Open Thread
Labor Day Open Thread [9.2.13]
![Labor Day Open Thread [9.2.13]](http://delawareliberal.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/laborday-240x180.jpg "Labor Day Open Thread [9.2.13]")
Happy Labor Day! Hope that you and yours are enjoying this holiday meant to celebrate the achievements and contributions of the American worker. Unfortunately, too many of us no longer remember what this holiday is meant to commemorate and a disturbing number of us are specifically disdainful of many of our fellow workers, even as we might be a slightly better off version of labor. This holiday was created by Labor Unions and today, Labor Unions are not only at an ebb (as employers have been able to buy their own government influence and the unions themselves succumbed to various unhealthy tendencies), but are disdained by people who have specifically benefited from their work.
TGIF Open Thread [8.30.13]
![TGIF Open Thread [8.30.13]](http://delawareliberal.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Obama-200x180.png "TGIF Open Thread [8.30.13]")
80% of Americans believe President Obama should receive congressional approval before using force in Syria. 80% of Americans cannot agree on anything, Mr. President. They agree on this. This is a no-fucking-brainer, Mr. President. You want a way out of that fucking corner you painted yourself into, this is it. Seek Congressional Authorization. If you don’t get it, your hands have been tied by Congress just as David Cameron’s were.
Tuesday Open Thread 8.27.13
History says don’t do it. Most Americans say don’t do it. But President Obama has to punish Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad’s homicidal regime with a military strike — and hope that history and the people are wrong.
If it is true that the regime killed hundreds of civilians with nerve gas in a Damascus suburb last week — and Secretary of State John F. Kerry said Monday that the use of chemical weapons is “undeniable” — then Obama has no choice. Such use cannot be tolerated, and any government or group that employs chemical weapons must be made to suffer real consequences. Obama should uphold this principle by destroying some of Assad’s military assets with cruise missiles.
I say this despite my belief that Obama has been right to keep the United States out of the Syrian civil war. It is not easy to watch such suffering and destruction — more than 100,000 people killed, millions displaced, cities pounded into rubble — and do nothing. Now I believe we are obliged to hit Assad. But then what?
Obama should have never drawn a red line. By doing so, he boxed himself in to using military force if the line was crossed.
Sunday Open Thread [8.25.13]
![Sunday Open Thread [8.25.13]](http://m.static.newsvine.com/servista/imagesizer?file=steve-benen74200FA3-2E6B-7F69-B681-304CC10C96EA.jpg&width=600 "Sunday Open Thread [8.25.13]")
Yesterday was one of the biggest Democratic events of the year — the Democratic Jamboree at Cape Henlopen State Park. It sounds like the most interesting comments of the event came from Matt Denn:
Gov. Jack Markell was off on vacation and could not attend. Lt. Gov. Matt Denn gave a speech that was particularly critical of the Delaware Republican Party. He noted for the crowd that Republicans hold just one statewide office – Tom Wagner is the elected state auditor – and are in the minority in both houses of the General Assembly. He blamed that partly on policies that he said alienated minority communities and opposition to gay marriage.
“The Republican Party seems to be doing its part to make it easy for us to win elections,” Denn said.
“I feel guilty being here,” Denn joked. “I’m a proud Democrat. But I’m also a straight white guy. I’m pretty much all the Republicans have left.”
Burn!
March on Washington Open Thread [8.24.13]
![March on Washington Open Thread [8.24.13]](http://delawareliberal.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/MLK-240x180.png "March on Washington Open Thread [8.24.13]")
Tens of thousands of people have returned to the Mall to memorialize the 50th Anniversary of the original March On Washington — a march that called itself the “March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom”. The National Archives provides a copy of the agenda for the original March and some helpful context.
Friday Open Thread [8.23.13]
![Friday Open Thread [8.23.13]](http://delawareliberal.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Dont-Mess-with-Delaware-240x180.png "Friday Open Thread [8.23.13]")
The Around the Horn will be published tomorrow. I had my physical this morning so I did not have time to go through everything.
Just as Democrats had depended on the South to maintain their congressional control for generations, Republicans now depend on that region to maintain theirs. This has made the GOP ever more sensitive to issues that especially resonate with Southerners—abortion, gun control, low taxes and a hard line on immigration.
In the process, the liberal wing of the Republican Party completely ceased to exist. Just as all conservative Democrats became Republicans, all liberal Republicans became Democrats. Thus for the first time in American history, our two major parties are ideologically uniform—all the conservatives are in one party and all the liberals are in the other.
Since the GOP is now vitally dependent on maintaining its position in the South, I believe that the South now controls the Republican Party to a much greater extent than it controls the South. This makes it very hard for a Republican presidential nominee to reach out for moderate and swing voters in the North and West.
In effect, the price Republicans pay for holding Congress, by way of the South, is that its presidential nominees become unelectable. Republicans don’t yet believe this, but when they lose again in 2016, at least some will be forced to accept it.
Wednesday Open Thread 8.21.13
Rep. Kerry Bentivolio (R-MI) said he’s consulted with lawyers about impeaching President Obama. From BuzzFeed:
“If I could write that bill and submit it, it would be a dream come true. I stood 12 feet away from the guy and listened to him. I couldn’t stand being there, but because he is president I have to respect the office. That’s my job, as a congressman, I respect the office.”
Bentivolio said that after the encounter with Obama he returned to his office and summoned lawyers to discuss the impeachment process.
Hopefully those lawyers told him that first, you have to have an action on Obama’s part that in some realm of plausible legal theory constitutes a high crime or misdemeanor. In 1998-99, the GOP pursued impeachment BECAUSE they had plausible crimes on President Clinton’s part… perjury and obstruction of justice. Regarding Obama, they have nothing. There is no action that the President has taken that can be considered a high crime or misdemeanor. Impeachment is not a tool available to the opposition party when they do not like the President or are not in favor of his policies. It is for when the President commits a high crime or misdemeanor. And Mr. Bentivolio should know that if he writes up a bill, while there is a question of whether it passes the House, there is no doubt it fails in the Senate. So he is talking about using a nuclear weapon that is guaranteed to blow up in his face.
So, please proceed Congressman.
Tuesday Open Thread [8.20.13]
Mitch McConnell is being squeezed from all over in his re-election bid. From the right, Jim DeMint’s Heritage Center, Brent Bozell’s For America group (and others) are running ads in Tennessee trying to make McConnell’s refusal to shut down the government over Obamacare a liability — making it very difficult for McConnell to appeal to any independents or moderates:
Late Night Video — We’re Building a Domestic Army
The man in this video clip says he is a retired Marine Corps Colonel and he is speaking at Concord, NH city council meeting where he Council is considering a request from the Concord PD for armored vehicles. He draws some parallels with the time he spent in Iraq (without equipment like this) and starts to show how Homeland Security standardization of gear makes it easier for PDs to look indistinguishable from an occupying army. This is almost 4 minutes long:
Monday Open Thread [8.19.13]
![Monday Open Thread [8.19.13]](http://delawareliberal.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Biden.png "Monday Open Thread [8.19.13]")
“Political allies of Vice President Joe Biden have concluded that he can win the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination–even if Hillary Clinton enters the contest–and are considering steps he could take to prepare for a potential candidacy,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Looks like Papa Joe is tapping into some of Jack Markell’s medical marijuana. Because if he seriously believes he can defeat Hillary, he’s high right now. Mr. Vice President, I love ya, but you are no Barack Obama. Only Obama could defeat Hillary, and even then it was a nailbitter, a down to the wire contest. You have no chance at all.
I agree with David Axelrod, who is quoted in the Journal story, that Biden and Hillary will not run against each other. But Biden will run for President if Hillary doesn’t. He is the Plan B. And because he is the Plan B, he has to begin putting together an organization, and donating money through a PAC to candidates in 2014 to party build and create goodwill.
So Joe Biden and his staff have to talk like he is really running and that they are confident he will beat Hillary to keep up appearances.
The truth is, its all a con-game. The minute Hillary annnounces (January-March 2015), the Vice President will cite his long friendship with the former Secretary of State and beg off.
Sunday Open Thread [8.18.13]
![Sunday Open Thread [8.18.13]](http://s1.ibtimes.com/sites/www.ibtimes.com/files/styles/v2_article_large/public/2013/08/15/marijuana-laws.png "Sunday Open Thread [8.18.13]")
Woodlawn Trustees is ready to move out on its plan to raze and the reconstruct its buildings in Wilmington’s Flats area. This promises to be a very good thing for the city, especially the West Side which has put alot of elbow grease into long-term revitalization. Also note that the $100M project to reconstruct these buildings will still serve moderate income families, putting to bed the crazy whispered story about luxury housing going in over there.
Saturday Open Thread [8.17.13]
Are you following the amazing story of the Newark National and how they made the Little League World Series? They won their first game yesterday against an Urbandale,Iowa team — 6-3. They’ve advanced to play a Chula Vista, CA team. Their hometown turned out at Timothy’s last night to cheer them on and to help raise money for the families of the kids going to the World Series. Go Newark!
Open Thread for Thursday, August 15, 2013
I love Ezra Klein’s analogy here regarding the new demand that, instead of ransoming the budget (and force a government shutdown), the Republicans should hold hostage the debt ceiling in exchange for the repeal of Obamacare:
Since Boehner can’t just tell House Republicans that their party needs to let go of the whole stop-Obamacare thing until they win a few more elections, what will he tell them?
Apparently, he’s going to tell them to try using the debt ceiling: “Sources tell me the House GOP will probably avoid using a shutdown as leverage and instead use the debt limit and sequester fights as areas for potential legislative trades. Negotiations over increasing the debt limit have frequently been used to wring concessions out of the administration, so there may be movement in that direction: Delay Obamacare in exchange for an increased debt limit.”
Trading a government shutdown for a debt-ceiling breach is like trading the flu for septic shock. And Boehner knows it. Republicans will effectively be going to the White House and saying, “Delay the health-care law or we will single-handedly cause an unprecedented and unnecessary global financial crisis that everyone will clearly and correctly blame on us, destroying our party for years to come.”
It’s not a very persuasive ransom note to send. And Boehner knows it. It’s just something he’s saying to talk his party down from this tree. But come October, when they climb up into that higher, more dangerous, tree, he’s going to have to think of some new crazy promise to entice them down. Then, three months later, that promise will come back to bite him — and the rest of us. And eventually, someone’s going to make a mistake, and Boehner won’t manage to pull his people back from the brink at the last minute.
No, the only way this ends is with Boehner sacrificing his Speakership (or at least forming a coalition speakership with Pelosi with 21 or so sane Republicans). Boehner eventually will have to sacrifice his political career.
Recent Comments