Carper’s keystone veto override vote should be a watershed moment for Delaware’s Democrats

Carper’s keystone veto override vote should be a watershed moment for Delaware’s Democrats

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When it comes to pass that Senator for Life, Tom Carper, sides with Republicans and votes to override the President's veto of the Keystone XL pipeline it could change things here in Delaware. At long last, all pretense will be set aside and even the most out of touch Democrat will know that Carper is not a member of the Democratic Party in any meaningful sense. It will be an undeniable break with public sentiment on the issue of the environment and the brazen opposition to the President will be impossible for him to hide from. It doesn't mean that he will lose the next election - he is the Senator for Life after all. But I think it does open up some room for actual Democrats to begin to assert what it means to be a Democrat, and perhaps begin rebuilding the Party's brand equity. It could take a generation for the party to recover from the damage that Tom Carper has inflicted on it, but I think a recovery is possible. Recovering our sense of what the Democratic Party stands for is therefor, something we should be preparing for. When this execrable vote happens, we need to be ready to use the public disgust with Carper to launch a larger movement to articulate Democratic values. Just this morning I was thinking that I might register as a Green Party, but just the prospect of this vote - this horrific inevitable vote has sparked something in me that I haven't felt for a while. It has reminded me of the fact that votes do matter. That Carper is in DC to represent me and my interests. That's his job. It has fired me up to demand that he do his job for a change.
Dog Bites Man: Carney Votes to Gut Dodd-Frank.

Dog Bites Man: Carney Votes to Gut Dodd-Frank.

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If this guy wants to be our next Democratic governor, the least he could do is at least pretend to be a Democrat. The bill almost passed, thanks in part to Carney's supposed bipartisanship. Maybe he'll hold a REAL town meeting where someone can ask him how a Democrat votes to screw citizens while giving carte blanche to huge financial institutions that demonstrate time and time again that they will use the lack of regulation to make obscene piles of money by winning a rigged game. A game that the Carneys of this world help rig. Maybe a real newspaper would ask him the same question.  Too bad we no longer have one.
Elizabeth Warren Calls out Senator for Life, Tom Carper by name (pretty much)

Elizabeth Warren Calls out Senator for Life, Tom Carper by name (pretty much)

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During her appearance at the AFL-CIO's Raise the Wages summit on Wednesday, Senator Warren said:
"Pretty much the whole Republican Party – and, if we’re going to be honest, too many Democrats – talked about the evils of 'big government' and called for deregulation," Warren continued. "It sounded good, but it was really about tying the hands of regulators and turning loose big banks and giant international corporations to do whatever they wanted to do—turning them loose to rig the markets and reduce competition, to outsource more jobs, to load up on more risks and hide behind taxpayer guarantees, to sell more mortgages and credit cards that cheated people. In short, to do whatever juiced short term profits even if it came at the expense of working families." But in the end, this whole approach failed, Warren said. "The trickle-down experiment that began in the Reagan years failed America's middle class," Warren said. "Sure, the rich are doing great. Giant corporations are doing great. Lobbyists are doing great. But we need an economy where everyone else who works hard gets a shot at doing great!"
Carper is a supply side/deficit hawk/austerity motherfucker after Grover Norquists own heart. I think we can all agree that when Warren says that too many Democrats have fallen for the GOP's 1%er oriented economic solutions, she is talking about Tom Carper.
Wednesday Open Thread [1.7.2015]

Wednesday Open Thread [1.7.2015]

1 Comment
An insane Maryland Republican officeholder, Kirby Delauter, threatened to sue his local newspaper for printing his name without his express permission. No, he did not threaten to sue the paper for a false or defamatory report. He threatened them because they printed his name, presumably because he took some action in his official capacity as a County Councilman and such an action constituted news fit to print in a local newspaper. But according to this Republican tyrant, that news cannot be reported unless he gives his permission, or it can be, but his name cannot be used. Needless to say, the local newspaper out in Frederick County gave the very appropriate response to such an evil fascist threat, in the form of an editorial. And make sure you take note of the first letter of each paragraph.
FEC Files Complaint against Christine O’Donnell

FEC Files Complaint against Christine O’Donnell

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Like Sarah Palin, every once and a while Christine O'Donnell pops up to remind us all that laughably they were once a candidate for high office. Yesterday, the FEC filed a complaint against Christine O'Donnell, her PAC and her treasurer, Matthew Moran, alleging that the aforementioned converted at least $20,000 of donations to her PAC to her own personal use. I am reading the complaint now to see if there are any new revelations inside, and I will update if there are. See the complaint inside ....
Tuesday Open Thread [1.5.15]

Tuesday Open Thread [1.5.15]

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Wall Street Journal: “Six is the number of Democratic senators that Mitch McConnell, the Senate’s new Republican Majority Leader, will have to woo over to his side to reach the 60 votes needed to break filibusters. Republicans have 54 seats and therefore a majority in the new Senate, which is nice for them. But it doesn’t guarantee much of anything, because most items of importance can be filibustered to death, and breaking a filibuster requires a super-majority of 60 votes.” Tom Carper will always be available for anything that Mitch McConnell asks for, because BIPARTISANSHIP!, so really, the GOP has 55 Senators. Joe Manchin will likely join a lot too, so 56. I imagine Joe Donnelly of Indiana is reachable too. 57. On certain issues, given her red state-ness, Heidi Hietkamp of North Dakota is gettable. 58. But really, that's it. All the traitorous red-state moderate Dems either got beat or retired last year. But there is always Tom Carper. BIPARTISANSHIP!!!!
McKenna Gets Appointed, not Elected.

McKenna Gets Appointed, not Elected.

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Governor Markell appointed incumbent Kent County Recorder of Deeds Betty Lou McKenna to the Recorder of Deeds post, as is his right under Delaware election law when a race is certified as a tie. It seems to me that this Delaware law is wrong, for the Governor can simply do what he did, appoint one of the candidates that did not win, and that doesn't seem right to me. Of course, it does not seem right to me that we elect a Recorder of Deeds in the first place. And if there was a Republican Governor right now..... I'll wait until you stop laughing..... he or she would definitely have no regrets in appointing La Mar Gunn to the post. Still, up until Pete Schwartzkopf became Speaker, we Democrats used to care about fairness and transparency, and not just power for power's sake.