Thursday Open Thread [1.19.12]

So long Rick Perry. We hardly knew thee. Thank God for that. What is with Presidential candidates quitting in the middle of the week, only days before the next primary. I understand dropping out right after a poor or less then expected showing in a primary, but why right before a primary? You would think that Perry and Huntsman would like to have see how they did in South Carolina. Meanwhile.... Newtmentum II?

General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Thurs., Jan. 19, 2012

I don’t know whether the House will get to these bills today, because the highlight of the day, and often of the legislative session, is the Governor’s Annual State of the State Address to the General Assembly. In addition to proclaiming the ’state of the state’ (“The groundhog has seen his shadow!”), the address serves as the official unveiling of the Governor’s legislative priorities. Sometimes it’s a laundry list of specifics, sometimes it’s more an articulation of the principles that the Governor believes the General Assembly should embrace, usually it’s some combination of both. Governor Markell is by far the best orator we’ve had as governor during my time in state government. He’s at his best when he speaks, or writes, from the heart. As he did on civil unions. And as he did on the Gattis decision. However, he tends to lose that human connection when he embraces the policy wonk side of his personality. We already know, based on this story, that the Governor intends to seek ’savings’ (meaning cuts) from Medicaid. Just so there’s no mistake, Medicaid=Health Care for the Poor. Last year, the Governor proposed a $92/month cut to services to the medically-indigent. I sure hope he has learned from that kamikaze mission that that’s both horrible policy and a political non-starter.

Santorum Wins!

Just thought he deserved the headline. The Republican party of Iowa has finished it’s recount of the January 3rd Iowa caucuses and the certified final results show Rick Santorum came out ahead by 34 votes.

Why Are President Obama’s Critics So Dumb?

This cover line question teases Andrew Sullivan's article in Newsweek titled How Obama's Long Game Will Outsmart His Critics. It's a longish read (so stick with it), but one of the fairer accounts of the Obama Presidency I've seen (and a better case for his Presidency that I think that even the Obama folks have made themselves). And this is written by a conservative ex-Republican (he claims to be an independent now), who has had more than his fair share of issues with Obama policy, politics and process throughout the last three years.

Mark Your Calendars

Here is a listing of political events for the next three weeks, courtesy of the Delaware Democratic Party. If you have a political event, meeting or rally you want publicized, post it in the comments below and I will put it on the calendar.

Wednesday Open Thread [1.18.12]

One thing that really stands out in the new PPP poll is the extent to which President Obama has claimed the middle. He's up 68-27 on Romney with moderates. He also leads by 20 points with voters under 45, a group there's been some concern about slippage with, and he has a 66-30 advantage with Hispanics. If that's true, the election will not be close.

Hello Wisconsin

Democrats in Wisconsin dropped off 1.5 tons of signatures at the state Government Accountability Board's office today. 1.5 tons is apparently what over a million signatures weighs. Yes, nearly as many people that elected Scott Walker in 2010 have now signed on to recall him.

General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Weds., Jan. 18, 2012

At LAST. This year's General Assembly session begins in earnest today. And on a committee day no less. All sorts of compelling action scheduled to take place today. I support HB 222(Jaques), which would "require(s) that the Department of Labor publish the names of employers who have violated the Workplace Fraud Act, by misclassifying an employee as an independent contractor or otherwise". This, of course, is just one way that the 1% take advantage of the 99%. For example, did you know that Linda & Vince McMahon's WWE classifies its wrestlers/performers as independent contractors? Of course, they all have contracts, and the McMahons will take anyone to court for striving to be 'independent'. Obligatory rasslin' reference, sorry. Now, that's what I call a committee meeting.

Call Governor Markell. Have His Back.

Evidently Gov. Markell is receiving lots of criticism from blood thirsty conservatives on his brave decision to grant clemency to Robert Gattis. If you supported and approved his decision, and if you would have criticized him if he did not grant clemency, then you owe it to yourself, to us, and to Governor Markell to take at most five minutes and email him your thanks and support. His email address and phone numbers are inside.