Wednesday Open Thread [3.4.15]

Wednesday Open Thread [3.4.15]

5 Comments
Like Jason330, I enjoy reading RedState during these moments of Democratic victory and Republican defeat. Their tears sustain me. From the New York Times:
The fight over funding the Department of Homeland Security that began with Republicans thundering about a lawless president abusing power to change immigration policy ended with a quiet capitulation Tuesday when the House voted to fund the agency and avert a partial shutdown. In the end, Speaker John A. Boehner was forced to build a majority on Democratic votes to pass the bill, 257 to 167, with just 75 Republican supporters. But although the uprising among conservatives burned hot into the week, there was no suggestion that Mr. Boehner’s leadership was imperiled. Instead, many Republicans expressed a sense of resigned relief.
During every shutdown / hostage-taking episode we have endured since 2011, the outcome was always entirely predictable: Republican capitulation. Let they keep doing it. Best proof yet that they are all insane.
Your ‘King v Burrell’ Thoughts Go Here

Your ‘King v Burrell’ Thoughts Go Here

19 Comments
I realize American voters (and let's face it - particularly liberal leaning American voters) are a lazy bunch of losers, but if Chief Justice John Roberts decides to strip 7 million people in some three dozen states of health insurance on a technicality, I think things could actually go Ka-Plewey.
Tom Carper Ready to Fight the “Elizabeth Warren Wing” of the Democratic Party

Tom Carper Ready to Fight the “Elizabeth Warren Wing” of the Democratic Party

32 Comments
First of all, ...the "Elizabeth Warren Wing" of the Democratic Party? Where do I sign up? Secondly, if Tom Carper thinks that Democrats can win back the House and Senate by being MORE LIKE Tom Carper, he is either deranged or lying. Anyway, if you feel like throwing up read the whole thing. If you want to simply feel queasy the rest of the day, skip to Carper's quote:
Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), who is viewed as a centrist, said the centrist strain of politician is declining and estimated that "there's fewer than 100" left in Congress. "We need more moderates and centrists in both parties," Carper said. "Part of politics is the art of compromise."
Some downstream effects of the clean DHS funding bill

Some downstream effects of the clean DHS funding bill

5 Comments
Funding DHS by passing a clean bill means the DHS passport checkers at the airport will continue to be paid. But it means so much more. Here is a short list of outcomes that you probably were not familiar with. 1) This bill, also known as "The bill to give Obama’s illegal amnesty program official sanction" gives Obama's illegal amnesty program official sanction. 2) "The bill to give Obama’s illegal amnesty program official sanction" also fully funds Obama's illegal amnesty program. 3) The Constitution has been shredded. 4) The GOP is now held in disrepute by everyone except the Chamber of Commerce. 5) Barack Obama is on his way to unrestrained power. I learned of all these downstream outcomes from reading Red State, which is my favorite thing to do after Boehner's occasional capitulations to reality.
Tuesday Open Thread [3.3.15]

Tuesday Open Thread [3.3.15]

1 Comment
From multiple interviews in recent days with party leaders and senior aides, it’s clear the GOP had no real strategy to successfully end the party’s first major standoff with Obama since taking power in January,” Politico reports.
“Republicans had hoped pressure would build on recalcitrant Senate Democrats to ultimately rebel against Obama and force him to capitulate — or at least prompt them to negotiate a compromise. That didn’t happen. They had hoped more public attention to the issue might be spawned by a new outside event, such as more migrant children appearing at the southern border. That didn’t happen. And they had hoped that more time would give their party a fresh opportunity to settle on a coordinated and coherent legislative response to the president. But that certainly didn’t happen.” Said on GOP senator: “Never go into these things without a plan.”
Planning would require thinking and analytical skills beyond the reach of your average tea party congressman.
Kudos to Senator Carper, for once.

Kudos to Senator Carper, for once.

29 Comments
Today a foreign leader will interfere in the political affairs of the United States, and Senator Tom Carper has decided that he will not be part of it, thank you very much.
Sen. Tom Carper of Delaware will join about 40 Democrats in boycotting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s controversial speech to Congress on Tuesday. Carper called the timing of Netanyahu’s speech “wholly inappropriate,” given that the prime minister is up for re-election in two weeks. He and the other Democrats say House Speaker John Boehner broke protocol by inviting Netanyahu without consulting with the White House. “I cannot imagine an occasion when a U.S. president would invite a foreign leader — even one from some of our closest allies like France, Germany or Canada — to address Congress on the eve of elections in his or her home country,” Carper said in a statement. “Furthermore, this visit came together by completely bypassing President Obama and his administration, which breaks our country’s protocol for visiting heads of state and stands to weaken U.S.-Israel relations.”
I was afraid the good Senator was just going to leave his list of reasons at that, and granted, they are good reasons. But the truest reason to be angry about that bastard Netanyahu's speech has everything to do with the fact that he wants to scuttle any possible deal with Iran and he wants the United States to send more of our American children to die in defense of Israel in an invasion of Iran. And to his credit, Carper says that such direct interference into the foreign policy of the United States is one of his reasons. What about Carney and Coons?
Monday Open Thread [3.2.15]

Monday Open Thread [3.2.15]

9 Comments
Now this is what I call Karma, from Talking Points Memo:
Former Arizona county sheriff Richard Mack, a fierce opponent of Obamacare and a leader in the "constitutional sheriff" movement, is struggling to pay his medical bills after he and his wife each faced serious illnesses. The former sheriff and his wife do not have health insurance and started a GoFundMe campaign to solicit donations from family and friends to cover the costs of their medical care. "Because they are self-employed, they have no medical insurance and are in desperate need of our assistance," reads a note on Mack's personal website. Mack, the founder of the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, suffered a heart attack in January and is in recovery. His wife fell ill late last year. Mack is on the board of Oath Keepers, a right-wing fringe group made up of police and military veterans, and is known for supporting Cliven Bundy in his standoff against the federal government. He is also an ardent opponent of Obamacare.
Pssst... buddy... come here... hey, I got a secret for ya.... there is this new government program that can help you out...
Weekend Open Thread [3.1.15]

Weekend Open Thread [3.1.15]

So it would seem that, in order to get Democratic votes to extend funding of the Department of Homeland Security for another week, Speaker John Boehner had to promise that a vote would be held on a clean bill to fund the department for the rest of the year during this coming week. He is denying it now, but the proof is in the pudding, and if a clean vote happens next week, Politico reports many of Boehner's allies “are concerned [...] that his critics inside the Republican Conference may try to oust him as speaker if — as expected — he puts a long-term DHS funding bill on the House floor next week. While Boehner shrugs off such speculation, close friends believe such a move is a real possibility.” Said one GOP lawmaker close to Boehner: “There is a lot of speculation about this. People are watching for this very, very closely.”

The Weekly Addresses

In President Obama's weekly address, the President reiterated his commitment to ensuring that all hard-working Americans get the secure and dignified retirement they deserve. In Governor Markell's weekly message, he addresses ongoing efforts to support the supplier diversity community in Delaware at Star-Med in Hockessin. This week the bipartisan House Small Business Caucus in the General Assembly took a field trip to Painted Stave Distilling in Smyrna to meet with representatives from Delaware's vibrant craft beverage industry. I am sure they did some taste testing. Rep. Bryon Short, who co-chairs the small biz caucus with Rep. Danny Short, invited brewers, winemakers and distillers from all over the state to share their success stories, as well as suggest things state government could be doing to help their businesses grow and thrive. Since the law permitting farm wineries passed in 1991, and since the law permitting craft distilleries passed in 2012, Delaware's great craft wine, beer and spirits community has grown to 18 businesses, with more coming next year.