REALLY? Do I really have to do this? But I don’t want to. Could I just wait a little longer? There’s still time. Okay, so this is my 2016 Delaware gubernatorial endorsement, with a qualifier. The qualifier is, I am only endorsing Colin Bonini until someone better comes along.
Look I have to be honest here, I have been highly critical of Sen. Bonini in the past. There was a time that I bought into his line about, “we don’t have a revenue problem, we have a spending problem”. But I have a hard time believing him after some of the pork he has been responsible for.
I also have a hard time trusting him, considering how, on several occasions, he has double-crossed the Republicans in the Delaware Senate in order to curry favor from the Democrats to obtain that pork.
While he was once a Republican favorite, and a hopeful to win the governor’s seat, truly I do not think he has the widespread appeal to win state-wide office in Delaware. His past will be seen as center right, so he will need to pivot back to center, or even left of center. This is going to cause him some trouble. He will be labeled a flip flopper by the Democrats, and his old supporters will feel betrayed.
He has already, in my view, gone a bit too far left for my liking. The one example that causes me concern was his idea of consolidating all of the law enforcement agencies in New Castle County into one Homeland Security type of centralized law enforcement agency, under the control of Dover no doubt, which means the Attorney General and the Governor.
So why am I endorsing someone who causes me so much concern? Well because there is little else to choose from. You see I have the same problem that Sen. Bonini is going to have. His real problem in running for governor is that he is first going to have to get through the GOP primary, and the very group that should be his base, will end up being his opposition. The radicalized hard right of the GOP has come up with another impossible dream, and her name is Lacey Lafferty.
Sorry, I had both of these photos in my library unlabeled and I wasn’t sure which one was which.
Anyway, the radicalized hard right fringe has once again chosen to throw every bit of effort and support behind a candidate that has about as much chance to win, well? Well about as much a chance to win, as does Colin Bonini.
So what am I to do? Right now as a Republican, these are my choices. On the one hand I have a state Senator who, while untrustworthy, and about as solid as quicksand, at least has the institutional knowledge to speak on issues and to address specific problems, and on the other hand we have a “candidate”, that has nothing more than bumper-sticker rhetoric like, “WE OWN IT”.
The question for Republicans right now, seems to be, which candidate will embarrass us the least in the general election?
Well? Let me think about this for a moment!
Sen. Bonini has a record to run on, one that I personally do not feel is stellar, but at least it is a bench mark of who he has been as a legislator, and gives an idea of who he may be as a governor.
Ms. Lafferty on the other hand has been a State Trooper (thank you), who is now retired? Who is now on disability? Retired? Disabled? Retired? Oh! Hell, she is no longer a Trooper.
She has also written books. The first, “Delaware Horse Racing/ Arcadia Publishing” is listed as currently out of stock. So either this is a best seller flying off the shelves, or someone refuses to pay to print another hundred copies. The second, “Messages From A Mother, Authorhouse Publishing” is said to have come about “When faced with a life threatening illness in 2009”, according to the bio attached to everything she does. I wonder what that illness might have been? Is it something that could reoccur? Don’t the citizens of Delaware have a right to know if a potential candidate, (yeah I know) could have some relapse of a “life threatening illness”? I mean, there has been a lot of discussion of Beau Biden’s health, why should Ms. Lafferty get a pass?
Look the real issue I have with Ms. Lafferty as a Republican candidate is that there is no substance, it is all surface, and even that is a very thin veneer. We have got to have a candidate who can not only ask harder questions than, “hair up, or hair down?”, but who can answer harder question as well. Lacey Lafferty is not that candidate. So I am left at this time to endorse Colin Bonini, until someone else comes along. it is still early, it’s not too late, someone out there is thinking right now, I could do better than that.
There is also the question of Ms. Lafferty’s involvement with the actions of the current (well at least we are told he is the current) Sussex County GOP Chairman Vince Calabro. Or as I like to call him, “The Invisible Chairman”.
Mr. Calabro has been embroiled in one controversy after another in his four short months as the new Chairman. From possible campaign finance fraud, to allegations of physical intimidation of a the female Treasurer of the GOP Committee, and including his possible involvement in calling the police on false pretenses to remove a registered Republican from a public meeting.
Mr. Calabro was the treasurer of Ms. Lafferty’s campaign, that is until she was questioned about the potential conflict of interest. They have worked on several projects together, including the so-called “Unity Dinner” that raised the potential issue of fund-raising without having registered a PAC with the state under which to do so.
At the very least, Ms. Lafferty’s involvement with Mr. Calabro and his actions, call into question her judgment and decision-making.
So yippy, I am endorsing Colin Bonini. Look what we as Republicans have come to.
I support Lacey Lafferty for Delaware Governor! She stands for the constitution, small business. Lacey is so far from the liberal leaning republicans in this state. I support Ted Cruz for president! Lacey and Ted share the same principals about government. It’s time for a great change in Delaware! Come on Reagan Coalition! The other republicans in this state should take a good, hard look at themselves. Leaning center doesn’t get the work done. Hard to the right conservatism is what we need.
OMG, Frank. This is hilarious. Love it. And Sen. Bonono won’t win. He couldn’t be Chip Flowers, how does he expect to be Biden or Denn or Schwartzkopf?
Laff’s life threatening disease – Lyme disease.
Forced disability retirement from DSP – hearing loss….funny thing other troopers have hearing loss they weren’t forced to retire like Laff was. The things that make one go …………………..hmmmmmmm
Charlie Bannanas is a definite loser. I’m on Lacy’s train all the way to the winners circle.
Hey Frank, Why don’t you attack ayotte and lose you ass again. LOL ROTFLMAO.
Loser, loser, loser,. loser, loser, loser., loser
@Lisa Palko: Why Lacey Lafferty? Is Rose Izzo too sophisticated a candidate for you?
@Charlie Rondo: Don Ayotte is the biggest pussy in Delaware. Write anything critical about what a dunce he is — for example, he claims the prosecution of Bodenweiser cost $2 million, when the budget of the entire office is $34 million per year — and he first explodes in anger, then deletes the comment. If you like Don Ayotte, you must be too dumb to wipe your own ass.
@Lisa Palko: Why Lacey Lafferty? Is Rose Izzo too sophisticated a candidate for you?
@Charlie Rondo: Don Ayotte is the biggest pu*sy in Delaware. Write anything critical about what a dunce he is — for example, he claims the prosecution of Bodenweiser cost $2 million, when the budget of the entire office is $34 million per year — and he first explodes in anger, then deletes the comment. If you like Don Ayotte, you must be too dumb to wipe your own a$$.
Sorry Charlie, but losing your ass must be a relative term. Though I am sure you never lose your ass since you obviously have your head up it.
Someone needs to talk Ruth Briggs King into running.
I was just thinking of my grandfather, who died in 1976. If he could somehow come back and see what has become of his beloved Republican Party. He was a very quiet man, and I suspect he’d be shaking his head, and have tears in his eyes.
I guess Charlie forgets that his beloved ayotte lost elections to a democrat and a republican. I wonder if ayottes hitting the booze again his whole passenger side of his truck is all smashed in from front to back.
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Frank, do you really think anybody cares who you endorse?
There’s a winner. Didn’t you endorse a pedophile Judson?
Well Judson, I did endorse Mark Baker in a primary.
jud apparently cares…
Jud, I don’t know how many people care about Frank’s endorsement but it has to be at least as many as cared about your endorsement for sheriff.
Maybe the republicans could run the witch for governor. We haven’t heard from her for a while. What is it with people in the GOP?y. They seem to think the main qualification is how well the candidate panders with lame sloganeering..
I think I’ll run for governor on the republican ticket. I’m for religion, smaller government than the other candidates, I read the constitution every day, I’m very conservative with my liberal leanings and I have watched every Ronald Reagan movie. LOL
Ronald Reagan could not win the GOP primary if he were running today. He wouldn’t just be called a RINO. He would be classified as a liberal.
But Reagan mouthed slogans with great acting skill. It seems these days all it takes are slogans pandering to cultural or racial resentments of angry uneducated white folk and they all fall in line and vote for the party that works against their every interest to satisify their primitive petty tribal misconceptions