Tag: Steve Tanzer Delaware
Which Businesses Will YOU Support On Small Business Saturday?
BTW, small businesses shouldn’t be relegated to one day during the holiday season. Shop locally, and support businesses who actually treat both customers and employees like family. All year long. Which, BTW, is how long you should boycott Walmart.
I’ll start…..
So. Who Will Be the Next Speaker of the House?
Today’s bare-bones News-Journal story reports that both Pete Schwartzkopf and Helene Keeley are seeking the position. The News-Journal does not report that each candidate has a slate. If my sources are correct, and it’s not certain that they are, each slate has at least one major head-scratcher on it. Here they are:
Speaker: Pete Schwartzkopf
Majority Leader: Valerie Longhurst (??!!)
Majority Whip: Quin Johnson
vs.
Speaker: Helene Keeley
Majority Leader: Bryon Short
Majority Whip: John Viola (??!!)
I don’t know who will win, but I believe that this contest represents the first clear emergence of different factions within the Caucus.
2012 MVP Award Nominations Are Now Open!
Who will make the 4th Annual MVP (Most Valuable to the Progressive Cause) Awards List?
We’re open for any and all of your suggestions. Here are the criteria:
1. This list is Delaware-specific. Those who most helped the progressive cause in Delaware this year.
2. Nominees need not be progressives to qualify. Both Christine O’Donnell and Tony DeLuca previously made the list. I’m thinking that John Sigler is a shoo-in this year…
3. Nominees do not have to come solely from the political arena. In fact, I would love to recognize those who are doing great work away from the headlines.
4. Nominees will only be considered in the form of on-line responses to this thread. Those submitting nominations must have some supporting statement on behalf of the candidacy.
Deadline for nominations is Sunday, December 9.
When You’ve Lost Rowdy Roddy Piper…
you’ve lost the rasslin’ universe. Especially all the Little Hulksters who said their prayers and took their ‘vitamins’. I’m a proud subscriber to Wrestling Observer/Figure Four Weekly. Make of that what you will, armchair psychoanalysts.
Which is where I got this tidbit:
Roddy Piper was not happy about hearing about what Linda McMahon spent: “Can spend 90 million on losing elections but won’t give the people that earned that money for them medical or retirement help of any kind.” (You see, one way that Vince and Linda ‘built this’ was to designate their superstars as ‘independent contractors’, not employees. Hence, no pensions or health insurance. Oh, and WWE owns the monickers for the characters, so the wrestlers get screwed out of royalty money as well.)
The election was not even as close as it appeared last night. As of a few hours ago, Chris Murphy was ahead 55% to 43% or more than any of the polls indicated. A key difference according to analysts in Connecticut is that women voters did not trust her. Male voters were split on whether she was intentionally misleading people in advertising, while women voters overwhelmingly believed that to be the case. So, her own ads helped do her in.
El Somnambulo Predicts ‘Em All For You
My Delaware predictions, with pithy comments:
President of the United States: Obama/Biden again win Delaware handily. Down-ballot races could well be impacted by (lack of) R enthusiasm, especially upstate.
United States Senate: Tom Carper, Delaware’s senior DLC cheerleader and in effect the Father of Delaware DLC politics, wins easily. Only an egomaniacal madman like Alex Pires could almost turn Carper into a sympathetic figure. There was a viable insurgency campaign to be run against Carper, but Pires chose not to run it.
Continue inside for more…
‘Bulo To Predict ‘Em All For You…
…Wednesday morning at 10 am:
Radio: The Al Mascitti Show-WDEL 1150 AM on your radio dial
Media: Right Here At Delaware Liberal
So, if you think you’ve got any late-breaking Delaware upset specials, now’s the time to persuade me…the piece is completed, but I can always edit it.
Delaware Political Weekly: October 20-26, 2012
We get stuff forwarded to us all the time. From campaigns, from sources, from ’sources’, and from the parties. I call it ‘working the refs’. Part of the game, nothing wrong with it. Even if/when you don’t believe what you’re being fed, the information/propaganda is still worthwhile, b/c it at least gives you an understanding of which races the parties are prioritizing. There can now be no doubt that both the D’s and R’s are intently focusing on the 29th Rep. District, a Clayton/Dover district in Kent County. Incumbent Lincoln Willis is widely viewed in Republican circles as one of the (very few) rising stars in the Party. Were he to win this year, I would not be at all surprised to see him elected to a leadership position within the House Republican Caucus. Challenger Trey Paradee is, at worst, a live underdog in this race. You will recall that he almost defeated incumbent Pam Thornburg four years ago, the district has been redrawn in a manner that would appear to favor Paradee, and Paradee is a great campaigner. The Democratic Party has been touting this race, and the R’s have circled the wagons around Willis. When I featured my “Most Intriguing Races of 2012″, I wrote that this race was ‘under the radar’. It is under the radar no more.
BREAKING: Paul Clark Gone in Less Than 3 Weeks
This was news to me. Apparently it was a surprise to Paul Clark as well. He just found out. But here’s the applicable section from the Delaware Code (Title 9, § 1114):
§ 1114. Vacancy in office.
Whenever a vacancy occurs in the office of County Executive by reason of death, resignation, removal from office or other cause, the President of the County Council shall serve as County Executive until the latter office is filled as a result of an election. If a vacancy in the office of County Executive occurs more than 30 days prior to the date of a primary election in which county officers are nominated, the vacancy shall be filled for the remainder of the term in the next succeeding general election and the County Executive elected in this manner shall take office on the first Tuesday following such election. If a vacancy in the office of County Executive occurs less than 30 days prior to the date of a primary election in which county officers are nominated, the vacancy shall be filled for the remainder of the term by the President of the County Council. If the President of the County Council becomes County Executive, the President’s office as an elected official of the county governing body shall become vacant.
Guess we’d better keep a close eye on Clark to make sure that his limited window runs out with a minimum of chicanery.
Delaware Political Weekly: Oct. 13-19, 2012
The political world in western Sussex returns to normal. While there will likely be some confusion on the R side, Eric Bodenweiser’s full withdrawal from the 19th Senate District race virtually guarantees that Brian Pettyjohn will keep this crimson red senate seat in the R column come November. Bodenweiser’s name will not appear on the ballot. While voters indeed will have to write in Pettyjohn’s name, the DOE will make it as easy as possible for people to do so, and I don’t think it will be close. Don’t blame Jane Hovington. She stepped up and took one for the team, whatever that team might be in western Sussex. Which begs this thought: You’ve got a moribund Democratic Party in western Sussex. You’ve got a growing Latino and minority population base that has next to no voice in the official party structure there. A party structure that is almost gone. I see a great opportunity to build a new and more inclusive Democratic Party in western Sussex. With grassroots leadership from these growing populations. It’s not as if there’s gonna be a revival of the good ol’ boys Democrats there. There’s a political vacuum. Fill it, amigos.
Evan Queitsch’s Bizarro World
Up until two days ago, I’d never heard of the impending disaster known as (cue foreboding music) Agenda 21.
Until, of course, the person who no less an authority than Rick Jensen claims to be a serious and credible candidate unveiled Agenda 21 to his starstruck readers. You all know Evan Queitsch as Christine O’Donnell’s hired muscle and current candidate for State Senate in the 11th District. He is opposing Bryan Townsend who, if Evan Queitsch is to be believed (insert joke here), is some sort of stealth double agent sent to Newark to impose the horrors of Agenda 21 upon an unsuspecting populace.
Delaware’s Most Intriguing 2012 Races: Part I
As always, counting down from #10.
10. RD 32: Andria Viola Bennett vs. Ellis Parrott.
The undistinguished daughter of one of Delaware’s least distinguished legislators (John Viola) has parlayed her homewrecking skills into a run for State Rep, ostensibly as a ‘placeholder’ for her DUI-plagued new husband and soon-to-be former Rep., Brad Bennett. You know, the guy who tearfully lamented the damage he had done to the institution of the House. Ellis Parrott doesn’t get me excited either. An R political aparatchik and long-time Kent County magistrate, now retired. Nothing says ‘political patronage’ quite like Justice of the Peace. The post-redistricting registration numbers are, shall we say, daunting to the R’s: 6133 D, 3143 R, and 3159 I. You do the math. I haven’t the stomach for it.
9. Sussex Council District 3: Councilperson Joan Deaver vs. Don Ayotte.
Sane vs. insane. Deaver has worked hard to protect Sussex County, and has done it within a body that generally supports the entreaties of developers, especially if said developers offer perks that warm what passes for the hearts of said ‘Honorables’. Unintelligible ex-blogger Don Ayotte brings ‘teh crazy’ to the race: a self-proclaimed English major who can’t punctuate, spell or put together a sentence that makes sense. Although his mindless minions do seem to have their barnyard epithets memorized, based on the condition of many of Deaver’s campaign signs. Deaver’s one of the few serious public officials on Sussex County Council, she’s not divisive, so it remains to be seen how effective Ayotte will be. Bonus points to Deaver for opposing the frivolous wasting of taxpayers’ dollars on legal fees to permit Council to recite “The Lord’s Prayer” at the opening of Council meetings. Perhaps the wingnuts have The Lord’s Prayer confused with the Landlord’s Prayer.
Click through to read more….
‘Bulo To Discuss Most Intriguing November Contests on Today’s Al Show.
Today, from 10-12. I’m counting down my tentative Top Ten Most Intriguing Delaware Races. Your feedback has definitely proven helpful, both in determining which races to include, and in determining the order.
I’ll be writing a couple of lengthy pieces about these races in the next few days, but if you want a sneak preview, tune in today at 10, WDEL-1150 Newsradio on your AM dial. Hey, maybe we’ll also talk about that John Atkins fella.
A DIY “Most Intriguing Races For November” Thread
What do you think will be Delaware’s most intriguing races this November? I’ve come up with some early nominees. I’d like you to share your thoughts on my choices and on races that you think I’ve overlooked. At some point soon, I’ll be writing a detailed analysis of my top 10, but I’m not ready yet. Help me focus! Click through for my initial list:
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