The Republican War on Women in Gory Detail

4 Comments
The definition of the Republican War on Women heated up yesterday with Reince Priebus’ remark that compared women to caterpillars, President Obama saying the Augusta should allow women members and recent polling that shows a huge gender gap between Obama and Romney. As much as the GOP and the Washington Post say that there is no war on women, there is as Rachel Maddow shows us. Below the video is a transcript of the segment if you want to read along instead.

Delaware Political Weekly: March 31-April 6, 2012

12 Comments
This was quite a week. While I wish that this had happened two years ago, I am psyched that Charles "Trey" Paradee has decided to run again. You may recall that Paradee almost knocked off Pam Thornburg in this Kent County 29th District back in 2008. In fact, initial results indicated that he had. Willis has established himself more effectively than most during his first two years, IMHO. However, this has all the earmarks of a competitive race. This oughtta be fun.

Subsidies: Big Oil and Others

11 Comments
If I give you $1 every year, would you give me $59 in return every year? Chances are, you wouldn't. However, if I were an oil company and you were a member of Congress that's exactly what happens, except you aren't giving out your money.

General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Thurs., April 5, 2012

32 Comments
A glimpse inside the Delaware Way, and what it has wrought. Helene Keeley's legislation seeking to reign in predatory lending in the form of payday loans, made it out of committee. But not before one of Delaware's most malevolent lobbyists got an interest rate cap stripped from proposed legislation. Which, of course, wasn't enough for him. From today's News-Journal story:
Speaking for the Online Lenders Alliance, a payday-lending trade group, lobbyist Dave Swayze said efforts to curtail short-term lending fly in the face of Delaware's landmark Financial Center Development Act, the 1981 law that eliminated the state's usury statutes and allowed banks to charge unlimited interest rates. "We will let the marketplace, we will let the buyer and seller, the contract entered into by them, determine the terms of the loan," he said.

More Fisker Follies

19 Comments
I'm a bit concerned that any state official could have been "stunned" that Fisker was waffling. I'm troubled that Alan Levin, the director of the Delaware Economic Development Office, was "shocked". The article goes on to interview more politicos who talk about phone calls they are making. But more importantly, TNJ talks to some of the would-be workers who are affected. So as Fisker holds a gun to the head of the State of Delaware demanding that federal loans be released earlier, what is/was Plan B for Boxwood? Did we put all our eggs in one basket and hope for the best? Or does Delaware have alternative plans to get these auto workers back to work?

This is How Republican Sheriffs End Up

4 Comments
A former elected Republican sheriff in Colorado was sentenced to 30 days in jail for possession of meth. And this one even had arrest powers. Maybe it's better that they end up behind bars for meth instead of advocating sedition.