It doesn’t take much of a roadblock to derail a bill once the General Assembly calendar turns to June.
When the NRA, which has at least half the legislators in its sights pocket, lays out the slippery slope card canard, legislators either cower and/or hold out their hands for campaign cash.
And so it came to pass that the National Rifle Association shot down SB 39 (McDowell) in the Senate Judiciary Committee, aided and abetted by Chair Patti “Is There An Actual Problem?” Blevins. This result was as predictable as ‘sportsmen’ shooting fattened birds on ‘commercial game preserves’ on Sundays. The bill would have required that background checks be performed on the private sale of guns at gun shows. Licensed dealers are already required to do it. Per usual, the NRA used a circular firing squad argument to convince the ready-to-be-convinced legislators. The argument goes something like this: This is a solution in search of a problem. You see, we don’t even know if it’s a problem, so why legislate it? Of course, even if you accept the NRA logic, which I don’t, the reason why you don’t know if it’s a problem is precisely BECAUSE THERE ARE NO RECORDS. And so it comes to pass that unregulated and undocumented sales of guns will continue to take place at gun shows. The NRA and Delaware’s cowardly legislators can breathe easier. Memo to lemming-like Democrats: If you think this will keep John Sigler from training his attack dogs on you, you’re dumber than I think. Except for Lumpy Carson. If there’s an Absolute Zero measurement for legislative intelligence, he’s already there.
On a more schadenfrauedic note, Debbie Hudson, who considers her obscenely wealthy constituents special, hence above the law, has lost control of her special-interest legislation to keep the undesirable riff-raff of commercial development away from her easily-offended landed gentry. It’s not about the legislation itself, as it makes some sense. It’s the simple fact that, when overdevelopment comes to her area, she suddenly gets religion after a 20-year career as an agnostic, or, dare I say it, Devil worshiper. Need I remind you that Debbie Hudson spent about half her legislative career as Deborah Hudson Capano? I never came across anybody who manipulated and misled civic leaders for his own greedy purposes more than her ex, Louie Capano. She owes her stately digs and opulent lifestyle to the fiscal fruits of overdevelopment. Now she’s arguing that she was for it before she was against it. I argue that she’s a hypocrite, pure and simple. So spare me the phony piety. Build, baby, build!
Today’s Senate agenda is dominated by the annual influx of corporate ledger-demain prepared by the Corporate Section of the Delaware Bar Association. I don’t pretend to know what’s in these bills, and neither do the legislators. If you don’t believe me, simply scan through the synopsis of this bill, which is part of the package. I’m sure that we can take the ‘grown-ups’ word that it will help Delaware maintain its advantage as a haven for corporations. And, what’s good for corporations incorporated here must be good for you, right? Right? Before you answer, check the rates on your credit cards, then get back to me.
The House Agenda features four tax cut bills. At least something will mollify the dukes, duchesses and dowagers in Debbie Hudson’s district. And, yes, the robber barons too.
I like HB 69 (D. Short), which would simply have fiscal notes (added by the Controller General’s office to bills with a fiscal impact) reflect projected revenue gains as well as projected revenue costs. I think that the House passed this bill unanimously last session, but it was buried in the Senate. Why? Two words: Nancy Cook. Much of her power derived from controlling information, which she often withheld from other legislators and almost always withheld from the public. She’s gone. Time to pass this bill, it’s basic common sense. A little worried by the relative lack of D co-sponsors, though.
I strongly support HB 55 (Rep. D. E. Williams), which creates a mechanism to provide for the popular election of the President of the United States. For the life of me, I can’t understand an argument that says that the person with the most votes for President shouldn’t be the President. Especially when the alternative is having a crooked Secretary of State like Florida’s Katherine Harris effectively rigging the election for Dubya. Do we really want party functionaries fixing an election instead of having the people decide? And I see that Rethug attack dog John Sigler is already fulminating in print about how ‘Delaware won’t matter’ if this bill passes? Might I point out to Sigler that states matter a lot–during primary and caucus season. In fact, even pre-Biden, Delaware played an integral role in Obama generating the momentum to win the election.
So, what are we talking about? Not having a few politicos come into the state to run field operations for the candidates? They’ll be coming to the state any way to help run field operations for the tickets which include races for, among other things, US senators, congresspersons, and governors. Delaware already gets next to no money for advertising revenue as it is at the presidential level, as most buys go into the Philly market, which includes Delaware. Does anyone think that candidates won’t venture into the northeast corridor, and that they might skip a whistle-stop in Delaware should we elect the President by popular vote?
With or without these hypothetical ‘horribles’, one question remains: Why shouldn’t the person who gets the most votes for President be elected President? Explain to me how that notion is fundamentally undemocratic.
The House is likely to give final approval to legislation making the sterile needle and syringe exchange program permanent. The bill received about 75% of the votes in the Senate, and I expect a similar margin in the House.
Finally, Tony DeLuca’s bill enabling an ‘invaluable’ member of the Delaware Commission on Italian Heritage and Culture to continue serving on the commission will likely pass. I’ve said all that needs to be said about this. This type of commission is a joke and waste of taxpayer dollars. I suspect that most legislators realize this. Won’t make a difference as this bill sails through.
Stick a fork in me and twirl me around with some pasta. I’m done. Perhaps overdone.
See ya next week!