Wednesday Open Thread [3.27.13]

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Ross Douthat imagines the state of our politics today if the Iraq War never happened:
[T]ake away Iraq’s imprint on our politics, and America might well have still elected a Democrat to replace George W. Bush. But because of Iraq, the Democratic majority that did come to power in 2006 and 2008 has been more aggressive on public policy, less defensive in the culture war, and more proficient in the art of base mobilization than a hypothetical Clinton Restoration would have been – and their Republican opposition has been more ideologically bunkered-down, less nimble and less inclined to woo the center, than the G.O.P. might have been absent the trauma of Iraq.
Without Iraq, there is no Obama presidency. Obama would not have been able to distinquish himself from Clinton in the primaries and would have lost to her. Perhaps even more importantly, there would have been no Howard Dean. Thus, while Hillary would have gone on to beat John McCain due to the 2008 economic collapse, the Democratic Party would be a moderate mess, as the progressive take over of the party in 2005 would not have happened, and the 2006 retaking of Congress probably does not happen (although it would have in 2008).

Defense – America’s real spending problem

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I've frequently said, "We don't have a spending problem, we have a revenue problem." That is true as long as you are talking about domestic spending. Domestic programs from food safety inspections to college loan guarantees are cut to the bone. "Entitlements" such as Social security add nothing to the debt and could easily be self-sustaining well into the future with modest revenue side reforms. However, if you talking about the US budget in its entirety, the wingnuts are right. We do have a spending problem. We have a pretty big fucking spending problem.

Short and Sweet Spin from DP

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I am not a reader of the right wing downstate "Delaware Politics." But I have the blog on my Google Reader RSS Feed so I can see when and what they post, and every once and a while, they will post something that piques my interest. Like David Anderson's reaction to the repeal of the Death Penalty in the Senate yesterday. Now, keep in my mind when reading this that David Anderson is supposedly a professed devout Christian, and he relies on those beliefs constantly to inform his opinions on women's healthcare, women's rights, abortion, homosexuality, marriage equality, contraception, education, the First Amendment, and I could go on and on and on. I am not saying there is anyting wrong with relying upon your religion to inform your political beliefs. But David does. And this is what he said....
After giving up on changing the sentences for current death row murderers, the Senate passed over bipartisan and law enforcement opposition to repeal the state death penalty. The bill goes on the House. 3 Republicans crossed over to support the bill, led by the Minority Leader.
Anderson then goes on to list the votes of the entire Senate, like I did yesterday. After reading this, I cannot tell if David is happy or said that death penalty repeal was passed by the Senate. There is no celebration, but there is no ranting and raving either. Given the comments from Don Ayotte and others on that post (reacting with the typical reserve, calm and discretion that is representative of the Teabagger movement(/snark)), I wonder if David is purposefully masking his true thoughts here for fear that he will offend his rabid readers.

General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Weds., March 27, 2013

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And to think that I was gonna cut back on covering the legislative beat. Whatever was I thinking? Every day, huge stories, two of 'em yesterday: 1. State Senate votes to repeal Delaware's death penalty statute, and 2. The Obama-ization of the House Democratic Caucus appears complete. At least with respect to preemptively compromising with an enemy that will not compromise with you.

A message from Lt. Governor Matt Denn

"With all the excitement yesterday in Washington, it is important to remember that there will be a vote here in Delaware this year on marriage equality, and although we are optimistic, the outcome of that vote is anything but certain. You can volunteer to help win the vote by visiting Equality Delaware at www.equalitydelaware.org (I am proud to have been a long-time member of its Advisory Board). I have found that one of the most compelling ways to convince legislators that marriage equality is the right thing to do is to share why you decided it was right, so if you want to share a story here about why you decided to support marriage equality, I will pass it along."