Mike Castle: Delaware's Corrupt Congressman

Dear Friends: The following information about Delaware's political "culture of corruption" is long, but it tells us a great deal about the way politics "works" in "the first state" (the first state to ratify the Constitution). Mike Castle, one of the most corrupt people in the US Congress, has raised nearly $4 million. No one who believes in American traditions and values would contribute a nickel to Mike Castle. He thinks that he can bury Christine O'Donnell in an avalanche of ill-gotten money -- money he has received for providing political (and economic) favors (see opensecrets.org). If Christine O'Donnell wins -- and she can -- she will change politics -- transform it -- not only in Delaware, but in America. Her goal is to effect a transformation that would make our country once again recognizable to the Founding Fathers. Please help her. AND PLEASE USE THE MATERIAL BELOW -- IN YOUR BLOG, YOUR YAHOO GROUPS, AND YOUR E-MAIL CORRESPONDENCE. Direct your friends to this blog post (at: http://stevemaloneygop.blogspot.com). God bless all of you for help.




Obama has the labor unions throughout the country. Castle has the corporate lawyers in Delaware. I’d like to introduce you to one firm in particular who stands to benefit greatly from NOT ONLY the Corporate Bailouts, but also the Environmental Regulations Internationally that will come from Cap & Trade! Young, Conaway, Stargatt and Taylor is a firm of about 120 lawyers headquartered in Wilmington, DE. They occupy the 17th floor of the 18 story historic Brandywine Building (pictured below) in Wilmington, DE. For the last 50 years, Young Conaway has helped to shape legislative and case law in Delaware. They specialize in bankruptcy and corporate law and serve some of the largest firms in America, State and local governments, school districts and land developers in the legal system. The firm has a number of highly prized attorneys across those specialties. I will introduce you to a few of these attorneys a little later on. Yet, YCS&T has another connection, Congressman Mike Castle. The firm has joined MBNA Corporation (purchased by Bank of America in 2005) as the largest donor to Congressman Mike Castle’s campaigns since 1992. The firm has given $256,546 in individual contributions to Mike Castle over that time period whereas MBNA Corp (including their PAC) has given $364,650 to Castle. The next closest donor to Castle’s campaigns is Bank of America whose contributions from PAC and individuals total $106,000. I’d like to introduce you to some of the attorneys who are contributing to Congressman Castle

Timothy Houseal – Specializes in Environmental law – Career giving to Castle $220,554 – 2010 DE Senate election to Castle $22,080

Last time I checked, the contribution limits per person were $9,800 per election cycle (Primary and General combined). This man RUNS Mike Castle’s fundraising arm.

Here are some headlines featuring Tim:

Tigani files for bankruptcy to stop sale of house – Houseal represented Wilmington Trust (loan originator) who allegedly colluded with Tigani’s father.

DeLuca, Diocese Accused of Destroying or Hiding Evidence – Houseal represented the Diocese of Wilmington whose Priests sexually assaulted children.

POLI-TICKING - Houseal has been Castle’s co-counsel for years
Open Secrets on Timothy Houseal

Name – Amount donated in 2010 - Specialty

Rolin Bissell - $1,000 to Mike Castle - Corporate law
C B Flynn - $1,000 to Castle - Corporate law
Anthony Flin - $320 to Castle, $280 to Castle - Enviornmental law
Edward Harron - $500 to Castle - Corporate and Tort law as well as bankruptcy law
Pauline Morgan - $300 to Castle - Bankruptcy law
Michael Nestor - $3,000 to DSCC, $600 to Castle (interesting) - Corporate and Bankruptcy law
Mike Stafford – No direct monetary contributions but runs a blog called Delaware Tomorrow which consistently attacks Christine O’Donnell and defends Mike Castle
Robert Thomas - $250 to Castle - Commerical/Corporate law
Stephanie Hansen - no money but on air with WHYY to attack the T.E.A. Party Express (Chapter 5 “State of Play”) - Enviornmental law

What has Mike Castle done in return?

• H.R.4506 - Bankruptcy Judgeship Act of 2010 - Castle votes YES
• H.R. 788: To provide a safe harbor for mortgage servicers who engage in specified mortgage loan - no vote on this bill
• S.1920 for the 108th Congress - Farmer Bankruptcy Bill - Castle votes YES
• H.R. 5982, the Small Business Tax Relief Act of 2010 - would repeal portions of the Healthcare law - Castle votes NO (not related to the law firm but rather interesting…plays into Christine’s pledge to defund and repeal Obamacare)
• H.R. 2454 Energy and Environmental Law Amendments ("Cap and Trade") - Castle votes YES
  http://politicallyfrank.wordpress.com/2010/04/04/rep-mike-castles-conflict-of-interest-pt-ii/
  Delaware State laws relating to Corporate Laws - SB 58, SB 126 - Relating to the Court of Chancery SB 127 - Amending the Delaware General Corporation Law SB 128 - Amending the Limited Liability Company Act HB 200 - Amending the Revised Uniform Partnership Act HB 201 - Amending the Revised Uniform Limited Partnership Act HB 202 - Relating to Exculpatory Clauses
  Delaware's corporate dominance threatened
• Federal intervention could put at risk a third of state's budget -- 'Overnight we would go broke.' - http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20080302/NEWS/803020319/Delaware-s-corporate-dominance-threatened
  

GREAT BLOG POSTS: One Delaware blogger, Frank Knotts (http://politicallyfrank.wordpress.com/), has done some excellent work on the strong appearance of impropriety in Castle's fundraising, and we will outline more details in our news release. The basic information is in Castle's FEC report and replicated in http://opensecrets.org.

Knotts's links, Castle Stories:* Rep. Mike Castle’s Conflict of Interest Pt. II - April 4, 2010 by frankknotts *

Rep. Castle: Member of the House Financial Services Committee - March 30, 2010 by frankknotts A Delaware law firm, Young, Conaway, et al, specializing in bankruptcy law, gave Castle more than $146,000 in 2008 and is on pace to do the same this year. Why? Firms that benefitted directly and indirectly from the bank bailout (TARP), which Castle voted for, have given him huge contributions. Why?

What is the relationship between the actions Mike Castle has taken in Congress and the fact that the bankruptcy business in Delaware is booming? * Rep. Mike Castle’s Conflict of Interest - March 28, 2010 by frankknotts (note full posting below...)March 28, 2010 by frankknotts Now that we have learned that Christine O’Donnell intends to primary long time Washington insider Rep. Mike Castle (RINO-De) for the Senate seat, formerly held by even longer Washington insider Joe Biden (unfortunately currently our vice president), there has been questions raised of Ms. O’Donnell’s ability to run a campaign , let alone to make financial decisions on the national scale.

So, I believe since Mr. Castle’s supporters think it right to bring up past deeds of Ms. O’Donnell, then I would say that Mr. Castle should clean his closet as well.

Let us start by looking at the 2007-2008 election cycle . . .

Here is a link that show contributions to Mr. Castle for that cycle.
http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/contrib.php?cycle=2008&cid=N00009775&type=I&mem=

As you will see, the number one contributor, amounting to 10% of his campaign contributions, is the law firm of Young, Conaway. This is a law firm that deals primarily with bankruptcy and corporate restructuring. They contributed $146,915.

You will also see that Mr. Castle’s next two largest contributors were Bank of America at number two with $27,950 and coming in at #3 was Morgan Stanley with a paltry $14,850.

Now those last two sound very familiar [as recipients of bank bailout money] and may explain Mr. Castle’s yes vote on the TARP legislation. Of course this is exactly the type of voting you would expect from someone whose supporters describe him as a fiscal conservative, right?

Oh and by the way , for those who don’t know it, Mr. Castle sits on the House Financial Services Committee, you know the one that oversees and regulates banks and the financial sector. But of course I’m sure that Mr. Castle’s supporters will see absolutely no conflict of interest there.

In the eyes of Mr. Castle’s supporters, this is exactly the kind of experience that we need to send back to Washington in the Senate, to continue the good work that he has been doing in the House for oh so many years. While those who feel as I do , believe that this is exactly why he must be defeated.

And one last note to those of you out there still clinging to the idea that Mr. Castle is any kind of conservative. In 2009 while serving on the House Financial Services Committee . In a Vote of 39-29 on legislation to create yet another government bureaucracy that would be known as , The Consumer Financial Protection Agency, Mike Castle was the only, as in no other, as in single Republican vote, to vote with, that’s right you guessed it, he voted with the Democrats against all of his so-called fellow Republicans in favor of growing government once again.


Mike Castle, Delaware Politics, Corruption, Young, Conaway, et all, House Financial Service Committee, Castle RINO, Timothy Houseal, Wilmington, DE, Bankruptcy Law Firms, Financial Regulation, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Mike Stafford, Pauline Morgan, Michael Nestor,
Anthony Flin, Rolin Bissell, C B Flynn, Edward Harron, Joe Biden

Ideological Purists: Destructive Political Forces

There was a great exchange on Facebook today between three political activists: Angela Young Lash, Charley Dez Eilar, and me. If you're on Facebook, sign us up as friends. We are trying to explain how you actually win elections -- not just vent and blow smoke.

Angela Young Lash said: "People who practice scorched earth politics, who intentionally split the vote, and who refuse to get behind great candidates because they're pushing their own personal agenda will do nothing but ensure liberal victories in the fall. Patriots, we must work SMART and stop the insanity being pushed by some of the "patriot..." groups who are splitting the vote." [Note: Angela worked in the Tim Burns special election campaign in PA CD 12 and is working to get Tim elected in November. http://timburnsforcongress.com.

Stephen R. Maloney said: " Ideological purists make terrible political allies. They bolt whenever a candidate disagrees with them on anything. Usually, such purists are egomaniacs on their way to being solipsists. They mistake rigidity for 'principles.' Stephen is working on Christine O'Donnell for US Senate campaign: http://christine2010.com.

Charley Dez Eylar said: I totally agree with her. We are NEVER going to find a candidate that we all agree with on every point. We are working on a multi-tiered, long term strategy here. we will not take the house or senate with pure bred hard right types. To win either or both we need independents. Independents are not going to vote for the hard core right types. What's wrong with voting to repeal KEY elements of the Obama agenda...that's the ones we are worried about...the ones that will destroy our country. Quinn...the dems love us spitting the vote....they are counting on it, lets get at least a foot in the door...then we can work on the rest of the body...What did Obama do to get elected? He moved to the CENTER to get the independent and republican vote...we could learn from that...doesn't mean we aren't still on the right but we need to be in office first . . . "

If you're not on Facebook, well get over there and sign up. We're having fun, even in the Dark Age of Obama.

Angela Young Lash, Stephen R. Maloney, Charley Dez Eylar, Tim Burns, Facebook, Delaware US Senate

Conservatives: Wake Up, Listen Up!

The Tim Burns loss in PA, a bad loss, shows we're NOT going to win just by showing up. I wish my fellow conservatives were not ideological purists to the point that NO candidate is acceptable. I wish my fellow conservatives would donate more money, a lot more, to truly conservative candidates (like Christine O'Donnell at http://christine2010.com/). I wish my fellow conservatives would spend less time expressing their "opinions" and more time writing checks, going door-to-door and making phone calls.

On Facebook these days, some "libertarians" and "conservatives" (who may be neither) are busily denouncing Scott Brown and Sarah Palin. The absurd basis for the denunciations is that "half-a-loaf is worse than no loaf at all." In other words, candidates who don't agree with us 100% of the time are beneath contempt. The nonsensical point is that Scott Brown is no better than his predecessor Teddy Kennedy, which is ridiculous. Brown is a major step forward for Massachusetts and the country.

I hear some people saying, "We need to throw all incumbents out, Republicans and Democrats." Gee, who are we supposed to vote for, since the only people seriously contending are Republicans . . . and Democrats? Some incumbents, Paul Ryan, Michele Bachman, Tom Coburn, Mike Pence, and others, are patriots and excellent legislators. Are we really supposed to vote them out? If so, why?

Yes, Scott Brown certainly is not perfect, and the same is true of Sarah Palin. But they are much better than the alternatives. Conservatives who don't recognize those simple realities are very suspect. They will be little or no help in the elections.


Christine O'Donnell, Scott Brown, Sarah Palin, Conservatives, Teddy Kennedy, Ideological Purists, Paul Ryan, Mike Pence, Tom Coburn

BLOGGERS EXPOSE MIKE CASTLE'S LIES

Evan in Delaware recently blogged at http://bluehenconservative.blogspot.com about the pack of lies liberal Rep. Mike Castle had on his web site. Right after the blog posts appeared, Castle immediately changed his web site. The whoppers he had up went down what George Orwell (of 1984 fame) called "the memory hole." I had also reprinted Evan's piece on my own blog (see below). Here are the comments Evan sent to his fellow Delaware bloggers:

"Make sure you screenshot Everything from here on out. I wrote the following blog (http://bluehenconservative.blogspot.com/2010/05/mike-castle-fiscal-responsibility-fact.html) on Wednesday of this week and after that blog and my guest post on http://DelawarePolitics.net hit the air, the Castle website changed. Every quote there was absolutely on his website two days ago. They are doing as Obama did and rewriting their history."

Bloggers working together can change the world and help ensure that the truth about liberals like Mike Castle gets out. The MSM is in the tank; bloggers aren't.

Let's turn the feisty Delaware blogs into household names:

David Levi Anderson's DE blog: http://delawarepolitics.net
Frank Knotts's DE blog: http://politicallyfrank.wordpress.com
Jason C. O'Neill's DE blog: http://delawarerepublican.wordpress.com
Scott's DE blog: http://marklevinfan.com
Diane Hernandez's, Evan's, Jason's site: http://bluehenconservative.blogspot.com (DE)
Bill Miller's blog: http://teapartypapers.com/ (NJ)
Bill Miller blog (2): http://www.projectshiningcity.org/

Of course, Mike Castle has been conducting a campaign of falsehoods and innuendos against his conservative Republican opponent, Christine O'Donnell, in the US Senate race. In that effort to mislead voters, Castle has been assisted by his minions in the GOP Establishment and the local version of the MSM. Right now, the best way for Delawareans to get accurate information is through the blogs.


Mike Castle, Christine O'Donnell, David Levi Anderson, Frank Knotts, Jason C. O'Neill, Diane Hernandez, Mark Levin Fan, Bill Miller, Delaware Bloggers, BlueHenConservative, Delaware Politics, Delaware Republican, PoliticallyFrank, ProjectShiningCity

Liberal Mike Castle: Congressional Slimeball

Congressman Mike Castle, a frail desperate career politician is waging a smear campaign -- one full of lies and innuendos -- against Christine O'Donnell, a fine young woman who has the temerity to challenge Castle for the Delaware US Senate seat. Castle is now running around Delaware pretending to be a fiscally responsible "conservative." This is a little like Madonna claiming to be a virgin. Castle is disgusting. He is an even uglier version of Arlen Specter.

The following piece about fiscal conservatism appeared in a fine Delaware blog: http://bluehenconservative.blogspot.com/. It tells the truth about Mike Castle, which is something he never wants voters to hear.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010


Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Mike Castle - Fiscal Responsibility Fact Check

On his website Mike Castle claims to be Fiscally Responsible. I decided to do some Fact checking. I thought, maybe I'm WRONG about Congressman Castle. Maybe he IS a budget hawk. This is what I found:

FACT - Castle voted for TARP (the $700 Billion bailout of the financial industry) in 2008

FACT - In 2008 the American Conservative Union and Club for Growth (Fiscal conservatism) rated Mike Castle at 28% and 26% respectively.

FACT - Castle voted FOR the Auto-bailout that resulted in GM being owned by the unions and taxpayers

FACT - American for Fair Taxation rated Mike Castle as a -1 against the FairTax measure

FACT - Castle Voted FOR permanently raising taxes on businesses

FACT - In 2008 the National Tax Payers Union gave Congressman Castle a D rating

FACT - AGAINST making the Bush tax cuts permanent, capping discretionary spending
at $973 billion and imposing a moratorium on earmarks

FACT - Congressman Castle supported the interests of the National Small Business Association 60 percent of the time from 2007-2008

FACT - Castle voted FOR the Obama Omnibus spending bill that increased spending 8% on TOP of the Stimulus packages

Castle's website states:

Economic Stimulus - Mike Castle has supported the federal initiative to return millions of taxpayer dollars back to individuals and families, spur business investment, and expand refinance options for homeowners.

The $787 Billion stimulus package (which is projected to cost $3.27 Trillion) has resulted in $514, 012, 482.38 in Delaware dollars or put another way 6 one hundredths of one percent of the total stimulus package (assuming $787 Billion is correct).

The Stimulus package has resulted in 1,174 jobs gained; however, by December of 2009 Delaware had lost 11,400 jobs which resulted in a net loss of 10,226 jobs. Home foreclosure filings are still averaging 13 per day.

The website also states:

Financial Services Committee: Mike Castle serves on the House Committee on
Financial Services, which has jurisdiction over banking and the securities and
insurance industries. In this capacity, he has worked to ensure the viability of
low income housing programs and has introduced legislation to shield consumers
from identity theft.

This committee failed to stop Fannie and Freddie from bringing down the entire national housing system, failed to properly regulate and evaluate the banking industry and is largely responsible for the financial services bailouts (which Castle voted for).

Finally, Castle's website states:

Budget Reform: One of the reasons Mike Castle first ran for the United States
Congress was to bring to the federal government the same principles of fiscal
responsibility that he practiced as Governor of Delaware. Castle has fought for
solid budget reforms in Washington, including a presidential line item veto,
rainy day accounts, pay as you go for both tax cuts and spending, and a
no-excuses balanced budget process.

Despite this statement, Mike Castle has voted against PAYGO (pay-as-you-go) amendments. The most recent of which was on February 14th 2010. He has a 2008 rating of 26% from the Club for Growth and has voted AGAINST making the Bush tax cuts permanent, capping discretionary spending and imposing a moratorium on earmarks 3 times since 2005.

He's also voted FOR Cap and Trade, the auto bailouts, cash for clunkers, the 2008 stimulus package, the Omnibus spending bill (increased federal spending 8% ABOVE stimulus package) and believes that Social Security works relatively well despite the fact that it owes more than $14 TRILLION in unfunded liabilities and is the second largest budget item in federal spending (2nd only to Medicare/Medicaid which he has also praised).

Congressman Castle is CLEARLY not fiscally responsible with the people's money. He has time and again voted in ways that go against what is "fiscally responsible". His votes tend to contradict his campaign promises in the area of fiscal responsibility.

Mike Castle, TARP, Bank Bailout, Christine O'Donnell, Unfunded Liabilities, Fiscal Responsibility

Burns, Specter Looking Like Losers

I hope to goodness I'm wrong, but in tomorrow's special election, Tim Burns in the PA 12th CD is looking like a loser. Of less interest to me -- but a source of pleasure -- Arlen Specter is an almost certain loser.

If (key word), I'm right about Burns, this is a race he could have -- should have -- won. As for Specter, former Democrat turned Republican turned Democrat, he's been an embarrassment for a long time, and he will have gotten his defeat the old-fashioned way -- i.e., he earned it. At age 79, Arlen has the charisma of a salamander, coupled with a Godzilla-sized ego.

Whoever ran the Burns campaign should seek another field of "expertise." Poorly run Republican campaigns (remember Jim Tedisco in a New York special election?) are becoming almost a fact of life. The Democrats ceaselessly attack -- and the Republicans respond with hurt feelings and lame commercials. A candidate who becomes a punching bag for Democrats is not a happy sight.

Tim Burns should have won in a walk. He was ahead in the polls (but not by much) several weeks ago. I hear that the polls (I hate the things) have gone South for Burns -- and no wonder. This is supposed to be a Republican year, right?

Burns's opponent is a guy, Mark Critz, I'd never heard of until recently. As Jim Geraghty pointed out in a National Review article, Critz was John Murtha's bagman. He was the guy who worked out the earmarks deals, figuring out who would get the tax-dollar handouts -- and how much Murtha would get in campaign "donations." In short, Critz is a petty crook. (Here's the link to Geraghty's article: http://article.nationalreview.com/print/?q=ZWEzZmYyNWI1YWYxNmE2MjI4YTcwMmNmOTZlZDA4YTE=)

In speeches and in (endless, expensive) ads Burns started out with happy talk -- "hey, I'm a hockey dad -- get it?" Meanwhile, Critz, led by the Democratic Campaign Congressional Committee (DCCC), was hitting Burns both in the jaw and the solar plexus. He branded Burns as a millionaire (not a good thing in PA, or most places), a job outsourceer, and "not one of US." In western PA, if you're not one of us, you're not going to win elections. John Murtha, even when he was calling us "rednecks" and "racists," remained -- somehow -- "one of us."

Thus, Burns, born in Johnstown and pretty much a lifetime resident of the district, came across as the (dreaded) . . . outsider. Critz, a Washington insider, is about as much a part of the district as Mt. Rushmore, but he -- in commercials -- became "the hometown boy." Critz talked with emotion about how he, through Murtha's earmarks, had "created thousands of jobs." He forgot to mention that the 12th is a place of chronic unemployment, rapid population loss, and low per-capita income. Tim Burns forgot to mention that either.

It's a mess. Tim Burns is a good guy. But he's rich (less rich now, after having spent one of his millions on this campaign), and rich people sometimes have a false sense of invulnerability. For all the money he and the national Republican entities spent, this was a campaign that almost always gave off the scent of a loser. Tim listened to the experts, and they gave him a steady stream of bad advice.

I'm in western Pennsylvania, and I got to see the train wreck happen. I'm not saying everything Burns did was wrong, but he always seemed at least a step behind the opposition. In politics, being a step behind means the other guy wins the race. A campaign needs A PLAN TO WIN. If Tim's did, it was undetectible by ordinary mortals.

Admittedly, Critz is a good liar. He proclaimed that he was "pro-life" and "would have voted against the health care bill" (that Murtha voted for). He was "against the Medicare cuts" in the health bill. These comments were all incredible, but he said them with a straight face. Pelosi, whom Critz will worship as he once did "Mr. Murtha," will tell Critz what to do, and he'll salute and stand at attention.

Let me say it: if I'd managed this campaign, maybe we still would have lost, but we would never have allowed ourselves to be beaten senseless day-after-day, week-after-week. We would have turned Mark Critz into a four-letter word that also begins with "cr" and ends with "p." Everybody in the district would have gotten a free copy of the Geraghty article.

As for Arlen Specter, I have only four words: goodbye and good riddance. Sestak will be the favorite in the race against Republican Pat Toomey. "Republican year?" Hmmm.

Tim Burns, Mark Critz, 12th congressional district, Arlen Specter, Joe Sestak, John Murtha, Nancy Pelosi, Johnstown, PA, Pat Toomey

Delaware Area Blogs Worth Following

Christine O'Donnell, conservative candidate for US Senate from Delaware

The battle for an open Senate seat in Delaware this year will be a barn-burner. The Republican Primary pits career politician -- and liberal -- Mike Castle against conservative Christine O'Donnell. In a small state, bloggers play a critical role in getting out information. I've written several pieces on Christine and her race, and you can find them by scrolling down.

David Levi Anderson’s DE blog: http://delawarepolitics.net/ [non-partisan]
Frank Knotts’s DE blog: http://politicallyfrank.wordpress.com/
Jason C. O’Neill’s DE blog: http://delawarerepublican.wordpress.com/
Scott’s DE blog: http://marklevinfan.com/
Diane Hernandez’s site: http://bluehenconservative.blogspot.com/ (DE)
Bill Miller’s blog: http://teapartypapers.com/ (NJ)
Bill Miller blog (2): http://www.projectshiningcity.org/

Bill Miller is in NJ but is also very worth reading.

Mike Castle, Christine O'Donnell, Delaware, US Senate, David Levi Anderson, Frank Knotts, Jason C. O'Neill, Diane Hernandez, Bill Miller