admin @ Sun, 2006-09-03 11:00
“I'm planning for a 10-week campaign from today,'' Ting said Tuesday, referring to the Nov. 7 general election against Carper and Libertarian Bill Morris.
Terry Strine, the state GOP chairman, lauded Ting. “He has a passion on subjects such as immigration, fair and equitable taxes and homeland security, and these are pretty pertinent topics at this time,'' Strine said.
The son of Chinese immigrants, Ting is a Michigan native who moved from Philadelphia's Main Line to the Alapocas neighborhood west of Wilmington in 1984 when his wife, a physician, opened a Delaware practice.
Ting has long been a tenured professor at the Temple University law school in Philadelphia and is currently a visiting professor at Widener University School of Law in Talleyville.
Under the first President Bush, he was an assistant commissioner – one of the top 10 officials – in the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service.
Ting opposes a bill approved in May by Carper and the Senate by a 63-36 vote that would allow illegal immigrants who have been here at least five years to become citizens after paying fines, fees and taxes, and learning English. Those here two to five years would return to their native county and apply to return, but those here less than two years would have to leave.
While Ting's views on immigration are crystal clear, he is guarded about his stance on abortion, a potential hot-button issue in any senate race, especially one featuring an alternative such as O'Donnell.
He said he supports parental notification for minors, opposes late-term abortions and that the issue belongs before the U.S. Supreme Court. While he personally opposes abortion, Ting said, he has been on both sides of the “complicated'' legal issue.
Both Protack and O'Donnell, who are anti-abortion, said they were not surprised by Ting's responses, saying he didn't want to alienate voters on either side. O'Donnell predicted voters would punish Ting for his nuanced stance.
Protack has proposed the “AmericUS Health Plan'' funded by tax dollars and worker contributions. The plan, which would require congressional approval, would create coverage “risk pools'' in states and geographical areas – Delaware would have one pool and one insurance provider. Doctors would be paid according to experience and other factors.
Everybody would get basic coverage, whether employed or not. People could buy higher coverage levels but those with reckless lifestyles – such as smoking and overeating – would pay extra to cover the cost of treating chronic conditions such as heart disease or diabetes.
O'Donnell, who is running a low-key campaign – no traditional three-county announcement tour, no news conferences – is hoping to galvanize pro-life Catholics and others who share her viewpoint.
She hopes voters will identify with her from her work with groups such as Concerned Women for America and appearances on Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher, The O'Reilly Factor and other shows.
A New Jersey native who has lived in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., O'Donnell moved to Wilmington's Little Italy in 2003 when the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, a publishing think tank in Greenville, hired her as communications director.
She is now suing the institution in federal court for sex discrimination, claiming she was fired unfairly after about a year. The institute denies the claim, and the case is pending.
O'Donnell, who recently launched the nonprofit Catholic Advocacy Network, has suspended her work there to run in her first campaign, one spurred by the urging of friends and right-to-lifers.
O'Donnell said she was a pro-choice liberal in college, but reversed her views when she did research and found that many women bear deep scars from the experience.
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