Monday Open Thread [5.21.12]
Is it me, or was this weekend a particularly boring weekend politically? I have been going through all the RSS feeds of all the blogs and news sites I read in my Google Reader and there really is nothing notable. Pelosi and Boehner traded jabs on the Sunday morning shows, sure. But that is nothing new. I can’t even get excited about the Cory Booker boomlet. Suffice to say his days as a Obama campaign surrogate, and as a progressive Democrat, are over. He is just another of those DLC-third wayers who is cozing up to Wall Street to further his political ambitions.
Hey Cory, Harold Ford already exists. Stop trying to be him.
It isn’t you.
Delaware has lost a true advocate for its young people. Buddy Hurlock, the former high school sports beat writer for The News Journal, died Sunday night after a battle with a rare form of brain cancer. He was just 40 years old.
Buddy was everywhere on the state high school sports scene, and from what I’ve read and heard he enjoyed chronicling the success of young athletes up and down the state. He will be missed.
That is horrible news. May he rest in peace. Thanks for the info, Another Mike.
I only saw a portion of Booker’s rant, so can’t speak to context, but it struck me at the time that this is real weak spot of Bill Clinton’s Democratic Party. Especially now. Once you start being really clear about how firms are making money by putting Americans out of work, you start pissing off those you’ve been courting for money and support.
After reading the article in today’s NYT — http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/21/us/politics/super-pacs-changing-how-political-operatives-operate.html?hp
I’m beginning to wonder if John Robert’s court out smarted itself. It looks as though the Republican Party is becoming an anachronism. The Super PACs that were enabled by the Citizens United decision seem to be sucking up enormous amounts of money and talent and the Republican Party has no control over them. We saw the results of this during their primary battle and it wasn’t pretty. By the time the dueling dollars of the billionaire PACs had finished with that race they had seriously damaged candidate RMoney.
It just might turn out that hundreds of millions of dollars unleashed on TV ads with no discipline, no party message, and no ego-control over the billionaires buying these ads could become a liability with swing voters. I’m trying to imagine what TV watching will be like by October when every available advertising minute is devoted to attack ads catering to some billionaire’s agenda. It’s going to be really ugly. And, I can’t imagine that the average American swing-voter is going to like it very much. It will be on-air 24/7 because there’s a finite amount of advertising time the networks and cable have to sell. I think people are going to get really fed up with this dreck.
We’ll be tearing our hair and gnashing our teeth over the lies being broadcast, but it might be good to remember that Joe/Jane American doesn’t enjoy force feeding. And that’s what it’s going to feel like.
IF you missed WHYY’s report last week on the payday lending debate here in Delaware and Rep. Helene Keeley’s bill HB 289, you can watch the segment tonight on channel 12 at 5:30 pm or click this link below.
http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/component/flexicontent/item/38731-the-payday-debate
The bill has been reported out of committee and goes to the Senate floor in June.
Hope the bill sails through Senate!! The conservative R’s are supporting so the only chance of defeating this is by weasel Democrats pressured from fat cat lobbyists. Can you say Rep. Stefanie Bolden? Any weasels emerging so far on Senate side?
Well, we’ve suspected this for a long time, now we KNOW its true: http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2012/05/21/153024432/sophomoric-members-of-congress-talk-like-10th-graders-analysis-shows?sc=tw
@JY “Well, we’ve suspected this for a long time, now we KNOW its true”
Wow. Every ‘8th grader’ in the bottom 10 is a Republican from the South (or from Wisconsin??).
But what’s interesting is that 8/10 in the top 10 (grades 14-16) are also Republican. I would have expected to see mostly Democrats up there, since party affiliation is highly correlated with level of education.
Anyone hear the mayor’s debate tonight? Bill Montgomery was defensive and very pissy. He said if you want real change, vote for him! What is he smoking? Montgomery is going down to huge defeat.
Dennis Williams and Kevin Kelley were good. Williams is bolder on his stands (emiment domain, fighting crime) and Kelly sits on fence on some issues like casino in the city. Spencer is articulate but has no mase and no chance. Ms.Gatewood is clueless/ incoherent and Pastor D is a lot of self-important bombastic hot air. Bovell is clueless and repeats incessantly about vacant housing. Looks like a DP Williams- Kelley race to me.
Cory Booker to Maddow: “I’m being used by the GOP!!”
What a WATB.
Also, predictably:
Harold Ford: Booker was right
We should really consider letting Booker slide on this one. why would we try and drub out a promising democratic star for one misjudgment? He’s done a very good job as mayor of craptown…. sure it’s fun to call for the heads of democrats who criticize Obama, but wouldnt it be more constructive to try and lift him up to take out a MUCH MORE horrible NJ politician?
Cory Booker just got his introduction to the big stage. I buy the explanation that he’s fishing for campaign contributions when he’s ready to move up the office-holding ladder. He’s never been in the national spotlight before and probably didn’t realize the magnitude of this response.
I, like Ben, am inclined to chalk it up as a learning experience.