BY SCOTT SCHNEIDER
Like any other conservative running in 2010, Christine O'Donnell hopes that a November 2 victory signals the end of a damaging era in American Politics. For Christine; however, there is an added weight to the occasion. . .she would be the winner of an open race that could throw the Democrat's plans for a lame-duck counteroffensive into a tailspin.
Christine is running for Vice President Joe Biden's open Senate seat in Delaware. Because Biden has vacated his term, her reign as Republican Senator would begin immediately on November 3 and the Senate make-up now at 59 Democrats, generally filibuster proof, would be reduced to 58, or only marginally filibuster-proof and the Democrat's plans for a late-session Cap-and-Trade, Card-Check, tax-hiking bonanza would be in shambles.
Contrasting that with Christine's Republican opponent, a RINO in Mike Castle, a career congressman who has generally voted with Democrats on just about every single major spending issue including being one of the infamous 8 who voted for the Waxman-Markey Cap-And-Trade bill, the ability for Christine to win the Sept 14, 2010 primary election makes her race particularly vital to the conservative cause this fall.
According to WIKIPEDIA and her Website CHRISTINE O'DONNELL Christine was born and raised in New Jersey to a mother of Italian-American descent and a father of Irish-American descent and was one of six children. She says she remembers sharing a bedroom with four sisters and her father worked three jobs to take care of the family.
She studied English and Communications at Fairleigh Dickinson University, but did not receive a degree. Afterward she began working for the Republican National Committee for several years in Washington where she began to hone her political arguments and understanding and is credited with helping to develop the marketing strategy that played a key role in the historic ’94 Republican Congressional sweep. She was awarded a 2002 Abraham Lincoln Graduate Fellowship in Constitutional Government from the Claremont Institute in Claremont, CA.
In 2003, Christine moved to Delaware to work for the conservative publisher Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) in Hockessin and also branched out into work as a marketing consultant for The Passion of the Christ and Natalia Tsarkova, the Vatican's first female portrait painter. In addition, she has put her political skills to work providing commentary on TV ratings bonanzas like "The O’Reilly Factor,” “Hannity & Colmes,” “The Glenn Beck Show,” and “Entertainment Tonight.” And is also a frequent radio talk show guest-host on WGMD in Rehoboth Beach and WDEL in Wilmington, DE.
She has recently been endorsed by Redstate's Erick Erickson REDSTATE, the TEA PARTY EXPRESS, GUN OWNERS OF AMERICA, THE FAMILY RESEARCH COUNCIL, and ONE NATION PAC.
Christine talked with me this week about her campaign and why she is perhaps the most vital component in the race to take back the House and Senate and stop the Obama/Reid/Pelosi train-wreck in 2010.
1. PEOPLE OUT OF DELAWARE MIGHT NOT KNOW WHY YOUR ELECTION IS SO SIGNIFICANT; CAN YOU EXPLAIN IN YOUR OWN WORDS WHY THE RESULTS ON NOVEMBER 2 WILL AFFECT THE NATION?
It’s critical that Delaware elect a true Constitutionalist on Nov 2 for two reasons. First, this is a special election for the US Senate seat vacated by VP Biden, which means that the winner will be seated *immediately* after election day, rather than waiting until the start of the new Congress in January. That means that if elected, I could be one of the critical votes to help stop an outrageous Democrat Lame Duck bonanza, as Democrats voted out of office by the American people seek to have their final revenge. The second reason it’s critical to elect a conservative is that whether or not Republicans take back the Senate, the margin there will be very slim in either direction. This means that liberal Republicans who tend to vote with Harry Reid will have an incredible power to either thwart a Republican majority or side with a Democrat majority. In the past, liberal Republicans have seriously undermined the conservative agenda, including forcing the Bush tax cuts to be substantially less than they otherwise would have been. My primary opponent is the most liberal Republican serving in the House. As a Congressman, he has voted with Nancy Pelosi an astounding majority of his votes, including for the job-killing national energy tax known as “Cap and Trade.” He also was the Republican lead sponsor on the embryonic stem cell research bill and the first amendment-shredding DISCLOSE Act. Americans from every state, not just Delaware, should be very concerned about a liberal Republican being elected to this seat.
2. YOU COME FROM A LARGE FAMILY; CAN YOU DESCRIBE THE ROLE FAMILY HAS PLAYED IN YOUR CORE VALUES?
I'm one of six children whose parents taught us that while life can be hard, hard work makes life better. My father worked three jobs in order to put food on the table and clothes on our back. My mom's ability to make ends meet on such a tight budget taught me how to stretch a dollar. As adults, my siblings and I all hold different political beliefs, yet regardless, we support each other unconditionally. That dynamic around my mom's Sunday dinner table certainly has prepared me to hold my own in the political arena.
On a serious note, my family was always a rock and a refuge for me and fewer and fewer American children are growing up with that kind of support and unconditional love from a loving, two-parent family. I will fight hard for those values to be preserved in the U.S. Senate.
Christine with her suit jacket on and ready to go!
3. BP's OIL SPILL IN THE GULF HAS LED THE PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD TO DISCUSS AMERICA'S ENERGY POLICIES AND QUEST FOR INDEPENDENCE. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT OBAMA'S DRILLING MORATORIUM AND THE FUTURE OF OFF-SHORE DRILLING IN AMERICA?
Domestic oil and gas exploration is critical not only to our energy independence, but also our national security and our economic recovery. No one is disputing whether new appropriate safety regulations should be considered in order to prevent this disaster from occurring again. Yet, the Obama job-killing, judiciary-defying moratorium is a catastrophe for our ability to achieve all three of the above goals, especially for the already down-and-out working families of our hard-hit Gulf region. Either Barack Obama is too ignorant to understand the devastating effect of this outrageous policy, or he doesn’t care. My primary opponent is no friend to America’s energy workers either, since he voted for the cap-and-trade bill which would kill jobs and raise energy prices on every family.
4. WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER "RESPONSIBLE SPENDING" AND WHAT DO YOU THINK IT WILL TAKE FOR THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO SPEND RESPONSIBLY?
Responsible spending is spending which puts the next generation ahead of the next election. Responsible spending means that taxpayer money is treated as a precious trust and should be spent by politicians as if it were their own. It means we do not demand that Americans yet unborn pay for the government programs we want for ourselves. It means we don’t spend more than we have.
The way to achieve this is to replace career politicians with citizen politicians. When the job becomes more important than the people, career politicians betray their oath and spend for political expediency instead of out of good stewardship. Second, we need to elect fiscal conservatives to every branch of government. Mere party affiliation simply will not do, as we have seen from many past Congresses. I wouldn’t oppose forcing Members of Congress to take Econ 101 once or twice, either!
Christine announcing her candidacy in this photo by stevemaloneygop.blogspot.com
5. WHEN IT COMES TO EDUCATION, YOU ADVOCATE FOR PARENTS TO HAVE A MAXIMUM NUMBER OF CHOICES TO INCLUDE PUBLIC, PRIVATE, PAROCHIAL, AND CHARTER SCHOOLS AS WELL AS HOMESCHOOLING. WHAT IS YOUR PLAN TO GIVE THESE CHOICES TO PARENTS AND HOW WILL YOU OVERCOME OPPOSITION WITHIN THE BELTWAY?
We can only oppose opposition within the Beltway by massive support outside the Beltway. That means that Americans elect conservatives who are running on a platform that includes educational choice. It’s always difficult to change the Washington establishment, but let’s not forget that the Federal takeover of local education is a new development, not long-standing policy, and can and must be pushed back through big and small legislative measures.
6. WHAT ARE YOUR FEELINGS TOWARD THE CONSTITUTION?
You know, unlike so many other nations throughout the world and throughout history, America was not founded along tribal, ethnic or religious lines. It was not an accident of geography or post-war map-making. America was born of ideas. Those ideas are enshrined in our Founding documents, most pre-eminently the Constitution, and the more we stray from the limits prescribed in that document, the less we remain America. I love America and I will fight tooth and nail to prevent that from happening in every branch of government.
7. DESCRIBE HOW GRASSROOTS NETWORKS SUCH AS SMARTGIRL POLITICS HAVE AFFECTED YOUR CAMPAIGN?
There would be no O’Donnell for US Senate campaign without the grassroots! We have run a bottom-up campaign from the beginning, unlike my primary opponent, who has relied on top-down party king-making out of Washington. If not for the bloggers, the web sites, the homeschoolers, the Tea Party, and the other grassroots communities outside of the Washington cocktail club, I would never have made it this far. So I am grateful, and in awe of the incredible technological changes over the past few years which have so empowered everyday Americans to be able to make such a difference.
The Lords of the Backroom have anointed my primary opponent as the next US Senator from Delaware. He has been the most liberal Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives, almost always voting with Nancy Pelosi and the Democrat caucus over his 18 years in office. He has been on a government payroll longer than I’ve been alive. He’s been part of the Washington elite who have brought our economy, our national security, and our fiscal solvency to the absolute brink. Only a wave of common sense conservatives storming Capitol Hill will stand any chance of reversing the damage and restoring American greatness. This race is one that conservatives can win, and so I encourage all freedom-loving Americans to support us with prayer, volunteer hours, and financial giving at Christine2010.com. We can’t do it without you. But together, we can take back our country!
Join Christine on FACEBOOK!
Join Christine on TWITTER!
See more of Scott's interviews at CONSERVATIVEFEATURES.COM
No comments:
Post a Comment