Here is the thing about Jack Markell
Bob Yearik was kind enough to include me along with a bunch of other luminaries (like that goddam idiot from Caesar Rodney Institute, “Doctor” John Stapleford) in this Delaware Today piece about Governor Markell. Yearick does a pretty good job collecting a bunch of puzzle pieces but never really tries to fit them together. So, what the hell? I’ll put them together here.
The thing about Jack Markell is this – he is a politician, so he is bound to disappoint you. That’s just the way it goes. Politicians disappoint. It is the way of the world. Hopefully they wont disappoint you continually, or one something big, but disappointed you will be. Go ahead and work for them, given them money and facebook “likes” if you think they are slightly better than the other guy, but don’t do it thinking you will not be disappointed.
Is my disappointment with Markell great? Not really. Not as big as some. Would I work for him, given him money and facebook “likes” next time around? If I think he is slightly better than the other guy, I will.
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Would you work for Carper, Carney, and Coons with the same enthusiasm?
I guess there is a disappointment tipping point. That’s the curse of being a democrat. In the general election, the D is always going to be slightly better than the other guy- and at times that isn’t saying much.
Talk about an enthusiasm gap. ‘Not as bad as the other guy’. Except Carper does more damage, being in the majority, so that point is arguable. And, if the question is, would I support Markell in a presidential run against the likes of Martin O’Malley or Liz Warren?
No bleeping way.
Hey, I’ve got people like Matt Denn and Bryan Townsend to volunteer for. Why waste my time with Republocrats?
Denn and Townsend are going to disappoint you. I’m not looking forward to it, but it is going to happen unless they decide to quit politics. (Which would be disappointing, so basically there is no way out other than head down and keep moving forward.)
I agree that they could never live up to my fondest dreams.
But I cling to the hope that they’d be more progressive than those currently carrying the D mantle.
Without hope, there’s nothing…except fantasy baseball.
Will someone please explain to me why there is any reason to believe that Matt Denn, if put in an office with some real authority, would turn out to be more progressive than Markell, Carney or Carper?
I’ll concede that, when compared with his successor, he looked like a progressive insurance commissioner, but that’s setting an incredibly low bar.
I’ll start believing in Matt Denn when he starts speaking out and exerting some influence to counterbalance the corporatist leanings of the governor and our entire congressional delegation.
Until then, you can cling to your blind hope but I doubt he’s anything more than another pea from the same pod.
Anybody else find the basic premise of this article weird? Because this is the real theme:
Now in his second (and, by law, last) term as governor, the Democrat who once interned for the late Republican Sen. Bill Roth has straddled the line between liberal and conservative while frustrating and irritating extremists on both sides. On the left, he has been a major disappointment to environmentalists and some others. Right-wingers criticize him for being a “gun-grabber” and supporter of gay marriage, among other grievances.
What is weird (to me) about this “both sides” business is what counts as extremists in this formulation. It is very odd in a state that is fairly proud of it’s Republican-pushed Coastal Zone Act to note that the “environmentalists” are extremists here. The opposition to the deepening of the Delaware looked fairly bipartisan (at least as the grass roots level) from where I sit — and on an issue by issue basis, environmental concerns can be plenty bipartisan. Then — what did get avoided was concerns over increased child poverty, genuine issues with education (and the administration of education policy) and a remarkable amount of taxpayer funds being spent on businesses with little to no performance milestones attached. I’m not even saying that *these* are extremist, just that these are real concerns that seem to get glossed over for the easy narrative. An easy narrative that makes Markell look as though he is above the fray. And who wouldn’t want that narrative to be the one journalists reach for?
When I read that particular phrase, cassandra, “environmentalists and some others” I have to admit I was left wondering just who the hell the “some others” were, and why environmentalists counted as extremists.
Perhaps the “some others” among the extremists would be the state employees for whom he has not recommended a pay raise in five years.
If there were “some others” they (the organizations AND issues) should be listed in the article.
I want to breathe clean air and drink clean water because I am so EXTREME!!!!!
I believe “some others” refers to the writers of DL and their largely sympathetic readers.