Tuesday Open Thread [2.4.14]

Tuesday Open Thread [2.4.14]

2 Comments
Philip Klein is shocked at the House speaker’s decision to pursue immigration reform in the lead-up to midterm elections:
If immigration reform passes, it will boost Democrats’ prospects in 2014 by demoralizing the GOP base and elevating President Obama, who just delivered a State of the Union Address that tacitly acknowledged he could no longer achieve anything major. If it fails again due to a conservative backlash, then it will trigger another wave of Democratic attacks on Republicans for being anti-Hispanic
Excellent
PDD-DL Vote Tracker is Back

PDD-DL Vote Tracker is Back

2 Comments
The General Assembly has been session for a couple weeks now, but this is your first Vote Tracker Update of the year. Why? Well, because the General Assembly has been slow to tackle the bills we have been tracking. To be fair, one week was cut short by both the Governor's State of the State and a crippling blizzard, but we finally got some action last week when Senate Bill 6, the mimimum wage increase, passed. Not to sound ungrateful, but I hereby call on someone in the General Assembly to introduce a new minimum wage increase bill immediately. Why? Well, President Obama is raising future federal contract minimum wages to $10.10 and called on the states and businesses to likewise act on their own without Congress to increase the minimum wage to $10.10. So now $8.25 effective NEXT year sounds quite paltry, even Scroogish. Hey business leaders and the vaunted Chamber of Commerce and all the state Democrats who are either paid off by the Chamber or live in fear of it, $10.10 is nothing. If the minimum wage kept pace with inflation since the 1960's, do you know what the minimum wage would be today? $22.00 an hour. So suffice it to say, the fight begins anew, and from the progressive point of view, while our legislators will be thanked for voting for a progressive priority in raising the minimum wage, they must do more, starting with this session.
Monday Open Thread [2.3.14]

Monday Open Thread [2.3.14]

10 Comments
Paul Waldman thinks Hillary makes Republicans not see or think straight. Because they hate her and Bill so much.
To take just one example, if Hillary runs, we’re going to be hearing a lot about Benghazi, because Republicans are not only sure she did something scandalous, they’re also sure that if they just hammer away at it long enough, everybody else will become convinced, too. But just like with Bill’s impeachment, exactly the opposite is likely to happen: the more they talk about it, the more voters will become convinced that they’ve taken leave of their senses.
And as if on cue, Rand Paul brings up Lewinsky.
Your Solutions To America’s Rate Of Violence?

Your Solutions To America’s Rate Of Violence?

33 Comments
We read nearly daily of mall and school slaughters in our country? Our prisons and courts are brimming with violent offenders. Petty garden variety shootings are an everyday occurrence on our city streets. New and better data on physical violence within families and rape and molestations in the military suggests we're just discovering the tip of the iceberg on violence in our society. In this the richest country in the world? What are your solutions?
The Progressive Republican

The Progressive Republican

31 Comments
TheProgressiveRepublican.net ...If I was a younger man out to fix the world, that's the blog I'd start. Maybe I will anyway. 49 is the new 41. Anyway, that's the growth industry; Sane Republicanism. That's the blue sky, "the future is ours for the taking" position. The teabags have run their course. They's had their angry day in the sun thanks to the election of a non-white President. They were the dying gasp of Nixon's cynical southern strategy. A mere four years after their great mid-term election triumph, the leaders of that movement are scattered and demoralized. Who talks about Ted Cruz anymore? There will be another debt ceiling increase in five days that will pass without a peep from the people who said that debt ceiling fights, and debt hysteria were going to be the killer apps of the 20-teens. So what next? Some counter movement must be stirring somewhere. Even though I can't see it or hear it, I know it is out there. There must be some folks who come from the Eisenhower wing of the party. Right? If there isn't, there should be. I mean, I can sketch out a Progressive Republican manifesto right off the top of my head. Come inside for more...
Will the DEGOP really allow Beau, Chris and John to have free walks?

Will the DEGOP really allow Beau, Chris and John to have free walks?

4 Comments
Celia mentioned the sad state of Delaware's second political party last week:
...So far, the (DEGOP) has nobody for senator, representative or attorney general, Tom Wagner for re-election as auditor, and only a chance at a primary for treasurer, if Ken Simpler Jr. is joined in the race by Colin Bonini, a state senator who ran the last time.
But is it really conceivable that Charlie Copeland's DEGOP will be MORE incompetent that Sig's?
Vote for Bike Delaware Now!

Vote for Bike Delaware Now!

5 Comments
Bicycling magazine is conducting its annual survey of the best of local biking advocacy groups and our own Bike Delaware is on the list of nominees. They are nominated for ending the Share the Road idea -- controversial, but highly ambiguous in noting exactly *who* was expected the Share the Road. Apparently motorists thought it was cyclists who were doing the sharing and cyclists thought it was motorists. Getting rid of that sign removes the ambiguity and was an idea that even DelDOT's traffic engineers loved