Day: January 28, 2016

Senate Bill 40, which eliminates the Death Penalty in Delaware going forward (those already convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to death will not have their sentences reduced), finds itself on the House floor today for debate and perhaps a vote. The Bill has had a long and winding road to get today. This is the second session of the General Assembly in which a death penalty bill has been considered. This time, like the last time, the Senate passed the bill by the slimmest of margins, 11-9. Last time, the bill was buried in Rebecca Walker's House Judiciary Committee. This time, the bill was actually debated in Larry Mitchell's House Judiciary Committee. But last spring, the bill failed to clear the committee. But all hope was not lost. Rep. Sean Lynn openly stated on multiple occasions that he would petition the bill out of committee so that it could be considered on the floor of the House. To do that he would need the votes of a majority of the House. But it turned out was not necessary, as House Speaker Schwartzkopf and Rep. Mitchell agreed to release the bill and place it on the agenda for debate.

Bernie Sanders met in the Oval Office with President Obama yesterday. I felt it was a little odd since I did not hear that it was scheduled. It was not announced by the Sanders campaign or the White House, at least not that I am aware of and I read all the things everywhere everyday in order to put together this Open Thread. So it felt like it was hastily scheduled, and maybe it took place due to a Sanders' complaint that he was tipping the scales for Hillary in that Glenn Thrush interview (even though Sanders said otherwise). Here is Ed Kilgore on what he thinks the Sanders-Obama meeting meant:

Sanders had to do something to counter the impression that Hillary Clinton has been avidly promoting — most overtly in the NBC News debate in South Carolina on January 17 — that she was the best-equipped candidate to protect and build on Barack Obama's legacy. This impression was undoubtedly buttressed by media interpretations of the interview Obama gave to Politico's Glenn Thrush in which the 44th president praised his secretary of State while indirectly pouring cold water on the "political revolution" Sanders is purporting to lead. So today's White House meeting, even if Sanders cannot say much about it, was intended to reestablish presidential neutrality. That's a big deal in Iowa, where (according to the last Des Moines Register/Bloomberg Iowa poll) Hillary Clinton has been running even with Sanders among people who caucused for Obama in 2008. And it's a bigger deal down the road where African-Americans begin to play a far more dominant role in Democratic primary electorates. [...] Aside from the White House meeting, he's beginning to manage expectations for Iowa, which were beginning to become so robust that a narrow defeat there might be perceived as devastating. First he expressed doubt that turnout would be anything like 2008's or that he could match Obama's margin. But, more important, he's making it clear that he does not regard an actual win in the state as necessary for his nomination.

From the polls, and the polling average, and the feel of the race right now from the actions of both campaigns, it seems clear that Hillary is going to win Iowa. The question is by how much. Sanders is trying to manage the expectations game, which is smart.

So recently, the 14th Representative District endorsed their incumbent State Representative, House Speaker Pete Schwartzkopf, for reelection. There is nothing really unusual about that, one would expect one's own RD to endorse you for reelection, except that the endorsement is quite early in the election year, and that the 14th RD abandoned their long standing policy of not endorsing before the primary election in order to make this endorsement. And now we get word that the neighboring RD, the 20th, has taken the unusual step of endorsing Pete for reelection. I don't think I've seen that happen before, where an RD endorses a candidate for election in another RD, a candidate none of the residents or members of the RD can vote for.

Senate Bill 39, as amended, increases the minimum wage by 50 cents a year effective June 1, for the years 2017 through 2020, when it will be $10.25. The original bill would have then tied the minimum wage increases to the Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA). But, by amendment, that provision was stricken, I suppose to get the final 11th vote. That would make sense, since the amendment was passed late in the afternoon yesterday, after votes on the bill had been delayed one day to figure out how to get that 11th and final vote for the majority. I would love to know which so called Democrat demanded that provision be stricken. I would like him or her to explain their thinking.

In the State Senate at approximately 1:30 p.m., DelDOT employees will be recognized for their tireless work and long hours during the recent blizzard in clearing our roads as soon as was possible and in keeping the public informed. Perhaps the Governor and the Legislature can do a little more than that, and finally give DelDOT and all state employees a raise.