Reports from Return Day

Reports from Return Day

6 Comments
Because I recoil from the fake, the counterfeit, fraudulent and the pretend - I hate the stupid Delaware tradition called Return Day. Some people love it though. Here is an update from a guy who probably doesn't want to be associated with one of the best liberal blogs in the UNIVERSE!!
It stopped raining, the clouds parted and a great beam of light shone down on Simpler as he passed. I heard a voice from on high say "this is my investment advisor in whom I am well pleased." Might have been a dove in the mix too. Not sure. Memory hazy. Consumed lots of 16 Mile.
Post-Mortem Long Reads

Post-Mortem Long Reads

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Lots of interesting ink has been spilled about the National election and it seems to be converging on the idea that Democratic Congressional candidates simply could not provide voters with a real reason to get out and vote for them. They couldn't beat a GOP candidate in Staten Island who is under indictment, threatened to throw a reporter off of a balcony in the Capitol building and was otherwise just clueless. I'm going to provide some links to the better pieces I've read so far, but we'll start with Bill Maher's assessment (from his Facebook page):
I feel bad for the people Democrats are supposed to represent, not the Democratic candidates. They remind me of the Iraqi Army - running when they should fight.
Caesar Rodney Institute Loves Jack Markell’s Schools Plan… ’nuff said

Caesar Rodney Institute Loves Jack Markell’s Schools Plan… ’nuff said

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I have to admit that I have not been paying much attention to the "priority schools" discussion, but if Delaware's radical wing-nut "think tank" likes it, Markell must have concocted the Ebola/ISIL of school reform plans.
The Markell Administration's reform plan could help all Delaware students succeed
The establishment of a plan to turn six of Delaware's lowest performing public schools into "priority schools" has provided the education establishment with an opportunity to implement reform for the entire public school system. If the Markell Administration's initiative succeeds the state's public schools will have a readily-available blueprint for success for the First State.
A Time For War

A Time For War

25 Comments
First off, I must admit, I was wrong. I was wrong in my national predictions. With all the polls in the competitive races close, within the margin of error and most within 2-3 points, I wrongly assumed our superior GOTV operation would make up the deficit like it had before. But our voters just did not turn out. And I am very pissed about that. Some of them are emo-progressives who feel it is their right to punish the party by not voting whenever they feel like the party has not been pure enough. Others of them just cannot be bothered unless the only politician that they know of, i.e. the national leader, i.e. the President, is on the ballot. To all of them I say, fuck you. I am almost tempted to argue that the Democrats in Washington should immediately repeal the entire social safety net, all regulations, everything that they take for granted, FDA, EPA, etc. etc. etc. and then let them all suffer horribly, just to prove to them that these elections matter, and that you actually are voting for policies and not people. Then I pull myself back from that. Because I know it is what the GOP wants. Not out of any respect or concern for my lazy and/or purist colleagues. We lost last night for a very simple reason....
About Last Night…

About Last Night…

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I haven't blogged about the 2014 election... until now.  Am I disappointed Republicans now control the House and the Senate.  Yes.  Am I devastated?  No.  And here's why. Since 2010 the Republican battle cry has been that the House can't get its crazy past the D controlled Senate.  This worked for them - it was like a constant campaign commercial.  It worked for the so-called "sane" Republicans as well.  Vote to repeal the ACA for the gazillionth time?  Sure.  Why not.  The D controlled Senate would block it and the Rs would get to keep their Conservative street cred while doing nothing.  It's why there were so many votes taken to repeal the ACA - every Republican wanted a chance (or two, or forty) to go on the record with that meaningless vote. But now that vote isn't meaningless, and I'm seeing problems on the horizon.
Delaware casinos bailout

Gambling News Not ALL Bad For Delaware

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We're attracting lots of degenerates from NJ and PA who just have to get their fill of betting on NFL games: From the Philly Inquirer:
The total wagered on NFL games in Delaware _ with barely one-tenth the population of New Jersey _ was $31.5 million last year, more than triple the mark set in 2009, according to Vernon Kirk, the director of the Delaware Lottery. Kirk added that the state's share was $5.2 million, with casinos and the state's horsemen also getting a portion of the net revenues after expenses.

Comment Rescue: Liberalgeek on taking over the Demcoratic Party

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I'll offer my thoughts under the fold. Here is the comment:
I guess the plan is to win hearts and minds with an air war. Sounds reasonable. If you are clamoring for the Democratic Party to move to the left, but are unwilling to actively participate in politics outside of election day, you will be left with exactly what you already have. The only reason that there are any progressive voices around here is due to the Dean campaign. The beauty in his campaign was the ability to get people involved in the campaign. There were meetups, blogs were started (this one included) and people stepped up to join committees and start organizations (like PDD). A decade has passed since then. Some of us are still involved, some have settled in for armchair bitching and some have dropped out of politics altogether. But if you don’t think that the Howard Dean message was “Let’s roll up our sleeves and get to work”, you weren’t paying attention.

Election Day Open Thread [11.4.14]

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The thing about election days for me is boredom. You see, I vote first thing in the morning. So now I have nothing to do but wait for the next 13+ hours (besides working at my real job, of course). So here are some good political documentaries for your viewing pleasure to pass the time... Primary--about the primary race between Senators Kennedy and Humphrey in the 1960 Wisconsin Primary The War Room--about the 1992 Clinton campaign Journeys with George--about George W. Bush.
My Green Votes

My Green Votes

26 Comments
At the moment of truth, it was tough. I'm a Democrat and I want Democrats to win, so it took a lot for me to punch the button for the Green Party candidates for Congress. But neither John Carney or Chris Coons gave me any reason to vote for them. Since they are both going to win by miles, the old scare tactics, and the "lesser of two evils" arguments don't seem to apply. They are such prohibitive favorites that I doubt they will even notice this impotent protest, but I feel better. When they return to Congress and vote along with the Republicans to prove their bipartisanship bone fides on the next heinous trade agreement, or more tax cuts for "job creators" I'll be able to say, "I didn't vote for that."

Monday Open Thread [11.3.14] — MY PREDICTIONS for tomorrow.

41 Comments
If you had told Republicans a couple of months ago that they would win Montana, South Dakota, West Virginia, Louisiana and Arkansas, all the while defending Kentucky, which at the time was the only competitive GOP-held seat, they would have been ecstatic. All they would need is just one more seat to win the majority of 51 from the following Democratic competitive seats: Alaska, Iowa, Colorado or North Carolina. The GOP would bet that they would win at least one of them, most likely Alaska. I predict that the GOP will win none of them. And they will lose two of their own seats: Georgia and Kansas. That means, in the end, the Democrats will have 52 seats (51 without the Independent Orman) and the GOP will have 48. I could be completely wrong, and the GOP could win 8 seats. But I am not sensing the deep malaise and depression amongst the Democratic electorate that preceded the 2010 blowout.