The results of this week’s U.S. Senate special election in Massachusetts made things stink a bit down in Delaware.
On the Democrat side of the aisle, probably one of the more agonized over U.S. Senate seats is what is known as the “Biden” seat. Ok, maybe it’s a bad idea to name seats after their former office holders – remember what happened to the “Kennedy” seat? Anyhoo, Democrat Attorney General Beau Biden, he’s Vice President Joe Biden’s eldest son, was first elected Attorney General in 2006 defeating Republican Ferris Wharton by just over 13,000 votes. It should be noted that Biden’s name appeared as “Joseph R. Biden III” – giving a bit of a name ID advantage in a state that was used to having another Joseph R Biden on the ballot for centuries. You’d expect a bigger margin of victory for such a solidly named candidate in a great year for Democrats – against unknown, but some would argue, much better qualified candidate.
Regardless – the Beau Biden star was on the rise, and it was only a matter of time before he took his dad’s place in the Senate. The election of Barack Obama and Joe Biden seemed to only solidify that sense. And then they took office. And the rest, is history. Who knows, maybe historians will be kinder to the Obama-Biden administration than the voters have been so far. Maybe historians will view the Obama-Biden administration’s over reaching on health care, fouling up the war on terror, and ignoring the looming jobs and economy issues more favorably than those who are living through those issues now do.
So today we have Beau Biden, or Joseph R. Biden, III, trying to figure if he wants to put political steak on the grill in an election year that is proving to be tough for candidates linking themselves to national Democrat policies, or more to the point, the policies of Democrats Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Barack Obama, and Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
Beau Biden - DE Online
It’s going to be tough for Democrats up and down the ballot, all across the country, to extricate themselves politically from the muck that Reid/Pelosi/Obama/Biden have made of their party brand. It’s going to be even tougher – some might say down right impossible – for Beau Biden to credibly distance himself from his father’s party and policies (because really Vice President Biden can’t distance himself from President Obama’s policies).
So, what seemed like a sure thing for Democrats – sure thing being they get to keep the Biden seat in the family and in the party – is no longer quite so sure. Beau Biden seeing Martha Coakley go down in flames in Massachusetts to Republican state senator Scott Brown in a special election makes Biden’s facing Republican Congressman Mike Castle, who has been a state legislator, Lt. Governor, Governor, and U.S. Congressman during his public career in the 3 county state that is Delaware, look down right terrifying. Beau won in ‘06 by 13k votes during a great year for Democrats nationally against a candidate who was new to Delaware politics. The ‘10 U.S. Senate race is a much different affair in a much more toxic – for Democrats – environment than any Biden has ever seen – against a very popular, statewide elected official, who is not seemingly inextricably linked to all that makes Independent, and some soft Democrat, voters down right furious.
So what’s the best thing for Beau Biden to do?
Well, if his name wasn’t Biden, and his dad wasn’t the Vice President of the United States, and this wasn’t his dad’s seat (again with the owning/naming the seat thing), the decision would be easier. He could run for the seat on his record as Delaware’s Attorney General, distance himself from the failing policies of Obama/Biden administration, and maybe have a shot at winning. Or he could just not run and be done with it – no harm done. But his name IS Biden, and he can’t just walk away and wait for another chance – w/out there being some serious political consequences for himself, his dad, and his party. And if he runs, he can’t do anything to distance himself from what’s ticking off voters all across the country.
As you can see, Joseph R. “Beau” Biden, III is boxed in and it’s hardly his fault. But he can’t blame anybody, and he can’t walk way. And that really stinks for him.
