The Associated Press reported yesterday that Delaware senatorial hopeful Christine O'Donnell assured her supporters that her foray into witchcraft as a teen was just that -- a teenage thing, and that there's been no witchcraft since. Ms. O'Donnell was forced to explain comments relating to witchcraft and satanic altars that stemmed from an appearance on Bill Maher's Politically Incorrect show more than a decade ago, which was recently released by Maher to goad her into coming onto his show.
Witchcraft is a thing of the past... and so is being a "bearded Marxist"
Does the fact that Christine O'Donnell dated a witch and picnicked on a satanic altar really matter in the grand scheme of things? O'Donnell is 41 years old, and decades past high school age. After dabbling in witchcraft for a brief period in her life more than two decades ago, she went on to promote pro-family, conservative values.
Chris Coons has distanced himself from a college newspaper article that he wrote more than 25 years ago at age 21, where he referred to himself as a "bearded Marxist" while writing about his conversion from being a proud Republican to a progressive Democrat after spending time abroad in Kenya.
If Coons can play down his Marxist ideology from years past, surely O'Donnell's past witchcraft ties are just as inconsequential.
Will the health care debate factor into voters' decisions?
O'Donnell's opponent, Chris Coons, has a progressive bent that may end up being too progressive for some Delaware voters. A huge sticking point for health care reform was taxpayer funded abortions, which Chris Coons is in favor of, according to his website. His stance on reproductive rights, including taxpayer-funded abortive procedures, is that he "...supports public funding of all reproductive health services for women who depend on the federal government for their health care."
Rasmussen Reports' recent poll of Delaware voters showed that a majority of Delaware voters favor the repeal of Obama's sweeping health care reform, as well as immigration reform, such as what Arizona put forth earlier this year.
Coons supports amnesty for illegal immigrants and, while acknowledging that Obama's health care reform is imperfect, supports the legislation nonetheless. O'Donnell supports fencing and a beefed up military presence at the borders, as well as the repeal of the health care reform bill.
Or will jobs and the economy drive the O'Donnell-Coons Senate race?
Delaware has an unemployment rate of 8.4 percent, just 1.1 percent below the national average. Their unemployment rate began to rise before the 2008 election, and even more so once President Obama took office. Since January 2009, when President Obama was sworn in and since Congress went into Democratic hands, the unemployment rate jumped from 7.0 percent to 9.2 percent in February/March 2010, before beginning to decline in May.
With such a slow recovery around the nation, including Delaware, voters there may care most about economic issues now, instead of what either candidate did 20 years ago.
Sources:
Politico: Chris Coons: 'Bearded Marxist', dated 5/3/2010, retrieved 9/20/2010
Delaware Online: Delaware Politics: In debate, Chris Coons and Christine O'Donnell stress issues, not character
Rasmussen Reports, Election 2010: Delaware Senate (polling as of 9/17/2010)
BLS unemployment data, July 2010, retrieved 9/20/2010
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