Delaware United Rocks!

Delaware United Rocks!

Remember how the supporters of Howard Dean applied their grassroots skills to great effect after Dean's candidacy faded?  In Delaware, many of these supporters became part of the Delaware grassroots and remain progressive stalwarts to this day. Bernie Sanders supporters have taken the same approach in Delaware, and are working very hard on at least three campaigns near and dear to Delaware Liberal:  Bryan Townsend for Congress, Eugene Young for Mayor, and Matt Meyer for NCC Executive. Those supporters have joined together to create Delaware United, and they are awesome! Here's how they describe themselves:
We are a proactive group of Delaware voters from various backgrounds, all united to change the course of Delaware local politics.
They're also real cool.  They're hard-working volunteers, but they're also lots of fun.  Reminds me of what I love the most about grassroots politics.

It’s 14 Days Until the Primary — Can You Help Support Progressive Candidates in Delaware?

Long time readers of this blog know that I ask folks here pretty often what have they done to try to make progressive change. Lots of readers of this blog *are* committed to progressive change and have rolled up their sleeves for candidates and issues. If you are looking at the sprint towards this primary and are looking for a way to get involved in a cycle that has plenty of excellent progressive choices, here are some options for you:
An Up Close Look At the City of Wilmington Okie Doke

An Up Close Look At the City of Wilmington Okie Doke

Channel 28 on cable within Wilmington is a public access channel that is the locus of African American politics (and gossip) on Sundays. This is a segment from a recent Community Crossfire segment where Mayor Dennis Williams discusses the state of the city and the state of the Mayor's race with Sammy Congo, Sam Guy, and Pastor D. If you can spend the 30 minutes or so to take a look at this, you can see how Wilmington's African Amerian leadership speaks to its African American (mostly) audience. It's pretty disappointing all the way around, really. If you read this blog regularly, you know that one thing that I like pointing out is how Republicans are particularly good at getting their victim on as a way to bully people into their POV. Even though they aren't victims of anything, other than their own mismanagement or their own failure of messaging or leadership. You can see exactly the same thing here. Wilmington's "leadership" is being victimized by Purzycki (called out by name), or others running for Mayor who -- according to Williams -- he has helped and who are now somehow displaying serious disloyalty in now running against him. Pastor D calls out Kelley in a particularly despicable fashion -- denigrating his involvement and friendships with the families of crime victims, wondering why Kelley doesn't bring jobs to these communities. You are quite welcome to wonder which of these gentlemen have brought any serious jobs to their communities.
Political Primal Scream Therapy

Political Primal Scream Therapy

I don't know why I didn't think of this earlier. While we may not have a Christine O'Donnell in 2016, I can't recall a year when there have been so many Stoopid Candidate Tricks.  Or at least the kind of stories that make me want to scream. Two such stories surfaced this morning in the News-Journal. Scream along with me. First, we have another example of Mayor Dennis Williams' solid personnel judgment.  Second, we have a DUI in Sussex politics again.
DL’s Endorsement for Wilmington Mayor

DL’s Endorsement for Wilmington Mayor

In most Blue States, the usual source of Democratic progressive governing is from its major cities. The Editors of Delaware Liberal have often lamented the fact that Delaware’s biggest city has been lacking in a more progressive political vision at pretty much every level. There's one candidate in Wilmington's Mayoral race who is finally advocating a comprehensive progressive vision for governing Wilmington -- a vision that is inclusive of the entire city, that is committed to bringing city government practices into the 21st century and will start the work to tackle some of the social justice issues that damage and hold back some of our communities. Delaware Liberal is proud to endorse Eugene Young for Mayor of Wilmington.
Breaking: Delaware AG Matt Denn Will Not Appeal Death Penalty Ruling

Breaking: Delaware AG Matt Denn Will Not Appeal Death Penalty Ruling

Just got this press release from the AG's office:
Attorney General Will Not Appeal To U.S. Supreme Court On Death PenaltyDelaware DOJ Will Argue State Court Decision Is Not Retroactive After carefully reviewing the Delaware Supreme Court’s opinion regarding the constitutionality of Delaware’s current death penalty statute, the Attorney General has decided not to appeal the decision to the United States Supreme Court.  He has concluded that even if the United States Supreme Court reversed the opinion on Federal Constitutional grounds, that the Delaware Supreme Court would ultimately invalidate Delaware’s current death penalty statute based on the Constitution of the State of Delaware.  The Delaware Supreme Court has repeatedly stated that the Delaware Constitution provides rights to a jury trial that are independent of and in some instances more expansive than those provided by the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution.  Litigating and appealing these issues – a process that would likely take years before issues of both federal and state constitutional law were resolved -- would likely not only bring about the same result, but would also deny the families of victims sentencing finality.
WDEL’s Amy Cherry Exposes Corruption in County Farmland Deal

WDEL’s Amy Cherry Exposes Corruption in County Farmland Deal

By far the best journalism being committed in Delaware today is being done by WDEL's Amy Cherry. She has effectively chronicled the stink of corruption permeating the proposed farmland deal between the Gordon Administration and a couple of well-connected farmers.  Here are the links. Go ahead and read/listen to them. I'll wait.
The Murdertown Chronicles — Finale

The Murdertown Chronicles — Finale

Part 3 was released some time back and I apologize for not posting that. See the end of this post to see details on the release and wrap party for the final episode. Have you heard about this new podcast? Sponsored by the Delaware Center for Justice, this is a long-form reporting project that is meant to explore the role that poverty plays in Wilmington's crime problems. This will be in four parts -- and so far includes voices from young men wrapped up in crime as well as voices from the ACLU, Dr. Yasser Payne, Charlie Copeland and others who are illuminating the larger picture involved with Wilmington's crime problems. I've listened to the first one (this is about 20 minutes long) and it is riveting. Give it a listen and I hope you'll come back to this thread to discuss this work and the issues it raises.
Bill Clinton’s Speech

Bill Clinton’s Speech

This started out as a comment, but morphed into a post. Last night I was asked a question on the DNC Convention post, "Was Bill Clinton's speech sexist?" No. Oh, you want more? Ok. Here are my thoughts on Bill's speech. I disagree with Maddow. It wasn't sexist, but it was a fascinating gender role reversal. Bill Clinton was the first man to give the traditional First Lady speech. The role of the First Lady speech is to share personal stories of her and the candidate's life together, to show what a good and loving parent the candidate is, to remind everyone of their spouses accomplishments, their strengths, etc.. Basically, the First Lady speech is an reminder and introduction to the candidate by the person who knows them best. Bill did just that.
It Looks Like Kaine.

It Looks Like Kaine.

According to the NY Times, Hillary Clinton is expected to name US Senator from Virginia Tim Kaine as her Vice Presidential nominee. Of all the candidates under consideration, with the possible exception of the General, she appears to have chosen the nominee with the least progressive record. Pro-TPP, pro-bank deregulation, squishy on women's rights.
Senator Cory Booker Endorses Eugene Young for Wilmington Mayor

Senator Cory Booker Endorses Eugene Young for Wilmington Mayor

This happened on Friday and is certainly impressive. Senator Booker has been on some lists as a potential VP candidate for Hillary Clinton, and there's been plenty of cheerleading for him. He's a solid progressive and defeated a fair bit of Newark public sector corruption and cronyism to win the Mayor's seat. Here's his pitch for Eugene Young, candidate for Mayor of Wilmington:
Wilmington Mayor’s Race — Undecided Leads the Pack

Wilmington Mayor’s Race — Undecided Leads the Pack

The News Journal released the results of their poll last night, which shows the race being much closer than the common wisdom (including mine) would have suggested. Here's the numbers: Kevin Kelly 18% Mike Purzycki 14% Dennis Williams 13% Theo Gregory 11% Eugene Young 9% Norm Griffiths 8% Robert Marshall 2% Maria Cabrera 2% Undecided 21% The margin of error on this poll is 5.8 and reached landlines only. This surveyed likely Democratic voters. This polly also asked about registration and primary practices -- where we find that this group of likely Democratic voters think that it should be easier to switch parties to vote and that primaries should be open.