Delaware

From dklaughman on Flickr.

From downthestretch53 on Flickr

A walkway through the woods at Winterthur Country Estate and Museum near Montchanin.

The reflecting pool at the Winterthur Museum and Country Estate near Montchanin.

A historic carriage at Point-to-Point at Winterthur Country Estate in Chateau Country.

Winter Oasis on Kirkwood Highway, Wilmington, DE. From AmSteinsgraben on Flickr.

First the alleged child rapist Eric Bodenweiser, and now this:

A young woman is suing a veteran Sussex County councilman, claiming he repeatedly sexually assaulted her after encouraging her to become in involved in politics. The lawsuit filed this week in Kent County Superior Court alleges that Republican Councilman Vance C. Phillips forced sex on the woman several times in 2011, beginning a few weeks after she turned 18. The 17-page complaint includes graphic details involving bondage and sex toys during the sex acts that she says happened in Kent and Sussex counties. The complaint also says Phillips threatened the young woman not to tell anyone.

This seems to be connected to the allegations about Vance Phillips in an anonymous letter sent to the General Assembly last year. From the News Journal:

Delaware State Police investigated Phillips last year after members of the General Assembly received an anonymous letter claiming he was involved in a relationship with an underage girl. No criminal charges were filed. Phillips' attorney, Joe Hurley, said he was told by the attorney general's office earlier this year that the investigation was complete and that there would be no criminal prosecution.

So what does the 17 page complaint say? I am trying to get my hands on it, but here is the News Journal's synopsis:

The lawsuit alleges that Phillips first met the girl at a GOP event in Sussex County in March 2010, when she was 16. The complaint said that she later began working with him almost daily, regarded him as a close friend and adviser, and became "completely reliant" on him. On May 9, 2011, a month after she turned 18, Phillips accosted the young woman in a parking lot of a Georgetown dentist's office, exposing himself and trying to take her clothes off, according to the complaint. Phillips then told her to follow him to an isolated rural area, where he again tried to have sex with her. About a week later, the woman alleges, Phillips sent her a text warning her that if she told anyone what had happened, she would never have a career in politics, that he was "a very powerful politician with lots of power over the courts and judges," and that no one would believe her. Phillips demanded that she meet him in Laurel, locked her in a farm building near his home, and sexually assaulted her, the complaint alleges. Other attacks followed, with the woman claiming she feared what would happen to her if she did not submit to Phillips' demands, according to the lawsuit.

Beautiful scene from the Mt. Cuba Center. From Elaine K on Flickr.

The Hill recounts the story about how Delaware's own Joe Biden forced the President's hand on gay marriage:

Last May, in the heat of President Obama's reelection efforts, Biden went on "Meet the Press" and said he was "comfortable" with same-sex marriage. Obama had not at that point announced his support for gay marriage, and the vice president's endorsement left the campaign lurching to clarify the administration's position. The following week, Obama acknowledged he had decided to make an announcement endorsing gay marriage before the election, but Biden's comments forced his hand early. Biden at the time said he apologized to the president for putting him in that position, but in the Rolling Stone interview, Biden said Obama couldn't have been happier. "I got blowback from everybody but the president," Biden said. “"I walked in that Monday, he had a big grin on his face, he put his arms around me and said, 'Well, Joe, God love you, you say what you think.'’ I knew he agreed with me. It wasn't like he was in a different place."”

Booman wonders if the "Biden Push" was and is the seminal moment for progress on marriage equality in America. Recall that ever since, the polls have shown nothing but majority approval for it, and momentum in the states passing gay marriage legislation has been brisk.

Mt. Cuba Center. From Elaine K on Flickr.

Hagley Museum Mill Race. From Jerry am Ende on Flickr.

I will however be posting an update of the Vote Tracker, my own contribution to following the workings of the General Assembly, this afternoon, and in that update I will highlight what other very important bills passed the House yesterday while all focus was on the Senate. I will also provide info as to what is on the agenda for Thursday. In the meantime, enjoy some more photos from yesterday's victory by way of the Delaware House Democratic Caucus' Facebook page.