Friday Open Thread, June 10, 2016

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Matt Yglesias says the Warren endorsement of Hillary matters:
An early endorsement of Clinton by Warren could have helped the former Secretary of State in the primaries. This late in the process it can’t possibly make a difference, since Clinton has already won. But where it can make a difference is in persuading Bernie Sanders’ supporters to get over their campaign-season anti-Clinton feelings and hop on board. That’s because, like Barack Obama and Joe Biden, Warren is very popular with Sanders supporters, including Sanders supporters who say they won’t vote for Clinton in the general election. And while Warren’s support is less significant than Obama's in this regard, it carries more weight than Obama’s with a small but potentially influential group of thought-leaders and ideological activists. Anti-Clinton Bernie fans who also like Obama are basically confused about where the various politicians stand. Warren is different. Ideologically speaking, she’s considerably closer to Sanders than she is to Clinton or Obama. Specifically she is the most prominent enemy of Wall Street and big banks in American politics, and if she says progressives should get over Goldman Sachs speeches and back Clinton that carries weight.
Not everyone is happy about it. I had to unfriend someone on Facebook who called Warren a "sellout c---" for endorsing Hillary. And if you look at Warren's Facebook page, you will find similar if not identical sentiments. I am thankful beyond words that our Sanders supporters here at DL are nice and reasonable people. ;) And I am thankful that the vast majority of Bernie's supporters are reasonable people, who, in the end, will come aboard and unite as one campaign.
Delaware Political Weekly: June 3-9, 2016.

Delaware Political Weekly: June 3-9, 2016.

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We're gonna do something different this week.  I've put together a list of candidates/incumbents who have not yet filed.  It's an interesting list, and, in some cases, provides insight onto the candidates themselves. Especially at the very beginning: GOVERNOR: John Carney continues his rope-a-dope with Delaware voters.  His non-candidacy candidacy reeks of cynicism and dismissiveness of the public.  He keeps coming up with rationales for pushing back his candidacy/filing. First, it was something like a 6-month deference to Beau, then it was a hip operation (or was it, more optimistically, a brain or heart transplant?). Now it's so as to not interfere with the work of this governor and the General Assembly. We all know the real reasons: (1) He doesn't have to do anything as the coronation is well under way; and (2) He has no vision to share, so why dredge up just how uninspiring he was eight years ago? The Democratic Party deserves criticism for not at least trying to get him out there.  By 'out there', I don't mean empty glad-handing. He's doing lots of that. No, I mean, what does he stand for?  Let me give you just one example. The Delaware State Chamber of Commerce recently bestowed an award on Carney, and Carney was only too happy to show up to receive it.  The State Chamber of Commerce is now on record as wanting and planning to gut Delaware's Coastal Zone Act.  How does Chamber award recipient Carney feel about that? He ain't talkin'. Cynicism all around. Colin Bonini hasn't filed either, meaning the only major party filed gubernatorial candidate is Lacey Lafferty. My theory? BFFs Carney and Bonini will file together and then hold a joint Bar-Bro-Que where Bonini can crack quips and Carney can try to muster up a smile.
Warren And Clinton Meet Today

Warren And Clinton Meet Today

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Via The Hill: Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) will meet privately with presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton on Friday, the Washington Post reported. The meeting comes one day after Warren…

Obama Endorses Hillary, First Campaign Appearance next week

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Following a private meeting with President Barack Obama at the White House on Thursday, Sen. Bernie Sanders announced that he is willing to work together with Hillary Clinton to defeat Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president. "I look forward to meeting with her in the near future to see how we can work together to defeat Donald Trump and create a government which represents all of us and not just the one percent," Sanders told reporters outside the White House. "I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure Donald Trump does not become President of the United States." The Vermont senator, however, stopped short of endorsing Clinton, telling reporters he had no intention of dropping out of the race for the Democratic nomination just yet. About 20 minutes ago, both the Clinton campaign and the White House released the above Obama Endorsement Video and announced that the Obama-Clinton duo will have their first joint campaign appearance on June 15 in the Green Bay, Wisconsin area.
Delaware General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Thurs., June 9, 2016

Delaware General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Thurs., June 9, 2016

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Let’s start with (what I think is) the most interesting bill on today’s docket, and see what you think about it. HB 375 (Bolden) changes the date of Delaware’s primaries from September to the ‘fourth Tuesday in April’. I used to strongly support making the primaries earlier, thought September was too late, but now, I’m not so sure. I think that April is too early. The reason the April date has been chosen is because that’s the date of Delaware’s presidential primary. For now. But that date has floated around for years (remember when Delaware wanted to go head-to-head with New Hampshire?), and there is nothing to guarantee that won’t happen again. Especially since the rules of the respective parties at the national level can and generally do change every four years. Here’s what’s even worse, IMHO. With an April primary, the filing deadline would be pushed into late February. Meaning, assuming that an incumbent files and isn’t challenged, then announces that they won’t run after the primary date has passed, the party voters would be shut out of the nomination process. It would be done by the district committee and/or county party. It would circumvent democracy, much like Rebecca Walker did in the 9th RD by delaying her announcement until after the July filing deadline. Only it would be in February. I understand the mantra that campaigns are too long, and they are. However, this bill essentially makes campaign primaries shorter and general election campaigns longer. Except that, in many races, the primary election is the general election. Would we be better off if, say, the primary for US Congress and Mayor of Wilmington were decided in April? I think the advantage would invariably shift to the ‘established’ candidates at the expense of insurgent candidates. While I think that June would be a desirable alternative, legislators are not gonna support that with the current legislative calendar. As written, I think that the bill protects incumbents and the parties at the expense of challengers, so I don’t support it. But, what do YOU think?

Thursday Open Thread, June 9, 2016

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Ed Kilgore sees two conditions that would need to be present before the GOP resorts to the nuclear option of dumping Trump:
The first would be a widespread abandonment of Trump by the very party opinion-leaders who have been climbing aboard his bandwagon in the last few weeks — a mass exodus on the “off-ramp” Graham is talking about. The second and more important development would be a radical change in the rank-and-file sentiment — which was strongly evident long before Trump appeared to have nailed down the nomination — opposing any kind of “coup” against the primary results.
Yeah, dumping Trump won't work because they you will piss off all those voters who elected him the nominee in the first place. You need them to vote this fall to keep Republicans across the land in office. If they stay home: Boom. Democrats sweep everything. The Republicans are in a no win situation of their own making and I am getting the popcorn:
Open Thread for Wednesday, June 8, 2016

Open Thread for Wednesday, June 8, 2016

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So that's it. It's over. Pardons of course to the residents of the District of Columbia who get to vote next week, but it's over. Hillary won a rather commanding double digit victory in California, won close races in South Dakota and New Mexico, lost a close race in Montana, lost a caucus in North Dakota, and scored a Maryland-style blowout win in New Jersey. In so doing, she clinches majority leads in the popular votes, in states/territories won, in pledged delegates, in all delegates. By every single metric there is, she is the nominee. And I hope everyone takes a minute, to reflect on that. We have just nominated the first woman Presidential candidate to lead our party in American history. What took us so long? It is a historic moment that will be remembered by our great grand children. It will be in the history books. Indeed, we are living in an era right now that will be spoken of in 100 years with awe. The election of the nation's first black President followed by the election of the first woman President. Stop and appreciate it for a little bit. I fell asleep before Bernie's speech last night, but I have seen it described as a deescalation of tensions if not the beginning of a stand down. Senator Sanders is due to meet in Washington tomorrow, at his request, with the President of the United States and Senator Harry Reid. I expect that during both meetings with Obama and Reid, Bernie will be offered incentives to bow out gracefully now. Everything from certain platform concessions, changes to the primary process, and declarations that he will be the leader of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and the Progressive Wing of the party, and encouraging him and Jane to form a progressive campaign organization that will elect mini-Bernies across the land. Where there are carrots, there are also sticks to make it apparent to Bernie that if a graceful exit is not achieved, there will be consequences. But let's be positive and not speak of that right now. I choose to believe that Bernie, after resting and reflecting after some much need sleep, will do the right thing.