General Assembly Post-Game Wrap=Up/Pre-Game Show: Thurs., March 22, 2012

As predicted by Yours Truly, legislation adding public employees to the State Employee Benefit Committee has been assigned to buried in the House Administration Committee, where Pete Schwartzkopf will help Jack Markell kill the bill, just like Pete Schwartzkopf is helping Jack Markell to kill HB 126. While the House Administration Committee has generally been seen as the counterpart of the Senate Executive Committee, the leadership of the committee has rarely exercised the same kind of heavy-handed tactics employed by Thurman Adams and Tony DeLuca on the Senate side. That is, however, what they are doing with these two bills.

Calls For Sanford Police Chief To Resign Over Trayvon Martin Case

Police chief Bill Lee, of Sanford police, has insisted he carried out a "fair and thorough" investigation of the killing and that he cannot arrest George Zimmerman because he has told police he shot the teenager in self-defence and there was no evidence to contradict his account.
A thorough investigation? Not a chance. No evidence to contradict Zimmerman's account? Well, if you don't look for or gather evidence then there won't be evidence, now will there? Gross incompetence of the Sanford Police would be a generous description at this point. Let's look at what the Sanford Police didn't do.

It Appears I’m Not Alone In Not Forgiving Komen

A Komen insider told HuffPost that "employee morale is in the toilet" since Komen leadership made the controversial decision to defund Planned Parenthood, one of the nation's most prominent women's health and family planning organizations. The move was led by anti-abortion executive Karen Handel, then Komen's senior vice president for public policy, who has since resigned. "Brinker in complete meltdown," the source wrote to HuffPost. "People want her to resign but she won't."

Wednesday Open Thread [3.21.12]

Mitt Romney is your nominee. Or then again maybe not. The sound of the celebrations of the Republcan side is .... is..... deafeningly quiet. I would more describe it as a half interested groan. Even though Mitt Romney has no real meaningful opposition, he may still fail to capture a majority of the delegates until June, unless of course Santorum and Gingrich drop out and endorse Romney now, and that is not going to happen. So given that, I would have to say Mitt Romney is the weakest presidential nominee on the Republican side since Wendell Wilkie.

General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Weds., March 21, 2012

An item I found intriguing was the fact that SB163(Marshall), which would increase Delaware's minimum wage by $1 over a two year period, and which passed the Senate on January 26, was finally assigned to a House Committee yesterday. And not the committee that you'd expect, which would be the House Labor Committee. No, the bill has been assigned to the House Economic Development/Banking/Insurance/Commerce Committee. It could be nothing, but my Spidey Sense is tingling here. First, the bill is slow-walked. Then, it's assigned to a committee whose history has been to remove any pesky impediments to economic development, including regulation. Not the most worker-friendly committee, IMHO. Let's just see what happens here. I do know this: If Jack Markell supports this bill, it passes. If he doesn't, well, it just could get buried in an inhospitable committee. Stay tuned.

Delaware Liberal Tracking Poll Results — Lt. Gov. Matt Denn (Round 2)

87 people voted in the last poll on Lt. Gov. Matt Denn exactly one month ago, and 88 people voted today. In that span, Denn's approval rating has dropped 8 points, from 73% to 65%. Now, I might be a little concerned if 1) the approval number of 73 wasn't astronomically high to begin with and 65 is still damn good and 2) this was a real scientific poll and not a non-random internet poll. Plus there is no rhyme or reason to the drop, since Governor Markell's approval rating over the same time period shot up even higher.

Santorum says he can take Delaware based on the O’Donnell Precedent.

According to Santorum's camp, Mitt Romney is making the argument that the April states are "Northeastern states and therefore more moderate states and therefore more favorable toward a moderate candidate,” Santorum strategist John Brabender doesn't see it that way:
“However I would point to the primary elections in 2010 in almost all of those states. If you look at the primary elections in those states, famously so, conservatives beat more moderate candidates.” Santorum, Brabender said, could be just like O’Donnell.