The New Castle GOP Committee has “SELECTED” former state Representative Tom Kovak to run in the special election to be the next New Castle County Council president. Mr. Kovak has just come off the loss of his state Representative seat in the recent election.
Many in the party see this as just another Delaware GOP backroom deal. They see his selection as just another in a long line of bad choices. The more conservative faction within the GOP see Mr. Kovak as a clone of defeated U.S. Representative Mike Castle, who was defeated in the recent GOP primary by the conservative Christine O’Donnell.
Even after the recent loss of Michele Rollins and Mike Castle in the GOP primary, both were the GOP endorsed candidates, the NCC GOP Committee chooses another left leaning “MODERATE”. Moderate has become code speak for someone the GOP hopes will appeal to Democrat voters. In the press release Mr. Kovak is described as a “FISCAL CONSERVATIVE”, this is code speak for moderate and someone who the GOP hopes will appeal to Democrats.
Unfortunately for the Delaware GOP and the Republican voters, the GOP never cares to appeal to GOP voters. The GOP just expects us to stand in line and do as we are told by the establishment. Not going to happen!
It would seem that the same party establishment that had their candidates defeated in the GOP primary have learned nothing. They have again chosen a party insider and someone who will surely alienate the more conservative faction within the GOP, and will leave them home. Some from the NCC GOP have asked for help from the lower counties. I wouldn’t hold my breath. Conservative voters who hold to their principles will not ride to New Castle to support someone who most likely doesn’t share them.
Again the state GOP and its county committees have missed the message of the recent election cycle. They think because the two conservatives at the top of the ticket lost, that this means that we should return to their losing ways of selecting moderate candidates. I will admit that Delaware in general got it wrong this election. If you look around the country conservatives candidates did very well, but in Delaware, not so much. Is this because conservatives can’t win in Delaware? I don’t think so. I feel that the problem was that the GOP establishment was not behind these two candidates with full force and commitment. So no change at the top of the party, no change in the type of candidates they choose.
Until the GOP establishment and leadership understands that they need the more conservative faction within the party, until they address the issues that effect all citizens across party lines, until they get it, that conservatism is not just about fiscal issues, then they are doomed to fail.
Let me try again to give an example of how I believe that the GOP should and can reach out to historically Democrat voters.
“As a fiscal conservative with a proven record of fighting excessive government spending and higher taxes, Tom knows how to hold government accountable. Tom’s candidacy will offer voters a clear and unmistakable choice between someone who will challenge the tired status quo that has led to conflicts of interest, shortsighted planning, higher taxes and a systemic budget deficit, and the forces that have been part of the problem.”
That was from the press release announcing Mr. Kovak’s selection. Please tell me what in that description will appeal to a struggling single mother. Tell me what in that will appeal to a family living in one of Wilmington’s poorer neighborhoods, who worries about their children’s safety as they walk to school? What in that addresses the drug problem in the county? Does the NCC GOP Committee really think that the people of NCC who are living in the poorest areas of the county care about , “a systemic budget deficit” ? Who is the GOP attempting to reach with this short-sighted message? Are they trying to reach out to rank and file Democrats and Republicans? Or just people who write checks?
We can never win in Delaware until we reach out to all people as citizens. We can never win using this narrow message of so-called fiscal conservatism. We can never win by compromising on core values and principles. A single mother in New Castle who is struggling to keep her son off of drugs, and trying to make sure that her daughter has an education before she has a baby, cares nothing about “a systemic budget deficit”.
Politically Frank 