MARRIAGE EQUALITY IS THE LAW

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The Delaware Senate has just passed HB 75, the Marriage Equality bill, 12 to 9. The vote went as we expected, with Senator Hall Long deciding at the last minute to vote yes. Thank you to her. I know I and others have been tough on her, and I know her vote was not needed and so she could have skipped it or not voted, but she stood up and voted to be on the right side of history. And thank you to Senators Blevins, Bushweller, Cloutier, Henry, Townsend, Peterson, Marshall, McDowell, McBride, Poore and Sokola for your votes today. We will have your back. Senators Townsend, Marshall, Bushweller and Peterson gave amazing speeches, but I would like to clear up something for the national media, who are already running with this, but Karen Peterson has been out as gay for years. She did not break news today. But hey, who am I to ruin your story? I am told that Governor Markell is going to sign this bill right away, on the steps of the General Assembly. Here is a picture of him in the halls right now: We will have a pic of the signing in 10-12 minutes. Here is Rob Tornoe's great cartoon: And the Governor signs the bill, making the title of this post finally legally and technically accurate. How the votes broke down:

HB 75 (Marriage Equality) Senate Debate and Vote Thread

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The Senate will be gaveled into session at 2 pm, and the only thing on the agenda is HB 75, the Marriage Equality bill that passed the House on April 23 by a vote of 23 to 18. According to sources and scuttlebutt, Senator Cathy Cloutier and Senator Bob Marshall are voting yes. The only real mystery is the vote of Senator Bethany Hall Long. Those working this bill say they have 12 votes, and if the rest of the whip count stays as I display below, that would mean Hall Long is voting yes. Until it happens though, I won't believe it. Perhaps Senators Ennis or Venables will change their minds and be the 12th vote. Or perhaps Ernie Lopez of Greg Lavelle will surprise, though it is hard to see how Lopez survives politically in his party if he does vote yes. Lavelle may vote yes given his upstate district, but if he has hopes of higher office he will have to deal with his rabid bigoted Republican base, who will not take kindly to a yes vote. But all of that is academic, since, if all the Senators in the yes column stay true to their pronouncements, Marriage Equality will be the law of the land. Come inside to follow the debate.

Tuesday Open Thread [5.7.13]

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"All of these things we've said about what the president could do, should do, might have, could have, but the central thing to keep in mind is his opponents -- you talk about taking them out to dinner, making nice with them -- these people, politically, want to cut his heart out and throw his liver to the dogs." -- Dan Rather, in an interview on the Chris Matthews Show. Today is Election Day in South Carolina's First Congressional District, made necessary by the elevation of Representative Tim Scott to the U.S. Senate upon the resignation of Senator Jim DeMint. Disgraced former Governor Mark Sanford is the Republican nominee, and given the demographics and partisan breakdown of the district, he is or should be the runaway frontrunner. But he is not. Two weeks ago, he was down by 10 points to the Democratic nominee, Elizabeth Colbert Busch, the sister of comedian Stephen Colbert. In a poll yesterday, Sanford had recovered to lead by 1 point, so the election is a toss up. Even if Colbert Busch loses, argues The Fix's Chris Cillizza and Sean Sullivan, the outcome might benefit Democrats in part because Sanford would be a high-profile reminder of "the narrative that Republicans have a woman problem," especially considering Sanford is due in Court on trespassing charges tomorrow after he allegedly trespassed on his ex wife's property and broke into her home several weeks ago.

General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Tues., May 7, 2013

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Damn! I feel like Cathy Cloutier circa 2011. Gotta miss today's vote. Off the radar screen, although I'll be checking in from the road. This time, I think that Cathy Cloutier will be in the building, and that she will vote yes. In fact, I predict that both she and Bethany Hall-Long will do the right thing, which means that HB 75 will get 12 votes, and that marriage equality will become reality in Delaware. It should be a great day in Dover. Chamber and the gallery packed. Matt Denn presiding over the Senate in case he might have to cast the deciding vote. A lot of pent-up emotion. Hopefully to be followed by a joyful catharsis. Sen. Blevins has cleared the decks by scheduling HB 75, and only HB 75, on today's Senate agenda.  You all know that Delaware Liberal is the place to go for continuing coverage of this historic debate. Maybe I'll even chime in from someplace in Bumf-ck, Indiana, assuming that the internets have reached there. [Delaware Dem note: I will be setting up a Debate and Vote thread this afternoon].

School Board Elections, Redux

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Yesterday's NJ had a remarkable article from Matthew Albright that purports to take a look at the usually out-of-sight school board elections and the possibility of influence by outside interests on the eventual winners. It is remarkable, because it singles out teacher's unions as the outside interests being served by the inattention of voters to these elections. There isn't even a fig leaf of a "both sides do it" argument -- in large part because this article lets Jea Street pontificate about how teacher's unions are running the board for school board elections:

Matt Denn seems confident

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Indeed, most of the organizations interested in a yes outcome in the vote this afternoon in the Senate seemed to be guardedly optimistic. I dare say if the outcome was truely in doubt the Lt. Governor would not be posting a status update like this: To guard against complacency, there is still time to lobby Senators Bob Marshall, Bethany Hall Long and Cathy Cloutier. Encouraging emails or calls only please. Find their contact info here.