Wednesday Open Thread [8.3.16]

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In his strongest denouncement of Donald Trump so far, President Obama said Mr. Trump was “unfit to serve as president” and urged the leaders of the Republican Party to withdraw their backing for his candidacy, the New York Times reports. Said Obama: “The question they have to ask themselves is: If you are repeatedly having to say in very strong terms that what he has said is unacceptable, why are you still endorsing him?” He added: “This isn’t a situation where you have an episodic gaffe. This is daily. There has to be a point at which you say, this is not somebody I can support for president of the United States, even if he purports to be a member of my party. The fact that that has not yet happened makes some of these denunciations ring hollow.” Ironically this type of condemnation from Obama may force the GOP to rally around Trump, or prevent those who would denounce Trump from doing so. Since the GOP always does the opposite of anything, and I mean anything, Obama says. And that might have been Obama's intention.
Keep Digging

Keep Digging

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Nobody, least of all the American “media”, has to do anything to demonize Trump. He’s taken care of it himself by continually attacking a Gold Star family with the GOP playing the role of Hype Man behind him shouting right along. What a disgusting joke the GOP has become. And the Delaware Republicans just follow suit. SAD!
Delaware Death Penalty Struck Down

Delaware Death Penalty Struck Down

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In a 3-2 decision, the Delaware Supreme Court has ruled the state’s death penalty unconstitutional. Chief Justice Leo Strine found that certain aspects of Delaware’s statute conflict with a recent U.S. Supreme Court Case striking down Florida’s capital punishment program. More to come as I get it...

I’m glad “American Exceptionalism” is back home with the Dems where it belongs

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With all the Trump implosion going on, I haven't had a chance to comment on a thing that happened at the DNC. "American Exceptionalism" came home to the Democratic Party where is belongs. The Democratic version of American Exceptionalism on display in Philadelphia declares that America does things because they are the right thing to do. Our exceptionalism is based on our exceptional values; inclusion, peace, prosperity, searching out and working toward the common good. That's stuff that will get you to wave the flag again. That's the stuff that makes America great. The GOP's version of American Exceptionalism, on the other hand, is based on a flimsy counterfeit crap, like the very shitty and cloying Lee Greenwood song, "God Bless the USA" That dumbed down version of American Exceptionalism that the GOP has been pushing, good riddance to that stinking pile of shit. The GOP's version of American Exceptionalism says that anything American does is good, because we did it. Waving the flag isn't a celebration of having fulfilled our civic responsibilities, it is an end in itself. The GOP's American Exceptionalism is to patriotism what masturbation is to sex.

If the Election were held today

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This map is based on recent polling results, and in states where there are no recent polling results, historical trends (i.e. Idaho has not been polled in several generations, but it is a Republican state, while the same is true for Rhode Island on the Democratic side). Polling.Map.8.2.16
Tuesday Open Thread [8.2.16]

Tuesday Open Thread [8.2.16]

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Jonathan Chait says Republicans have chosen racism: “Even though Trump has sprung naturally from the conservative fertile soil of racism, anti-intellectualism, and authoritarianism, his nomination is truly a sea change. No successful candidate before him has identified himself so tightly with white-identity politics. His place at the top of the ticket, and potentially as head of state, has presented fellow Republicans with an agonizing dilemma. To be sure, their choice is not comfortable. Those Republicans who have distanced themselves from the nominee, even in carefully measured increments, have endured fierce blowback from their own voters and even donors… In a party rife with racism, anti-racism is hardly considered an acceptable basis for partisan disloyalty.” “What most Republican elites have always wanted is to lead a party that appeals to a majority of the country on the basis of abstract small-government, patriotic themes. Trump has revealed that this is a hopeless fantasy, and what they can lead instead is a party of racists. And they have decided, nearly every one of them, that they will take it.”
What A Crisis in African American Leadership Looks Like

What A Crisis in African American Leadership Looks Like

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Mayor Williams' Chief of Staff, Gary Fullman, sent an email to the members of The Monday Club, inviting them to a fundraiser sit-down with the mayor but also invoking the real "threat" that a white candidate could win the Mayor's race:
"Our communities have fared better over the past 24 years (under an African American mayor) than under previous administrations, at the expense of those who previously benefited, and there is a strong effort by those others to regain control of City Government," wrote Fullman. "So much so that folks have paid candidates to enter the race or are paying black individuals to garner support for white candidates in the African American communities (Norman Oliver for Mike Pryszicki [sic]). Don't be fooled. Join us Wednesday evening to converse directly with Mayor Williams to get the real story."
SevOne to Delaware: “Thanks, Suckers!”

SevOne to Delaware: “Thanks, Suckers!”

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Perhaps Jack Markell's favorite poster child for economic development has given Delaware the finger. SevOne is conducting a series of 'brutal layoffs.'  And, of course, the Delaware Economic Development Office doesn't know how much money the state won't get back. Here's the (no) money quote from the News Journal story:
"They are laying off so many people I had to wait [hours] to get my severance," the worker said. "It's like standing in a line for a guillotine."
It's not clear where Delaware will stand in this line.  Here's what we know....

Bonini could very easily lose to Lafferty

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Yard signs don't vote. But I've seen more Lafferty signs than Bonini signs, and that signals something. What exactly are these people trying to advertise? That their property is protected by Smith and Wesson? That they know a Republican isn't going to win, so they want to "send a message" to the DEGOP Pharisees? It is impossible to know for sure what goes on in the bat-filled belfry of your wingnut neighbor. It is reasonable to assume some things about this upcoming GOP primary though.