Delaware Political Weekly, Or An Approximation Thereof: August 16-22, 2014

Delaware Political Weekly, Or An Approximation Thereof: August 16-22, 2014

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This article got lost in the Chip Flowers Implosion, Version 4.0, but it shouldn't have.  House D's facing primary challenges sending out thinly-veiled campaign lit on the public's dime. A practice that was discontinued under Speaker Gilligan (Terry Spence was the Godfather of this practice), but reinstated by Speaker Schwartzkopf just in time for the primaries. Now here's the rest of the story. Complaints regarding this practice were filed with Elaine Manlove of the State Department of Elections. She determined that she had no legal jurisdiction over the complaints, that they did not technically violate state law, and referred them to...The House Ethics Committee. Did I mention that the House Ethics Committee is chaired by Valerie Longhurst, one of the two legislators who it's been confirmed have sent out these mailers on the taxpayers' dime? Now, that's the Delaware Way.

Thursday Open Thread [8.21.14]

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So the U.S. Supreme Court indicated this week that it will decide marriage equality for the entire country next year. A new Marist Poll shows that a "majority of Americans favor legalizing same-sex marriage, but there is little consensus about whether the decision should be made on the federal or state level."
"Supporters of legalizing same-sex marriage think the issue should be decided for the entire country by a federal law. Half of those who oppose it believe it should be determined by the states. And, while Americans' position on legalizing same sex marriage is a driving factor in the debate, political party affiliation matters, too. Democrats are more likely to turn to the federal level, and Republicans look more to the states. Independents are closer to the Democrats on whether to seek federal or state action."
And here is a host of new polls from the last week....

Who Gets Casino Money?

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The other day, I listened to a story from WHYY on Delaware legislators who get money fron casino interests. The report they referenced noticed the recent casino bailout and wanted to see if there was any clear connection to votes for the casino interests with contributions from those interests. They led with their conclusion: Legislators who supported Del. casino 'bailout' received more industry cash. Referencing a recent report from the Follow the Money website called Ante Up: Gambling and Casino Contributions in Delaware, they reported:
MORE BREAKING (x2): Pictures of Flowers at the Patriots Game

MORE BREAKING (x2): Pictures of Flowers at the Patriots Game

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The NJ released video today of conversation with Erika Benner with her explanation of the Patriots tickets. Click through for the video. As of this writing, there is the video, no other reporting by the NJ. The much rumored picture of Chip Flowers at the game is shown here. Benner claims that Flowers not only knew about the charge on her state card for these tickets, he told her the charge was allowable since they were doing some State business.
Delaware 2014: The Statewides and the Senate [Pre-Primary]

Delaware 2014: The Statewides and the Senate [Pre-Primary]

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Today, we will review the state of play in the statewide races, which are our US Senator and Representative, as well as the Attorney General, Treasurer and Auditor. As is Delaware custom, we have overwhelmingly favored incumbents facing off against token or insane opposition, and then we have a game of musical chairs producing an unexpected race (Attorney General), a race between a tired incumbent who has overstayed his welcome and a young competent whippersnapper (Auditor), and a vulnerable incumbent whose time in office has invited primary challenges on both sides of the aisle an open race between a competent Democrat, a Republican businessman, and a crazy person named after a singer and a South American country (Treasurer). Then we move over to the State Senate, where the Democrats enjoy a 3 seat majority in the small chamber of 21 Senators (13 Democrats and 8 Republicans). Can the GOP take over the majority this fall?