Tag: Featured
2014: The Year for Primaries in Delaware [Updated with Townsend Statement]
![2014: The Year for Primaries in Delaware [Updated with Townsend Statement]](http://delawareliberal.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Kowalko.Townsend.Flowers.Barney-240x180.png "2014: The Year for Primaries in Delaware [Updated with Townsend Statement]")
The chart is starting to fill in. But a lot of candidate recruiting remains, especially on the Republican side. One trend is clear: 2014 will feature a lot of primaries. Which makes some sense to a certain extent. Delaware is in many ways a one party state now. Some voters and some candidates recognize that and join the dominant majority party (the Democrats) and then the Democratic Primary is now the only place where there is a competitive election. Perhaps that is why we already have a primary for the 18th Senate District between Gary Wolfe and Patrick Emory.
Other primaries result from the actions and performance of the incumbent in office. These kind of primaries take three forms. First, you can have an organic, grass roots affair with a progressive newcomer challenging an entrenched establishment figure. That was certainly the case with Senator Tony Deluca v. Bryan Townsend in 2012. Second, you can have an incumbent so incompetent and/or vulnerable that multiple challengers enter the race. Indeed, the incumbent might be so incompetent and vulnerable that even the state party establishment will turn its back and endorse one of the challengers. And example of this is the 2012 Insurance Commissioner’s race with Karen Weldin Stewart, Mitch Crane, Dennis Spivak and Paul Gallagher. Finally, you can have a situation where the incumbent has pissed off the establishment in some way. It could be that the incumbent is rightfully (or wrongfully) challenging the status quo. Or it could be that the incumbent has several scandals that are damaging to the party’s chances of keeping the office should the incumbent be the nominee. Or it could be both, if your name is Chip Flowers. And so the establishment puts up a candidate against the incumbent in the hopes that the incumbent will lose.
Witness to Innocence Comes to Delaware
These events are sponsored by the Delaware Repeal Project. Witness to Innocence is a group of 15 death row exonerees who are visiting to discuss how flawed the death penalty truly is. I’ve taken the text describing all of these events directly from their FB Event page. Hope to see you at some of these, and be sure to invite your State Rep or Senator too:
The General Assembly is Back to Work and It Is Open Bamboozlement Season for the DE GOP
In the past couple of days, the DE GOP (almost extinct) has taken to the NJ editorial pages to push more of their innumerate BS — going back to their message of having all The Government You Can Eat for free. Even though that is not true, they’ve decided that no one will get the math — apparently taking their cue from Colin Bonnini. Both are taking aim at the .10/gallon gas tax proposal, and neither grapple with the fact that there are 1) real costs to getting road improvements and repairs done, 2) there have to be revenues to pay for those costs, or 3) be very clear about what improvements, repairs and programs they would be willing to see die on the vine in order to get the budget in shape:
Trans-Pacific Partnership: Corporations Reign Supreme
You might have read that the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, developed under the auspices of the Obama Administration is currently stymied, bottled up in both the House and the Senate, with lots of opposition. Let’s count our blessings while we can on this one. Here’s why, in a nutshell.
A Tale of Two Democrats
Or at least two types of Democrats.
Yesterday, Senator Bernie Sanders and 15 other Democratic Senators sent a letter to President Obama urging him to not cut Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid in his FY15 budget. It won’t be much of a surprise to most of the readers here to find that neither Senator Carper or Coons signed on to this letter. Interestingly, Senator Coons voted to restore the cuts to military pensions and Carper voted against them. So take a look at what a group of Democrats genuinely interested in the well-being of middle class and working class people urged the President:
Today, retirement insecurity is as high as it has ever been. Only one in five workers in the private sector has a defined benefit pension plan; half of Americans have less than $10,000 in savings; and two-thirds of seniors rely on Social Security for a majority of their income.
Given this reality, we respectfully urge you not to propose cutting Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid benefits in your Fiscal Year 2015 budget.
In good times and bad, Social Security has succeeded in keeping millions of senior citizens, widows, orphans, and persons with disabilities out of extreme poverty. Before Social Security was developed, about half of our seniors lived in poverty; today senior poverty is down to 9.1 percent. Without Social Security, one-third of senior citizens would have virtually no earnings at all.
Social Security has not contributed one penny to the deficit. Social Security has a surplus of more than $2.7 trillion and can pay every single benefit owed to every eligible American for the next 19 years.
Missouri Lawmaker Wants To Make Biology Class An Elective
Fact: You cannot teach biology without evolution.
Several years ago, my 10th grade son was taking AP Bio. My Bio major (and quite successful immunologist today) brother asked to see his textbook. When I (art major sister) asked why, my brother said, “Just wanted to make sure the textbook started off with evolution. It does, so all is fine.”
Which brings us to this nonsense:
Beau Biden is planning something, but he is skipping over a step…..
It is time to come clean with your fellow Delawareans. We are adults. We can accept and understand any kind of news, good, bad or even horrible, every day. But first, Celia Cohen:
Beau Biden collected more than $1 million in political contributions in 2013. This does not look like the conduct of a sick man. This looks like the conduct of a man who wants to be regarded as a future candidate for governor. Not that anybody is saying. Not that anybody ever does. It is all still supposed to be about Biden running for a third term as attorney general in 2014.
“He has not made any bones about his love of public service. At this point he has not made any decisions. He’s always taken it one year at a time,” said Molly Magarik, who manages Biden’s political operation.
Money talks, and maybe this money is as close as Delaware is going to get to a statement about Biden’s wellbeing.
Well, Biden will need more than fundraising as proof of his wellbeing before he proceeds with whatever plans he has, especially if he intends to run against Matt Denn for Governor.
Delaware Democratic Party: Is Anybody Home?
Coming up on my first year in Delaware, I’ve periodically visited the DelDems website and Facebook page. I’ve been looking for signs of life. I’ve called the Executive Director, who now appears to be gone, trying to get an appointment to learn what his going on, and come up with what we called in Texas, a dry hole. I’ve made fairly desperate attempts to contact Ward leadership to learn of meeting schedules and contacts. Nothing. Nada.
Chip Flowers and the Unraveling Details
Dan Gaffney had Chip Flowers on his program yesterday to talk about the press release that Chip sent out trumpting how much money the Treasury has made for the state. The conversation rapidly gets to other subjects, but it occurs to me that even Chip can no longer keep track of his own spin. You can listen to the interview here, it’s about 10 minutes long.
Your Solutions To America’s Rate Of Violence?
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
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…
General Assembly Post-Game Wrap-Up/Pre-Game Show: Thurs., Jan. 30, 2014
Brother, can you spare a dime a gallon for a $500 million boost to Delaware’s economy? A jobs creator and a massive infrastructure upgrade? House Majority Leader Val Longhurst has already said she won’t do it, regardless of the number of constituents in her district who will earn meaningful wages for their families. I hope she is in the minority. I hope that the unions who previously supported her are paying attention. With a gallon of gas well north of $3 a gallon, let’s be honest here. That additional 10 cents should hardly be a deal-breaker. But we shall see. The General Assembly has a minimum of six weeks, starting at the end of today’s session, to consider whether a $500 million boost to the state’s economy is in the economic interests of the people who live and try to work here. It’s all about the jobs, as far as I’m concerned. By far the biggest issue facing the General Assembly this term.
Here is what happened in Dover since my last post. The Box Bill passed the House by a 31-8 margin. None of the no votes will surprise you. The bill now goes to the Senate.
The minimum wage hike bill got plenty of love from the Business Lapdog Committee this time, and made it to the floor. 6 favorable, one on its merits, and 3 unfavorable. Amazing what six months of reflection can do.
Come inside for more…
Whacky Idea: Go Directly To The Richest 400
Here’s a whacky idea that may not be totally crazy. This is inspired by the 2014 SOTU brilliantly delivered by my President.
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