Republican Shutdown and Default Apocalypse Open Thread, Day 14

Republican Shutdown and Default Apocalypse Open Thread, Day 14

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Today is Columbus Day (if you are in South Dakota, this is Native American Day) so much of the government (Feds and state) is REALLY closed, as are many other companies. But this is Day 14 of the Republican Shutdown and here is the state of the government as I understand it:
  • Obamacare is alive and no longer a GOP hostage
  • The Government is still shutdown and the GOP wants to keep it as a hostage
  • The debt Ceiling has not been raised and is still a GOP hostage -- although there are plenty of noises this morning looking to raise the debt ceiling
  • Various Federal parks or monuments are opening using state funds, and good luck getting those back from this Congress.
Announcing the 62 Project

Announcing the 62 Project

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I am El Somnambulo, and I'm a listaholic. Today I announce The 62 Project, which will ultimately yield my rankings of legislators from 1 to 62. However, I intend for it to be much more than just a list. I will write a selective bio, some brief, some lengthy, on each state legislator. I want to give people who don't really know the legislators that well the opportunity to know them better. For better or worse. I also don't want this to be just a snarkfest, although, to put it mildly, THERE WILL BE SNARK. Lots of it. Hey, can't help myself. So, how have I ranked the legislators?
Late Night Video — Eric Cantor Has Control of the House CR

Late Night Video — Eric Cantor Has Control of the House CR

Interesting, yes? The House GOP quietly passed a rule change on October 1 that changes the House rules from letting any member of the House bring forward a bill with amendments WITHOUT the amendments; to only Eric Cantor can bring ask for a vote on a bill with controversial amendments WITHOUT the amendments. Go that? Apparently they went to this length of changing the rules so that they could continue to control their caucus -- even when they would weaken as the government shutdown persisted. Contrast that with Harry Reid hanging on to the filibuster. The GOP loudly has been wringing its hands and warning that changing the filibuster rules would be a "nuclear event" in the Senate. But here we have the House GOP going so far as to making certain that their guys face all of the damage being done to them -- and they made this rule change while no one was looking. No reason to come to any accommodation with these fools any time soon, I'm thinking. If they want to burn down the house, make sure they are firmly locked in it. This is Chris Val Hollen on the House floor showing how the new rule works (a little over 5 minutes):
Why is the Delaware NAACP Bullying Councilwoman Lisa Diller?

Why is the Delaware NAACP Bullying Councilwoman Lisa Diller?

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This past Tuesday, the NCCo County Council met for usual business, but ended with an extraordinary bit of public commentary directing actual threats at Councilwoman Lisa Diller. We talked about the original incident here. But the NAACP President, Richard Smith, read a letter into the record that you can hear via the County's audio of the meeting. The full meeting is about 30 minutes long, but if you go to about the 26 minute mark you can hear from Mr. Smith and Mr. Roosevelt Nichols (not sure I heard the name correctly) who read the letter sent to Ms. Diller. The letter recommends that Ms. Diller take Diversity Training and Anger Management Training. It also says that "...we will monitor your future County Council behavior from now on." (my transcription of the audio). Mr. Smith then takes the mike to also recommend Diversity Training and ask for a meeting with Ms. Diller. And if that doesn't happen, "We'll do what we have to do -- you can take that any way you want to." 'Refuse to take the black community for granted" and he'd have 14-18 NAACP states here to protest or something. Got that? The Delaware NAACP suits up in County Council to defend the indefensible behavior of Bernard Pepukayi -- that behavior being an inept dodge of a valid request from a Council Member for a briefing on a the status of an appeal of a recent court decision in the Pike Creek Golf Course case.

Republican Shutdown and Default Apocalypse Open Thread, Day 12

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Here is the current state of negotiations as I understand it:
  • Obamacare is alive and no longer a hostage
  • The government is still shutdown and still a GOP hostage
  • The debt limit is still a GOP hostage
  • White House talks with the House are done or stalled -- it looks like the President is not negotiating  with the threat of shooting hostages on the table still
  • White House is talking with the GOP in the Senate who are trying to get a 6-month plan to open the government and and the borrowing limit extended through January.
Making Teajhadis Cry — Delaware Edition

Making Teajhadis Cry — Delaware Edition

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Chris Coons leads Christine O'Donnell in a new poll for the upcoming U.S. Senate race -- 50-27.  50-27! That is the result of a poll recently (before the government shutdown) from University of Delaware’s Center for Political Communication:
The Center for Political Communications acting director Paul Brewer says often times early polling simply reflects candidate name recognition, but he does not believe that’s the case here after the well-publicized race between Coons and O’Donnell in 2010. “I know from other poll results that Coons and O’Donnell were equally familiar to the public,” said Brewer. “Coons does not have a substantial name recognition lead over O’Donnell. It’s more reflecting that views of him are more favorable than they are of O’Donnell.” Brewer adds the 50-27 spread in this poll is similar to the result in the 2010 race, which Coons won by 57-40 margin.
Looks like O'Donnell is going to have to cast quite the spell to make up this ground. AND it looks to me like Coons has plenty of room here to sign on to Mark Begich's Fix Social Security Bill. Which I still don't know why he hasn't.
Dear Tipsters – I owe you a beer.

Dear Tipsters – I owe you a beer.

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This is a shout out of thanks to all of our tipsters. Sometimes they go right up and you get instant gratification and sometimes they sit and percolate for a while. Sometimes we ignore them because we don't want to give the jerks in question (gun nuts) the notoriety that are looking for. Sometimes we ignore them because we are lazy or not interested. That doesn't mean that we don't love our tipsters, so keep 'em coming! And if we ever cross paths, say - "Hey I sent you that tip that one time." and I'll say, "Hey let me buy you a beer." then I'll put that beer on Delaware Dem's tab - because what am I, made of money?
Vance Phillips continues to prove that It pays to be a good old boy in a good old boy’s network

Vance Phillips continues to prove that It pays to be a good old boy in a good old boy’s network

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Here is some less than surprising news:
A judge ordered attorneys for the woman who brought a sexual assault case against Sussex County Councilman Vance Phillips to keep medical and financial documents confidential, including records that show he (sic - nice one NJ!) was a crime victim. Attorneys for Katelynn Dunlap, who filed a civil lawsuit against Phillips seeking unspecified damages, had opposed the secrecy measure as unnecessary for a personal injury case and suggested it was an effort to silence her or make the litigation more difficult for her. During the hour-long hearing, that neither Phillips nor Dunlap attended, both sides accused the other of trying the case in the press.
Republican Shutdown and Default Apocalypse Open Thread, Day 11

Republican Shutdown and Default Apocalypse Open Thread, Day 11

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Here is the current situation from what I can tell: Obamacare is alive and it is no longer a hostage. The Government is still shut down and the House is still trying to keep it as a hostage. The Debt Ceiling limit might be extended a few weeks (maybe a few months), but the GOP is still trying to keep it as a hostage. The GOP is really being beat up in the court of public opinion.