Estabrook was the Republican the Democrats feared most
By Wally EdgeAnne Estabrook’s departure from the United States Senate race takes a potentially strong general election candidate out of the running for a party that hasn’t won a Senate contest since 1972. Her withdrawal means Republicans lose a candidate who was prepared to self-fund a campaign to oust the four-term incumbent, Frank Lautenberg. Estabrook was experiencing some of the obstacles that normally go to first time candidates -- not entirely unlike Lautenberg’s 1982 campaign against Millicent Fenwick – but Republicans expected that by November, she would emerge as a fierce competitor against the 84-year-old incumbent. In time, the skills that made Estabrook successful in business and philanthropy would likely have extended to her political career. Her outsider status and her money made her the candidate Democrats feared most in a general election.
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"He told me he had a long political memory and his door would be closed to me. I told him I had a long political memory and I don't ever remember his door being open." -- Assemblyman Willie Brown (D-Newark), on telling U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg that he was endorsing the Republican candidate, Assembly Speaker Chuck Haytaian.
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- Jan 7 2009
In the News
Read the expanded Wake Up Call, our summary of today’s news media coverage.
Today’s Must Reads:
The City Boss Becomes the Country Boss ― DICK BENFIELD...MUST READ
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Syndicate
They may have worried about her money...
but Democrats couldn't wait to go up against her inability to figure out her positions on the issues. And they probably couldn't wait to point out how some of the positions she had were similar to theirs. Then there is the fact that she supported them in the past. ..... Just another example of why a liberal Republican will never win; maybe more Republicans are starting to realize that and Estabrook felt the changing wind.
Next Senator
The Republicans can elect a Senator in the mold of Clifford Case, and other moderate Republicans, if the party people only realize that the further right they go, the less electable their candidate is.
Unfortunately, until the Party Leaders learn their lessons, the Democrats will have unfettered access to the US Senate.
Have to Disagree
Have you ever looked at Clifford Case's voting record? He was no "moderate." His voting record was to the left of most of the Democrats of his time. What good would it be for Republicans to support someone like that? And he probably would not be elected today anyway because voters who want a liberal Democrat will vote for the real thing rather than a Republican imitation. plus a pro-life third-party candidate would draw at least 5% of the vote as Murray Sabrin did in 1997 against Christie Whitman.
For a Republican to win, he or she needs to build a center-right coalition which requires reaching out to both wings of the party. The so-called moderates seem never to understand this and assume support which they will not get. For all their talk about electibility, they have only once (e.g. 1985) in over three decades gotten over 50% of the vote in a statewide election.