General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Tues., Jan. 21, 2020
I may, may owe Bernie Bros Greatest Foe about one-tenth of an apology. No, there was no legal or practical way that he could have pushed through a bill setting Delaware’s statewide primaries for this April. This cycle’s process has been underway for months, there would not be near enough time for the Department of Elections to change its procedures, and even prepare the machines, for such a change in deadline. There was no way that supporters would have had any chance to push through this bill last week. It was a practical impossibility. Not to mention there was no way the Senate would have passed the bill in its original form.
However, is it possible, just possible that an addled 77-year-old incumbent who has had no opponent since 1986, who now sees the end of his career in clear sight, panicked and got his few cronies, which included himself, to vote the bill out of committee w/o thinking through all of the ‘impossibles’?
Possibly. A clue comes from Nicole Poore, who said that, since an amendment was placed on the bill to make the effective date 2024, there was ‘no urgency’ for a swift vote. Which brings us back to the bill’s origin. The bill was largely the priority of the State Democratic Party which, for cost-savings purposes, wished to consolidate the statewide primary date with the date for the presidential primaries. Not sure if the state R’s felt the same way. How do you save money when you have no money? The bill passed the House early in 2019, and then languished in the Senate, so there was no ‘urgency’ there either. By the time the bill was considered in committee, it was far too late to be implemented this cycle. OK. So why did Nicole Poore then declare the bill to be of no urgency? I think the answer is because a lot of entrenched party flotsam dislikes the state party’s receptivity to primaries and more open processes. In other words, Poore was giving a big ‘fuck-you’ to the state party which made no effort to stop McBride from facing a primary. That’s my guess. So, DD, please accept my one-tenth of an apology. It’s what you deserve.
Thursday’s session was notable in other ways as well. HB 212 (Cooke), which would cap industrial landfills at a height of 130 feet, passed the Senate unanimously. But not without a gift from Dave McBride to Waste Management’s corporate lobbyist, Bobby Byrd. In the form of this amendment. You see what he did there, folks? He increased the height limit from 130 to 140 feet. Might not seem like much, but it’s several shit-tons of trash. That’s the Delaware Way. Corporate checks=several shit-tons of trash. I’d just love to see the House strike that amendment.
The Senate also passed Sen. Paradee’s bill that essentially strikes the special interest favor he did for his brother. Sucks getting caught, doesn’t it?
I was pleased to see HB 73(Jaques) finally pass the Senate. The Rethugs were holding out for something, don’t know if they got it. The bill is the first leg of a constitutional amendment to make absentee voting easier.
SB 194(Townsend) also passed the Senate. The bill eliminates the requirement that applicants state their race as part of the application process.
Kids, circle Thursday on your calendar. Especially if you’re an insomniac. That’s when Gov. Carney will give his State Of The State Address. Let’s see what paltry one-time programs he proposes as the state faces something of a financial windfall. Guaranteed none of them will ‘grow the base of the budget’. I work that day, so I guess I’ll read about it later.
Today’s Senate Agenda is pretty underwhelming. Since the two House bills on the agenda both passed unanimously in the House, I look for no fireworks. Except, perhaps, in Caucus. Which reminds me, I am told that several legislative leaders are very unhappy with the move by staff to organize. That makes me happy.
Bill Bush is a throwback to the now-disgraced ‘tough-on-crime’ days of Tom Sharp, Jim Vaughn, Wayne Smith and Jane Brady. HB 144 creates yet another ‘protected class’ that results in longer sentences if a member of the class is a victim. In this case, ‘health care treatment providers and employees and hospital security personnel who are injured while performing their work related duties’. Memo To John Carney: This is why you can’t create exceptions to a death penalty ban. Every year, legislators will be adding more exceptions to the statute. This bill does not deserve passage, let’s see who opposes it.
That’s it for today. Time to check out the impeachment proceedings…
The Delaware Senate Dems are the worst. Darius Brown, McBride and Poore are a waste of space.
I also have concerns with the freshman class who got pushed around like candy on their gun bills. Expected more back bone and research from some of them.
Is there beef with DD?
A point of clarification:
The DNC has prioritized voter access and security nationally and has asked that each state party seek to improve the franchise. The State Party has, in turn, pushed the legislature to enact several bills (House bills 38, 39, 41 and 73). You can read about this on pages 6-8 of the Delaware Delegate Selection Plan.
Also, the party doesn’t save money with consolidation, the state does.
Where did Poore say that btw?
Harold, I’ll try to dig up the quote. Working on it…here we go:
From the Delaware State News:
“After holding their closed-door caucus meeting Thursday afternoon, senators did not vote on the bill. According to Majority Leader Nicole Poore, a New Castle Democrat, lawmakers decided to wait on the measure given it wouldn’t take effect for four years.
“At this point, the caucus just said, ‘You know what, if we’re not doing it now, then there’s no reason to rush it,’” Sen. Poore said, although she wouldn’t rule out voting on it at some point this year.”
OK, tell me whether I’ve got this right. If you’re in the waiting area outside the ER, and you’re pissed off at the waiting time, it’s better to smack around the nurse, not the security guard, because the penalty will be less severe.
Breaking: On Facebook this afternoon, Sen. Cloutier touts her co-sponsorship of HB202……….after asking to be added as a co-sponsor mere seconds before the vote. Classic mail piece move. She’s not even listed as a sponsor online when you search the bill.
This woman is constantly the last one to the party. And if there’s anything she’s good at, it’s an Irish goodbye.
Thanks. She has nothing to do with the introduction or passage of this non-controversial bill, but tries to take credit by joining as a co-sponsor at the last second. Everybody in both houses voted yes, except for Colin Bonini, who sometimes casts incomprehensible votes.
She’s a phony, but this action demonstrates that she’s feeling some strain.
Still not listed – FWIW
It will be added to the backer of the bill. Whether it’s ultimately picked up by anybody remains to be seen.