Tuesday Open Thread [3.18.14]

Tuesday Open Thread [3.18.14]

2 Comments
Glenn Thrush has written a pretty neat profile for Politico Magazine on Vice President Joe Biden.
“The only thing I know is I ain’t changing my brand. I know what I believe. I’m confident in what I know. And I’m gonna say it. And if folks like it, wonderful. If they don’t like it, I understand.” Vice President Joe Biden and I were riding the Amtrak to Philly on a frigid February day. I had asked about 2016 and whether America was ready, at long last, to elect a guy with such a mouth. There he was, barely cracking double digits in the polls, abandoned by the party big shots, and appearing, beyond all good sense, like he wanted nothing more than another crack at the presidency.
I feel sorry for Joe. For all intents and purposes, a sitting Vice President is the de facto frontrunner for the presidency, especially for the party in power's primary. But not this time.
Delaware General Assembly Pre-Game Show: Tues., March 18, 2014

Delaware General Assembly Pre-Game Show: Tues., March 18, 2014

14 Comments
Assuming that neither snow nor St. Paddy's Day waylaid them, the legislators return en masse to Dover today. I expect the Governor and his staff to be meeting with legislators both to push for the infrastructure package (10 cents a gallon increase) and the clean water package ($45 on average per homeowner). This, to put it mildly, is a tough sell in an election year. I have to wonder why the governor didn't do this at the beginning of his second term rather than throwing out a not-well-thought-through proposal late last session. It makes passage less likely. Although...a compromise on the infrastructure package could well be reached. One respected legislator suggested a phase-in, a nickel and more state borrowing the first year, and an additional nickel and less borrowing the second year. This is, after all, among other things, a jobs bill. If proponents can message this properly and emphasize this fact, reluctant D legislators could well be brought along. I also expect caucuses to get briefings from their Joint Finance Committee members as to where things stand following the agency hearings (Oops. DEFAC says we're down another $40 mill). Keep in mind that the budget bill likely won't get marked up until around Memorial Day, so there will be a lot of dickering between now and then. And more DEFAC numbers.