Bodenweiser Indicted on 113 Felony counts.

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According to the Cape Gazette just now:
Following a grand jury investigation, former state Senate candidate Eric Bodenweiser was indicted Oct. 22 on 113 felony counts. He faces 39 charges of first-degree unlawful sexual intercourse and 74 charges of unlawful sexual contact in the second degree. The Attorney General's Office has sealed the indictment; details of the charges are not available.
Damn. For those who don't know, Eric Bodeweiser was the Republican candidate for Senator in the 19th Senate Distict in Sussex County, Delaware. He officially withdrew his candidacy last week amid rumors of these charges. Bodenweiser was, and probably still is, a star of the downstate Tea Party movement. Indeed, the last time he was seen in public was during a fundraiser with the Queen Bee herself, Christine O'Donnell. First Degree Unlawful Sexual Intercourse is another term for First Degree Rape, I believe. I cannot find a separate crime for it under the Delaware Code. Second Degree Unlawful Sexual Contact occurs when the person intentionally has sexual contact with another person who is less than 18 years of age or causes the victim to have sexual contact with the person or a third person. This is a class F felony.

Let’s Review Romney’s Initial Statements On Libya

Romney may want to argue over the word "terror" now, but that wasn't what he did the night of the attack in Libya. Romney's initial statement on Libya:
“I’m outraged by the attacks on American diplomatic missions in Libya and Egypt and by the death of an American consulate worker in Benghazi,” the statement read. “It’s disgraceful that the Obama Administration’s first response was not to condemn attacks on our diplomatic missions, but to sympathize with those who waged the attacks.” The assertion that the administration sympathized with attackers was derived from a statement by the U.S. Embassy in Cairo — before the compound was breached — criticizing an anti-Muslim film that “hurt the religious feelings” of others.
Got that?  Romney was responding to a statement from the U.S. Embassy in Cairo - people who were trying to calm a potentially explosive situation.  He wasn't harping on terror.  He didn't call it a terrorist attack.  (Not that he should have at the time)  He was claiming that President Obama's first response was to "sympathize with those who waged the attacks."

“Who Am I?”

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I oppose civil unions, both generally and specifically (SB 30).” “I support the strengthening and maintaining marriage as the union of one man and one woman, and not redefining or adding to man/woman marriage.” “I oppose adding ‘gender identity or gender expression’ to the protected classes in Delaware’s anti-discrimination laws for housing, employment, and public accomodation.” “I support prohibiting coverage for abortion in the state insurance exchanges mandated by the new federal health care law.” “I oppose using tax payer money to fund Planned Parenthood and other organizations that provide abortion services.” “I support a policy that ensures parental guardian notification prior to the introduction or instructional use of classroom curriculum or materials, whether brought or introduced by school educators, administrators, and officials, or by guests invited at their request, which involve human sexual education, human sexuality issues, sexual acts, family planning, profanity, drugs or alcohol.” “Last, but not least, I support a Delaware Marriage Protection Amendment defining marriage between a man and a woman in the state constitution.” “Now, there will be some among the pro-gay and pro-abortion crowd who will claim that I support them and do not support these Christian common sense principles. Some may even say that I’ve told them that I support them. I am here to set the straight by proving, once and for all, what I stand for.” “When the good folks at the Delaware Family Planning Council and Delaware Strong Families sent out their questionnaire for the 2012 elections, many legislators refused to respond. But I didn’t hesitate. I believe in strong families, and I am proud to make my beliefs public.” “I note that some of you out there are skeptical that these are my real positions on these issues. While I believe that I’ve earned your trust over the past years, I will spell it out for you non-believers. Directly from the questionnaire (it’s a PDF file, so feel free to tagg along):

The Polling Report [10.22.12]

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We have some new polls out of Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania this morning, but no changes in the map below. The national and tracking polls are all over the place. We have one tracking poll giving the President a six point lead, 2 giving Romney a 2 point lead, 2 showing the race tied, and Gallup giving Romney a 7 point lead.

A Sunday Polling Report? Yes, A Sunday Polling Report [10.21.12]

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And the star of today's special Sunday edition of the Polling Report is the state of Florida, where there are 5 new polls out this weekend. We have other polling out of Iowa, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Virginia and Ohio. Now, let me ask you something. If President Obama wins Florida, Virginia, Ohio and North Carolina, then it stands to reason he will also be winning Iowa and New Hampshire, right? Well, not according to this weekend's polls.

RIP George McGovern

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Senator George McGovern died today at the age of 90 in South Dakota. I was too young to vote for McGovern when he ran in 1972, but was not too young to help the grownups around me do the lit drops, sign placements and the other volunteer work you do to get a candidate elected. I wasn't too young to be opposed to the Vietnam War and I wasn't too young to recognize and admire this politician who seemed to maintain his basic decency and honesty while articulating principled positions on the issues of the day.

Alex Pires: The Movie!!

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When is a crazy-ass, low-road, break all the rules political campaign not a political campaign? When it is a movie. A tip from an anonymous correspondent, later confirmed by a few others, informed us that Pires isn't running a political campaign, but starring in a documentary that he is having made about himself. This oddball run at Tom Carper is some kind of plot device to add some dramatic tension to the thing. I'm sure the footage so far is riveting, and I for one, am going to be camped out awaiting the premier because I have a well known weakness FOR SHITTY MOVIES!!

Delaware Political Weekly: Oct. 13-19, 2012

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The political world in western Sussex returns to normal. While there will likely be some confusion on the R side, Eric Bodenweiser’s full withdrawal from the 19th Senate District race virtually guarantees that Brian Pettyjohn will keep this crimson red senate seat in the R column come November. Bodenweiser’s name will not appear on the ballot. While voters indeed will have to write in Pettyjohn’s name, the DOE will make it as easy as possible for people to do so, and I don’t think it will be close. Don’t blame Jane Hovington. She stepped up and took one for the team, whatever that team might be in western Sussex. Which begs this thought: You’ve got a moribund Democratic Party in western Sussex. You’ve got a growing Latino and minority population base that has next to no voice in the official party structure there. A party structure that is almost gone. I see a great opportunity to build a new and more inclusive Democratic Party in western Sussex. With grassroots leadership from these growing populations. It’s not as if there’s gonna be a revival of the good ol’ boys Democrats there. There’s a political vacuum. Fill it, amigos.