Copeland a voice of dissent even outside Leg. Hall

Charlie Copeland may have lost his bid to become Delaware’s next lieutenant governor, but he’s not giving up his voice as one of the state’s leading conservatives.

Formerly a popular target of some of Delaware’s left-leaning blogs during his years as a state senator, Copeland has started his own “center-right” alternative called “Resolute Determination.”

The blog, named for Abraham Lincoln’s oft-offered advice on perseverance, features entries from Copeland, his former brother-in-arms in the General Assembly, Dover Republican Sen. Colin Bonini, and others – some of whom have chosen to remain anonymous.

After some sporadic posts in late December, the site was formally launched after the New Year, with entries ranging from Barack Obama’s proposed stimulus bill and New Castle County’s workforce housing legislation, to the legacies of Ponzi-schemer Bernard Madoff and former Gov. Ruth Ann Minner (it’s hard to tell which is public enemy number one).

“When you have a party leadership position, sometimes you have to be more delicate than you would like,” Copeland said.

Still, Copeland says he is careful not to make the kind of personal attacks that are commonplace in the blogosphere, instead focusing on policy.

“We’re very focused on the issues that are out there being presented and whether or not we think what is being proposed as a solution is a good one from a center-right perspective,” he said.

Copeland writes as he governed, with the belief that a smaller government is an effective one; that the key to individual liberty and rule of law is leaving the people in charge of their own lives.
Government can’t be all things to all people, he says: “If you have 150 priorities, you have none.”

Aside from the blog – and his career as president of Associates Graphics Services, a local printing firm – Copeland is focused on his passion for social justice reform.

He’s the longtime board president of the Challenge Program, which offers a construction apprenticeship program to at-risk youth. And last month, he was named president of SURJ (Stand Up for what’s Right and Just), a statewide, grassroots effort dedicated to reforming Delaware’s criminal justice system.

As a legislator, he fought to eliminate mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug offenders. When somebody successfully completes drug rehabilitation and re-enters society as a productive member, there’s a tangible payoff, he said.

“There are good young people out there who come from bad situations who given the right tools, can succeed,” Copeland said. “We need to start putting young people on a better course because there is little benefit from the warehousing of incarceration. It’s a failed business model and it’s tantamount to a sin to watch that kind of loss of human potential.”

On the subject of potential, Copeland still has plenty.

Despite his loss to Democrat Matt Denn in his race for lieutenant governor, at 45, Copeland remains widely regarded as the future of the Republican Party in Delaware. He’s not chomping at the bit to immediately return to the political arena – he’s enjoying making it home for dinner with his wife Bonnie, daughter Stephanie and son Will for a change. But if and when he does throw his hat back in the ring, it’s clear he’s not at all discouraged by November’s result.

“During the last eight years, dislike for President Bush has been the most dominant factor in Delaware’s elective politics,” he said. “Democratic failures here at home have been overshadowed by problems with the Bush administration, but now the Democrats are going to have to lead in a different environment.

“But it shouldn’t be about Charlie Copeland, it should be about whether the state is going in the right direction,” he continued. “I don’t believe that anyone is indispensable in politics.”