Friday Open Thread [9.18.2015]

Friday Open Thread [9.18.2015]

3 Comments
Joe Biden “may have more time to make up his mind about running for president than most people assume,” Politico reports. “Various deadlines have been floated: End of summer, Oct. 1, the first Democratic debate on Oct. 13, the Iowa Jefferson-Jackson dinner Oct. 24. But none of these is looking like a hard deadline. Neither are any of the cutoff dates for getting his name on state ballots. … It turns out that instead of simply deciding yes or no on a presidential run, Biden may have a third option — make no announcement at all, wait until December (or longer) and hope Clinton gets out of the race or is pushed to the sidelines without him having to get in.”
Thursday Open Thread [9.17.2015]

Thursday Open Thread [9.17.2015]

50 Comments
Jeb Bush says his brother kept us safe. Well, except that one time when 3,000 Americans were killed. Well, except that one time when he lied to create a war and then 4,486 Americans died and 1 million Americans were gravely injured. Well, except that one time when he let the city of New Orleans drown.
Townsend Is In!

Townsend Is In!

26 Comments
Received this just awhile ago:
Dear Friends, Today, I ask for your support as I announce my campaign to represent Delaware in Congress.  Delaware faces a significant challenge: rebuilding an economy that works for all Delawareans and that reverses the inequality spreading across America. That’s why our campaign will champion policies that grow and strengthen the middle class, provide every child with an opportunity to succeed, promote equal justice in the criminal justice system, and ensure retirement security for our seniors. Four years ago, I was joined by students, community leaders, and neighbors in a grassroots campaign for the Delaware State Senate. Although some doubted our prospects, Delawareans like you showed they’d back a candidate who reaches out, listens, and will always do the right thing for Delaware, even when it’s the hard thing.
Carney Jumps in the Gov. Race, Expect the Musical Chair Race to Accellerate

Carney Jumps in the Gov. Race, Expect the Musical Chair Race to Accellerate

41 Comments
Congressman John Carney (D) filed paperwork today to launch his campaign for governor next year.
"This is an opportunity to serve and meet the challenges that we face here in Delaware," Carney said during an exclusive interview with The News Journal on Wednesday. "They are frankly challenges that every community and every state in the country faces right now." Carney, 59, who will bring deep government experience to next year's race, said his campaign will focus on restoring Delaware's middle class, improving public education and addressing Delaware's budget issues. [...]
The Paper of Record notes Carney's long experience in government, with his connections to both Senator Carper and Senator Biden, and that it really was supposed to be Beau Biden running next year.
Carney spoke with the vice president by phone a little more than two weeks ago. Carney said he wanted to consult with the vice president about his plans to seek the governor's office. "This opportunity to serve comes because of the vice president and his family's worst nightmare, which is Beau'spassing," Carney said. "It's a very personal thing. I just needed to know that he was comfortable with it. He could not have been better, he encouraged me to run. I can tell you it's lifted a huge burden off my shoulders in terms of making that decision." Biden called Carney again Wednesday morning to wish him well, the congressman said.
Wednesday Open Thread [9.16.2015]

Wednesday Open Thread [9.16.2015]

14 Comments
Vice President Biden took aim at Donald Trump’s hard line on undocumented immigrants, CBS News reports.
Said Biden: “I don’t want anybody to be down right now about what’s going on in the Republican Party. I’m being deadly earnest about this. I want you to remember, notwithstanding the fact that there’s one guy absolutely denigrating an entire group of people. Appealing to the baser side of human nature. Working on this notion of xenophobia in a way that hasn’t occurred in a long time. Since the Know-Nothing party back at the end of the nineteenth century.”
Politico: “The vice president offered no updates on his own 2016 deliberations. But he criticized the real estate mogul in unusually stark terms, while urging the crowd not to take ‘Trump and the stuff you’re hearing on the other team’ to heart.” He is definitely running a shadow campaign in all but name. Which I like because I like Biden and we need people out there criticizing Trump. But I also don't like it. Either announce or don't.