Law ‘n order is back with a vengeance in Dover. And, hey, why not cede the entire agenda to ex-cop Steve Smyk?
Two of his crappy bills passed the Senate yesterday and head to Jellyfish John for his signature. This one and this one. Hey, let’s drop a pile of charges on a bunch of prisoners. That’ll set ’em straight. Also easier than tackling the total mess that is Delaware’s corrections system. BTW, can one of our lawyer lurkers explain to me what legally defines an assault ‘committed with a reckless state of mind’ and how it differs from a plain ol’ assault?
The General Assembly has given in to its worst demagogic tendencies. It hasn’t been this bad since the so-called War on Drugs, which was how Senators Tom Sharp and Jim Vaughn, Rep. Wayne Smith and then-AG Jane Brady colluded to throw as many black people in jail as possible. The overrreaching that the Honorables are doing now will have to be pulled back at a later date, just as the worst excesses of the War on Drugs are still being rolled back in Dover. History repeating itself.
What’s up with Dave McBride? Guy’s the Senate President Pro-Tem. He was also the only D to vote no on SB 68 (Ennis). All the R’s went not voting, no, or were absent. All the D’s voted yes, except McBride. Without commenting on the merits of the bill, I can only say that it’s pretty unusual for a situation like this to occur. As the leader of the D’s in the Senate, the Pro-Tem is the last person you would expect to put the kibosh on a D bill like this when every other D voted yes . (Correction: Please see below.) Strange. But then, Dave’s always been a pretty strange dude. If I ever wrote a book on my times in Dover, I’d devote at least an entire chapter to Dave.
Here is yesterday’s Session Activity Report.
I’m all General Assemblyed out for this week.
See you Tuesday.