The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Don’t Pay the Ransom, I Escaped!

Posted on | July 25, 2010 | 25 Comments

LAS VEGAS — Excuse the long blog silence, but I spent most of the Right Online conference shadowing the Christine O’Donnell campaign team. They’re trying to raise awareness among conservative activists of the crucial opportunity in the Delaware GOP Senate primary, which I wrote about last week at The American Spectator, and Friday here on the blog.

Anway, as longtime readers know, my idea it that there’s only one way to do campaign coverage: Go all-in. So for the past three days, I spent a lot of time with Team O’Donnell, sitting in on meetings that were “totally off-the-record,” according to sources close to the campaign.

That’s a phrase that’s become kind of a running joke with me. “Sources close to the campaign” are, as often as not, guys I’ve hung out — even guys whose sofas I’ve crashed on. The O’Donnell campaign just recently hired Yates Walker, whom you may remember from the Doug Hoffman campaign in NY-23. O’Donnell’s campaign manager is Matt Moran, who filled the same role for Hoffman, and their e-campaign team is Eric Odom and Steve Foley, whom I’m sure you remember from their 73Wire coverage of Hoffman.

In other words, “We’re getting the band back together,” to borrow a line from The Blues Brothers. The O’Donnell campaign is benefitting from lessons learned in the wild NY-23 campaign, which turned into a national conservative crusade in the last three weeks before the election. (See “Battle Cry in the North Country,” in the December/January American Spectator.) With seven weeks remaining until the Sept. 10 primary, O’Donnell seems to be very near a point of breaking through at the national level that Hoffman didn’t reach until there was less than a month to go before the election.

Anyway, so it’s a pretty exciting time, but this kind of close-range coverage means I spend a good deal of time having conversations I can’t report. The fact that I just shlepped my luggage from the fabulous Venetian Resort Hotel halfway across town to Odom and Foley’s condo, via a Las Vegas transit bus, is also an experience that doesn’t necessarily make for great blog fodder.

I’m about to get a long-overdue nap, but not before I give a special shout-out to those of you who have hit the tip jar. Also, Eric Telford and the crew at Americans for Prosperity for putting together a great conference, even if I still wasn’t invited to be on any of the panel discussions. I’ll have some more photos and videos from Right Online later, but for now I’ll leave you with this “man-on-the-street” interview:

Yes, that’s Christine O’Donnell beside the pool at the fabulous Venetian Resort Hotel. And, no, she wasn’t wearing a bikini. She did, however, agree to wear the famous fedora I borrowed from Da Tech Guy.

BTWT, dibs on the “Christine O’Donnell bikini” Google-bomb. Today is, after all, Rule 5 Sunday.

Category: Delaware, Right Online, Shoe Leather Fund

Comments

25 Responses to “Don’t Pay the Ransom, I Escaped!”

  1. Miss Sharon
    July 26th, 2010 @ 1:33 am

    Love, Love Love, @ChristineOD but was so hoping for a RINO hunting trip through Fairbanks Alaska first! Primary is August 24th…Think about it:)

    OTOH, It’s great to see the old gang back together… I will be on deck;)

  2. Miss Sharon
    July 25th, 2010 @ 9:33 pm

    Love, Love Love, @ChristineOD but was so hoping for a RINO hunting trip through Fairbanks Alaska first! Primary is August 24th…Think about it:)

    OTOH, It’s great to see the old gang back together… I will be on deck;)

  3. DEConservative
    July 26th, 2010 @ 2:37 am

    Don’t forget to mention the semi silent army of local volunteers in Delaware. We’re building our clans and preparing for an all out assault across the state in the final month. Coming to a door near you…volunteers by the dozens.

  4. DEConservative
    July 25th, 2010 @ 10:37 pm

    Don’t forget to mention the semi silent army of local volunteers in Delaware. We’re building our clans and preparing for an all out assault across the state in the final month. Coming to a door near you…volunteers by the dozens.

  5. Nathan Cossey
    July 26th, 2010 @ 4:22 am

    Good although I’m pretty sure we’d come and break ya out Stacy.

  6. Nathan Cossey
    July 26th, 2010 @ 12:22 am

    Good although I’m pretty sure we’d come and break ya out Stacy.

  7. Robert Stacy McCain
    July 26th, 2010 @ 9:15 am

    RINO hunting trip through Fairbanks Alaska first!

    Alaska? Love Joe Miller, but travel to Alaska is so expensive that only rich liberals like Joe McGinniss can afford it.

  8. Robert Stacy McCain
    July 26th, 2010 @ 5:15 am

    RINO hunting trip through Fairbanks Alaska first!

    Alaska? Love Joe Miller, but travel to Alaska is so expensive that only rich liberals like Joe McGinniss can afford it.

  9. Robert Stacy McCain
    July 26th, 2010 @ 9:22 am

    I’m pretty sure we’d come and break ya out Stacy.

    Why do I hear the “Mission: Impossible” theme in the background?

  10. Robert Stacy McCain
    July 26th, 2010 @ 5:22 am

    I’m pretty sure we’d come and break ya out Stacy.

    Why do I hear the “Mission: Impossible” theme in the background?

  11. Virginia Right! News Hound for 7/26/2010 | Virginia Right!
    July 26th, 2010 @ 6:45 am

    […] Don’t Pay the Ransom, I Escaped! […]

  12. Nathan Cossey
    July 26th, 2010 @ 1:20 pm

    [quote] Why do I hear the “Mission: Impossible” theme in the background?[/quote]

    Heh that and a lot of explosions and repeated loud heavy cracks.

  13. Nathan Cossey
    July 26th, 2010 @ 9:20 am

    [quote] Why do I hear the “Mission: Impossible” theme in the background?[/quote]

    Heh that and a lot of explosions and repeated loud heavy cracks.

  14. richard mcenroe
    July 26th, 2010 @ 1:22 pm

    I remember the time we had to stage a covert extraction of Stacy from the Burbank Hooters when he was out here.

    Well, covert in the sense that it took three of us to pry his fingers off the bannister while he kept sceaming “NO NO NO…!:

  15. richard mcenroe
    July 26th, 2010 @ 9:22 am

    I remember the time we had to stage a covert extraction of Stacy from the Burbank Hooters when he was out here.

    Well, covert in the sense that it took three of us to pry his fingers off the bannister while he kept sceaming “NO NO NO…!:

  16. Boot Mike Castle» Blog Archive » Meet Christine O’Donnell’s Dream Team
    July 26th, 2010 @ 9:43 am

    […] Christine O’Donnell has assembled an experienced campaign staff that’s energized and eager to push Christine over the top! This article in The Other McCain provides some insight. Be sure to watch the somewhat eccentric video accompanying the article. Don’t Pay the Ransom, I Escaped! […]

  17. Robert Stacy McCain
    July 26th, 2010 @ 1:45 pm

    I remember the time we had to stage a covert extraction of Stacy from the Burbank Hooters when he was out here.

    Careful there, you may be endangering operational security on future such missions. What do you think this is, WikiLeaks?

  18. Robert Stacy McCain
    July 26th, 2010 @ 9:45 am

    I remember the time we had to stage a covert extraction of Stacy from the Burbank Hooters when he was out here.

    Careful there, you may be endangering operational security on future such missions. What do you think this is, WikiLeaks?

  19. Gonzo! Las Vegas! « The Camp Of The Saints
    July 26th, 2010 @ 10:12 am

    […] also scored an interview with the candidate.  Using his infamous charm, he got her to wear his fedora and even make a pitch for a certain […]

  20. O’Donnell Poised To Nationalize Senate Primary Race With New Hires : Delaware Liberal
    July 26th, 2010 @ 10:58 am

    […] it, check out the credentials of the conservative goon squad she is bringing into Delaware. The O’Donnell campaign just recently hired Yates Walker, whom you may remember from the Doug Hoffman campaign in NY-23. O’Donnell’s campaign manager is […]

  21. Steve Maloney
    July 26th, 2010 @ 6:48 pm

    Yes, Christine O’Donnell is a beautiful woman, but lest there be any doubt, she is a serious person ready to confront serious times for our country. When you meet Christine, you soon find out that she is a committed “love-thy-neighbor” Christian and a conservative dedicated to constitutional government, personality responsibility, self-reliance, and liberty. She will not be one of those “conservatives” who goes to DC to “get along.” She will go there to get our country back on track.

  22. Steve Maloney
    July 26th, 2010 @ 2:48 pm

    Yes, Christine O’Donnell is a beautiful woman, but lest there be any doubt, she is a serious person ready to confront serious times for our country. When you meet Christine, you soon find out that she is a committed “love-thy-neighbor” Christian and a conservative dedicated to constitutional government, personality responsibility, self-reliance, and liberty. She will not be one of those “conservatives” who goes to DC to “get along.” She will go there to get our country back on track.

  23. Why Does RINO Mike Castle Want to ‘Kill Jobs and Drive Up Prices on Everything’? : The Other McCain
    July 26th, 2010 @ 4:13 pm

    […] only difference between Mike Castle and Dede Scozzafava is lipstick and a pair of panty hose.BTW, my post yesterday about Team O’Donnell adding staffers from last year’s Doug Hoffman NY-23 campaign seems […]

  24. New Ten Buck Fridays Poll « Obi’s Sister
    July 26th, 2010 @ 4:54 pm

    […] July 26, 2010 at 3:53 pm (America 101, Election2010) Head over to RightKlik and vote on who you believe should get the benefit of a shower of Hamilitons. I voted for Christine O’Donnell. […]

  25. http://sisu.typepad.com/sisu/2010/09/stephen-kruiser-at-blog-con-you-dont-have-the-luxury-of-not-getting-twitter-anymore.html | Liberty Pundits Blog
    September 10th, 2010 @ 3:37 pm

    […] upon first meeting are the rabble in arms we and our blogfriends Dan Riehl, Melissa Clouthier, Stacy McCain and a handful of other Tea Party types — not least Rush, Mark Levin and Tammy Bruce —  have […]