Archive for January, 2014
Can a product of Carper Cyborgenics run on a human heart?
When I saw that Sean Barney was ready to run, I knew a long bank of switches were being flipped, and guys in short sleeved white dress shirts wearing ties and bulky headsets were saying, “Mission?”
“Mission Control is GO!,”
“Houston?”
“Houston is GO, flight”
…as well as other rocketry stuff to each other back at Carper HQ. I heard Carper talking up Barney eight years or so ago at a Jeff/Jax and figured, “Okay, this is happening.” And so it is. But can a product of Carper, Inc keep his human heart? The experience of John Carney says that it is a long-shot. Beholden to banks? Check. Utterly ignoring issues of social and economic justice? Check.
Is Sean Barney going to be more of the same?
His background, and what he says about himself anyway, actual provides a slim ray of hope that he might not be another Carper clone.
Delaware Political Weekly: Jan. 4-10, 2014
The first full week of an election year=The Return of Delaware Political Weekly.
As a special bonus at no added cost, I’ll even include stuff that happened before this week, including all current filings.
Let’s Go!
Friday Daily Delawhere [1.10.14]
![Friday Daily Delawhere [1.10.14]](http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7442/11777936876_87126d7849_z.jpg "Friday Daily Delawhere [1.10.14]")
From the DelDOT Flickr page. The snow covered Soldier statute outside Leg Hall in Dover.
Thursday Open Thread [1.9.14]
![Thursday Open Thread [1.9.14]](http://delawareliberal.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/chris_christie-240x180.jpg "Thursday Open Thread [1.9.14]")
Andrew Sullivan: “Perhaps it is no big surprise to discover that governor Chris Christie is a vindictive, petty egomaniac contemptuous of the people he serves. But it’s hard to avoid that conclusion when you’ve pored over the new tranche of emails that show how he and his staff made life miserable for a large number of New Jerseyans – and, yes, trapped unnecessarily in traffic is misery, even when you have the gorgeous scenery of the George Washington Bridge to absorb. The point was punishment of a mayor who didn’t endorse the governor, whose re-election was cruising for a landslide victory in any case.”
Christie has more than one problem here. He has been revealed as a deeply petty man, willing to sacrifice the public good to pursue narrow political vendettas – not exactly a qualification for a president. But he has also repeatedly denied all of this. Is he a bully? Or a liar? Or both?”
Andrew Sullivan is my barometer on the moderate former Republican who is a social liberal, to whom Christie was very attractive. Obama won those voters in two elections. If Christie has lost Sullivan, his campaign for the presidency is already over.
The 62 Project: #’s 22 & 40
Ennis took the time-honored (or dishonored) route to the General Assembly. Retired state trooper straight to Leg Hall. His temperament, though, is different than others who have made the same trek. He’s not aggressive, he’s very friendly, does his homework, and maintains close ties to his constituents. He is in his Dover office almost every day, and he’s always meeting with constituents. Not those with the most money, I might point out. You might not think he’s all that smart when you first meet him, but he uses that to his advantage. He’s a lot smarter, and more politically canny, than he seems.
Meanwhile, Stephanie Bolden isn’t terrible, but she appears disinterested in, you know, legislating. One would hope that a district like hers would be served by someone more interested in their constituents’ problems than her own resume. She generally votes the ‘right’ way, but then so would anybody who represents this overwhelmingly Democratic and under-served district. I’d normally say that the district deserves better. But the voters sent the Plants back to Dover for something like 33 years. So maybe the 2nd RD deserves Stephanie Bolden.
![Thursday Daily Delawhere [1.9.14]](http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5484/11777584144_801a118714_z.jpg "Thursday Daily Delawhere [1.9.14]")
PDD: Join the fight for Economic Equality in Delaware
As some of you know, I wear two hats in the Delaware political word. I am a contributing editor here at Delaware Liberal, and I am involved with the Progressive Democrats for Delaware. I am taking advantage of those dual roles right now by posting PDD’s annual fundraising and membership letter, should some of our readers like to join and/or contribute to PDD to advance progressive causes in Delaware or to help elect progressive candidates. And if you want to attend one of PDD’s monthly meetings, they are held the first Wednesday night of every month at the Delaware Democratic Party Headquarters, located at 19 E. Commons Boulevard in New Castle, off Rt. 141. In fact, they are meeting tonight at 7 pm. Click inside to read the full email.
Dems: Time For Radical Economic Solutions
I’m throwing this out there after much thought, but also just before leaving town for a week. So I won’t be able to respond right away. The economic incrementalism we Democrats are doing with supposed economic solutions to a broken capitalistic system isn’t working. Jim Hightower and many other fellow populists told you they wouldn’t work and he was right. It is time for radical solutions on behalf of the people.
“Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee”
Recently released emails and text messages make it clear that Chris Christie used threats and coercion to gain endorsements from New Jersey mayors and that the administration played a direct role in in establishing retaliatory lane closures that caused a traffic nightmare for Fort Lee, New Jersey. Those e-mails and text messages, including one in […]
Wednesday Open Thread [1.8.14]
![Wednesday Open Thread [1.8.14]](http://delawareliberal.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/DL.Thumbnail.png "Wednesday Open Thread [1.8.14]")
Dana Milbank wants to know where the outrage is from Democrats over the cuts to unemployment benefits. He notes that this kind of thing used to be real red meat for OG Democrats to beat up the GOP over. And I agree with him — you can’t effectively launch an effort to critique income inequality in the US without starting to wrap the problem around the GOP’s neck. Even though there is plenty of Democratic policy that has been complicit in this. But the GOP has been wringing its hands over paying for these extended benefits, so where are the Dems offering to eliminate the subsidies to oil companies as a way to pay for this?
![Wednesday Daily Delawhere [1.8.14]](http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7322/11777409083_b9dac58792_z.jpg "Wednesday Daily Delawhere [1.8.14]")
Just kill yourself already Frank
I have a short list of people whose deaths I will be happy to celebrate. Frank Luntz is one of them.
It appears I might have the chance. Luntz got a serious case of the pouts when Obama was reelected and it is threatening to kill him. Now don’t get me wrong. I know depression is a real disease, but Luntz’ depression is funny to me.
It was what Luntz heard from the American people that scared him. They were contentious and argumentative. They didn’t listen to each other as they once had. They weren’t interested in hearing other points of view. They were divided one against the other, black vs. white, men vs. women, young vs. old, rich vs. poor. “They want to impose their opinions rather than express them,” is the way he describes what he saw. “And they’re picking up their leads from here in Washington.”
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