Standing Behind Principles

Watching this election cycle has been rather interesting as it is turning out to have a rather unconventional outcome in the primaries. Tonight, the unconventional nature of this Election cycle was raised tenfold with the Primary Victory of Christine O'Donnell in the Republican Primary against Congressman (and perceived RINO) Mike Castle. Serving in Congress and being a former Delaware Governor, Castle was seen as a shoe-in. Even though, his campaign mercilessly attacked O'Donnell. Maybe they saw her as a threat, maybe they had contempt for her and her supporters (as the 'these people'comments make some believe) Other more conservative outlets, such as the Weekly Standard, did not support Christine O'Donnell, claiming she has baggage and is unelectable. With her win tonight, even Karl Rove is questionable about her viability. Other sore losers from Mike Castle to the NRSC, until this morning, are standing against Christine O'Donnell. I come from the school of you rally around the winner, which the ruling class of the Republican party so often tells the Conservatives. The 'establishment' didn't do that in 2001 when Bret Schundler won the NJ Gubernatorial nomination, so this behavior doesn't surprise me. I don't disagree that it is an uphill climb, just as the Chris Christie victory in New Jersey was, just as the Scott Brown victory in Massachusetts was, but I don't accept the premise that she is unelectable.

The big question we see before us in many Republican Primaries this election season is the following: Do we support the "establishment" candidate, who may not agree with us, because they can more easily win, or do we support the candidate who aligns with our views, despite the difficulty of winning? Every time, I have to go with principles. My principles are important to me, whether in politics, personal life or in business. At all costs, principles must be upheld and if I do otherwise, I would compromise my own beliefs and doubt that I could live with myself. (Some of you may claim a double standard as I supported the "establishment" candidate in the GOP NJ-CD6 Primary, but I believed Diane Gooch to be the more conservative candidate, and now that the nominee has been determined, I support Anna Little in the election, but I digress) Politicians or no politicians, I respect people who stand by their principles and think they show strong qualities of leadership. With those who do not, this comes back to bite them in the end, whether in politics or the professional world.

Back to Delaware. Nearly 24 hours after, Christine O'Donnell raised nearly $750,000! Michael Steele and the RNC are supporting her and the NRSC is now supporting her. This is a race and it's turning out to be that her opponent, Chris Coons, once referred to himself as a Bearded Marxist and was called, by Harry Reid his pet. O'Donnell is proving to capably fundraise, needs to have a strong ground game and knock on as many doors as possible. "All politics are local," is the game in Delaware as it's the 2nd smallest state and heavily relies on the Philadelphia media market the same way New Jersey relies on not only Philadelphia's media market, but New York City's. Christine O'Donnell should do well in Kent and Sussex Counties (Delaware's two southern counties), but needs to have gains in New Castle County (location of the 95 corridor and Wilmington/Newark). I will be watching this election closely.