Wednesday Open Thread [7.2.14]

Wednesday Open Thread [7.2.14]

4 Comments
Sorry for being absent the last two days. Came down with what I think is walking pneumonia. Boy does that knock you on your ass. So today here is some poll numbers: LOUISIANA--SENATOR--Public Policy Polling: Sen. Mary Landrieu (D) 47, Bill Cassidy (R) 47. That is the polling on a stand alone runoff race between Landrieu and Cassidy. Remember, Louisiana law is, shall we say, strange. They hold an open all party primary on the general election date in November, and if no candidate gets over 50%, then the top two finishers compete in a December runoff. The polling on the November open primary is as follows: Landrieu leads with 44%, followed by Cassidy at 27%, Rob Maness (R) at 8%, and Paul Hollis (R) at 5%. MICHIGAN--GOVERNOR--Public Policy Polling: Gov. Rick Snyder (R) 40, Mark Schauer (D) 40. This is a big improvement for Schauer, since he was down 10 points in April and by four points in December.
How The GA Passed Energy Efficiency w/o Passing HB 179

How The GA Passed Energy Efficiency w/o Passing HB 179

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This is awesome, just the kind of stuff I love. You will no doubt recall, through the writings of Cassandra and others, that Delaware utilities currently cannot offer their customers consumer conservation programs that would save the consumer money and reduce energy usage. You also know that a bill designed to permit utilities to offer these programs was buried in the Senate Energy Committee, where it had languished for over a year under the watchful eye of SEU founder and Senator Harris McDowell. Which brings us to last night, and, for that matter, this morning. At 3:21:05 am, to be  precise. No, Sen. McDowell did not relent, nor did he release HB 179 from committee. So, how did this get done?

Why Isn’t John Carney Supporting H.R.1852, the Email Privacy Act?

3 Comments
Since the Supremes pretty clearly told law enforcement that they needed to get a warrant to search your cell phone, there has been renewed attention on H.R.1852, the Email Privacy Act. Introduced by Representative Kevin Yoder [R-KS-3] in May 2013, this law would revise the 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act, requiring subpoenas to search emails, no matter how long they had been stored (they can now look at email stored for more then 180 days without a warrant) and allowing ISPs to communicate to the targets that their emails were requested by law enforcement. As of this writing (6.29.2014), John Carney has not joined the 220 Representatives (138 R, 82 D -- BIPARTISANSHIP!) who are looking to refine the due process around law enforcement looking at your emails.
Delaware Political Weekly: June 21-27, 2014

Delaware Political Weekly: June 21-27, 2014

9 Comments
Yes, Chris Coons has a Republican challenger. His name is <strong>Carl Smink</strong>. Here's what I know. He's filed, but hasn't announced.  He's from Milton. His website is under construction.  He has written a few op-eds, or maybe letters to the editor, for the Cape Gazette, none of which are readily available unless you're a subscriber. He <strong>IS, </strong>however,  a "Drill, Baby, Drill" kinda guy who hates socialism. Ok. Two Kent County state reps may not even make it to November, and I must say I'm surprised. Both <strong>Harold Peterman (33rd RD) </strong>and <strong>Don Blakey (34th RD) </strong>are being challenged. Peterman's opponent is <strong>Charles Postles</strong>, who appears to be the chair of...the <strong>33rd Republican RD Committee. </strong> Blakey's challenger is <strong>Lyndon Yearick</strong>,  who doesn't fit a Tea Party profile, at least not on the surface. Active in the United Way, mentoring programs,  and also the Chair of the 34th RD, Yearick looks like the kind of candidate R's looking to restore credibility to their Party would seek out. He's currently the Maryland/Delaware Campus Director for Kaplan Test Prep. He has an MBA from Penn State (OK, now <strong>that's </strong>a cult).  <a href="http://www.yatedo.com/p/Lyndon+Yearick/normal/a5ff349a0ada08c4fdcb0cf7b1c61be8">By far, one of the more  interesting candidate profiles I've come across. </a> My question is this: Why would two RD chairs primary sitting state legslators? Usually, the legislators themselves have a huge say in who the RD chair is. <strong>Is it possible that Peterman and/or Blakey are retiring even though they've filed?</strong> One would think so. C'mon Kent County, help me out here.
General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Thurs., June 26, 2014

General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Thurs., June 26, 2014

34 Comments
The Senate approved a new Supreme Court Justice, Karen Valihura, and David Small as DNREC Secretary. I can’t let this go without a comment about Justice Carolyn Berger‘s resignation from the Delaware Supreme Court and her seemingly ‘injudicious’ comments. I don’t know it she’s right on the specifics of Markell not taking her seriously, but she’s right on point when it comes to, well, I guess the operative word is ‘paternalism’, when it comes to women appointees to judgeships. When I first started working in Dover, the operative word was ‘chauvinism’. I’ll leave it to others to decide whether paternalism is a step up from chauvinism. To me, it’s ‘same old wine in a brand new bottle’. From Philadelphia Business Journal:
Berger’s situation outlines a concern in some quarters in Delaware that women do not have enough of a role on the judicial branch. Berger said women have advanced on the state’s family court, superior court and court of common pleas. She is also the only female to serve on the Court of Chancery, which deals with business litigation. “Family court is the only court ever to have a woman chief judge,” Berger said. “The court of chancery has had no women judges for the past 20 years, despite the fact that several well-qualified women have applied in the past. And I’ve been the only woman on the supreme court. Many other states have more than one woman justice, and in several jurisdictions, women justices outnumber male justices.”
Maybe it’s the same menfolk arguing that Delaware’s courts are the nation’s most prestigious who, in their own paternalistic minds, don’t want the wimmenfolk messing with that reputation. Perhaps the wimmenfolk who are assuming the leadership role in the State Senate just might have something to say about this moving forward. I hope so. But, I digress. You can as well. In the comments section.