Delaware Dem's Latest Posts
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MARRIAGE EQUALITY IS THE LAW
The Delaware Senate has just passed HB 75, the Marriage Equality bill, 12 to 9. The vote went as we expected, with Senator Hall Long deciding at the last minute to vote yes. Thank you to her. I know I and others have been tough on her, and I know her vote was not needed and so she could have skipped it or not voted, but she stood up and voted to be on the right side of history. And thank you to Senators Blevins, Bushweller, Cloutier, Henry, Townsend, Peterson, Marshall, McDowell, McBride, Poore and Sokola for your votes today. We will have your back. Senators Townsend, Marshall, Bushweller and Peterson gave amazing speeches, but I would like to clear up something for the national media, who are already running with this, but Karen Peterson has been out as gay for years. She did not break news today. But hey, who am I to ruin your story?
I am told that Governor Markell is going to sign this bill right away, on the steps of the General Assembly. Here is a picture of him in the halls right now:
We will have a pic of the signing in 10-12 minutes.
Here is Rob Tornoe’s great cartoon:
And the Governor signs the bill, making the title of this post finally legally and technically accurate.
How the votes broke down:
HB 75 (Marriage Equality) Senate Debate and Vote Thread
The Senate will be gaveled into session at 2 pm, and the only thing on the agenda is HB 75, the Marriage Equality bill that passed the House on April 23 by a vote of 23 to 18. According to sources and scuttlebutt, Senator Cathy Cloutier and Senator Bob Marshall are voting yes. The only real mystery is the vote of Senator Bethany Hall Long. Those working this bill say they have 12 votes, and if the rest of the whip count stays as I display below, that would mean Hall Long is voting yes. Until it happens though, I won’t believe it. Perhaps Senators Ennis or Venables will change their minds and be the 12th vote. Or perhaps Ernie Lopez of Greg Lavelle will surprise, though it is hard to see how Lopez survives politically in his party if he does vote yes. Lavelle may vote yes given his upstate district, but if he has hopes of higher office he will have to deal with his rabid bigoted Republican base, who will not take kindly to a yes vote.
But all of that is academic, since, if all the Senators in the yes column stay true to their pronouncements, Marriage Equality will be the law of the land.
Come inside to follow the debate.
Tuesday Open Thread [5.7.13]
“All of these things we’ve said about what the president could do, should do, might have, could have, but the central thing to keep in mind is his opponents — you talk about taking them out to dinner, making nice with them — these people, politically, want to cut his heart out and throw his liver to the dogs.” — Dan Rather, in an interview on the Chris Matthews Show.
Today is Election Day in South Carolina’s First Congressional District, made necessary by the elevation of Representative Tim Scott to the U.S. Senate upon the resignation of Senator Jim DeMint. Disgraced former Governor Mark Sanford is the Republican nominee, and given the demographics and partisan breakdown of the district, he is or should be the runaway frontrunner. But he is not. Two weeks ago, he was down by 10 points to the Democratic nominee, Elizabeth Colbert Busch, the sister of comedian Stephen Colbert. In a poll yesterday, Sanford had recovered to lead by 1 point, so the election is a toss up. Even if Colbert Busch loses, argues The Fix’s Chris Cillizza and Sean Sullivan, the outcome might benefit Democrats in part because Sanford would be a high-profile reminder of “the narrative that Republicans have a woman problem,” especially considering Sanford is due in Court on trespassing charges tomorrow after he allegedly trespassed on his ex wife’s property and broke into her home several weeks ago.
Matt Denn seems confident
Indeed, most of the organizations interested in a yes outcome in the vote this afternoon in the Senate seemed to be guardedly optimistic. I dare say if the outcome was truely in doubt the Lt. Governor would not be posting a status update like this:
To guard against complacency, there is still time to lobby Senators Bob Marshall, Bethany Hall Long and Cathy Cloutier. Encouraging emails or calls only please. Find their contact info here.
Tuesday Daily Delawhere [5.7.13]
![Tuesday Daily Delawhere [5.7.13]](http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8138/8711450331_fca0233de2_z.jpg "Tuesday Daily Delawhere [5.7.13]")
Looming south of Newark is Iron Hill, which is an outcropping of the Piedmont Plateau. The hill, named for the iron deposits mined on it, is 331 feet above sea level.
Monday Open Thread [5.6.13]
At this weekend’s NRA convention you could buy ‘Obama’ mannequins designed for use as target practice which actually bleed when shot. It is things like that which makes me have almost no sympathy for families like the Sparks family in Kentucky, the family that had a five year old son shoot and kill his 2 year sister with his “My First Rifle.” That family may be suffering horribly, but in my opinion they deserve that suffering for their irrespondibility and negligence. I know the two things are not directly connected, and I don’t know the particular political views of Mr. and Mrs. Sparks as it relates to the NRA v. Obama, but still. Irresponsibility and selling and marketing guns to children has been a direct result of the NRA’s efforts to fight any and all regulations. So when children of gun lovers actually die, it is very difficult to feel sympathy for the parents.
Monday Daily Delawhere [5.6.13]
![Monday Daily Delawhere [5.6.13]](http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8400/8711450349_bf33654884_z.jpg "Monday Daily Delawhere [5.6.13]")
The William Todd Memorial, in Brandywine Park at Baynard Boulevard and Washington Street in Wilmington. The memorial, the Soldiers and Sailors of Delaware Monument, was dedicated in 1925.
![Sunday Daily Delawhere [5.5.13]](http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7043/8690071345_60d934412c_z.jpg "Sunday Daily Delawhere [5.5.13]")
![Saturday Daily Delawhere [5.4.13]](http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7048/8691190346_2a44963727_z.jpg "Saturday Daily Delawhere [5.4.13]")
Friday Open Thread [5.3.13]
The U.S. economy added 165,000 jobs in April, which is a good not great number, but the better news is the revisions for February (a great month that is now Clintonian Great) and March (a Bushian bad month of low job growth that has now become Obamian Good).
The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for February was revised from +268,000 to +332,000, and the change for March was revised from +88,000 to +138,000. With these revisions, employment gains in February and March combined were 114,000 higher than previously reported.
This is why Cathy Cloutier keeps getting reelected…
… yeah, you can say it is the well timed moderate votes recently and over the last several years that have pretty well placed her in the “sane Republican” and “moderate” categories, but never ever underestimate the personal touches. For example, most politicians, if they are worth their stuff, send out happy birthday messages to their constitutuents, mostly in the form of mass produced postcards or cards, like the one my State Representative Debbie Hudson sent me….
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