Closing Arguments

Comcast "forgot" to air this in Delaware:


We the People of the First State from Friends of Christine O'Donnell

Chris Coons: Jobs Killer, Tax Hiker, Corruptocrat

If you like high unemployment, if you think taxes should be raised when the economy is weak, if you think we need more politicians in Washington who will help themselves to profitable deals, and if you like politicians who have trouble understanding the Bill of Rights, Chris Coons is your man.

Here are some informative links on Chris Coons:

• Higher unemployment, more debt and higher taxes… Coons' impact on the Delaware economy

• Chris Coons' Vote in the Senate Would Boost His Family's Profits

• Chris Coons raised property taxes 54%. He promised as a candidate NOT to raise taxes (video).

• Chris Coons Was Sued Three Times In 2007 For Retaliating Against Public Employees For Their Political Views.

• Does Chris Coons understand how badly people are hurting in Delaware?

• By Coons’ Own Standard, He Led The County From Being “Fundamentally Sound” To The Verge Of Bankruptcy.

• Coons Abused County Pension System for Political Payoffs

• Chris Coons Remains Confused on the First Amendment

• Delaware Physicians Take Issue with Chris Coons' Statements on Health Care

• Chris Coons can’t name the five freedoms in the First Amendment

• Chris Coons Punished Public Employees for Political Views

• Coons vs. Coons On Raising Taxes

Cross-posted at Left Coast Rebel

Christine O'Donnell Schools Chris Coons

Christine O'Donnell scored big points against Chrissy "Chrome Dome" Coons in a debate on Tuesday during which Christine and Chrissy discussed the First Amendment. Coons misquoted the First Amendment and showed that he's blissfully unaware of about 80% of its content.

The willfully blind left-wing media refuse to acknowledge that their candidate was punked, but the video evidence speaks for itself:

h/t: Gateway Pundit

As O'Donnell correctly points out, Coons' words are not in the Constitution.

Note that Coons timidly and inartfully misquotes the establishment clause of the First Amendment:

“Government shall make no establishment of religion..."

I have no idea what the heck that's supposed to mean, but the First Amendment is crystal clear. Contrast Coons' stupid with the Constitution's sublime:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..."

The distinction between the phrases "Separation of Church and State" and "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion" is critically important (and so is the distinction between "government" and "Congress"), and it's clear from the video that Christine O'Donnell very deliberately highlighted this difference:

• "Where in the Constitution is the 'Separation of Church and State?'"

• "So you're telling me there's a separtion of Church and State, the phrase 'separation of Church and State' is found in the first Amendment?"

• “Let me just clarify: You’re telling me that the separation of church and state is found in the First Amendment?”

Here's the crux of their discussion of the matter:

Coons: "The First Amendment, the First Amendment establishes the separation, the fact the Federal Government shall not establish a religion, and decisonal law by the Supreme Court over many, many decades clarifies and enshrines..."

O'Donnell: "The First Amendment does?" [smiling tauntingly and speaking with a didactic tone]

Coons: "...clarifies and enshrines that there is a separation of Church and State that our courts and our laws must respect."

O'Donnell: "So you're telling me there's a separtion of Church and State, the phrase 'separation of Church and State' is found in the first Amendment?"

...and then Coons pontificates about the Court's sacred right to legislate from the bench.

Coons and O'Donnell were debating in parallel, focusing on two separate issues. Coons was fixated on a hackneyed statist meme, i.e., "the text of the Constitution means whatever liberal judges want it to mean," and O'Donnell was focused on a more sophisticated point, i.e., the constitution is NOT a living, breathing document to be raped and abused at will. Every single word of the Constitution is critically important, as the Constitution is the only thing standing between the American people and an abusive Congress or a tyrannical majority.

Dan Riehl reminds us of what all this means, specifically as it relates to the First Amendment:

While the amendment is clear on the government establishing a religion - no doubt driven by previous events in England, the amendment itself does not mandate that all religion be driven out of government. Separation and establishment are two distinctly different things.

Coons' brand of willful ignorance has real-world consequences and implications:

The First Amendment was designed to protect religion from governmental interference and obstruction. Today, by contrast, the courts seem intent on protecting the people from religion.

Thus the ACLU and other far-left groups use the courts to banish religion from the public square. Christian conservatives like O'Donnell naturally find this disconcerting. The First Amendment, after all, protects the free exercise of religion. Yet the courts increasingly have been infringing upon this basic Constitutional liberty.

So while the elites cluck in disapproval at what they believe is O'Donnell's faux pas, the reality is she knows and understands the Constitution better than they do.

Lefties (and even some squishy Righties) do appear to be sincerely convinced that O'Donnell's didactic interrogation of Chris Coons indicates that she didn't know the answers to the questions she was asking. I'm not buying that. Later in the debate, O'Donnell demonstrated her in-depth familiarity with the First Amendment by challenging Chris Coons:

O’Donnell was later able to score some points of her own off the remark, revisiting the issue to ask Coons if he could identify the “five freedoms guaranteed in the First Amendment.”

Coons named the separation of church and state, but could not identify the others — the freedoms of speech, press, to assemble and petition — and asked that O’Donnell allow the moderators ask the questions.

“I guess he can’t,” O’Donnell said.

I'm guessing the same. As Michelle Malkin put it, "When he got caught with his own intellectual pants down, Coons runs to the moderators for cover."

Neo-neocon provides astute analysis:

I have noticed a trend in the MSM that goes like this: the press decides that certain candidates on the right are idiots (Palin and O’Connell come to mind, and Bush before them). There is then a sort of lying-in-wait for the absurd utterance to reveal the utterly moronic nature of that person. However, since the press and pundits are not necessarily brilliant critical thinkers themselves, the utterance they fasten in is often (not always, but often) actually more intelligent than they realize. They may not agree with it, but it is seldom based on nothing, and they reveal their own ignorance in their laughing derision of it.

The controversy surrounding 1773-gate is another excellent example of this phenomenon. HillBuzz: "Whenever the Left attempts to attack and ridicule anyone, they normally just damage themselves, without realizing it."

Excellent discussion at neo-neocon and Michelle Malkin.

More: Memeorandum

Cross-posted at Left Coast Rebel

Update: Christine O'Donnell may be as "stupid" as Justice Scalia:

Roundup

A Delaware-themed roundup...

• Ruby Slippers: O'Donnell's a contender says ... Chris Matthews?
• The Lonely Conservative: We keep hearing that O’Donnell is unelectable. Isn’t that what they said about Marco Rubio?
• Jeri Thompson: Lest we forget, this was the seat held by a plagiarizing career politician incapable of keeping his foot out of his mouth, Joe Biden.
• Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion: Rachel Maddow Sexualizes Christine O'Donnell [Ew!]
• The Other McCain: Do you think Americans don’t masturbate enough?
• Moe Lane: “I’m glad he’s running. I just think the world of him. He’s my pet.”
• Left Coast Rebel: Cannibalism, masturbation and furry little pet coons
• Temple of Mut: Will the people of Delaware look kindly on a "Bearded Marxist?"
• No Sheeples Here: One thing is clear, the political climate has changed.

And a great one from Nice Deb that's a bit off topic: Don't believe the liberal media!

Primary Updates and Observations (O'Donnell Wins)

Via Left Coast Rebel: Voila, the Christine O'Donnell victory speech from tonight's smashing tea party primary win:

Wall Street Journal: NRSC: No Plans to Fund O’Donnell

NY Results: Jay Townsend wins GOP nomination to take on Chucky Schumer. Doug Hoffman trailing Doheny (53/47) with 83.1% reporting.

11:44 p.m. NH-Sen: Conservative Lamontagne in the lead with 40.7% of the vote in GOP primary (31.6% reporting).

Maryland Results: Harris takes MD-01 in GOP primary, Wargotz (recently a Democrat) in the lead in GOP Senate primary with 58% reporting.

11:26 p.m. Marty Lamb (recently a Democrat) wins MA-03 GOP primary, Sean Bielat wins MA-04 GOP primary (Barney Frank's district).

Michelle Malkin: Delaware election website reports that GOP voter turnout is 26% today, while Dem voter turnout is 9%.

D. Loesch (via cprater): Grassroots just showed NRSC that they are irrelevant. If they want to take their ball and go home I'll help give them a ride.

10:18 p.m. Charles Lollar wins!

9:57 p.m: WI-07: Duffy 66.4% (with 4% reporting)

9:52 p.m. MD-05 - Lollar 63.8%, Bailey 26.8%... 27.8% reporting

9:44 p.m. 2.6% reporting - NY-23 - Doheny 51.3%, Hoffman 48.7%

Michelle Malkin: "Nine-term, cap&tax, bailout buddy Soros Republican Mike Castle has been denied a Senate seat." Thank you, Christine

Nice RSM quote: Christine O’Donnell has won the Delaware GOP Senate primary, defeating Mike Castle, Allahpundit, Charles Krauthammer, and Jim Geraghty.

9:25 p.m. MD-Sen: Jim Rutledge 35%, Eric Wargotz 31% with only 2% in

Will the GOP establishement stop promoting Scozzafavas, Specters and Castles now? Doubt it.

9:10 p.m. NH-SEN - Lamontagne 49%, Ayotte 34% (with 9% reporting).

9:09 p.m. The Other McCain: PRIMARY ELECTION RESULTS HQ UPDATE: O’DONNELL WINS!

9:06 p.m. Via southsalem "85% in... 54% / 46% in favor of O'Donnell..."

9:01 p.m. Wow. 11 point lead for Christine! Christine O'Donnell, 55%; Michael Castle, 44%... 37% precincts reporting. Palin Power? Anti-incumbent fever? Tea Party insanity? Everyone will pick their own favorite narrative.

8:59 p.m. NH-SEN with 7.3% reporting - 50% Lamontagne, 33.1% Ayotte.

8:57 p.m: 37% reporting - O'Donnell at 55.4%, Castle 44.6%

8:37 p.m.

Christine O'Donnell 54%,

Michael Castle 45%;

14% precincts reporting

Final Hours: Christine O'Donnell For U.S. Senate!

Seven states and the District of Columbia will hold primary elections today. The most controversial race is that of conservative Christine O'Donnell vs. liberal Mike Castle in Delaware. You can read about the controversy elsewhere. Right now, I want to highlight some reasons why voters in Delaware should vote for Christine O'Donnell...

1. The most principled conservative in the U.S. Senate, Jim DeMint, has endorsed Christine O'Donnell. Here's DeMint's endorsement:

"In Delaware, Christine O’Donnell is fighting for her life against an establishment machine that is terrified by her rapid rise in the polls. Despite being massively outspent and ignored by Washington insiders, she’s now within only 9 points[*] of her opponent, according to one poll.

The choice in Delaware could not be more clear. Christine’s opponent, Rep. Mike Castle, supports a cap-and-trade energy tax, he opposes the repeal of ObamaCare, he supports earmarks, he’s pro-choice, and is anti-Second Amendment.

"Christine has earned the endorsement of conservative leaders like Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, and Sarah Palin. And just yesterday, she won the support of the National Rifle Association because she will fight to protect our Second Amendment rights to keep and bear arms.

"If we’re willing to fight for Christine in the final hours of this race, she can and she will win this seat for conservatives."

*At this point, the race is too close to call, PPP puts Christine O'Donnell 3 points ahead of Mike Castle.

2. Christine O'Donnell is right on the issues. Here's a selection of her views taken from her campaign website:

Christine...

• Believes jobs are created when businesses are freed from endless taxes and bureaucratic red tape.
• Believes heaping trillions in debt on the backs of our grandchildren is immoral and that Congress is elected to make the hard choices to preserve our nation’s future prosperity.
• Believes unrestrained government spending is eroding our freedom, destroying our economy and ceding our sovereignty to foreign debt- holders like China.
• Believes our country was founded on core values of faith, family and freedom and will fight to defend those values. Will always fight for maximum choice for parents about where to educate their kids, including private, parochial and charter schools or in the home.
• Believes that the solution to the healthcare crisis is less government meddling in the doctor/patient relationship, more competition in the insurance market and more choice for families about their health plan.
• Christine’s strong support of 2nd Amendment rights has earned her an “A” rating from the NRA.

3. Christine is an articulate grassroots conservative whose voice is sorely needed in the U.S. Senate. I submit the following as evidence:

Quick Hits

• Kaboom: O’Donnell over Castle
• Why Christine O’Donnell Is Surging: Three Ads From Tea Party Express
• Governor Palin Robocall For Christine O'Donnell (Video)
• Rush Limbaugh on Christine O'Donnell (Audio)
• The Ruling Class Hits Christine O'Donnell
• Today, we are seeing the American people draw a line in the sand. They are tired not just of Obama and company, but gutless Republicans.
• Mike Castle: An Obama/Soros Republican.
• Castle: An Extreme Liberal
• Mike Castle voted with Democrats for a Bush impeachment resolution.
• Why No Interest In Mike Castle's Corrupt Lobbyist Problems?
• The Republican Establishment has dug a protective moat around Castle. The problem is, we can swim.

Cross-posted at Left Coast Rebel