O'Donnell said China plotting to take over US

[Temujin]

More skeletons coming out of O'Donnell's closet.

O'Donnell said China plotting to take over US

By BEN EVANS
The Associated Press
Monday, October 4, 2010; 5:56 PM

WASHINGTON -- Republican Senate nominee Christine O'Donnell of Delaware said in a 2006 debate that China was plotting to take over America and claimed to have classified information about the country that she couldn't divulge.

O'Donnell's comments came as she and two other Republican candidates debated U.S. policy on China during Delaware's 2006 Senate primary, which O'Donnell ultimately lost.

She said China had a "carefully thought out and strategic plan to take over America" and accused one opponent of appeasement for suggesting that the two countries were economically dependent and should find a way to be allies.

"That doesn't work," she said. "There's much I want to say. I wish I wasn't privy to some of the classified information that I am privy to."

"A country that forces women to have abortions and mandates that you can only have one child and will not allow you the freedom to read the Bible, you think they can be our friend?" she asked. "We have to look at our history and realize that if they pretend to be our friend it's because they've got something up their sleeve."

O'Donnell's campaign didn't respond Monday to requests for comment.

At the debate, opponent Jan Ting countered that China has the potential to become a more democratic country and an important ally.

"I think our China policy has to be handled very carefully," Ting said. "We have the capability of making an enemy or a friend out of China."

When Ting challenged O'Donnell's claim about having secret information, O'Donnell didn't answer specifically but suggested she had received it through nonprofit groups she worked with that frequently sent missionaries there.

Ting later won the nomination but lost the general election to Democratic Sen. Tom Carper.

O'Donnell was a little-known candidate until she stunned Rep. Mike Castle to win the Republican nomination last month in her third bid for the Senate. The tea party-backed hopeful faces Democrat Chris Coons in the November general election.

And this guy has audio (links to mp3s on the page)

AUDIO of Christine O'Donnell claiming secret Chinese plot to take over U.S.

I've obtained audio of Christine O'Donnell claiming that China has a "carefully thought out and strategic plan to take over America" and asserting that she has access to classified info detailing China's takeover plot.

The Associated Press reported yesterday on O'Donnell's 2006 comments without posting the audio. Having audio means this could now get a round of play on cable and the networks.

The full audio -- recorded off WDEL radio, which sponsored the 2006 GOP Senate primary debate where she made the claims -- also offers new details on how O'Donnell purported to have gained access to this classified info: She says she obtained it because "non profit groups" she worked for sent missionaries to China.

Here's part one, in which she claims the takeover plot:

• O'DONNELL: I think that making a statement whether China is friend or foe we have to be careful not to label all Chinese. But in terms of the government, I think that there is a very carefully thought out and strategic plan to take over America.
  
  I think that the Chinese government is definitely a foe. And one example is that China is taking American oil right now. We are suffering from high gas prices because of the supply because of American dependence on foreign oil when China is drilling off the coast of Florida.
  
  So I think that if we look in the long term we see what could happen to our national sovereignty if we don't step up the plate and start dealing with that issue right now and stop surrendering much of our sovereignty to global powers like the UN. And if we start standing for something and we should be drilling that oil off the coast of Florida, not China.

And here's part two, where she explains how she knows this:

• O'DONNELL: There's much that I want to say. I wish I wasn't privy to some of the classified information that I am privy to because I think that I --
  
  QUESTIONER: Can I interrupt and say how are you privy to classified information?
  
  O'DONNELL: Because I've been working with various non-profit groups for over 15 years. And we've been sending missionaries to China for a very long time. And these missionaries go to China, risking their lives because you are not allowed to be a Christian over there.
  
  So a country that forces women to have abortions and mandates that you can only have one child and will not allow you the freedom to read the Bible. You think they can be our friend? We have to look at our history and realize if they pretend to be our friend, they have got something up their sleeve.

An O'Donnell spokesperson didn't immediately return an email for comment.

[Lusankya]

China is drilling off the coast of Florida.

I hear that Britain's drilling off the coast of Florida too. Ms O'Donnell had better get her gun ready, otherwise the King of England will come over and start telling her what to do.

Because I've been working with various non-profit groups for over 15 years. And we've been sending missionaries to China for a very long time. And these missionaries go to China, risking their lives because you are not allowed to be a Christian over there.

What this says is either she doesn't know anything about the law in China, or she thinks that "being a Christian" = "being a missionary". The first is perfectly legal in China, while the second is not. As I was told at the orientation for school, “You're allowed to worship your cult if you want, but don't go around talking about it in public."

So a country that forces women to have abortions and mandates that you can only have one child and will not allow you the freedom to read the Bible.

This is lies too. You can have more than one child if you're willing to pay enough money or bribe the local officials, and even if you don't, they don't force abortions on people - they just don't provide the child with a hukou.

You think they can be our friend? We have to look at our history and realize if they pretend to be our friend, they have got something up their sleeve.[/list]

I find it interesting the way she says "if you look at our history". It's like an inadvertent admission that the American government has acted like a bunch of dicks who nobody would want to be friends with.


She sounds pretty ignorant and paranoid to me. I do wonder how newsworthy she really is, though, seeing as she hasn't been elected to the Senate yet. Odds are she'll lose and will then eventually be forced to make appearances on Dancing With The Stars as a last-ditch effort to hold on to her fading celebrity.

[Dalton]

You know, I kind of hope she does win, just out of sheer morbid curiosity. It'll be quite interesting to see just how badly she tries to rape the Constitution she claims to defend, and also how much the clowns in DC actually want to defend it. And the soundbites...oh the soundbites. She'll be so far out there it'd make Sarah Palin look like Hillary Clinton. She's writing half the content on The Daily Show as it is. Her speeches should come with a laugh track.

Really. I'll be waiting for the proposed amendment banning demons, witchcraft and atheists. And then in 2012...Palin-O'Donnell.

I can't believe Mike Castle lost to this. And then got turned into a newt.

[Dalton]

She sounds pretty ignorant and paranoid to me. I do wonder how newsworthy she really is, though, seeing as she hasn't been elected to the Senate yet. Odds are she'll lose and will then eventually be forced to make appearances on Dancing With The Stars as a last-ditch effort to hold on to her fading celebrity.

She's Sarah Palin without that charming Caribou Barbie schtick. The news media has found fresh meat, and she'll be feeding the news cycle for a long time.

[Phantasee]

Is she really generating fresh content? I thought her handlers had gotten her to shut up for the duration of the campaign, and all we have is old stuff?

[RedImperator]

You know, I kind of hope she does win, just out of sheer morbid curiosity. It'll be quite interesting to see just how badly she tries to rape the Constitution she claims to defend, and also how much the clowns in DC actually want to defend it. And the soundbites...oh the soundbites. She'll be so far out there it'd make Sarah Palin look like Hillary Clinton. She's writing half the content on The Daily Show as it is. Her speeches should come with a laugh track.

Really. I'll be waiting for the proposed amendment banning demons, witchcraft and atheists. And then in 2012...Palin-O'Donnell.

I can't believe Mike Castle lost to this. And then got turned into a newt.

I'd really prefer not to see my adopted home state become a national laughingstock (man, I got out of Jersey but only made it as far as New Castle County).

Anyway, Mike Castle lost because him and all the moderate Republicans in New Castle thought she was a joke candidate. Castle didn't bother campaigning, they didn't bother turning out, and so about 5000 Slower Lower mouthbreathers nominated a crazy person instead. Thank Christ the Democrats nominated a serious candidate even though they expected to lose.

[The Kernel]

This is lies too. You can have more than one child if you're willing to pay enough money or bribe the local officials, and even if you don't, they don't force abortions on people - they just don't provide the child with a hukou.

I'm hardly one to defend O'Donnell but forced abortions have and do happen in China.

Link 1

Link 2

[mr friendly guy]

Methinks she got her information about China out of a Tom Clancy novel.

Maybe someone could point out to her that Murrica objects to Muslims building a mosque, since she seems so gung ho on religious freedom (unless its just freedom to be a Christian ). At least China allows its muslims to build a mosque, they just aren't supposed to bring their kids there so as to prevent indoctrination, er I mean the kids should decide what they want to believe when they are adults. *

* according to the CIA they estimate China has 20-22 million Muslims, which if you think about it is almost the population of my country. The reason for estimation is because China like France doesn't ask your religion on census, although some large ethnic minority groups are thought to be predominantly Muslim, eg Hui, Ughurs etc.

[Temujin]

Is she really generating fresh content? I thought her handlers had gotten her to shut up for the duration of the campaign, and all we have is old stuff?

Well she was supposed to be keeping her trap shut, though I don't think what she is saying is helping much.

Delaware Senate candidate: 'I'm not a witch'
In TV ad, O'Donnell says nobody's perfect, concludes with 'I'm you'
updated 10/5/2010 7:39:29 AM ET

DOVER, Del. — In her first TV campaign ad since winning the GOP primary, Delaware Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell assures voters: "I'm not a witch."

The Republican Tea Party-backed candidate has been dealing with questions about witchcraft since a 1999 confession on a late-night talk show surfaced that she had dabbled in it as a teenager.

The ad begins running statewide on Tuesday. It opens with O'Donnell looking into the camera and immediately telling voters that she's not a witch.

She goes on to say that nobody's perfect and suggests that she's just like everybody else or, in her words: "I'm nothing you've heard. I'm you."

Coons spokesman responds

O'Donnell faces Democrat Chris Coons in November.

"It's surprising that Ms. O'Donnell, in her first television commercial, offers no solutions to the problems facing working families," said Coons campaign spokesman Daniel McElhatton. "There's no ideas here; there's no plan."

O'Donnell's comments about witchcraft were made during a taping of comedian Bill Maher's "Politically Incorrect" TV show.

"I dabbled into witchcraft. I never joined a coven," she said on the video, a clip of which hit the Internet just days after she stunned longtime congressman Mike Castle in last month's GOP primary in her third bid for Senate.

"One of my first dates with a witch was on a satanic altar, and I didn't know it. I mean, there's little blood there and stuff like that," she says. "We went to a movie and then had a little midnight picnic on a satanic altar."

In the ad, O'Donnell says, "None of us are perfect, but none of us can be happy with what we see all around us — politicians who think spending, trading favors and backroom deals are the ways to stay in office. I'll go to Washington and do what you'd do."

O'Donnell has made light of the witchcraft comments.

"How many of you didn't hang out with questionable folks in high school?" she asked fellow Republicans at a GOP picnic in southern Delaware last month.

Not a witch? Burn her anyway! Or, we could build a bridge out of her.

[RedImperator]

Hiding from the media and the public--and I mean the local media here, not Fox News--is a completely bizarre strategy when you're down 13 points. I mean, Jesus would have trouble coming back from 13 points down in October, but if you have any chance at all, it's by campaigning your ass off, knocking on doors, doing town meetings, getting on local TV and in local newspapers. Smile for pictures with voters. Show up at the Pumpkin Festival or whatever in a Roy Halladay jersey. Pander like you've never pandered in your entire life.

Instead, you get stonewalling and an invisible candidate. So the narrative emerging is, "This is an election between a hard-working wonk and a crazy flake", and neither O'Donnell nor her people are out there combating it. I can certainly understand why you'd want to keep an amateur campaigner away from unfriendly press, but even if she bombs an interview, how could her situation possibly get any worse? Coons is so far ahead he isn't even bothering to run negative ads. And even if you don't want your candidate facing the press, whose bright idea is it to hide her from the public? Even Sarah Palin, who was often kept sequestered from unfriendly media (with good reason), was all over the place in the '08 campaign.

It's almost like she's running for Fox News commentator rather than US Senate. We'll see how that goes; Republicans might love her now (especially out of state Republicans), but let's see how much they love her if she gets her ass kicked in November. The GOP has a long tradition of eating losers.

[Flagg]

Seriously has there ever been a time in American politics where a candidate has had to preface a TV ad claiming "I'm not a witch!" I mean since the 1600's.

[Jaepheth]

Hiding from the media and the public--and I mean the local media here, not Fox News--is a completely bizarre strategy when you're down 13 points. ... ... but let's see how much they love her if she gets her ass kicked in November. The GOP has a long tradition of eating losers.

Could it be that the GOP is willing (or have no other option but) to sacrifice this election in order to try and reign in the Tea Partiers by showing them their ideal candidates are unelectable?

Methinks she got her information about China out of a Tom Clancy novel.

It's not difficult to imagine the sort of speech that would give rise to that sort of outlook if you've ever listened to Christian missionaries address a congregation between trips.

[Soontir C'boath]

The Time magazine article is quite informative and explains why they still persist despite being outlawed by the central government, and is much more nuance than your simplistic BEIJING IS TEH EVIL tone you predominantly take whenever China comes up in a thread.

As I understand it, it's not unheard of for some things from the central government be ignored by the provinces (especially those farther and farther away from Beijing).

[Temujin]

Hiding from the media and the public--and I mean the local media here, not Fox News--is a completely bizarre strategy when you're down 13 points. ... ... but let's see how much they love her if she gets her ass kicked in November. The GOP has a long tradition of eating losers.

Could it be that the GOP is willing (or have no other option but) to sacrifice this election in order to try and reign in the Tea Partiers by showing them their ideal candidates are unelectable?

I don't think they have much choice, they helped feed this monster and now they have little control over it. They're probably hoping for the best, but even if a large number of hard core Tea Bags managed to get into office, the GOP would probably have little control over them.

[RedImperator]

Hiding from the media and the public--and I mean the local media here, not Fox News--is a completely bizarre strategy when you're down 13 points. ... ... but let's see how much they love her if she gets her ass kicked in November. The GOP has a long tradition of eating losers.

Could it be that the GOP is willing (or have no other option but) to sacrifice this election in order to try and reign in the Tea Partiers by showing them their ideal candidates are unelectable?

Why would the GOP want to "reign in" the Tea Party? The Tea Party movement is going to win them the House of Representatives and nearly won them the Senate.

Anyway, the idea that the party would throw O'Donnell under the bus if she actually had a chance to win is ridiculous--they need every win they can to retake the Senate. The state party hates her, but that's because 1) she unseated their guy, Mike Castle, 2) the state GOP is run by DuPont cousins and credit card millionaires who can't stand the idea that an actual poor person might be elected to political office, and 3) they know that after O'Donnell loses and the Tea Party circus leaves town, the Delaware GOP is going to be stuck with absolutely no statewide office holders and no prospect of winning a statewide election for years and years to come.

I don't think they have much choice, they helped feed this monster and now they have little control over it. They're probably hoping for the best, but even if a large number of hard core Tea Bags managed to get into office, the GOP would probably have little control over them.

Pfft. You're kidding, right? The Tea Bag Messiah himself, Rand Paul, has already sold out. These clowns are going to fall in line with GOP orthodoxy about ten minutes after they get elected.

Anyway, you don't need a conspiracy theory to explain why O'Donnell has been invisible so far: she's a political amateur, probably not very smart, and everyone's afraid of another Katie Couric interview. Add to that her organization was not very large or professional, the Delaware GOP is still butthurt about losing, and the out-of-towners have no idea what they're doing (sorry, no, the stuff that works in Alaska and Kentucky isn't going to work here), and you get a campaign that's coming off as overwhelmed and paralyzed. I feel like they'd be happier if Chris Coons started sliming O'Donnel the way Castle did; that would at least let them gin up some indignant rage among the Tea Party grassroots. As it is, the Coons campaign seems to be: "I'm an intelligent and hard-working professional who did a good job running New Castle County, and my political views are in line with yours, average Delaware voter." How does the O'Donnell campaign respond to that?

[Themightytom]

Is she really generating fresh content? I thought her handlers had gotten her to shut up for the duration of the campaign, and all we have is old stuff?

i believe a tape is to be aired at the end of the month with a still photo and a voiceover.

Seriosuly though i have the same feeling i got when I saw Howard Dean shout "Yeeha!"

Only now I feel good about it.

[Thanas]

Thread tangent about abortions split to here.