Thursday Open Thread [4.10.14]

2 Comments
Republicans are acting all indignant on behalf of women, saying "how dare the Democrats talk about about equal pay for women!!! That's insulting to women!!" Booman:
[W]hile [Republicans are] opposing [Democratic] efforts they are attempting to distort the Democrats' position to make it seem like the Democrats think that the entirety of the problem with disparity in pay is due to simple gender discrimination. The Democrats have not made that argument, but it's a blessing that the Republicans seem to think that women will be receptive to it. This is an example of being wrong even if you're right. Simply by making the argument that women aren't discriminated against in the workplace, you piss off most women.
And we have lots of polling goodness inside today.
General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Thurs., April 10, 2014.

General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Thurs., April 10, 2014.

4 Comments
Yesterday was a light day. The Senate worked and passed a series of noncontroversial measures, some of which I previously discussed here. The Gun Down the Gray Fox bill made it out of committee. The Dream Act bill didn't. Priorities, people.  BTW, projected annual cost of the Dream Act bill, according to the Fiscal Note? Just over $40K/year. Here's the entire Session Activity Report. The Governor has 51 million reasons to root for passage of HB 265(Schwartzkopf) in the Senate today. The bill raises $51 million in increased annual corporate fees. Since the bill requires a 3/5 super-majority vote, 13 yes votes are required. Don't think the bill would be on the Senate Agenda if all 13 D's were not on board, but we shall see. The over/under on how long it takes Governor Markell to sign the bill? 30 minutes. I'm taking the under.
Wednesday Open Thread [4.9.14]

Wednesday Open Thread [4.9.14]

9 Comments
Come inside to watch a video from Randall Paul, which some pundits are saying will end his 2016 candidacy because he dared question Dick Cheney, the Iraq War and the military industrial complex. I am not so sure. David Corn explains:
Critics of President George W. Bush and Cheney have long assailed the pair for pushing a WMD-centered case for war that was false and questioned their reasons and motives for invading Iraq. But it's notable that a member of the Senate who might be a leading contender for the GOP's 2016 presidential nomination thinks that the most recent Republican vice president snookered the nation into war to boost profits for a company he once steered.
This is not news to us. We long believed that this was what Cheney did. We believed it then, in 2002 and 2003. And we were proven right. But we are dirty liberals, right? Who cares if we are always right. We're "libruls!!!!!" Now that a libertarian-tea-party-conservative-clinton-hater confused Republican is saying it, finally, the notion that Dick Cheney committed treason may finally sink in.
Courtship Republican Style

Courtship Republican Style

18 Comments
I don't get it.  Seriously, I just don't get it.  Republicans openly acknowledge that they have women issues.  They don't pretend they don't exist, so why in the world is their new "wooing women" strategy based on insulting women?  And the Republican statements over the gender pay gap give a stunning insight into how the GOP sees women.
Tuesday Open Thread [4.8.14]

Tuesday Open Thread [4.8.14]

3 Comments
Looks like I was right yesterday when I said someone had flipped on Christie. I was just wrong on who had flipped. Instead of Kelly, it appears that David Wildstein has flipped. Meanwhile, Jeb Bush is getting a lot of pub recently. Hell, even he is speaking about illegal immigration being an act of love rather than a crime, which should eliminate him as a contender for the GOP nomination. But establishment types are talking him up because he is all they have right now. Christie is gone (see above). The rest of the bland midwestern governors stand no chance against Hillary, and that is assuming they all win reelection (and some of them won't). So who is left besides Ted Cruz and Rand Paul? Jeb Bush. But don't get your tickets for Clinton v. Bush II: The Sequel just yet. Also, this New Yorker cover is awesome...
General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Tues., April 8, 2014

General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Tues., April 8, 2014

1 Comment
Same day registration/voting is coming to Delaware. HB 105(Viola) passed the House, 24-15, last Thursday. Two putative D's, John Atkins and Bill 'Lumpy' Carson, voted no. No R's voted yes.  I look for a 12-9 yes vote in the Senate. Karen Weldin Stewart loses yet more of her authority if SB 178(Peterson) passes. The bill 'transfers authority for state-approved motor vehicle accident prevention (defensive driving) courses from the Department of Insurance to the Division of Motor Vehicles'.  A classic example of the state adding by subtracting. The less KWS can screw up, the better.  When you think about it, it's pretty amazing that we have two elected public officials in whom virtually nobody in state government has any confidence. KWS and Chip Flowers. Said lack of confidence is totally justified. Weird.
Monday Open Thread [4.7.14]

Monday Open Thread [4.7.14]

7 Comments
I missed this on Friday because I was busy with work, but the US Attorney in New Jersey has convened a grand jury to investigate Governor Christie's involvement.
"The convening of the grand jury is evidence that the U.S. Attorney's investigation has progressed beyond an inquiry and moved to the criminal phase." Newark Star Ledger: "Legal experts say the hearing of grand-jury testimony is an important development that means U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman has accumulated enough evidence to move past a preliminary inquiry into the controversial lane closings and into a grand jury investigation of them."
Indeed. If there wasn't something there, there would be no grand jury investigation. Another question: why did Chris Christie's administration trash Bridgett Kelly in their "independent" report? She seems to be a key player in all of this, and could sink Christie if there really is something there there. It seems stupid to antagonize her. Well, the trashing of Kelly and the convening of the Grand Jury tells me that Kelly has flipped and is providing state's evidence. So now Christie et al are trashing her credibility.