Friday Open Thread [6.21.13]

Senator Chris Coons has been appointed to the Senate Appropriations Committee. This is a big deal for Senator Coons — the last time a Delawarean was on this committee was in 1973, when Caleb Boggs was last on the committee. We congratulate him on this appointment:

“The Appropriations Committee offers a unique opportunity to make a difference for Delawareans on an extraordinary range of issues, and to ensure that the federal government is making the wisest, most efficient investments in our future,” Senator Coons said. “My priorities on Appropriations will be consistent with my work in the Senate so far — helping businesses grow and create jobs; supporting innovative research; giving law enforcement the tools to keep our communities safe; and building a circle of protection around the most vulnerable in our society. I am excited to join Chairwoman Mikulski and Vice Chairman Shelby on the committee, and grateful to Leader Reid for his confidence in my ability to make a difference here.”

I wish that he had made a commitment to making sure that Social Security was preserved for everyone, but perhaps Senator Coons knows something about the importance to Delawareans that I don’t.

Thw Washington Monthly profiles one of my favorite Governors — Martin O’Malley.

The truth is, what makes O’Malley stand out is not his experience, his gravitas, nor his familiarity to voters (Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden crush him in those regards). Nor is it exactly his policies or speeches (New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper, both rumored presidential aspirants, have cultivated similar CVs). Nor is it that he plays in a band. Nor is it even the Atlantic’s breathless claim last year that he has “the best abs” in politics. (Beneath a photo of the fit governor participating in the Maryland Special Olympics’ annual Polar Bear Plunge, the author gushed, “What are they putting in the water in Maryland?”) Instead, what makes O’Malley unique as a politician is precisely the skill that was on display in that windowless conference room in downtown Annapolis: he is arguably the best manager working in government today.

Tales of GOP Outreach — this is from a County GOP Chair, talking about a GOP African-American candidate:

“Rodney Davis will win and the love child of the D.N.C. will be back in Shitcago by May of 2014 working for some law firm that needs to meet their quota for minority hires,” he wrote. “… Now, miss queen is being used like a street walker and her pimps are the DEMOCRAT PARTY and RINO REPUBLICANS.”

You can see the whole email here. This guy has since resigned, but seriously, people. Keep up the good work in reaching out to women and minorities.

Great reading — How Republicans stopped worrying and learned to love big government The GOP is trying to baseline budget projections over 30 years rather than 10, since the 30 year projections are way scarier than the (recent) 10-year projections. Plus, it seems that with the massive increase in Border Security and the new discussion on spying on Americans, the GOP is AOK with *this* Big Government. It is too bad that Democrats are complicit here — because this is one more bit of GOP hypocrisy that they never get called on.

Two more days of the Clifford Brown Jazz Festival and Saturday looks like an amazing lineup (Wednesday was fantastic), so grab your chairs and some wine and munchies and head down to Rodney Square.

What interests you today?