Tag Archives: Joe Biden

‘Bulo Went to a Memorial Service…and the Veep Showed Up

Talk about your ‘Only in Delaware’ moments! 

The Beast Who Slumbers attended a memorial service at the Arden Gild Hall today for Robert Cunningham. Bob was a true progressive, fiercely committed to civil rights long before there was a civil rights movement, and fiercely loyal to Joe Biden and to his family. He was also one of Biden’s earliest champions, and served as speechwriter to the Senator for 23 years. His obituary doesn’t begin to capture the depth of the man. El Somnambulo knew Bob from Democratic politics and especially through the delightful conversations on politics and sports that Bob would engage in at the Arden Club suppers.  Bob always had so much to share, and he delighted in sharing it.

So, it was at this low-key, but very moving, memorial service, as one speaker put it, “Part Irish wake,  part Quaker meeting”,  that the Vice President of the United States got up and spoke from the heart about his longtime friendship with Bob Cunningham. He talked about their exploits together in Arden, where Bob spent many of his formative years and where Biden lived briefly. He talked about how Bob was there in the family’s darkest moments and proudest triumphs. For 30 minutes, he eulogized Cunningham and told many stories, some humorous, some touching, and some both.

While Secret Service was present, they were very low-key and did not intrude at all on this very personal event.

‘Bulo does not know whether this could have taken place in any other state in the country. He does know that Delaware is just so fortunate that events like this happen here. And the State is especially fortunate that people like Joe Biden never forget where they came from and will never forget the people who had such a profound influence on them. People like Bob Cunningham. People who should never be forgotten.

Biden Defends the Warren Choice

Joe Biden will evidently be in Larry King Live tonite and has said this about what the Warren selection means:

…Barack Obama said you’ve got to reach out. You’ve got to reach a hand of friendship across the aisle and across philosophies in this country. We can’t continue to be a red and blue country. We can’t be divided like we have been. And he’s made good on his promise. And I would say to the gay and lesbian community, they have nothing to worry about. Barack Obama, every aspect of his life, every aspect of his public life, and every commitment he’s made relating to equality for all people, will be things that he will stick with and that they should view this in the spirit in which he offered the opportunity to — to Mr. Warren.

There is much more of the Biden interview over at the link. And I’ll apologize in advance for revisiting the Warren discussion again. Biden’s comments here are pretty much the prevailing narrative from the Obama camp on the selection of Warren to give the invocation. If I stand back and look at the pieces on the board, I can see the political calculation in this pick. And given the fact that Warren is being given all sorts of hell from the right for accepting, there is something to be said for a method to madness. But in spite of the possibilities for political gain thee really ought to be a line. And while I doubt that the Inauguration team won’t endorse any parties being held at and catered by country clubs that don’t admit black people or women as members, it is just as hard to accept having someone up on the Inauguration dais who explicitly and frequently speaks out against the civil rights for one group of Americans. Being able to “do business” with Warren just isn’t enough on the day where we remind the world of American democratic ideals.

Announcing the Delaware Liberal Inaugural Weekend Festivities

We, the writers of Delaware Liberal, were bummed that there seemed to be no way of getting our team down to the Inauguration or to attend one of the prestigious Inaugural Balls in Washington.  So we have decided to celebrate the occasion of the inauguration of Obama/Biden and Markell/Denn right here in Delaware.

Jack Markell has urged Delawareans to give back to the community to celebrate his victory, so we wanted to do something to honor that request.  So, along with the Progressive Democrats for Delaware and Drinking Liberally, DelawareLiberal and it’s readers will gather at 9AM on January 24th at the Food Bank of Delaware off of Rt 72 in Newark to help the Food Bank with packing food for distribution to various organizations that provide sustenance to the less fortunate of Delaware.  We are asking you and your family to join us for three hours of rewarding work.  Please let me know by emailing liberalgeek at delawareliberal.net.  It will be a great chance to help the community and finally see Donviti do some work.  We only have 30 spots, so be sure to let me know as soon as you can.

After the work, we will have time to play.  We will be throwing our own “Taste of Victory” Inaugural Ball from 7-11PM at Deerfield Fine Wines in Newark.  We will be serving wine, eating tapas style appetizers and hobnobbing with the staff of DelawareLiberal and politicians.  Per Donviti’s request, there will be no dancing.

The price for this event will be $30 per person or $50 per couple.  The event will be upscale dress (no jeans) and will be limited to  21 or older (sorry Mat!).  The proceeds from the evening will go to support Autism Delaware to help them to serve the needs of children and adults with Autism.

To order, use this button:

We anticipate a large turnout, including Matt Denn (and hopefully Jack Markell, too).  I suspect that Obama and Biden are off the table…

Over the next few weeks we will be profiling our charities and telling you their stories.  We hope you will join us in supporting these fine charities and the people that make them go.  We will also provide you with opportunities to contribute monetarily to these charities, even if you cannot attend the event on January 24th.

We have added a new link to the top of the site that will give you the rundown of the events.  Please be sure to check it out for more information.  See you on the 24th.

DEwind: The Week That Was November 17th

Photo by betsythedevine (CC license)

This past week has been a little slow on the Delaware news as blogged by Delaware bloggers. We’ve had the stories that guessed who would suceed Biden as Senator, even a plea for Beau not to to Iraq and another to say he should and Beau saying he’s not interested in his dad’s seat.

Gov.-Elect Markell is asking for ideas on how to fix the state, we gave some and so did Delawonk. What’s not surprsing is that there is agreement across the aisle.

On the state legislative front, the Democrats have picked Michael Migliore to run in the special election for the 6th Representative District. Delaware Watch questions the need for Republicans to show up in the State Senate.

Delaware’s Dan Pfeffier has been named as Deputy Communications Director for the Obama Administration which puts the count to 3 Delawareans who potentially have Obama’s ear.

On State News front, the list of Delaware’s top tax scofflaws has been released and, maybe, Gov. Minner isn’t doing too bad of a job.

Some stories to read from this week are:

Not that you should read this, but just to let you know what the Social Bigots are up to take a gander at Delmar DustPan’s racist joke.

From The Archives:
liberalgeek’s Branson: Vegas on Lithium.

That may be my mantra for this trip. It was a nice town, but it isn’t my bag. I don’t know if I could do this again, let alone every year. The city felt like a cross between a boardwalk and Vegas. But, if you like musicals or country music, or shtick or buffets (OK, I like them, too) you will have a much better time than I.

Why Carney, Why Now?

Ruth Ann Minner must appoint John Carney to the position of US Senator as soon as Joe Biden steps down.  Joe Biden is currently number 5 in seniority in the Senate.  This is a big deal for Delaware.  Joe got his pick of committee assignments, choice accommodations and a bully pulpit for his (Delaware’s) issues.

Check out the anticipated seniority of the incoming Senate.  Currently, the new Senator from Illinois will come in at number 92.  This ranking assumes that Joe Biden doesn’t resign, Ted Stevens gets to stay, and that Norm Coleman wins in Minnesota.  I will grant you that Coleman has a shot of staying, but the other two are foregone conclusions.

This leaves the IL Senator as number 90 (or 89) and makes Delaware number 91.  If you also consider the possibility that John Kerry and Hillary Clinton are being considered for the cabinet (although that may be an either/or issue).  It is even possible that Saxby Chambliss could be a goner.  Speaking of which, there’s Ted Kennedy.

This could put John Carney in the Senate in the high 80’s of seniority.  The very complexion of the Senate is going to change in the next few years and having a Senator that is going to be there for 25 or 30 years, starting now makes Delaware a stronger state.  It took Tom Carper 6 years to rise to the high 80’s in seniority (he will be at 56 once Joe resigns).

How about this, if Ted Stevens wins his hotly contested reelection bid, Sarah Palin could (possibly illegally) appoint herself to the position in the event of his expulsion from the Senate.  Would you really want Sarah Palin being sworn in ahead of John Carney?  Or even one of his rivals?

Joe, please resign.  Ruth Ann, please appoint John Carney.  If not, we run the very real risk of Mike Castle stealing that seat from Beau in an open election in 2010 and having a Senator ranked number 100 and in the minority party.

The Biden Rally at UD

This morning I took a look at my schedule and checked for any issues in my work inbox.  There wasn’t anything burning, so I took some time out of the office to check out the Biden rally on the University of Delaware mall.

I have been wondering what the heck they were doing having a rally in a state that wasn’t worth one iota in this election.  It was safely blue and will only serve as a cherry on top of what may be a big election night.  Sure Joe is from Delaware and it was convenient, if he wanted to spend a night at home before the election, but why not have a rally in Pennsylvania.  The answer was so simple that I walked right past it.

In fact I walked past it a dozen times.  The Obama ground game had come to Delaware to steal our young people away to Pennsylvania for some much needed canvassing.  As I approached the security checkpoint, I was approached by no fewer that 10 volunteers from the University Democrats asking me to make a trip to PA in the next few days.  I have to admit, there were some cute volunteers that I almost considered signing up just based on them.

I was very impressed at how ingenious this plan is.  Sign up these students (who probably have a lot more free time on the weekend than me) and take them on a road trip for a good cause.  It is brilliant.

When we got into the corral area, it was crowded, but not packed.  I think I just made it, because a crowd started building about 50 yards behind us.  I had a pretty crappy sightline to the podium, but it was adequate.  There were speeches by Carper (tankfully short) and Markell.  Thank skydad that they didn’t make Carper kill time before Joe got there, like they did at the J & J Dinner.  I think I would have left.  I swear, if I hear Jobama from him again, I’ll puke.

Markell spoke glowingly of UD and his life as a UD brat.  He had a great joke about how he and Matt Denn were looking forward to riding the Obama/Biden coattails all the way to victory.

Jill Biden introduced Joe.  Jill was in excellent form and gave a moving speech in her own right.  Joe joked in his speech that at some speeches the crowd was chanting Jill, baby, Jill.  I joked to some of the people around me that we could now say “Jill here.  Jill Now.”

Joe was likely making his last speech in Delaware before he becomes Vice President or at least VP-elect.  He made a wide ranging speech about why Obama was the right man for the job.  From foreign policy, to unflappability, to economic stability to social issues.  Joe made the case for Obama that was a perfect summary to all that has happened in the past year.  When Joe mentioned Sarah Palin, there were boo’s in the crowd and joe chided the crowd.  “No, don’t boo her, she is a good person.”  He also referred to McCain as “My friend, John McCain.”  What a difference from what we see from the Palin rallys.

Biden also evoked a theme that has been missing from the Bush/McCain worldview.  Each of us is responsible for helping fix this country.  We will have to sacrifice and work hard to fix the problems facing us.  Bush has been unwilling to ask us to do anything besides shopping and stocking up on duct tape.  That failure of leadership has been inherited by McCain/Palin.  It is an ech of JFK’s “ask not what your country can do for you…”

At the end of the speech, he extended the coattails to Markell and Denn, praising both men for their skills and judgement.  He also reminded everyone that what is really needed, in order to win, is for all of us to help however we can.  It is going to be a tough 4 days, but we are in the homestretch, people.

What are you doing to ensure an Obama victory?

Delaware Liberal General Election Endorsements

We’ll just skip US Senate because it will come as no surprise to anyone that DelawareLiberal is endorsing Joe Biden.

It won’t come as any surprise that DelawareLiberal is endorsing Jack Markell and Matt Denn for Governor and Lt. Governor, respectively. Even though there isn’t much surprise and there isn’t much doubt as to outcome, we do want to say a few words about this race. One of the things that every Democrat (and progressives!) can be proud of is the way that both Markell and Denn have conducted themselves thoughout this campaign. Jack Markell survived a bruising primary with John Carney and survived with his good ideas, dignity and honor intact. While there was plenty of tension (and some incidents that should not have happened) during the primary, Markell always conducted himself with respect for voters and their choices. Denn’s primary was truncated, but he similarly conducted himself with respect and dignity. Honor, respect, dignity and a ton of great ideas for State government are indicators of the kind of temperament and intelligence that would strongly indicate leadership worth trusting in. In contrast, both Bill Lee and Charlie Copeland have conducted themselves in a particularly craven manner — Judge Lee in skipping organized debates and forums during the primary season and both indulging in dishonest advertising (both attack ads and bio ads). Both seem to think that in this election season where Americans have largely decided on having a more serious political debate than usual, that the normal Republican playbook of misrepresenting your opponent’s history, ginning up attacks based on vaporware and trotting out the small government no taxes mantra without having a real plan behind it is simply not enough. Even the idea of splitting up the DN from the REC is an unspeakably small idea at a time when larger, more strategic thinking is needed.

Jack Markell and Matt Denn have demonstrated by their temperament and willingness to engage on issues, as well as by the extensive detail of their plans for governing, that they have more than earned the trust and confidence that the state will be in good hands over these next four challenging years.

US Congress

Delaware Liberal Endorsement: Karen Hartley Nagle

Delaware Liberal enthusiastically endorses Karen Hartley Nagle and believes that all Democrats and all people who put a premium on good government vote for her. Karen’s opponent in the race, Mike Castle, has been a disaster for this state siding with George Bush for the past eight years while claiming to be a moderate. During his time in Congress, Castle has been a useless non-entity as banks deregulated themselves into obscene profits through the 90’s and us into economic calamity.

His voting record is nothing less than horrendous where it concerning the major issues that faced the Congress. Mike Castle is either too old or too beholden to the far right wing of the Republican party to continue representing the deep blue Democratic state of Delaware in the US Congress. There is no need to argue about why he sucks as long as we all agree that he sucks.

Even if Hartley Nagle losses this election it is important for every Democrat to vote against Castle in order to register disapproval of Castle’s voting record and to make it easier for someone to beat Castle in the future.

Insurance Commissioner:

No endorsement.

Jefferson-Jackson Dinner Roundup

Tonight was my first Jefferson-Jackson Dinner and oh what a year to start.  As I travelled down Rt.1 at 5:30 I passed Tommywonk and his lovely date in a convertible with the top down.  Damn, even Tommy looks cool heading out for a great night of wonkiness.  As I walked into the Dover Downs hotel I caught up to Dana Rohrbough and Joe Rogalski, both of the Markell Campaign, they pointed me in the right direction, which was to check in and go through the metal detectors.  Word is that Carper got frisked when he came in, and I bet he liked it.

Once past the Secret Service, I got to have a moment with Jack Markell and then I was off to find a table.  I’ll tell you what, you get some crappy seats when you don’t donate a boatload of money.  I caught up with Mike Matthews while searching and we ended up sitting with Earl Jaques and his family.

Matthews is an awesome person to sit with, because he knows everyone and he laughs at my inane jokes.  His favorite of my jokes this evening was my response to a question about whether Dominque was at the event.  “She’s at the white’s only table,” I said.  He was still chuckling at that one 30 minutes later.

John Kowalko came and hung out with us for a little while.  I cannot decide in my relationship with John whether he is the groupie or if I am.  I think I’m the groupie.

The most interesting person to watch tonight was Karen Weldin Stewart.  I think she must have bet someone that she could shake the hand of every person in the room.  She wasn’t going to let pesky speeches, prayers or awards get between her and her goal, so she worked the tables non-stop.  Literally non-stop.  I really wish she would have stopped.

She seems to have developed a following of haters.  After the festivities, I was polling people to see if any of them knew what exactly McDowell and her did at R-WAY to make money.  I got a lot of blank stares and then wild stories about her financial well-being (or lack thereof).  For a while, she was reportedly hanging out with Tom Savage (her independent opponent who was inexplicably at a Democratic event).

Back to the people that matter, Ruth Ann gave her last address as Governor to the J-J dinner.  Ugh.  It was like a who’s who of crappy Democrats for a while, with Daniello and Minner and later, Carper.  Jack Markell and John Carney both gave excellent speeches that made me proud.  There is absolutely no doubt that the hachet has been buried between these two.  And during Carpers speech, I got the distinct impression that Carney had the inside track on the Senate seat.

Carper must have been given the job of introducing Biden, so as to make Biden look even better by contrast.  Before his speech, I saw him shaking hands with Chris Coons and trying out his new word, “JoeBama”(rhymes with “yo momma”).  During his speech, he wanted everyone to try out his new word.  As I told Cassandra, I kept trying to say it, but every time I opened my mouth, all that came out was STFU.  Next year, let’s not give the job of stalling to Tom Carper.  I would have shot myself, but I would have missed Biden.

When Biden came on stage (you could tell he was coming before he got there because of the Secret Service detail.) the place went wild.  Joe Started off slowly, thanking Minner (ugh), talking about the Bayard Family, and talking about Thurman Adama (ugh).  But once he got going, he kicked ass.  About halfway through, he seemed to find the sweet spot and he opened up his lungs and let loose.  The crowd loved it, and so did I.

Afterward, John Kowalko introduced me to Darlene Battle, of ACORN.  She and I spoke about the bum rap that ACORN has been getting in the past few weeks.  She told me about the calls, emails and death threats that she has gotten in the past 2 weeks.  John couldn’t stop telling me about how much Darlene did.  How she worked 60 hours a week to help the community.  How she went 3 months without a paycheck because things were tight.  I promised Darlene that I would be in touch to set up an interview.

All in all, it was a fun night.  I got to hang with Mike Matthews, Cassandra, Tommywonk, Unstable Isotope and Stella Bluez.  I love our readers, our bloggers and our state.  It was a good evening to be with good people.

Am I going to discuss last night? You betcha!

What happened last night?  Whatever it was, it sure as hell wasn’t a debate.  Let’s start with the obvious.  Ifill sucked.  She honestly deserves the award for the worst debate moderator ever.  All her talk about how she worked on the “debate” questions… Nonsense.  In fact, halfway through the event anyone would be forgiven for thinking they could be Vice President.

Moving on to Biden… Joe did well “debating” with one arm tied behind his back.  How badly did he want to point out Palin’s General McCellan gaffe?  Come on, it must have killed him to bite his tongue lest he be called a sexist bully.  And the fact he won handily is no surprise.  People who answer questions competently and intelligently tend to win.

Okay.  Deep breath.  Sarah Palin…

Is there any defense of her performance last night?  I guess you could say she memorized her talking points and didn’t drool, but beyond that the empress had no clothes.  She was too cute by far, and the winking… WTF?  (Note to McCain Campaign:  Women don’t like that sort of behavior, and while some men like flirts they rarely take them seriously.)  I could focus on her gaffes (McClellan, embassy in Israel, troop levels in Iraq, McCain’s policy on foreclosures), but the sad truth is last night was not about the issues – at least as far as Palin was concerned.  To Palin, last night was a game of dodge ball at best and an audition for the Miss America title at worse.  But maybe I’m being too hard on her.  She has, after all, only been at this for like five weeks.  

In the end, Obama has to be thrilled with Biden’s victory, while McCain continues to demonstrate his deep insight into the female psyche.

End of rant.