Delaware Dem

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Comment Rescue: Dana Garrett on SB51

Filed in Delaware by Delaware Dem on April 27, 2013 • 31 Comments

SB51 sounds good (you can read the synopsis inside and the full bill at the link provided), but the devil is in the details. Take it away Dana:

Recently a student approached very upset SB 51 pending in Dover. My student is an Education major and is, without a doubt, one of the best students I’ve had in 20 years of teaching. But now he is thinking about changing his major and giving up on his life’s ambition of teaching middle school students. Here’s why. He read that SB 51 would prohibit anyone from becoming a teacher in DE who received a GPA below a 2.7 in high school. Now mind you, it doesn’t matter how high your GPA is once you graduate from college, although there is also a standard for that. You can have a college GPA of 4.0 but still not become a teacher in DE if your high school GPA is below 2.7. Now, I have had dozens of students who performed poorly in high school when they were immature but waited a few years before they attended college. In college they were mature, intelligent, and dedicated students who performed well. There is simply no reason why these students should be excluded from consideration for teacher positions. If the state of DE wants to have a GPA standard for college and/or graduate school, then that is understandable. And if the state wants would-be teachers to pass a competency test as part of the application process for being a teacher, then that also is sensible. But why a GPA far away from the application process (high school) should matter is absurd. Moreover, it is bad for the children because it could deprive them of excellent teachers, teachers who excelled in college but who performed poorly in high school. I understand that the Markell administration supports this bill and, now get this, so does the DSEA. I don’t know yet what other measures are proposed in the bill. Some might be worthwhile. But the measure that exercises my student is draconian, punitive, snobbish, and absurd. Please contact your representative and ask them to reject this provision.

Saturday Open Thread [4.27.13]

Filed in Open Thread by Delaware Dem on April 27, 2013 • 8 Comments

There have been several retirements among Senate Democrats this year. Rockefeller, Tim Johnson of South Dakota, and now Max Baucus of Montana. Many Beltway pundits tell us that means the Democratic majority in the Senate is thus in danger. That may be the case in West Virginia, where Rockefeller is likely to be replaced by Republican Shelly Moore Capito. But in Montana and South Dakota, these retirements have likely increased the Democrats’ odds of holding onto these seats.

My Mea Culpa

Filed in Delaware by Delaware Dem on April 27, 2013 • 4 Comments

In addition to being a contributor here at Delaware Liberal, I am also involved with the Progressive Democrats for Delaware (PDD). On Tuesday, I made a series of comments after the Marriage Equality vote, and specifically concerning the no votes from Representatives Charles Potter and Earl Jaques. When I made these comments, I left the impression that I was speaking for the PDD in its disapproval of their votes, and I mentioned that both either should or will lose their endorsements from the PDD in their next election. In case you don’t know, decisions regarding endorsements or non-endorsements are the exclusive domain of the Endorsement Committee of the PDD. So my speaking on their behalf or leaving the impression that I was speaking on their behalf regarding an action that has not yet been taken was wrong. A decision regarding any future endorsement of Earl Jaques and Charles Potter has not been made yet, and if a decision is made, it will not be made by me. So I was wrong to leave that impression.

I attempt to maintain a wall of separation between the two roles of being a liberal blogger and being involved with PDD, and this week I failed, so I apologize for that as well.

The Weekly Addresses

Filed in Delaware, National by Delaware Dem on April 27, 2013 • 9 Comments

Saturday Daily Delawhere [4.27.13]

Filed in Delaware by Delaware Dem on April 27, 2013 • 1 Comment

McBride is confirmed as a yes.

Filed in National by Delaware Dem on April 26, 2013 • 17 Comments

Senator Dave McBride confirmed to ThinkProgress today that he will vote yes on HB 75, the Marriage Equality bill. Our sources in the General Assembly had already had McBride as a yes vote on the bill, but this is good news that he is confirming it to the media, as it takes away any uncertainty concerning his vote. With Senator Bushweller confirming yesterday that he is a yes, that leaves the whip count at 10-9 in favor, with 2 Senators having not publicly stated how they will vote: Democratic Senator Bethany Hall Long and Republican Senator Cathy Cloutier. And ironically, the information we have on how each might vote goes against your typical partisan breakdown, with Hall Long leaning no and Cloutier leaning yes.

However, I have been told by a source close to the situation that Senator Hall Long is not in the no column. She is not in the yes column either. And right now she is being very negatively lobbied by the anti-equality, pro-bigotry side (no doubt supported by the Glasgow area Church with that Westboro sign in lights on 896), and it seems to be pushing her in the opposite direction. I am told she has gotten many hundreds of positive calls from constituents on the pro-equality side, so we need to keep up that positive lobbying.

That goes ditto for Senator Cloutier too. The positive pressure on her needs to be continued. I am told she is leaning our way, and voting for marriage equality seems to be a no-brainer given the political and electoral considerations in her district. She has been very good this session living up to the moderate image she presents in her campaigns of her record. She needs to keep it up, because this vote is an important one.

And here’s why.

Echoing back to a point I made in a comment concerning my profound disappointment in Representative Earl Jaques’ vote on HB 75 earlier this week, this is a legacy vote. Whether you vote yes or no, it will be remembered. Vote yes, and in 40 years you will be remembered as a champion for civil rights. Vote no, and you will look as craven and ridiculous as those black and white photos of the protesters on the Supreme Court steps back in the 50’s and 60’s, decrying interracial marriage and integration. This vote will be remembered, no matter how you vote. And given that the younger generations do not look upon homosexuality as anything other than a distinction without a difference, i.e. it no more condemns you to hell than having been born with blue eyes versus brown eyes, being born with brown skin versus white skin, or being born gay or straight.

We are all human, we all love, and we are all equal.

And if you vote no to that, you are saying you disagree with the above statement, and it will be remembered. And not in a good way that places you in a positive light in the history books. Instead the students of the future will look upon your no vote with the same amount of confusion and puzzlement that one looks upon George Wallace as he stands in a doorway refusing to let a black girl get an education.

So here is your update on the whip count in chart form. Senators Hall Long and Cloutier, your legacy. It’s up for grabs.

Friday Open Thread [4.26.13]

Filed in Open Thread by Delaware Dem on April 26, 2013 • 7 Comments

Nate Cohn notes that Hillary Clinton currently “commands a staggering 60 percent of the primary vote, an unprecedented figure for a non–vice presidential candidate and one of the highest levels of support of all time”: Yes, Clinton lost in 2008. But it’s important to note how much stronger her numbers are today than they were […]

Friday Daily Delawhere [4.26.13]

Filed in Delaware by Delaware Dem on April 26, 2013 • 1 Comment

Thursday Open Thread [4.25.13]

Filed in Open Thread by Delaware Dem on April 25, 2013 • 8 Comments

As George W. Bush is disgustingly lauded today by the other living Presidents, including President Obama, during the opening of his presidential museum (it’s not a library, its a museum with exhibits and displays, so everyone stop calling it a library) in Dallas, a NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll finds just 35% of Americans view Bush favorably, versus 44% who view him negatively. That negative number has improved for W, probably because people don’t care about him anymore.

Meanwhile, here is Barbara Bush on her favorite son’s possible run for the Presidency in 2016:

Appearing in an interview Thursday on NBC’s “Today” show, Mrs. Bush was asked how she felt about Jeb, the former governor of Florida, seeking the presidency in 2016.

Mrs. Bush replied, quote, “We’ve had enough Bushes.”

She went on to say she thought there were many worthy candidates, telling anchor Matt Lauer, “There are people out there” who are qualified. Mrs. Bush, who had a reputation for bluntness when her husband George H.W. Bush was president, spoke from the site of the presidential library.

Mrs. Bush, I couldn’t agree with you more. But I wouldn’t expect much from Jeb on Mother’s Day.

Thursday Daily Delawhere [4.25.13]

Filed in Delaware by Delaware Dem on April 25, 2013 • 1 Comment

Wednesday Open Thread [4.24.13]

Filed in Open Thread by Delaware Dem on April 24, 2013 • 4 Comments

Tennessee State Sen. Stacey Campfield (R) joked on his personal blog about “assault pressure cookers” in the wake of last week’s bombing in Boston, the Tennessean reports.

“Under a headline that referred to U.S. Sen. Diane Feinstein, one of the leading proponents of gun control, Campfield cataloged the dangerous features on a pressure cooker, including a ‘muzzle break thingy,’ ‘tactical grip’ and ‘evil, black’ color.” When asked about his comments he refused to apologize and said liberal commentators should be calling for “crock pot control” if they were consistent with their calls for gun control after last year’s Sandy Hook school shooting.

I am starting to wonder if all Republicans are sociopathic assholes. Hey asshole, bombs are already illegal.