The Delaware Republican Party continued on Wednesday to try to slow the momentum behind Christine O'Donnell, the Tea Party-backed Senate candidate who is making a late-stage challenge to upset highly-favored Rep. Mike Castle (R-Del.).
Yesterday, the state GOP went after O'Donnell for what can best be described as questionable finances. In the process, the state Republican Party cautioned the Tea Party Express from injecting significant money -- as it has pledged -- into the primary race.
While it is disappointing that the Tea Party Express has not done any due diligence on troubled perennial candidate Christine O'Donnell, it is our hope that they will investigate her half-truths and outright lies before squandering tens of thousands of dollars on a candidate who is not electable in Delaware or anywhere else for that matter.
On Wednesday the Delaware GOP continued its pushback, releasing a video showing O'Donnell's campaign staff attacking a Republican videographer during an event earlier in the week. From the accompanying release:
The O'Donnell campaign has taken an aggressive stance prior to the incident on Monday as shown in another video released this morning. The footage shows Queitch and O'Donnell's press secretary intimidating participants blocking their coverage of her political rally at the non-political "Restoring Honor" event. But on Monday, the campaign took their intimidation to a new level with physical violence. A more in depth review also notes that his facebook page has linked to the group "If I could punch you without getting in trouble, believe me, I would".
The News Journal first reported on the attack last night and noted "Queitsch was part of a group of four O'Donnell staff members that had circled around the candidate to keep Hawley and a member of the press from getting near her. When O'Donnell walked out the door, the staffers blocked the entrance." The article went on to note that Hawley has been covering political events for months throughout Delaware and that up until Monday, he has always been treated with mutual respect by other campaigns.
Speaking from State GOP Headquarters, Chairman Tom Ross raised concern over the new tactics employed by the O'Donnell campaign. "I am shocked at the conduct of the O'Donnell campaign and its threats. Delaware Republicans conduct our campaigns with dignity and respect for our opponents and would expect no less from Ms. O'Donnell."
It appears that the goal here is to avoid the kind of late-stage electoral surprise that the Alaska GOP suffered in a Senate primary that officially ended with Tea Party-backed candidate Joe Miller's nomination on Tuesday. But by going after O'Donnell in such a public fashion, the Delaware GOP does run the risk of drawing extra eyeballs to a primary contest that has, until recently, gone under the radar. And, with more eyeballs, of course, come more potential Tea Party donors to O'Donnell's campaign.