Still On The Fence About Kerri Harris & Chris Johnson?
Maybe this will seal the deal. When Carper was elected to the Senate in 2000, the Washington Post profiled all the new senators, including Carper. Carper was coming off of his two terms as governor, and he was proud of this record:
During his time in the House, Carper, a Navy veteran who has an MBA, developed a record as a moderate who focused on some of Delaware’s more abiding interests, including allowing banks into the securities business and preventing ocean dumping of sludge.
As a governor, his record took a somewhat more conservative twist. His “Better Chance” welfare reform program limited payments to four years, required recipients to work, denied additional payments to families that continued to have children and cut welfare rolls by about a quarter in two years. He built additional prisons, pushed for longer sentences served, and initiated public school choice and charter schools.
Carper’s stint as governor coincided with the Senate and House committees ‘to combat drug abuse’. Minimum mandatories and what Carper proudly proclaimed as the largest prison expansion in Delaware history. Carper joined forces with the most racist of all legislators: Tom Sharp, Jim Vaughn and Wayne Smith. Oh, and future ‘judge’ Jane Brady. The results? the Black incarceration rate doubled, doubled, during the Carper years in Dover. Carper signed every single bill coming out of those noxious committees and a legislative body cowed by the demagoguery of Sharp and Smith.
You know who was the first legislator to raise alarms about this prison expansion? Not someone you’d expect. It was Sussex County Sen. Bob Venables who, as chair of the Bond Bill Committee, warned that the prison expansion was taking tens of millions of dollars away from fixing roads and repairing schools.
Tom Carper was, and remains, part of the problem. While the prisons have been constructed, Delaware’s budget is strained by the ‘need’ for more correctional officers to staff the overcrowded facilities. 18 years after he left Dover for DC, the problems that Carper created continue to suffocate the state’s budget. 18 years after Carper left, his acolyte, John Carney, is considering shipping prisoners out of state. Explain to me again why any Democrat who doesn’t share the racial animus of a Tom Sharp should vote for Carper.
I can’t.
And while you’re at it, go ahead and vote for Chris Johnson for AG, the only candidate for the office who has never been part of the problem, and offers the only comprehensive plan to reform our failed money pit of a corrections system and restore funding to state priorities like health care and public education. The power is in your hands.
Chris Johnson along with Sean Lynn and Dave Carter are all fighting against right wingers in Dem primaries. Since we all know the primary IS the election we need to help these candidates in the home stretch.
Must admit, I’m one of those people. I’m definitely sold on Johnson, but not yet on Harris. This doesn’t mean that I support Carper, I just don’t feel like Harris’ campaign has much to do with Delaware. Even at the debate, she spoke about things like Keystone and other national headline issues, but nothing which made me feel like she had much of an understanding about Delaware and what’s specifically needed here. Almost feels like she’s a candidate sent to us by outside forces. I went by the HQ in Wilmington to hopefully meet her, but she was obviously out campaigning hard. I think at worse I may just skip that race on the ballot. For all the things you mentioned though, I can’t vote for Carper.
Will vote for Kerri, have not voted for Carper in the last two election and will no do so this time. The incarceration rate in Delaware is thru the roof, double the rate of New Jersey, as I expected when this got going the politicians would make a hell of a mess and then not want to pay for it. Carney is even stupider than I thought if he wants to send prisoners out of state. And that ain’t easy!
Last night Kerri talked about:
1. Incentives for sustainable energy jobs in Sussex (solar panel and other technology)
2. How the tariffs impact Kent and Sussex farmers
3. How Delaware’s insulated corporate system actually hurts the working class and poor.
4. How mass incarceration hurts Delawareans.
5. She constantly brings up water quality in Kent and Sussex and did so last night pointing out that Carper allowed major changes to corporate environmental reporting rules.
Thanks just off the top of my head.
I really really don’t understand this criticism. Bane, did you catch any of these?
The only reason Keystone XL came up was to reinforce the point that Carper cherry picks votes on say the environment, but when push comes to shove kowtows to corporate interests.
1. She cant provide incentives specifically for DE from DC. She can incentivize the Industry,but not DE. Also, she has to convince Sussex countians because they dont want windmills blocking their view from their mansions.
2. The farmers in Kent and Sussex are Trump voters and they have been clear where they stand. https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.delawareonline.com/amp/793642002
3. Didnt pick this up at all. Also, a state issue. Cant change de corporatism culture from dc.
4. Heard her mention it, but never hear a solution. Mostly because this is a state issue.
5. This is good. Also a state and local issue. Not much to do about it from DC.
Sounds like she wants to be Governor
Jason – Have I misstated any of these? I mean I could conflate things but I’m fairly certain these were all raise last night.
Outside forces?
I can tell you this. When Drew Serres asked me to hold a meet and greet for a potential candidate last year I hosted Kerri in my home. There were about 3 dozen folks there and there were zero “outside forces” I assure you. Actually you have my absolute word on it.
You may also ask a few other occasional commenters who were also there.
Good to know
Kerri motivated some organizations to support her and they are doing. But it was not the other way around. Honestly, I know you’re just saying what you feel, but it’s simply not true.
Bane – I’m going to the town hall Friday in Wilmington co-hosted by AOC. If you want to meet Kerri personally I will make that happen. Message your details to the tip line and these guys will get me the info.
I am not kidding. My word is my bond.
I will be there
word.
For reasons both flattering & embarrassing, I’m hard to miss.
I got you…
If you can’t vote for Carper, what’s the point of not voting for Kerri?
Send the guy a message that he sucks. A non-vote will be invisible when (if) he gets back to Washington, and he’ll be right back to screwing ordinary Delawareans at the behest of banks.
True
If you really don’t like her politics, fine. But all these sort of esoteric personal perceptions… I don’t get.
Voting for Carper is little different than voting for a Republican except the pandering rhetoric
More analysis from TNJ
https://www.delawareonline.com/story/opinion/columnists/2018/08/28/tom-carper-vs-kerri-harris-debate-takeaways/1123416002/
The NJ is upping its game.
Thanks. Fixed!