Friday Open Thread [1.25.13]

What is with Republican leaders speaking the truth these days? Yesterday it was Boehner and today it is McConnell: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) responded to President Obama's [..]…

Thursday Open Thread [1.24.13]

For once, the weeping willow gets one right:
Speaker John Boehner said he believes the primary goal of President Obama’s second term is to “annihilate the Republican Party.” “Given what we heard yesterday about the president’s vision for his second term, it’s pretty clear to me that he knows he can’t do any of that as long as the House is controlled by Republicans,” Boehner said in a speech Tuesday to The Ripon Society. “So we’re expecting over the next 22 months to be the focus of this administration as they attempt to annihilate the Republican Party. “And let me just tell you, I do believe that is their goal — to just shove us into the dustbin of history.”
My only quibble is that it is really the Republicans' own actions and policy preferences that are leaving them in the dustbin of history. But the President will do all he can to pursue just, popular and right policies this year and during the entirety of the second term, and the GOP's radical, feverish and irrational opposition to those policies, as well as their delusional conspiracy theories and hateful and bigoted social policy proposals will most assuredly leaving the Republican Party annihilated. It is long past time that the the Republican Party in its current form be destroyed, and in its place a rational center right party dedicated to a social libertarian principles and fiscal responsibility. That is a opposition party that even I could vote for if the circumstances were right. So yes, Boehner, we want your party destroyed. The secret is out.

PDD-DL Vote Tracker for January 23, 2013

As promised, here is the first version of the PDD-DL Vote Tracker for the 147th General Assembly. Out of all the legislation that has been introduced so far, I have selected the bills and resolutions that are of most interest to progressives and liberals. And in reality, I have only left out those bills that are really perfunctory, like two bills to reincorporate the town of Georgetown and to make changes to the Bridgeville charter. All bills of controversial substance will be included here. As El Som and Cassandra have already pointed out in their posts over the last two days, the most important bill scheduled for a vote tomorrow in the House is Senate Bill 3, concerning legislative oversight and approval of any privatization of the Port of Wilmington. Come inside for the Vote Tracker chart.

Wednesday Open Thread [1.23.13]

Our most recent DL inaugural front page poll has the President's approval rating at 57%, while 36% of you are either conservative haters or progressive purists, and 7% don't know or don't care. We now have our poll up for Governor Markell, and it will be up for a couple of days. Like we have done before, we are going to run through our entire statewide leadership, including Lt. Governor Denn, Auditor Wagner, Treasurer Flowers, Insurance Commissioner Stewart, Congressman Carney, Senators Carper and Coons, Attorney General Biden and Vice President Biden.

The Polling Report [1.23.13]

We have some great numbers out of Maine, Minnesota and Florida, and some frustrating ones out of Maine. Meanwhile, if there is to be a Hillary-Biden primary, Hillary looks in good shape.