Friday Open Thread [10.24.14]

Friday Open Thread [10.24.14]

5 Comments
With less than two weeks to go, the polling is coming fast and furious. But some pollsters are jumping ahead to get a preview of the 2016 Presidential. So before we dive into the pile of 2014 polls... from the The Fix:
"[A] new Washington Post-ABC News polling on the 2016 Republican presidential race makes one thing very clear: Every GOPer who has even a hint of ambition for national office is likely to run in two years time. Why? Because the field is remarkably frontrunner-less, meaning that every Ted, John and Rob can make a plausible case to activists and donors that they are going to eventually be the guy."
And for that reason, Mitt Romney, the retread from 2008 and 2012, is the frontrunner. The Devil you know...
Thursday Open Thread [10.23.14]

Thursday Open Thread [10.23.14]

26 Comments
The difference between a responsible and ethical media, interested in journalistic integrity and facts, and a hyperbolic entertainment first enterprise, interesting only in ratings and thus profit, and facts and ethics must never interfere with that pursuit. CNN and Fox do not want to inform you. They want you only as a daily consumer of their content. They don't care to inform you. In fact, they will misinform you if that is what makes you a daily consumer of their content. They will do anything and everything to scare you. It is why there are people in this country, many many many people, that are convinced ISIS is now invading the US. That Ebola is currently killing millions of Americans. Driving home yesterday, I have CNN on my Sirius XM, and heard Wolf Blitzer breathlessly shout that OTTAWA IS ONLY AN HOUR'S DRIVE TO THE AMERICAN BORDER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Fuck Wolf Blitzer.
KWS Goes to Bat For Mega Insurance Company

KWS Goes to Bat For Mega Insurance Company

35 Comments
Our purported insurance regulator, Insurance Commissioner Karen Weldin Stewart, is instead trying to run interference for Met Life.  Check out this article from the state government website: fer cryin' out loud:
DOVER, DE  – In a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew and other federal regulators, Delaware Insurance Commissioner Karen Weldin Stewart has urged them to reconsider their vote to propose that MetLife be labeled as a “systemically important financial institution” (SIFI) and therefore subject to tougher federal regulation. “Based on my experience as an insurance regulator (insert joke here), and a regulator of one of MetLife’s larger insurance subsidiaries, I do not believe that MetLife’s businesses and corporate structure create the kind of systemic risk that Dodd-Frank’s SIFI designation process was designed to address,” she said. Stewart argues explicitly against the designation of MetLife and said state regulators are capable and competent to continue the oversight of the company (insert joke here).
Another Opinion on Barney-Simpler

Another Opinion on Barney-Simpler

18 Comments
I received another possible theory on how the Treasurer's race is developing from a source who wants to remain anonymous. I think it is interesting and plausible enough to post and get everyone else's opinion on it.
Simpler could totally win this, in part because of Dem overconfidence and lack of financial engagement. He's spent his independent money very smartly. He let the rich R's attack Sher from the right so he could immediately claim the moderate ground. Dems had been so focused on the the primary on their side, that they never forced Ken to stake out positions on divisive issues during the primary. So he can say whatever he wants now. The belief that Dems can't lose statewide mean nobody's pinning him down now, either. And he's got his own money and the relationship with WBOC to get up on TV, which really moves #s. The counterbalancing financial forces on the D side like AFSCME and Labor don't seem to take the Simpler threat seriously. People will regret it.

Wednesday Open Thread [10.22.14]

A Federal District Judge upheld Puerto Rico's marriage equality ban, saying that the U.S. Supreme Court's 1971 decision in Baker v. Nelson, which banned same sex marriage, or more accurately says such bans do not violate the Constitution, has not been explicitly overturned. That argument has never worked before in the Circuit Courts or before the Supreme Court itself in the DOMA or Prop 8 Cases, but now, if the corresponding Circuit Court upholds this decision (which is unlikely but possible), then we will finally have a ruling from the Supreme Court. Ian Millhiser expects the Puerto Rico decision will be reversed:
[W]hile Pérez-Giménez clearly holds very passionate views on the question of whether same-sex couples are entitled to the same rights as everyone else, his views are unlikely to persuade many of his fellow judges. It’s even possible that his opinion could ultimately wind up bolstering the case for marriage equality. That’s because his decision will appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, a court dominated by Democratic appointees (although, it is worth noting that Pérez-Giménez was appointed to the bench by President Jimmy Carter). All four of the states that comprise the First Circuit — Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island — are already marriage equality states, so a decision out of a federal court in Puerto Rico is the only path to bring a marriage equality case before this circuit. Given the makeup of the First Circuit, the overwhelming consensus among federal judges in favor of marriage equality, and the belligerent tone of Pérez-Giménez’s opinion, it is unlikely that his decision will be upheld on appeal.

I am confused by Jason’s Poll….

32 Comments
I am voting for Barney, because I will never vote for any living or dead Republican to handle the state's finances. Indeed, if you want to prove to me you are fiscally responsible, you cannot be a Republican. But I digress. I guess his question is measuring my enthusiasm in voting for Barney, where 10 is voting for Obama in 2008 and 1 is voting for Carper/Carney at any time. I am at a 5. Anyway, here is something humorous that Trey Paradee posted on Facebook....
Burn…

Burn…

8 Comments
NEWARK, DE – The Executive Director of the Delaware Republican Party, John Fluharty, just p---ed a b---r over this tid-bit.
Mayrack’s LinkedIn profile summary states that the candidate has “extensive experience in all aspects of unclaimed property advising.” However auditing itself—the primary job of the State Auditor—is not mentioned a single time.
Tom Wager has the word auditor on his linked in page, but it is enclosed in quotation marks. I'm Delaware's "auditor"

Tuesday Open Thread [10.21.14]

1 Comment
Here is our massive, and I do mean massive, polling dump from the last 10 days. ALASKA—GOVERNOR Rasmussen: Bill Walker (I) 50, Gov. Sean Parnell (R) 41 Hickman Analytics--R: Gov. Sean Parnell (R) 46, Bill Walker (I) 38 CBS/YouGov: Bill Walker (I) 45, Gov. Sean Parnell (R) 40 ALASKA—SENATOR Hickman Analytics--R: Dan Sullivan (R) 46, Sen. Mark Begich (D) 41 Rasmussen: Dan Sullivan (R) 48, Sen. Mark Begich (D) 45 Come inside for more.......