Christine O’Donnell: The Next Joe Miller?

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A friend was on the phone the other night and we were talking about the result in Alaska — where a half-million dollars in TV ads by the Tea Party Express helped push Joe Miller to a surprising victory — and my friend said, “Well, you know, now that they’ve finished up that Alaska thing, what about Delaware? . . . It’s only three counties. They could have a heckuva impact with just $150,000 there.”

Indeed, Christine O’Donnell has been endorsed by the Tea Party Express in her GOP Senate primary fight against RINO Mike Castle, and now national media are pondering such a possibility:

Castle, running for the seat formerly held by Vice President Joe Biden, is competing with long-shot opponent Christine O’Donnell, a conservative commentator . . . who has aligned herself with local tea party groups. . . .
The Tea Party Express sent out a fundraising appeal Friday focusing on the Delaware primary, that called Castle “one of the most vile RINO’s you will meet (Republican In Name Only).” The anti-abortion Susan B. Anthony List has also endorsed O’Donnell. . . .
“Our biggest challenge right now is that not enough Republican voters know about this primary,” O’Donnell acknowledged, insisting that the race was still winnable. “It’s a closed primary against the most liberal Republican in the House.”
O’Donnell has also aggressively courted conservative Internet activists, appearing at the RightOnline conference in Las Vegas last month and focusing her message on the possibility of a lame duck Senate session where the winner of Delaware’s special Senate election might end up voting on key legislation. . . .

Yeah, she’s a “long-shot candidate,” just like that Alaska guy I interviewed in early July when he he was still “Joe Who?”

The odds against O’Donnell may be even longer. Delaware state GOP chairman Tom Ross is totally sold out for the Castle campaign, and evidently Castle thinks he’s got it so locked up he doesn’t even need to show up at candidate forums.

However, it’s estimated Christine would only need 20,000 votes to win the Sept. 14 primary, and I’m betting that there are at least 20,000 Republicans in Delaware who are sick and tired of Tom Ross and his RINO buddy Mke Castle.

CHRISTINE O’DONNELL for U.S. SENATE

Lisa the Loser vs. Joe Miller, RINO Killer UPDATE: Now 23,000 Ballots Still Out, Count Won’t End Until . . . Sept. 8? UPDATE: Palin Predicts Miller Win

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When last we left the sordid Senate saga in Alaska, the NRSC had flown its top lawyer to Anchorage to help Sen. Lisa Murkowski try to steal the election from Joe Miller. According to the No. 2 official in the Alaska LP, it’s highly unlikely Lisa the Loser could get the Libertarian nomination.

If she can’t gin up enough phony absentee ballots to overturn Miller’s 1,668-vote margin of victory in Tuesday’s GOP primary, she’s on her way to being an ex-Senator, and so now Lisa the Loser is on the attack:

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) pushed back against her Republican opponent Joe Miller on Friday, calling him “paranoid” for suggesting that she is conspiring with her legal team to steal victory in Tuesday’s primary.
Miller holds a narrow lead over the incumbent Murkowski, who has vowed not to concede until all 20,000 absentee ballots have been counted . . .
“To suggest that the NRSC has sent an attorney to Alaska to skew results is paranoid,” Murkowski said.

OK, to start with, it was originally estimated that there were 8,000 absentee ballots to be counted. Now suddenly we are told it’s 20,000? But never mind that. If Murkowski is so doggone confident of victory, why did she demand that the NRSC send its general counsel to Alaska? She’s sitting on more than $1 million in leftover campaign cash. Can’t she pay for her own lawyers?

Now let’s address Murkowski’s accusation that Miller is “paranoid.” This afternoon, I spoke by phone to a Miller campaign volunteer who lives near Fairbanks and who described the harassment he’s received from Murkowski supporters.

“I’m getting tons of crank calls — you wouldn’t believe it,” said the volunteer, who explained that some anti-Miller activists had targeted him due to his online work for the campaign. Murkowski supporters in his community, however, had learned of his pro-Miller stance directly.

“I’ve lost a lot of [Republican] friends who turned out to be closet liberals . . . RINOs,” he said, describing one friend’s reaction as “Oh my God, you’re a f***ing bagger” — i.e., a “teabagger,” the Left’s preferred epithet for Tea Party activists.

As to the Team Joe strategy for the absentee ballot count, the volunteer said, “I leave that to the legal eagles,” noting that Miller is a lawyer (J.D., Yale Law) and that campaign manager Robert Campbell is also a lawyer.

We are grateful to King Shamus for this photo:

JOE MILLER for U.S. SENATE

UPDATE: I don’t understand this heavy-duty analysis at Swing State Project, but it suggests that the absentee and provisional ballots are likely to favor Miller.

UPDATE II: The Associated Press says it’s 23,000 ballots:

Republican challenger Joe Miller holds a narrow lead over incumbent Sen. Lisa Murkowski in Alaska’s GOP Senate race, which remains too close to call with more 23,000 absentee, questioned and early ballots not yet counted.
State elections workers will begin to count absentee ballots Tuesday. Division of Elections officials estimated 16,000 absentee ballots were sent out before the election. Ballots mailed from within the United States must arrive by Sept. 3 to be valid. Ballots mailed internationally must arrive before Sept. 8.
The ballots to be counted include almost 9,000 questioned ballots flagged by Division of Elections officials because the voter’s intent might not be clear. Another 663 votes were cast during the “early voting” process on Election Day and await counting.

OK, so the count won’t be officially finished until at least a week from Wednesday, with lots of opportunity for shenanigans. I gotta be there.

UPDATE III: From Robert Costa at National Review:

After A Brief ‘Reagan Tribute’ On
The Couch, Thoughts Return To
‘Restoring Honor’

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by Smitty

First, one should offer some shouts to fellow bloggers:

  • Sorry to the TD of the Washington Rebel that my phone battery ran out, and we couldn’t get back together. The informal gathering at the Army and Navy Club with Wombat Rampant, which transitioned to the ever-tasty Shelly’s Backroom, and a conversation that we should have recorded for a podcast. Truly great Americans, those two.
  • Thanks to Dave C for the lift. He ignored every bit of my advice, with great results. Possibly, arriving an hour earlier would have been better, but we didn’t dare hope the event would be that well attended. His ‘future-swimmer’ daughter (he’ll have to explain), however, needs to be kept a safe distance from Stacy’s youngest, as that much cute in a small area could lead to a cuteness singularity. Safety, people.
  • After the event we wound up across the street from Shelly’s at the National Press Food Court, where we met Adam Brickley of Draft Sarah Palin fame. Yet another podcast-worthy gumflap ensued. Until we get our techno act together, your attention is drawn to The Delivery. Back to lunch, Adam pointed out that the Special Operations Warrior Fund raised North of $5 million, and that the amount raised via texting could help estimate crowd size, at least for establishing a lower bound.

Around the blogosphere, Continue reading After A Brief ‘Reagan Tribute’ On
The Couch, Thoughts Return To
‘Restoring Honor’ →

Forgotten Victims of Sharptonism: Remembering Yankel Rosenbaum

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“Al Sharpton is a professional bigot. During his long career the Reverend has incited two anti-Semitic pogroms; the Crown Heights riot and the firebombing of the Jewish-owned Freddy’a Fashion Mart in Harlem. Each of the Sharpton-incited pogroms resulted in deaths, but now for some unknown reason Reverend Al believes he is the caretaker of religious tolerance in the country . . .”

Sarah Palin at Restoring Honor Rally

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The world’s biggest Facebook page provides full text of her speech at Glenn Beck’s event in Washington, D.C.:

In cities and towns across our country, you’ll find monuments to brave Americans wearing the uniforms of wars from long ago, and look down at their inscriptions, you’ll see that they were so often dedicated by mothers. In distant lands across the globe, you’ll find silent fields of white markers with the names of Americans who never came home, but who showed their dedication to their country by where they died.
We honor those who served something greater than self and made the ultimate sacrifice, as well as those who served and did come home forever changed by the battlefield. Though this rally is about “restoring honor,” for these men and women honor was never lost! If you look for the virtues that have sustained our country, you will find them in those who wear the uniform, who take the oath, who pay the price for our freedom. . . .

Read the whole thing — a welcome antidote to that SEIU thug who said the thousands of peaceful citizens who turned out for Beck’s rally “represent hate-mongering and angry white people.”

UPDATE: Sissy Willis has some relevant thoughts on Obama’s “Hellenistic hubris” and links Melissa Clouthier:

Lots of people, hundreds of thousands of them showed up for the Restoring Honor rally at the Lincoln Memorial. The bitter clingers keep showing up.

“Bitter clingers of America, unite!”

UPDATE II: Smitty was in attendance at the rally, and I’m sure he’ll have more to report if he ever makes it back home. Meanwhile, Instapundit rounds up the crowd estimates — it seems that 300,000 is the, er, conservative estimate — and quotes a reader’s e-mail:

In other words, Glenn Beck’s rally drew more people than Keith Olbermann has viewers.

Wonder how many would turn out for a Keith Olberman rally? He could call it “Restoring Unpopularity.”

UPDATE III: Looks like Dave C. from Point of a Gun car-pooled with Admiral Smith:

Smitty and I arrived right when the rally started and couldn’t crowd our way up more than halfway up along the Reflecting Pool. Those press credentials I printed out myself could only get so far.

Doggone it, guys, if I could have been there — $678! — we would have been chilling backstage with Glenn and Sarah.

Obviously, I need to start teaching seminars on how to b.s. your way past security: First, always wear a sports coat and a shirt with a collar.

Forget about comfort. If you’ve got an official full-access credential, you can dress like a fat tourist on vacation, but otherwise, it’s important to look like a legitimate member of the working press. And nothing says “legit” like a sports coat and button-down oxford.

Remember: There is no law against impersonating a journalist.

UPDATE IV: “Bummer about that turnout, Al.”

UPDATE V: Jimmie Bise Jr. links reports from Smitty and many other bloggers who attended:

I prefer to get my news from people who were at the rally, instead of those who carp and snark from the sidelines.

Word.

Watch Out, Smitty: Rev. Al Sharpton and Code Pink Are Heading Your Way!

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While Smitty is blogging from the Reflecting Pool, Al Sharpton is leading a march from Dunbar High School that is being live-blogged by The Washington Post‘s Krissah Thompson, a few excerpts of which are illustrative:

Joyce White arrived at a what she called a counter-march to Fox News host Glenn Beck’s rally. She came to remember the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech but also to show her opposition to Beck.
“If we hadn’t elected a black president, do you think they would be doing this today?” she asked. . . .
The bleachers [at the Dunbar High football field] still weren’t filled 10 minutes before the “Reclaim the Dream” rally organized by the Rev. Al Sharpton was scheduled to start. . . .
Bianca Farmer, a senior at Dunbar High School, received big applause when she told the crowd not to stop at celebrating Obama. “We must be fearful of stopping there,” she said. “The fight is not in the same arena as it was 47 years ago but the fight lives on.” . . .
Representatives are here from various District political campaigns, labor unions and churches . . .
The Rev. Al Sharpton said in an interview before he spoke to thousands at his rally in Northwest Washington that “people are clear in what Dr. King’s dream was about and we will not react to those who try to distort that dream.” . . .

(Uh, if you’re not going to “react,” why the march?)

“Shame on them. We still have a dream. We are here to let those folks on the Mall know that they don’t represent the dream,” said Jaime Contreras, president of SEIU-32BJ. “They sure as hell don’t represent me. They represent hate-mongering and angry white people. . . .”
Education Secretary Arne Duncan told the ralliers gathered at Dunbar High School that education is the civil rights issue of this generation. . . .
Code Pink is also at the rally, along with other anti-war protesters. The crowd showcases a mixture of progressive/liberal causes.

Code Pink? What the heck is that about? Well, anyway, the 5-mile march from Dunbar to the Lincoln Memorial started a little after 2 p.m., and was reported to be moving slowly. So if Smitty heads home before supper, he’ll miss his chance to “represent hate-mongering” to the Rev. Sharpton, Code Pink, SEIU, and their friends.

UPDATE: The husky ponytailed blogger can’t stand it:


Explaining the specific causes of Charles Johnson’s failure as a writer — his inability to compose persuasive rhetoric, etc. — would be a simple task, but why bother with analysis? Just enjoy the laughs.

UPDATE II: The Sharpton march denouement:

When the Sharpton rally reached the mall, most of the crowd from Beck’s rally had begun to disperse. Those remaining, mostly smiled politely. . . .
“Glen Beck, we’re going to show you. We ain’t going to let Glenn Beck turn us around,” one man shouted into a megaphone. . . . “We need to be shouting ‘we are America,'” said one woman in Sharpton’s rally. “See all those tea baggers.”

In other words, Sharpton’s crowd wanted a confrontation, and the Restoring Honor participants just smiled, probably thinking to themselves: “We’ve got Sarah Palin and 300,000 people. Who do you have? Al Sharpton, SEIU and a bunch of freaking Code Pink losers? Nov. 2 is just nine weeks away. Have a nice day.”

Restoring Honor: Thank You, Warriors

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by Smitty

REFLECTING POOL, WASHINGTON, DC–It’s an hour into the Restoring Honor event. What a great undertaking. This is a great exercise in American Exceptionalism. Beck’s religiosity is right out front, but mostly ecumenical. While no mention is made of anyone in office, one wonders if the monitors carry the word ‘Faith’ to nearby residences, whether or not their occupants are on holiday.
The focus is on the troops. Sarah Palin offered introductions and anecdotes about several Veteran attendees including one Hanoi Hilton alumnus. If I may use the ‘P’ word, she sounded quite. . .poised, for all the stories were heart-rending.
Beck had started the ceremony by noting that the Media had called and estimated the attendance at 1,000. Here is a quick crowd pan, so that you can judge for your self what an exaggerating fibber that notorious Beck is:

Here was a shot walking toward the event:
Guessing that George Washington would have approved.
Even though the event is deliberately apolitical, let us not be coy: it was apolitical in that parties and names younger than Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. were left out, but the timing/location/choice of material Speak Volumes.
The event rolled along somewhat awkwardly, going from the military focus to Dr. King’s niece, who gave great speech, in my opinion.
I was shuffling out as Beck came back on to attempt a synthesis of the two strains of thought, using the Gettysburg address as a vehicle. I thought it a fine effort; Beck put MLK’s peaceful legacy alongside the warrior legacy of the monuments all stood among, and both were shown to point to the founding ideas of the country.
Then he made it personal, by refusing to admit a distance between the individuals in the crowd and the names crowding the history books. We must each step up to the plate in our own way to keep those founding ideas alive.
Thank you, Glenn.