Month: July 2015

I think of the DNC as being staffed by a bunch of dingle-berries and dipshits, mostly because historically it has been staffed by a bunch of dingle-berries and dipshits. But that might be changing. This GOP Debate Watch Party Pack actually seems funny.

Brian Beutler on why Donald Trump terrifies Republicans:

For almost three years now, Republican strategic thought has been roughly divided between two schools. One, represented by Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, and to a lesser extent Rand Paul, accepts the notion that the party must improve its performance with minority voters, without sacrificing its command of the white vote, in order to remain competitive in presidential elections. The other, represented by Ted Cruz and Scott Walker, rejects this premise. These Republicans hew to the theory, expressed numerically by RealClearPolitics analyst Sean Trende, that making inroads with minorities is not important. The key to winning, they believe, lies with activating a large block of the white electorate that has stood on the sidelines, but would find a natural home in a Republican party if it were led by someone who could channel the political mood of the white working class.

So if you are in the former camp and believe reaching out and changing the party is how you win again, then Trump destroys that path by reminding Latinos and everyone else that Republicans are evil racist bigots. If you are in the latter camp and believe the "missing white voter" is the key to keeping the GOP competitive in elections, then you worry that any attack on Trump alienates them. So in essence, Donald Trump is forcing the courageous choice that Republicans should have made after 2012: Either cast off the racist bigoted tea party or die. If I were a Republican, I would realize that the 2016 election is already lost. I would let Trump and Cruz get the Presidential and Vice Presidential nomination and watch them go down in defeat in an epic landslide. And then I would finally clean house. And it may take a generation, but at least you'd have your party back.

We received this in our tip line, and though I cannot attend, I thought I should pass it on. This is an invitation to a "small and informal gathering" at a private residence in the Devonshire neighborhood off Shipley Road (and near the intersection with Naamans Road) in Brandywine Hundred. If you are interested in attending, email and RSVP to draftbiden_de@draftbiden2016.com, and then you will receive the full and exact address. Here is the full, though redacted, invitation:

You are invited to attend a small and informal gathering at my home (XXXXXXXX, Wilmington, DE 19810) this Saturday, July 25th at 1:00pm as part of the "day of action" taking place in all 50 states, to show support of nation-wide Draft Biden 2016 movement. I would be honored if you would please join us. Feel free to bring your friends and family. Please RSVP to draftbiden_de@draftbiden2016.com.

These (more or less) were the remarks I delivered last night at the PDD event honoring PDD's "Bob Stachnik Progressive Courage" awardees. Thanks for having me here to say a few words about Bob Stachnik on the occasion of awarding these first Bob Stachnik Progressive Courage Award. Having worked with him through the Howard Dean meetup days and into the founding of PDD, I can say one thing with absolute authority - Bob would hate the name of this award. This I know for sure. That is an objective fact.

Attention Republicans everywhere. You are hereby ordered to cease what you are doing and make your way to your nearest public elementary school forthwith. Once there, you will be forced to retake Basic U.S. Civics so that you might learn how the U.S. Federal Government is structured, and what the roles of each branch of government are. Last night, for reasons passing any understanding, MSNBC host Rachel Maddow had Rick Santorum on her show, and of course, they got into it over gay marriage. Santorum told Maddow that the Supreme Court "is not a superior branch of government" and argued that Congress can still pass a law regarding same-sex marriage. Maddow insisted that Congress could only pass a constitutional amendment that directly contradicts a Supreme Court ruling. Santorum disagreed and said that all three branches of government can determine what is constitutional.

Ryan Lizza:

“Republicans almost universally acknowledge that, over the long-term, their Party needs to increase its appeal to Latinos in order to win the White House. The first step down that path is to talk about immigrants from Latin America in a respectful way and to marginalize prominent politicians who attack immigrants.” “However, what is good for the Party over all is not necessarily good for individual candidates. One can laugh at Trump and his absurdities, but it’s wrong to say that he doesn’t matter. He has exposed and exploited the Republican Party’s two great weaknesses: the fact that many of its voters don’t agree with Party leaders on immigration and the fact that the Party is powerless to do much about it.”

A conscious choice has to be made. Courageous Republican party leaders need to cut the rope to that anchor dragging them down. That means standing up to their base, and not supporting candidate who play up to the base's racism. But that means losing elections after election, and control of the House and Senate and State legislatures. It means giving up power. The only thing giving Republicans the opportunity for power right now is the laziness and fecklessness of Democrats and Independents in off year elections.

As you know, State Representative Mike Barbieri has resigned to become the new director of Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health under the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS). His resignation shall be effective on July 31, 2015, though it was earlier reported that his resignation will be effective on August 3, 2015, which is the Monday following the Friday of July 31. Delaware law requires a special election be held between 30 and 45 days after the date of the vacancy (i.e. the effective date of the resignation, which is why whether the date is July 31 or August 3 is important). If it is the latter date, the election will be held between September 2 and September 16. If it is the earlier date, then the election will be held between August 30 and September 14. The state Democratic Party has announced that there will be a meeting this Thursday night (i.e. tomorrow), at DelDems headquarters, to select the candidate from the Democratic Party. That's a lot of notice!

At the Fifth Annual PDD Summer Social at the FireStone Roasting House (110 S. West Street, Wilmington, DE 19801) this Wednesday, July 22nd, at 7-9 pm, the Progressive Dems will be honoring the NO votes of six progressive Democrats in the House on the Budget, and leading education activists from around the state. But I'll let new PDD President Nancy Willing tell you more...

Some dude, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, announced today. Who cares? Not us. Nobody has Kasich and also... additionally, he is no LeBron James. Will Kasich make it to the Fox News debate and thereby and legitimize his candidacy? If he does I'll talk about him then.