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In Delaware campaign for Senate, civility rules
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By David S. Broder<http://projects.washingtonpost.com/staff/articles/david+s.+broder/>
Thursday, July 29, 2010

MIDDLETOWN, DEL.

A lot of the mail I receive these days reads like this letter from a
Milford, Utah, man, who says: "Truly, there is a lot of anger in the land,
and one other thing that columnists like you appear to have missed or
perhaps are ignoring. That thing is disgust with the obvious, deliberate
refusal by elected officials to do their duty and actually represent the
will of the people."

If that is your feeling, too, come with me to Delaware, where I spent the
weekend with two Senate candidates who will restore your faith in
representative government.

The seat that Joe Biden held for 36 years will be filled in November, and
the early favorite is Mike
Castle<http://www.whorunsgov.com/Profiles/Michael_N._Castle>,
the state's former governor and longtime congressman at-large, a throwback
to the kind of progressive Republican the Northeast used to elect regularly.

Respected in both parties, especially for his work on education and job
training, successful all 12 times he has been on the ballot here, Castle
could easily have held the House seat as long as he wished. But at 70, he
chose to seek to fill out the four years remaining in Biden's term, even
though he thought he would face a difficult race against Biden's son, state
Attorney General Beau Biden. His reason for running, Castle explained to
voters at a house party here, is that "I'm in the minority in a [Republican]
minority of 435 people, and the rules and procedures make it difficult to
express my independence. In the Senate, I hope I will have more impact."

Later, Castle told me, "I don't go there with any notion of just building up
seniority, but I think I can make a contribution there in the fields I've
worked in. I don't plan to be part of the opposition. I think I can do more
than oppose."
[image: ad_icon]

In his forthcoming book, "Joe Biden: A Life of Trial and
Redemption<http://www.amazon.com/Joe-Biden-LP-Trial-Redemption/dp/006200218X>,"
veteran Washington correspondent Jules Witcover quotes Biden's sister,
Valerie, his frequent campaign manager, as observing, "There's a culture of
civility" in Delaware politics. "And it's a small state where you can get
around quickly."

I found Castle and his wife chatting with two dozen voters in a home here,
laying out his differences with the Obama administration on health care and
economic stimulus, just one day after he had joined Democratic Sen. Tom
Carper, another former governor and fellow moderate, in a bipartisan welcome
to Education Secretary Arne Duncan at the state fair.

It obviously would not be easy to challenge Castle, and the Democrats were
shocked when young Biden took himself out of the Senate race this
year<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/25/AR2010012503935.html>,
explaining that he could not in good conscience absent himself from the
challenge of prosecuting a man accused of the worst crime in recent state
history.

But Democrats quickly found a worthy match for Castle in 46-year-old Chris
Coons <http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0210/32494.html>, the
reform-minded elected executive of New Castle County, where two-thirds of
the state's population lives. A man of conspicuously wide-ranging interests,
Coons was a double major in chemistry and political science at Amherst
College and later received an ethics degree from Yale Divinity School at the
same time he was attending Yale Law School.

Professionally, he mixed working at the family-owned firm that makes
Gore-Tex fabrics with his service for several nonprofits, all before he was
recruited by the Democrats to run against an ethically challenged county
executive.

The two men speak respectfully of each other, and while Castle has the edge
in name familiarity and financing, Coons points out that Delaware has moved
further into the Democratic column while Castle has been in office.

I can think of many states, including my own native Illinois, that would
kill to have two such Senate candidates this year. To cure your cynicism,
just visit Delaware.

--

Daniel Schorr, the great broadcaster who died last
week<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/23/AR2010072303146.html>,
was a model to his trade -- and an inspiration to many of us in journalism.
He never raised his voice, but he knew how to make his points. His curiosity
kept him working at the top of his game well into his 90s. What a good life.

davidbroder@washpost.com
--
Eric D. Schwerin
Rosemont Seneca Partners
(202) 333-1880
eschwerin@rosemontseneca.co