Friday Open Thread [3.27.15]

Friday Open Thread [3.27.15]

Josh Kraushaar:
Talk to enough Republican insiders about the presidential primary field, and you'll get a common sentiment when it comes to Jeb Bush. Most strategists agree that Bush has to overcome serious hurdles to win the nomination, but they say he's a formidable candidate thanks to his deep political network and ability to dominate the competition in fundraising. "I can't see him dropping out before Florida," said one former GOP congressman well-connected to the field. But there are signs that a worst-case, crash-and-burn scenario for Bush is more realistic than even his skeptics recognize. He's underperforming in early public polls and is receiving a frosty reception from Republican focus groups. His entitled biography is at odds with the Republican Party's increasing energy from working-class voters, who relate best with candidates who have struggled to make ends meet. The Bush name is a reminder of the past at a time when GOP voters are desperate for new faces. And after losing two straight presidential elections, Republican voters are thinking much more strategically—and aren't nearly as convinced as the political press that Bush is the strongest contender against Hillary Clinton.
If they are thinking strategically, they would be more inclined to support Bush. But I feel that they thinking ideologically and are not willing to swallow an Establishment candidate that can win.
“The Sodomite Suppression Act” gives everyone a glimpse of what Republican rule would look like

“The Sodomite Suppression Act” gives everyone a glimpse of what Republican rule would look like

The California ballot initiative system is a progressive direct democracy plebiscite. However, it allows everyday Republicans with deranged views nurtured by the GOP noise machine to propose crackpot shit such as the "The Sodomite Suppression Act". This initiative, if enacted, would call on all Godly Californians to kill homosexuals. As such, the initiative is a tidy glimpse into the mind of the modern Republican. It also gives us a view of what complete GOP control of the government might look like.
"The abominable crime against nature known as buggery, called also sodomy, is a monstrous evil that Almighty God, giver of freedom and liberty, commands us to suppress on pain of our utter destruction even as he overthrew Sodom and Gomorrha," it begins. "Seeing that it is better that offenders should die rather than that all of us should be killed by God's just wrath against us for the folly of tolerating-wickedness in our midst, the People of California wisely command, in the fear of God, that any person who willingly touches another person of the same gender for purposes of sexual gratification be put to death by bullets to the head or by any other convenient method," the proposal continues.
Thursday Open Thread [3.26.15]

Thursday Open Thread [3.26.15]

A new CNN/ORC poll "finds 53% saying things are going well, 46% badly. That's the highest share saying things are going well that CNN/ORC polls have found during Obama's time in office...Assessing Obama's presidency overall, 50% consider his time in office a success, 47% a failure. And for those who say his time in office has been a failure, 37% say that's been because of his own actions, while just 9% attribute it to Congress blocking the President from action...Nearly two-thirds (63%) disapprove of the Democratic leaders in Congress, while 74% disapprove of the Republican leadership. That's worse than in March 2011, when 64% said they disapproved of GOP leadership a few months after the party took control of the U.S. House of Representatives."
Vote Tracker Update: Death Penalty Repeal Clears Committee, and some good Republican Bills.

Vote Tracker Update: Death Penalty Repeal Clears Committee, and some good Republican Bills.

Well that was quick. The Senate Judiciary Committee held its hearing on SB 40, the Death Penalty Repeal bill, yesterday, and has already voted the bill out of committee for consideration by the full Senate. I suppose the fast action should not be surprising, since passage by the Senate may be a foregone conclusion since it passed 11-10 last year. Once and a while the Republicans in the General Assembly introduce legislation that is actually good, even though their Republican sponsorship is often times cynical and an attempt to bait or embarrass the Democratic Leadership. But hey, one of the complaints of the GOP is that their bills never get a hearing or a vote on the floor. Rep. Deborah Hudson's HB 61 requires that all public meetings of the boards of education of public school districts, vo-tech school districts, and public meetings of charter schools’ boards of directors be digitally recorded and made available to the public on the districts’ and charter schools’ websites within seven business days. That is open government transparency, and a no brainer for Democrats to get behind. Speaker Schwartzkopf, let's get this bill on the floor. Rep. Dukes' HB 67 requires all statewide and other candidates that may appear on the general election ballot to disclose whether or not all their State and Federal personal income tax returns are filed and any tax due has been paid and whether or not all their real property taxes have been paid. Sure, this bill is making a political point, but I think it is still good policy nonetheless. Placing this bill in the House Administrative Committee, with is Speaker Schwartzkopf's version of a desk drawer veto, is only giving the Republicans the issue and more time to harp on it. It is self defeating. Finally, SB 38. This is intriguing. This bill is sponsored by Senator Colin Bonini, and allows a terminally ill patient, and his or her treating physician, to decide if they will pursue treatment with an investigational drug, biological product or device, which has successfully completed Phase One of a clinical trial. That is downright compassionate, one or two steps away from Death with Dignity, and it comes from a Republican. Shame on Democrats for not introducing this bill themselves.