Voters are Idiots

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American voters are, first of all, Americans. So they are woefully ill-informed about policy, history, economics, and what they know about world affairs can be written on a tab of…
Wilmington Mayoral Debate on Public Safety

Wilmington Mayoral Debate on Public Safety

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Last Thursday evening, there was another debate among the Mayoral candidates for Wilmington (except the current Mayor -- who apparently does not think he needs to explain or be accountable for his dismal record in this area). This one was focused on public safety and was sponsored by the News Journal and WHYY and held at the Grand. There have been quite a few debates/ public forums for Mayoral candidates in the last month or so, reflecting the very high interest in this race around town. It is a perfect situation for the kind of retail politics that Delaware is famous for and is a perfect setup for all of the organisations around town who feel that they need to work at supporting the public conversation. What you know from talking to people at these events is that there is a great deal of sensitivity about the crossroads Wilmington seems to be on and a great deal of motivation to try choose someone who will move the City in a much better direction. Public safety is a very large issue -- but it is almost always entwined with discussions on education, re-entry, jobs. This is important, I think, because it indicates that many of the most interested voters in Wilmington understand that public safety is a complex issue and that city government has not been a good leader in addressing these issues. While reducing shootings and other criminal behavior is a priority, Wilmingtonians seem ready to hear about long-term prevention strategies as well.
Tuesday Open Thread [5.31.16]

Tuesday Open Thread [5.31.16]

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Rebecca Traitor at New York Magazine has a lengthy and fascinating profile of Hillary Clinton, that is well worth a full read. But here is an excerpt:
There are a lot of reasons — internal, external, historical — for the way Clinton deals with the public, and the way we respond to her. But there is something about the candidate that is getting lost in translation. The conviction that I was in the presence of a capable, charming politician who inspires tremendous excitement would fade and in fact clash dramatically with the impressions I’d get as soon as I left her circle: of a campaign imperiled, a message muddled, unfavorables scarily high. To be near her is to feel like the campaign is in steady hands; to be at any distance is to fear for the fate of the republic. [...] When I asked her why she thinks women’s ambition is regarded as dangerous, she posited that it was about “a fear that ambition will crowd out everything else — relationships, marriage, children, family, homemaking, all the other parts [of life] that are important to me and important to most women I know.” She also mentioned the unappealing stereotyping: “We’re so accustomed to think of women’s ambition being made manifest in ways that we don’t approve of, or that we find off-putting.”
Delaware Political Weekly: May 20-26, 2016 (Delayed By the Holidays Edition).

Delaware Political Weekly: May 20-26, 2016 (Delayed By the Holidays Edition).

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Just stop and think about what the Mayor's absence from last week's Public Safety debate says.  It says that the entire raison d'etre for his mayoralty ('You won't recognize this city in six months') has been an utter disaster. Shooting worse than ever, the Mayor turning up his nose at professional assistance and cash from the General Assembly.  His legacy so disastrous that he dare not even show up at a debate that can only serve to spotlight his abject hubris and failure as mayor. Nevertheless, the Mayor chose the week that he chose not to defend his public safety record in public to file for reelection.  Somehow, that suits him. For you completists out there, Maria Cabrera has still not filed for Mayor.  Nor will she.