DL Open Thread Tuesday, May 7, 2024
Hamas has agreed to a cease-fire proposal put together by Egypt and Qatar. Netanyahu, who faces jail time for corruption as soon as the fighting stops, rejected it. I wish Biden would stop insulting Trump and start insulting Bibi.
Bernie Sanders announced he’s running for a fourth term in the Senate. Unlike the two guys running for president this time, nobody complains that, at 82, he’s too old. Compared with Tom Carper, he’s downright spry.
Columbia University, ground zero for overreaction to student protests, cancelled its commencement. I don’t get the negativity towards these students. It’s not as if they’re blocking traffic.
Anne Applebaum writes about the propaganda against democracy being peddled by Russia, China and the rest of the world’s autocratic states. In fairness, it’s hard to praise the wonders of democracy when it brought us President Trump.
You know who believes in conspiracy theories, don’t you? You’re half right. Yes, the slack-jawed set is more susceptible than the average person – but so are white males with graduate degrees. I don’t have a graduate degree, but I think Russia, China and Elon Musk are behind it.
The floor’s yours.
So basically 4 years ago students didnt get a graduation because of covid and now those same students don’t get a graduation because of protests? i smell lawsuits
Fortunately, all those 2020 high school grads didn’t go to Columbia or Southern Cal.
Look how lucky you are if you stayed local: UD grads get to hear Joe Flacco and Goldey Beacom grads were blessed with 13 minutes of Howard Eskin.
Cannot wait to be told by SERIOUS PEOPLE TM all about how Hamas agreeing to the ceasefire while Israel refuses to stop their slaughter is good and great and anybody who doesn’t think so is actually a secret anti-semite somehow.
“In fairness, it’s hard to praise the wonders of democracy when it brought us President Trump.” Democracy didn’t exactly bring us Donald Trump. Cheating did, in 2016. And it has created wave after wave of unprecedented problems we have had to find solutions to from scratch. We still must. And those “countries” are not examples an intelligent person would embrace.
I love our democracy, even with the flaws that are now exposed. We need to repair those flaws to make our democracy harder to scam, without sacrificing what makes our democracy great. One key is a 60 Dem senate to undue the filibuster, and Dems should campaign on that now. That piece is up to voters. A majority rule senate would create many more ways to make our democracy more cheat proof.
Karl Baker’s article about Collin O’Mara raises some concerning questions. What is the full extent of his financial relationship with Sam Bankman-Fried? Why did the NWF Action Fund contribute over $100,000 to the re-elections of Republican Senators John Boozman and John Hoeven? Does Collin even meet the 6-year residency requirement to be governor? His wife ran for governor of MD in 2018, and “While O’Mara and his wife still own a house in Maryland’s Washington, D.C., suburbs, he said they moved their primary residence to Bear after buying a home there in September 2022.” How much vetting did WFP do before its endorsement?
Those aren’t concerning questions, they’re innuendoes.
Whichever of the other two you’re for has more shit on their shoes than that.
Did you even read the article? You don’t think it’s a legitimate question to ask why O’Mara was supporting Republican Senate candidates in 2022, while he was still living in MD?
https://spotlightdelaware.org/2024/05/07/omara-governor-profile/
Sam Bankman-Fried gave $810k to the NWF PAC, 97% of their funding. “On the day it received Bankman-Fried’s money, the NWF Action Fund filed a federal report stating that it would spend about $91,742 for political mailers to be sent out to support the re-election of Arkansas Sen. John Boozman, a Republican.”
They’re legitimate questions, and it sounds like there was a quid pro quo involved, because those senators have poor environmental records. So the question is why he was willing to be a pass-through tool for politicians who, contrary to what the spokesman said, are not friends of the environment.
OTOH I don’t think the NWF playing footsie with SBF indicates much about how he’d govern. He was hardly alone in taking SBF’s money. It’s another sign that he’s good at making deals but not good at judging which ones aren’t worth making.
I don’t know where he stands legally on residency, nor do I care. Eliminating people on technicalities is something partisans do. I’m not one of them.
I’m more interested in how he intends to pass all his lofty goals when he’s made no connections with the people in the General Assembly who he’d need to get them passed. Talk is … well, $750,000 isn’t cheap, but I want to hear some talk about solutions, not lofty goals.
Not surprised that O’mara is compromised by big tech/VC types. I listened to his WDEL spot this morning and it’s the same palavar you hear whenever those Silicon Valley elites talk: lots of big bold ideas delivered at double speed, always punctuated with a smug “right!?” at the end of a particularly obvious statement.
If he doesn’t have an answer, well, it because we need to have “a bigger conversation about that. He labels himself a progressive without any progressive credentials beyond the WFP nod; this guy is all hat and no cattle. Hell, even even BHL passes out a bottle of naloxone from time to time, where was Colin over the past decade?
WFP made some great strides over the past two cycles but Colin is selling them a bill of goods that no one is sure he can make good on. I’m not saying that he can’t win, because he definitely has hoodwinked some smart people, but his failure to deliver on promises as gov would be fodder for the Delaware way dems and would set us back a decade or more
Troll Warning, Troll Warning, Scooby-dooby doo-by.
Looks like we’re in the ‘He must be destroyed’ part of the campaign.
In other words, somebody’s worried.
demanding accountability =/= trolling. This guy has a lot of pie-in-the sky ideas and has never held elected office in Delaware. I too agree with just about all of them (except for the inane lead-pipes-in-the-school comments – its not lead pipes, its cheap chinese brass fittings that don’t meet US lead standards – surprised as a former environmental guy he doesn’t understand that). LiberalGeek and Alby reflect a general unease and disconnect between those of us who are engaged (but not party active) progressives. Colin appears out of thin air and WFP leadership is declaring him the greatest thing since sliced bread. Forgive us, but it feels like we are being gaslit when we question this guy and the rationale for throwing all the progressive weight behind him
I’ve been around here since 2008.
I know a troll when I see one. You are a troll.
Trolls get banned.
Either stop trolling (no doubt to be followed by another one off the assembly line) or begone.
Whichever candidate on whose behalf you are trolling is ill-served by someone trying to smear his/her opponent. I’ve got an idea. How about touting the candidacy of the person on whose behalf you are trolling?
FWIW, I share the skepticism. And he’s right about the brass fittings.
If you tell me you’re going to accomplish something difficult, I want to hear how.
It’s up to O’Mara to make that case.
Having heard him, I think he can.
Hope you get to hear him soon…
O’Mara establishing “primary residence in Bear in 2022″ does not mean he has not been a legal resident in Delaware for the required time. Anyone with access to the state elections database, or to the Democratic Party’s VoteBuilder will see that he moved to Bear FROM WILMINGTON, where he maintained his residence since he became DNREC secretary on 2009. The data also shows that he voted in every Primary and General election since then. The fact that his wife has a home outside of DC is testament to the modern family, where both spouses have careers. Collin’s wife was a key member of then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s team and then was policy advisor to Michelle Obama. A member of Matt Meyer’s inner circle informed me that they investigated to see of O’Mara voted in Maryland. He didn’t, even in the Primary when his wife ran for governor.
A candidate (or candidates” attacking an opponent 4 months before an election is usually evidence of fearing that opponent, or private polling indicating that opponent is a real threat.
Here in Sussex, Bethany Hall-Long entered this race with overwhelming support. That support remains but people are concerned about the missteps about her financial reporting, and with what appears to be a weak campaign. Many are looking at O’mara as the alternative. Matt Meyer is largely unknown here. He is not a factor in Sussex. O’Mara impresses wherever he goes. There are those who say he is the most inspirational candidate running for office in years, after Sarah McBride, who is in a class by herself. Are people skeptical at his proposals? Yes. However they are comparing his vision and plans for progress against more of the same by the other two.
I’m not certain that Meyer is offering more of the same. I need to hear more about what he is offering, though, and it better not include more charter schools.
To your point about Meyer being no factor in SuxCo: For context, in a year with Wilmington’s mayoral race on the ballot, the city usually has about the same number of participating Democratic voters as SuxCo, about 11,000. If I had to guess I’d say that BHL will win the county, because everyone who works for the government wants the status quo and lots of other people know her and apparently like her.
Im just curious what campaign you’re a part of that’s letting you use vote builder? Heard rumors of some people formerly associated with the coordinated campaign and currently associated with specific candidate campaigns who may be using or may have taken lists from vote builder. I’m sure such a thing would never happen under the brilliant, hands on and ethical leadership of Betsy maron but regardless.
Also, the residency thing with Colin is something for voters to figure out unless you want to take him to court. There are no election or campaign finance laws to speak of in this state. Sadly. My only concern with this issue relative to Colin omarra is he’s not going to be in a position to call for the very serious and necessary reforms needed in our elections department. If I were his campaign I’d love the fact that they can get away with this and it’s in their interest to keep it bad. We already know where Bethany is on that issue. Would love someone to foia the elections departments head’s emails and personal cell records and texts. Perish the thought that he’d be advising a candidate personally. But you never know.
Anyway. His wife wasn’t / isn’t just a resident of Maryland. She ran for governor of the fucking place. You guys are already in deep shit with this issue please don’t make it worse with this smug, half truth playing too cute by half stuff. It’s not a good look and it’s just going to invite more scrutiny.
Get away with what? Being a resident of Delaware?
What are the very serious and necessary reforms, and why should they take priority over issues that affect people directly?
You can FOIA that stuff yourself. Anyone can.
“You guys are already in deep shit with this issue please don’t make it worse with this smug, half truth playing too cute by half stuff.”
On the contrary, you’re the one with the bad look issuing empty threats like that.
“what campaign you’re a part of that’s letting you use vote builder?”
Whoever goes by that handle has been posting here for years. I doubt they accessed the information through a campaign. And answering the questions doesn’t depend upon who, if anyone, they might be affiliated with.
To my knowledge, the Party rules have been that any candidate who pledges to support the Democratic nominee in a primary can use Vote Builder and can be trained on it. Nothing insidious or unethical about it.
And, as was pointed out, the guy has officially been a resident of Delaware since 2009 and has never voted elsewhere since. Only hint of controversy is being ginned up by the likes of you.
I’m frankly stunned at the degree of what smells like sheer desperation on the part of–somebody.
As someone who has called into question Ommara’s residency in previous posts, I feel satisfied now that he has in fact been a legal resident of Delaware.
I like the guy, and he always impresses when he speaks at events. I just wonder what his plan is to get his message out. Is he raising money? Is he working on mail campaigns? TV ads?
That’s the question. I’m in the Anybody But BHL camp.
Meaning, ultimately I’ll decide based on who I think has the best chance to defeat her.