Open Thread For June 22, 2017
Could Abortion Language Deep-Six Trumpcare? Only the Parliamentarian knows for sure. But, it’s quite possible.
Yes, Trump Asked Key Intel Figures To Deny Collusion Charges. Will it matter in an oligarchy?
Pelosi Thrown Under Bus. Let me just state what I think should be obvious: Should Pelosi fall on her sword, the Rethugs will just find someone else to demonize. They would’ve done it to Keith Ellison, they’ll do it to Pelosi’s successor. It’s what they do. Oh, and centrist D’s will use it to make their/our brand even more neutered. Democrats suck.
What do you want to talk about?
Sure, the Republicans will demonize the next head of the DNC, but I see Pelosi as damaged goods. Truth is the Republicans love her, their base hates her with passion and always responds when they talk about her. At least make them start over from the beginning.
Yes, need to hit the reset button. Pelosi should fall on her sword or just get out of the way. New generation of leadership needed. But I said that back in January, not after this Ossoff defeat.
In a pleasantly surprising turn of events the House Revenue and Finance Committee release both HB 101 (Kowalko) and HB 107 (Kowalko) to the floor. It shouldn’t have been surprising since HB 101 minimally raises the annual fee on LLC licenses by $25 per year raising well over $21 million or if the amendment passes the fee increase of $50 per year raise over $42 million. The current $300 yearly fee is the price willingly paid by nearly 870,000 businesses who enjoy the generous protections and advantages of Delaware’s LLC license structure. The bill was originally considered a couple weeks ago but was tabled as a result of an ill-advised and unjustified procedural motion by a democrat member of the committee. Chairwoman Keeley graciously allowed the bill to be rescheduled for a vote to lift it from the table and that succeeded by an eight vote to five margin. After a lengthy and healthy dialogue the bill was released by a majority of the committee and can now proceed to the floor for consideration. I am going to formally request that Speaker Schwartzkopf put this important and necessary revenue bill on the agenda for a full house vote. HB 107, a bill that creates two new higher brackets while leaving all of the existing brackets unchanged also was released from committee and should also be placed on the House agenda for a vote on the floor. I will once again request that the Speaker allow HB 107, HB 109 and HB 101 to be brought to the floor for a full vote of the House in order to achieve an economic statewide stability that will require additional revenue without disaffecting the working families, middle class and the impoverished.
Representative John Kowalko
I remember getting raked for calling for Pelosi to go after the 2010 disaster. Looks like she and her marry band of geriatric mushrooms have just kept failing ever since.
Pelosi is a symptom. The disease is that “Democrat” doesn’t mean anything to anyone – least of all voters.
We are lucky to have JK chipping away at that notion here in Delaware, but we will not get anywhere nationally until a leader emerges who can explain what “Democrat” means.
There should be a shadow government by now, proposing “Democratic” policy solutions and calling out the GOP on everything – but since nobody knows what Democratic means, that isn’t happening.
Rep. Kowalko:
Did you get an opinion from legal counsel that both HB 107 and 109 pass muster in light of Art. VIII, sec. 9 of the DE Constitution? That provision bans partial year retroactive personal income tax increases. Both 107 and 109 impose the new higher brackets and marginal rates for tax years beginning after Dec. 31, 2016. That would make them applicable to the current 2017 tax year for most taxpayers and impose the new tax brackets and rates for the entirety of the 2017 tax year. Similarly, the changes in itemized deductions appear to take effect immediately, making them applicable to the remainder of the current 2017 tax year.
Can you post an explanation why these retroactive changes are okay under sec. 9 of Art. VIII. Otherwise, why not simply file amendments to make the new rates and deduction rules for tax years after Dec. 31, 2017? Without such amendments, I think you are courting some ruling that the retroactive language voids the bills.
For planning purposes, all these new tax increase really should take effect Jan 1, 2018….. but they are in such desperate need of money .
In other news, at lunchtime today a friend and I hand delivered two copies of Professor Timothy Snyder’s book “On Tyranny” to the Wilmington office of Senator Chris Coons. His project manager, Andrew Dinsmore, was gracious enough to sit in a conference room with us & chat about it for 20 minutes.
It all sounds alarmist until it isn’t. Then, as the lessons of recent history suggest, it’s usually too late. I am really trying to instill in these people a gravity and danger of this situation we gotten ourselves into. The IM Stone axiom bears repeating. The most important fights to engage in are ones that you most assuredly will lose.
One can go down like a punk with a shrug or with pride and swinging. I prefer the latter.
(I’m working on a book review of On Tyranny. If it works out I’ll have it posted in this space.)
Thanks John Kowalko! If you decide to challenge carny for gov, you’ve got a willing campaign worker!
Thanks John Kowalko! If you decide to challenge carney for gov, you’ve got a willing campaign worker!
I’ve said it before and the offer still stands. I’m prepared to operate the Wilmington office of “Kowalko for Governor” out of my home.
Wow, good catch Gary.
“There should be a shadow government by now”
Yeah, there should be, but Democratic unity is non-existent at the moment. The loyal opposition act as individuals, each with their own vision, own agenda, their own constituency. Heck Democrats can’t even agree on who is or should be a Democrat.
It isn’t much different in Republicanland, except that they have shared hatred of Obama, Clinton, and Pelosi (and of course immigrants, liberals, social justice warriors, et al).
You are correct that they manage to demonize the Democrats at the top of the heap, but the Democrats are right with them on that score. Can one be wealthy and be a Democrat? I don’t see any evidence that is the case. Look at the beating Obama took for his fee to speak at a health care conference or the Obamas’ advance for their memoirs.
It’s not that the Democrats are advocating senicide, but certainly they seem to wish that these party elders would just fade away making room for new, young, firebrands who will lead the masses to victory. When the real problem is, the lack of a shared vision on what victory would look like in the real world.
Granted Trump and his ilk sold the nation a bill of goods, but you have to ask yourself, why did so many people buy what they were selling? There are people that say you have to give people a clear choice. I especially heard that from the right. But there were clear choices in 2016 and what did the people do? They chose Trump who isn’t even really a Republican (he’s an idiot and incompetent but not a “real” Republican. So you want to give people a “real” Democrat and expect people to buy it?
I think people are still searching for something that makes a difference in their lives. No one has given it to them yet. Trump says he will, but intelligent people know he won’t. But that’s what people bought.
“Can one be wealthy and be a Democrat? I don’t see any evidence that is the case. Look at the beating Obama took for his fee to speak at a health care conference or the Obamas’ advance for their memoirs.”
You are confusing “wealthy” and “greedy.” Obama is welcome to the advance on his memoirs, but he did not need the fee for his attendance at that conference. Neither did Hillary Clinton need the money from her Wall Street speeches. Had she spoken for no fee, or donated it directly to charity, she could have made a strong point. By keeping it, she made a much different but equally strong point, to me at least, and it now appears Obama intends to travel the same path. Not many Jimmy Carters out there.
The question you meant to ask, I think, is whether a Democrat can represent the company instead of its workers. Much of the Republican electorate thinks it already does. If you don’t offer an economic alternative to Republicanism, you have to wait until the Democratic tribes outnumber the Republican (white) one.
My bad. That was pointed out to me previously and I am having corrective amendments drafted now
John K.
I don’t know the Obama’s well enough to opine on what they do or do not need when it comes to money. I would suggest that we all have needs that many would consider wants. Jimmy Carter’s father was a wealthy peanut farmer. Obama’s father was a government economist who eventually was fired and blacklisted from gainful employment. So, Carter may have had a head start.
Regardless, I don’t know what Obama did with the speaking fee. Maybe he donated it. Maybe it’s in a trust for his daughters. We can’t view this in isolation of his entire life, much of which is yet to come. Certainly this can seen through the lives of Buffet and Gates who accumulated untold wealth before giving it away later in their lives. Good thing we weren’t judging them early on.
“Certainly this can seen through the lives of Buffet and Gates who accumulated untold wealth before giving it away later in their lives. Good thing we weren’t judging them early on.”
I judge them now. No person “deserves” such wealth, in much the way no person ever deserves to be king or queen, and they are not competent enough at it to deserve respect for “giving it away.” They retain control of those billions and much else besides, and for no particular reason beyond skill at financial speculation in the first case and skirting the laws against monopolistic business practices in the second.
Jimmy Carter sold his peanut farm upon assuming the presidency. Your modesty is well-earned.
“I would suggest that we all have needs that many would consider wants.”
Speak for yourself.
John k.run damn run. We need a real dem to run not a corporate owned dem we continually get election after election n
Bernie sanders got 55000 votes surely those voters would support you
>Jimmy Carter sold his peanut farm upon assuming the presidency.
No. Carter put it into a blind trust upon assuming the presidency.
Thanks. Bad memory. Also forgot he was investigated for shaky finances involving it. Money went missing and some kind of political slush fund was suspected. Turned out it was brother Billy skimming cash.
Who demonizes dems here in de. .more than far right wdel? Susan monday? She censors liberal callers forcing us to hold for hours or just hanging up. Call the general manager a complain at 717 291 8811 make your heard. Censorship is anti democratic
The Susan Monday audience must surely be so small by now that it doesn’t really matter.