Posts by jason330

If John Carney and Chris Coons read Celia's blog, they are now free to dispense with the bullshitty bi-partisanship/Delaware way gibber-jabber and start sounding more like the BLUE state Democrats…

This just cracks me up.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) struck a deal with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Wednesday, averting a potential debt default and reopening the government while leaving the Obamacare virtually untouched, once passed by Congress and signed by the president. Though the deal comes with concessions from both parties, it also benefits McConnell's home state of Kentucky. Section 123 of the Senate bill secures $2.918 billion in funding for the Olmsted Lock and Dam Authority for a dam project on the Ohio River being developed by URS Corp., a construction management company.

Oh... the debt... ohh... the out of control spending....Oh my! Oh My! Teabags unite!! Circular firing squad assemble in the village green!! Hilarious.

Right off the bat we won the ability to mop up Republicans in the next election. They've been so discredited through this process that it is now impossible to anyone to deny that the Republican ARE the problem.  Democrats from Maine to Maui simply need to run ads saying "My opponent is a Republican!"  to score damaging points for the foreseeable future. The next win was NOT taking a weak economy and driving it over a cliff for shits and giggles. It would seem self-evident that NOT ruining the economy would be a win for everyone, but teabags are already lamenting the big missed opportunity they had to really fuck everyone over - but good. The third thing America won is more accurate picture of the resolve of President Barack Obama.

The strength and durability of American conservatism rests in its simplicity. Scientists have demonstrated that the simpleminded favor conservatism, and that the conservative mind deals only in stark binary choices eschewing nuance. But beyond the brain chemistry that pre-wires them to absurd reduction, conservative simplicity manifests itself in a clarity of operating principles. Conservatives agree on some basic things and work hard to try and turn their beliefs into policy.

I've long held the position that Republicans are after nothing other than chaos, and a wrecked economy so that they could claim that the economy failed during a Democratic Presidency. The ACA fight is a pretext. Economist say that most pernicious and long term effects of a default are already being felt in a steep erosion of trust in American bonds as a safe haven. As Delaware Dem has pointed out here, the country is under attack. Given that reality, President Obama will be forced to do something that he doesn't want to do. ...

The Republican Autopsy Report (only released last March and already more forgotten than the great works of King Ozymandias) predicted all of the childish bullshit and GOP assholery we are now experiencing.  While at the time the outreach portions of the report grabbed the headlines, the report also warned against the "King Making" powers of independent expenditure groups.

Outside groups now play an expanded role affecting federal races and, in some ways, overshadow state parties in primary and general elections. As a result, this environment has caused a splintered Congress with little party cohesion so that gridlock and polarization grow as the political parties lose their ability to rally their elected officeholders around a set of coherent governing policies.

This is a shout out of thanks to all of our tipsters. Sometimes they go right up and you get instant gratification and sometimes they sit and percolate for a while. Sometimes we ignore them because we don't want to give the jerks in question (gun nuts) the notoriety that are looking for. Sometimes we ignore them because we are lazy or not interested. That doesn't mean that we don't love our tipsters, so keep 'em coming! And if we ever cross paths, say - "Hey I sent you that tip that one time." and I'll say, "Hey let me buy you a beer." then I'll put that beer on Delaware Dem's tab - because what am I, made of money?

Here is some less than surprising news:

A judge ordered attorneys for the woman who brought a sexual assault case against Sussex County Councilman Vance Phillips to keep medical and financial documents confidential, including records that show he (sic - nice one NJ!) was a crime victim. Attorneys for Katelynn Dunlap, who filed a civil lawsuit against Phillips seeking unspecified damages, had opposed the secrecy measure as unnecessary for a personal injury case and suggested it was an effort to silence her or make the litigation more difficult for her. During the hour-long hearing, that neither Phillips nor Dunlap attended, both sides accused the other of trying the case in the press.

If you aren't listening to Delaware's Public Radio station you should be. Just look at this afternoon's schedule...."Wait Wait Don't Tell Me"... "This American Life",,, "Snap Judgment" ... "Radio Lab"... It is great. Just like other NPR stations but with local news and without all the annoying classical and blue grass music.

I feel like I can finally breath. The gaslight treatment that I've been getting from the world over the past ten years has been revealed to NOT be a figment of my imagination. Both sides DON'T do it. Republicans ARE the problem. The thing that got me into blogging was the nagging sense that nobody was talking about that obvious truth. Mike Castle bugged the hell out of me because he couldn't see it. (Or he saw it and didn't care to do anything about it.) John Carney continues to bug the hell out of me because he ignores the obvious pile of steaming dog shit square in the center of our national living room carpet. Well, thank FSM - that is going to be tougher for Mr. Carney to do from now on.

From the office of non-surprising facts...The Republican Party has been taken over by religious nutcases:

The press often talks about the Tea Party like they’re secularist movement that is interested mainly in promoting “fiscal conservatism”, a vague notion that never actually seems to make good on the promise to save taxpayer money. The reality is much different: The Tea Party is actually driven primarily by fundamentalist Christians whose penchant for magical thinking and belief that they’re being guided by divine forces makes it tough for them to see the real world as it is.

I recently heard from Congressman Carney's office that he is not a member of "No Labels" and is not attending this bullshit meeting aimed at undermining the President's negotiating position. So, while the rain pounds my window, the sun is shining in my heart.