The following is from the Delaware Grapevine September 19, 2006
Joe Biden tantalized them with the promise they were on the verge of doing to the Republicans what Ronald Reagan had done to them for a generation, with the exception of the interlude with Bill Clinton, whom Biden called "a brilliant leader who knew how to triangulate."
Biden, his presidential aspirations showing, told them, "There are certain elections in the time of my life in the Democratic Party where one party doesn't just win but regains control for a decade or more. The American people have closed the book on the Republican Party. . . .
"We are on the verge of being the voice of this country for the next several decades."
I am not surprised at the overconfidence and hubris of Democratic leaders. The question is do Delaware Republicans believe this. I think some of us are starting to believe the otherside’s press releases. Some want to blame party leaders. Others are rightfully concerned about a seeming gap with the rank and file public and the party.

I submit that now is not the time to give up and start blaming one another. It is the time to regroup and attack. We cannot afford to give up. Our opponents don’t intend to win an election; they intend to close the book on us in Delaware (and third parties for that matter). They want one party rule. They want all three counties, 7of nine statewide offices both houses and the towns. They are developing a farm team to secure themselves for decades.

What can we do? Get serious. The stakes are high. The gains we made in lowering taxes, raising national security, defending the nature of marriage, and reform of education are all at risk.

Instead of merely complaining, we need to offer help and suggestions to our party leadership. If you doubted they were listening, have confidence that they are now. We need to take advantage of the fresh faces the primaries gave us and seize the momentum. We need to help our candidates formerly endorsed or unendorsed define themselves with the voters.

We need to use this election to build our base. We have unique opportunities with candidates from a variety of backgrounds. We need to promote individual favorite choices in our community newspapers (together they reach more voters than the Journal). Frame issues on our terms, and point out the nonsense of Democratic positions on energy, granting new rights to terrorists, show how 14 years of Democratic rule has not resulted in leadership to keep our people secure in the event of accident, terrorism, or disaster (the response to the Dow-Rico incident in Cheswold is prima fascia evidence that they can’t shoot straight.)

We need to apply the adage of uniting our side and dividing theirs—at least for 7 weeks. Then we can go back to squabbling. Right now we need to behave like a family whose home has been burglarized. Stop arguing with each other and pull together to save the family from danger.

We need to start shoring up our friends, neighbors, and families now. If we contribute our time, money, and ideas, we will prevail. My friends, in November we will see that the reports of the death of the Republican party are greatly exaggerated—in fact I predict that this election will shock the other side into paranoia (who makes those voting machines) nationally, and in Delaware we will see the sparks of renewal from the 1st Senate to the 14th Senate from Brandywine to Seaford.

Respectfully,
David Anderson
Dover, DE