Delaware Liberal

With election season bearing down on us like an ethics investigation bearing down on Newt's speakership, I think that it is time to bring back the podcast. I need a new wingman/side kick/partner, and this time I'd like it to be a true partnership. That means I'm looking for someone with the geeky wherewithal to set up an account on a podcasting service and do most of the leg work involved in posting the pod cast.

This morning I was not very impressed with Mitt's attack on Newt, but this afternoon's stuff is much better than I even hoped. Mitt's team is going after Newt's "erratic behavior" and stating flat out that Newt is "unfit to lead" and has a history of “irrational behavior that you do not want in the commander-in-chief.” It is tough stuff that will require Newt to climb down into the gutter.

... whoever finally gets the Republican nomination will be a deeply flawed candidate. And these flaws won't be an accident, the result of bad luck regarding who chose to make a run this time around; the fact that the party is committed to demonstrably false beliefs means that only fakers or the befuddled can get through the selection process. Of course, given the terrible economic picture and the tendency of voters to blame whoever holds the White House for bad times, even a deeply flawed G.O.P. nominee might very well win the presidency. But then what? ... If the dog actually catches the car -- the actual job of running the U.S. government -- it will have no idea what to do, because the realities of government in the 21st century bear no resemblance to the mythology all ambitious Republican politicians must pretend to believe. And what will happen then?

Because it is Va Tech where another high profile shooting took place, it is big news that gunshots were reported on Virginia Tech’s campus this morning.

“Look, for the longest time, Gingrich was not really a factor in this race, he was left for dead at the checkout counter at Tiffany’s,” said David Axelrod, a chief adviser to the president’s re-election bid. “Now he is resurgent and he could be the nominee.”

“You’ve benefited from hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars over the years, so would you be willing to pee into this cup to prove to Florida taxpayers that you’re not on drugs?’’

old guy: Obama is receiving $500 billion from the SEIU & AFSCME. ME: That seems like a lot of money.

One of my favorite things about the holidays is all the Christmas lights outside everyone's homes. Starting tomorrow, I will begin posting pictures on that theme. Since these photos are of people's houses and not of famous Delaware landmarks, buildings or locations, I will not be asking you to identify the house or any other identifying details. These photos will just be for your enjoyment during the holiday season. Feel free to submit your own pictures of your outside decorations too. You can email them to me at delawaredem@delawareliberal.net. If the picture quality is good, it will be posted!

GOP Minority Leader Greg Lavelle, who was redistricted into fellow Republican Deborah Hudson's district, has decided not to primary her and will not seek reelection to the House. Once the new House maps were released and approved, this has always been the assumed path for Lavelle: seek a promotion.

Newt Gingrich is speaking at the RWNJ Republican Conference. He gathered huge applause when he said that if he was elected President he would nominate former half-term Governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin as Secretary of the Interior. Updated: Sorry. It was John Bolton for Secretary of State. Simple mistake, they are equally crazy.

Here is a 2011 idea (modeled on something that they have in Vermont) that I never got around to following through on. (Life intrudes sometimes.)

DELAWARE BUSINESS LEADERSHIP COUNCIL (DBLC) The Need: There is a widespread awareness in the Delaware business community that a well-run state government and successful communities are “good for business.” Unfortunately, the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce, which claims to speak on behalf of Delaware businesses, follows an extreme, right-wing agenda that is primarily concerned with lowering Delaware taxes paid by large multi-national corporations.

Chuck Schumer (D-NY) recently pointed out that the political plates have shifted, and that the GOP is having a “tough time messaging their way out of the box they’ve put themselves in now that the country’s clamoring for fairness for the middle class even if it means higher taxes on wealthy people.” We need to thank OSW and Occupy Delaware for that, because it sure as hell wasn’t “Democratic” Congressman John Carney leading the push back.

Newt will be rehabilitated by the RWNJ media, but in the meantime, you have to give Team Obama and the DNC props on how they’ve dragged down Romney to help Newt.