware informing people of Castle’s fiscal conservatism. Many already frustrated Delawareans are now becoming angry. They are attempting to call the RNC office today and let them know that Delaware is tired of their establishment candidate (202-863-8500).

Clark also reports: “The Tea Party Express is holding a rally tonight in Sussex County. The 9-12 Delaware Patriots sent out some of the rally information. . . . Friday, Sept 10th at 5:30 pm – American Legion Post #28, 3178 Legion Road, Millsboro.”

 Stand up and fight! WOLVERINES!

UPDATE 11:30 a.m.: Jeffrey Lord of The American Spectator talks about the Wall Street Journal and National Review as instruments of the Ruling Class. And the ever-fearless Dan Riehl isn’t afraid to argue with Glenn Reynolds.

UPDATE: Via C4P, audio of Sarah Palin’s call-in to Sean Hannity’s radio show endorsing Christine O’Donnell:

Also via C4P, Mark Levin discusses the endorsement:

Let us note that this conflict over the Delaware GOP primary finds three of the most influential conservative talk-radio hosts — Levin, Hannity and Rush Limbaugh — on the same side as Governor Palin. Think they’ll remember that? Think that will make a difference beyond 2010? Just askin’ questions . . .

CHRISTINE O’DONNELL for U.S. SENATE

Blame Enough to Go Around

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Stuart Schneiderman gets all Freudian about Obama:

In the end the American people bought an illusion, an illusion of competence and eptitude. They were wrong, and thus, they are getting screwed.

(Hat-tip: Insty.) But what about those of us who never bought the illusion? Why are we forced to suffer a fate that we tried to warn against? Why aren’t people who voted for Obama — and the pundits who urged them to do so — being held accountable for their error?

And let’s not let Republicans off the hook. Someone needs to go back and collect all the quotes from conservative pundits who, from 2007 on through Super Tuesday in 2008, assured us that John McCain would be a good presidential candidate.

Many of those pundits urged Republicans to back McCain because they assumed Hillary Clinton would be the Democrat nominee. Arguably McCain could have won that matchup, although I still insist Romeny was the better all-around candidate.

But McCain vs. Obama? No way.

The visuals were all wrong: Young, tall, brown and eloquent vs. old, short, bald and grumpy.

There was a glimmer of Republican hope in summer 2008, when Obama made that stupendously pretentious trip to Berlin, and then a real surge when McCain picked Palin as his running mate. But once Maverick backed the Bush bailout and especially after America saw the two guys on the same stage in the first debate — oh, it was hopeless.

Yet Republicans who actively promoted John McCain as the nominee (or who unwittingly did so, by backing Giuliani or Huckabee, rather than uniting behind Romney as the “Anybody But McCain” consensus) want to exempt themselves from culpability for Obama’s election.

And I’m still bitter about it.

Every time I see those Maverick-loving pundits sharing their “strategic insights” on our current predicament, I want to shout at the TV or computer: “Yeah, putz? Why should we believe a word you say now, when three years ago you were telling us about how that two-faced backstabbing RINO geezer was a surefire winner in 2008?”

Don’t Blame Me. I Voted for Bob Barr.

Sarah Palin’s Biggest Gamble

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Following up on the earlier post about Sarah Palin’s endorsement of Christine O’Donnell, I have spoken to a few sources, one of whom described this as “the longest of long shots,” a decision based not on political calculation but as a matter of “pure principle.”

Another source pointed out that Rush Limbaugh might have had an influence, as he returned from vacation Tuesday and pounded hard on the Delaware primary — following his friend Mark Levin, who has been O’Donnell’s staunchest defender on talk radio.

At any rate, here’s Sarah Palin’s Facebook endorsement:

The wave of positive change can really sweep across our land with the election of Constitutional Conservatives who promise to use common sense and rein in the federal government spending! Please support Christine O’Donnell in Delaware. She will support efforts for America’s energy security, patient-centered health care reform, cutting government waste, and letting the private sector thrive and prosper! We can’t afford “more of the same” in Washington. Christine will help usher in the real change we need to get America on the right track. Please visit her website at www.christine2010.com and follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

Just five days before Sept. 14 primary, can Palin’s endorsement turn the tide in Delaware? Stay tuned.

UPDATE: Dan Riehl has a similar reaction, citing this endorsement by Palin as a matter of “principle . . . integrity” and certain other admirable qualities. A tip of the fedora to Dan who, as I said Tuesday, went on the warpath against RINO Mike Castle and Castle’s supporters. And I must point out that it was co-blogger Smitty who first called our attention to Christine O’Donnell back in March.

Don’t Tell Tabitha Hale . . .

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. . . but despite her efforts to exclude me from Blog Con, I managed to find a way down here with Chris Renner. Here are a few photos of Thursday evening’s reception:

Important blogger Stephen Kruiser and Amy Miller of Red State.

All the BlogCon ladies love Steve Eggleston of No Runny Eggs. BTW, the blonde on the left is Oregon’s Kristina Ribaldi.

Mary Katharine Ham with Stephen Green, who insists that he’s still Vodkapundit, mainly because BudLightPundit “just doesn’t quite have the same ring to it.”

Lisa De Pasquale was heard to explain to Cynthia Yockey: “No, trust me — Joe Logue is available.”

Da Tech Guy to North Carolina congressional candidate Renee Ellmers: “So, this testa dura, this Etheridge fellow, he disrespects you?”

I’m not sure Michael Chamberlain is actually a blogger. He may have just been hanging around trying to meet Amy Miller.

The following “man on the street” video interview is rated NSFW:

Hey, when Dan Riehl says to hit the tip jar . . .

It’s Official: Lisa the Loser

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Anchorage Daily News:

Final vote is in The Alaska Division of Elections counted the last absentee ballots Wednesday. The final vote in the Aug. 24 Republican primary for U.S. Senate was 55,847 for Joe Miller and 53,834 for Lisa Murkowski.

Erika Bolstad and Sean Cockerman also report:

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky pledged $5,000 from his own political action committee to Miller, joining the support of the NRSC. . . .
Miller is also getting money from the more conservative wing of the party. South Carolina Republican Sen. Jim DeMint’s Senate Conservatives Fund on Tuesday devoted $12,983 to an online appeal to help raise money for Miller, according to disclosures. That comes on top of the Washington, D.C., anti-tax group Club for Growth promising to spend “whatever it takes” on Miller.

If you’re committed to doing “whatever it takes,” sometimes impossible things happen. They say it’s impossible for me to get to Blog Con, just like they say it’s impossible for Christine O’Donnell to beat Mike Castle.

PALIN ENDORSES O’DONNELL!

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MIRACLE! Dave Weigel reports that Sarah Palin just called into Sean Hannity‘s radio show to officially endorse Christine O’Donnell in the Delaware GOP Senate primary.

Answered prayer! Is it too little, too late?

UPDATE: From O’Donnell’s Twitter feed:

UPDATE II: Matt Lewis notes: “So far, Palin has not commented on her Facebook page or Twitter feed.”

UPDATE III: Ian Lazaran at C4P promises audio of the endorsement soon. I just got off the phone with O’Donnell campaign manager Matt Moran, who says he’ll get me a telephone interview with Christine.

UPDATE IV: Will Ace of Spades be eating crow?

UPDATE V: Sarah Palin’s biggest gamble.

Somebody pointed out that the Delaware presidential primary in 2012 — Feb. 7 — will be one of the early ones on the calendar. Probably just a coincidence.