Open Thread
Thursday Open Thread [2.20.14]
![Thursday Open Thread [2.20.14]](http://delawareliberal.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Walker-240x180.png "Thursday Open Thread [2.20.14]")
So, now that Governor Chris Christie has been destroyed as a credible Presidential candidate in 2016, some in the GOP have turned their lonely eyes to Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin (R). Walker is a golden boy in the GOP hive mind for talking on the public sector unions and winning, and then surviving a recall, but I have never pictured him as a viable presidential candidate for one very important reason: he has what I call a permanent Eli Manning Face. You know that face, right? Come inside to see some picture comparisons if you don’t.
Anyway, Mr. Walker, like Mr. Christie, has an email problem.
Wednesday Open Thread [2.18.14]
![Wednesday Open Thread [2.18.14]](http://delawareliberal.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/DL.Vintage-240x180.png "Wednesday Open Thread [2.18.14]")
Jonathan Chait on how the House Republicans really screwed their Presidential candidates and doomed their hopes for 2016. Seriously, these guys are such experts at foot shooting, they should teach courses.
“The decisive case for inaction that Republicans made to Boehner has been that moving an immigration bill would divide the party in advance of the midterm elections. Republicans are anticipating a favorable midterm election, with a shrunken and more demographically favorable electorate, along with a Senate map tilted heavily toward red states. They don’t want to instigate right-wing infighting when they can instead spend every day harping on the multitudinous evils of Obamacare.”
“Yet, once the midterms pass, the presidential primary will quickly command attention. Republicans again will be competing for the loyalty of a heavily white, distinctly anti-immigrant electoral base, and the candidates will again face pressure to lock themselves into positions that will alienate Latino and Asian voters. They could still win anyway if the economy is weak enough, or some other major scandal envelopes the Obama administration. But in an electorate that is both increasingly hardened in its partisan inclinations, and growing steadily more Democratic-leaning in its basic shape, the GOP’s outlook is, if not hopeless, decidedly grim.”
Tuesday Open Thread [2.18.14]
Teabagger Senator Ted Cruz is apparently not very well liked by his fellow Republican Senate colleagues, and last week was yet another example as to why. You see, the debt ceiling bill, which had passed the House by a bipartisan majority of all of the Democrats and 28 of the non-gutless Republicans. Ideally, what the Senate Republicans wanted to do was to pass the bill with little fanfare, quickly and quietly by unanimous consent. Then Ted Cruz stepped in, and filibustered the bill, requiring a recorded vote that needed 60 votes to pass. That meant 5 Senate Republicans had to vote yes. But the Senate Republicans are even more gutless than the House, and the Republican leadership were having a hard time coming up with the votes. So they, the leadership, i.e. Mitch McConnell and John Cornyn, had to vote yes. And the votes probably guaranteed McConnell’s defeat in his primary, and gave a serious boast to John Cornyn’s teabagger challenger.
Go read Dana Millbank’s account of the incident. You will be amazed at how close our nation came to utter disaster because of the cowardice of Senate Republicans and Calgary Cruz.
President’s Day Open Thread [2.17.14]
![President’s Day Open Thread [2.17.14]](http://delawareliberal.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/honda-presidents-day-commercial-lincoln-washington-240x180.jpg "President’s Day Open Thread [2.17.14]")
Dunn, who is white, fired 10 shots into an SUV, killing Jordan Davis, 17, who was black. The shooting in a convenience store parking lot in Jacksonville erupted after Dunn asked the teenagers in the vehicle to turn down their music.
Dunn was charged with first-degree murder, three counts of attempted second-degree murder and one count of firing into a vehicle in the Nov. 23, 2012, shooting. The jury couldn’t reach a decision on the first-degree murder charge, but convicted on the other four.
Saturday Open Thread [2/15/14]
![Saturday Open Thread [2/15/14]](http://www.bartcop.com/bitch-problems.jpg "Saturday Open Thread [2/15/14]")
Even though Volkswagon had no issues with the formation of a union at their plant in Tennessee, the GOP lied and howled and threatened enough to help narrowly defeat a vote for a union yesterday. The take away, of course, is that every time you hear someone in the GOP talk about the middle class or a better deal for workers, you know that is a lie. Because the only people the GOP were defending here were themselves and their anti-union special interests. Of course, you won’t hear one word from the usual “Government should stay out of the way of business” crowd denouncing the GOP’s clear interference with Volkswagon here.
Valentine’s Day Open Thread [2.14.14]
![Valentine’s Day Open Thread [2.14.14]](http://delawareliberal.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/house-of-cards-netflix-240x180.jpg "Valentine’s Day Open Thread [2.14.14]")
This Open Thread *may* be late because DD decided to be early to his date with Frank Underwood and the House of Cards crew. Season 2 is on Netflix today and the early reviews strongly point to binge-watching. Apparently even President Obama is a fan, and tweeted a warning for No Spoilers:
Tuesday Open Thread [2.11.14]
The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC) sent us what they called a guest post, but it was more like a press release, concerning the General Assembly’s passage of SB 6, the Minimum Wage Bill. I am very happy that the DLCC is working up the state legislative races across the land, because, as we have seen across the country, when Republicans get control of them, they everything and anything they ever wanted to pass. Forced gun ownership. Complete abortion bans. Voter suppression.
So I wish them well in there efforts to link the state legislative into the Democrats’ overrall midterm narrative of income inequality.
But… sometimes these national organizations miss some of the local politics that take place. Come inside to see their guest post / release and what I mean by that…
Sunday Open Thread [2.9.14]
VP Joe Biden tells CNN that he’ll make a firm decision about running for President Summer 2015:
Vice President Joe Biden joked this week that being able to drive his Corvette – is one good reason not to run. But, when asked to give another good reason not to run, Biden responded simply.
“I can’t.”
“There may be reasons I don’t run, but there’s no obvious reason for me why I think I should not run,” he said in the interview with Kate Bolduan on CNN’s “New Day.”
Biden went on to say he would make a decision “realistically, a year this summer.”
Is it me, or is this a little late? Realistically, there ought to be operations need to get stood up in Iowa and NH right around then right?
Saturday Open Thread [2.8.14]
In a bit of good news for freedom of speech, Beau Biden’s office has withdrawn its subpoena to find out who Peaceful Rioters for Wilmington, Delaware is. The relevant bit:
“They decided it wasn’t essential to the investigation and that’s a good thing,’’ MacRae said. “They have to be very discriminatory when they seek private information like that.’’
Joseph S. Grubb, the chief New Castle County prosecutor, said Biden’s top supervisors decided this week to withdraw the subpoena because the information would not further the criminal case – not because of criticism or opposition.
“The investigation kind of took a turn,’’ Grubb said. “It’s proven less likely there’s a relevant connection’’ between the creators of Peaceful Rioters and the Hockessin-area missives about top county officials.
Translation: We got caught in a fishing expedition and we’re trying to put a good face on our backing out of this strategy.
Friday Open Thread [2.7.14]
![Friday Open Thread [2.7.14]](http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/19ewpkq2120mepng/ku-xlarge.png "Friday Open Thread [2.7.14]")
The American Nazi Party had more than 4,000 followers on Twitter, and at least two of were influential conservative and Republican organizations (I don’t call them ‘think tanks’ because thinking is the last thing that occurs there): The Cato Institute and the Heritage Foundation. Yesterday, after being discovered, they quickly unfollowed the Nazis and apologized. But, why where they following the Nazis in the first place? Trying to find new ideas?
Thursday Open Thread [2.6.14]
PPP does some interesting polling in Alaska, finding that Hillary Clinton leads Sarah Palin in a matchup for President (44-43), with Palin still having pretty awful approval ratings (39% approve). Alaskans overwhelmingly approve of legalizing pot for medical purposes (74-22) and by a smaller, but still majority margin for recreational use (55-39). I’m especially interested in the polling for a referendum measure that looks to repeal Senate Bill 21, the Oil and Gas Production Tax which provided a big tax cut to carbon energy companies. This was a controversial thing and right now Alaskans say they will vote to repeal 43-31%. People do know when they are being screwed over for special interests and maybe if more of these had to be voted upon by taxpayers, there’d be fewer efforts to pad the pockets of the people paying for elections. The caveat, of course, is who knows what will happen with the special interests ramp up their fear and loathing campaigns.
Wednesday Open Thread [2.5.14]
What fresh hell is this? Teen killer George Zimmerman is boxing rapper DMX in some celebrity thing. Seriously, I don’t get it. Zimmerman has already told the world that he was powerless against a teenager who weighed less than he did, and was armed with only Skittles. Now he wants to fight a rapper. I guess he thinks there is more money and more notoriety at stake, but who does he expect to actually root for him here? There’s a petition to stop the fight, but frankly I hope DMX kicks his ass.
Tuesday Open Thread [2.4.14]
![Tuesday Open Thread [2.4.14]](http://delawareliberal.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/DL.Thumbnail.png "Tuesday Open Thread [2.4.14]")
Philip Klein is shocked at the House speaker’s decision to pursue immigration reform in the lead-up to midterm elections:
If immigration reform passes, it will boost Democrats’ prospects in 2014 by demoralizing the GOP base and elevating President Obama, who just delivered a State of the Union Address that tacitly acknowledged he could no longer achieve anything major. If it fails again due to a conservative backlash, then it will trigger another wave of Democratic attacks on Republicans for being anti-Hispanic
Excellent
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