Serious QoTD

Filed in National by on October 14, 2009

What has Jack Markell done since he has been in office?

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  1. anon says:
    October 14, 2009 at 9:12 pm

    Not much. Hasn’t spent stimulus money. Screwed up, or grossly miscalculated sports betting, state cuts came at the expense of middle class and poor, not the thousands of double dipping, overpaid Delaware Way beauracrats, no environmental record, failed to address prison health problems. But Jack had a lot of really good ideas and it was gonna be really different with Jack.

  2. Republican David says:
    October 14, 2009 at 9:29 pm

    Far be it from me to defend the governor, but I have a more balanced view. http://www.delawarepolitics.net/markell-in-review/ I particularly approve of his education agenda so far and his economic development reorganization. I disapprove of his energy rationing, gay rights, and tax hikes. I agree with the criticisms, but as you can read for yourself he has some good accomplishments.

  3. Delaware Republican says:
    October 14, 2009 at 9:51 pm

    I can’t give an unbiased view for the most part as during our debates we heard many times over and over about the incompetence of the Minner Carney administration yet in most areas the changes have been minimal or nonexistent.

    I don’t question his capabilities or sincerity but most of us want to see the execution not hear the rhetoric. I hope others can point out the changes and improvements.

    Mike Protack

  4. MJ says:
    October 15, 2009 at 5:24 am

    I’m trying to remember where Pornstache debated Jack. Hmmm. Maybe it was in his own mind.

  5. Rebecca says:
    October 15, 2009 at 6:13 am

    Hey DV

    Delaware still has its triple-A bond rating, which is no small feat when you figure we lost 25% of our revenue this year. And we’re going to lose it again in the 2011 budget, with little hope right now for more stimulus money. Unlike California, we are not issuing IOUs. The economic melt-down has consumed all the states but Delaware is coping better than most under Governor Markell’s leadership. It’s hard to drain the swamp when you are up to your hoo-hoo in alligators.

    With Governor Markell’s support, the General Assembly passed landmark legislation on open government and civil rights. Legislation that had languished for years.

    This conversation reminds me of the “Obama doesn’t deserve the Nobel” theme. Both President Obama and Governor Markell inherited problems that took eight years to create and are going to take more than eight months to fix. This is a totally different America than we were in 2001 and it is going to take amazing commitment, Herculean effort, and a whole new set of operating rules to guide us through these dark times. Expecting either Obama or Markell to wave a magic wand and make it all better is very unrealistic.

    I come here because this is a reality based community. When I find you pandering to the Republican talking points I am disappointed. I could go to the Caesar Rodney Institute for that sort of reasoning.

  6. liberalgeek says:
    October 15, 2009 at 6:36 am

    Rebecca – DV gets cranky when he has no beer.

  7. Rebecca says:
    October 15, 2009 at 7:03 am

    Geek,

    Yup!

    Sorry DV, sober is tough. Especially if you are paying attention.

  8. liberalgeek says:
    October 15, 2009 at 7:05 am

    I’m not trying to dissuade you from beating his ass, just giving you some context. Sometimes ass-beating is all he understands… 🙂

  9. Jason330 says:
    October 15, 2009 at 7:07 am

    Beau Biden is going to be on GMA at 738

  10. liberalgeek says:
    October 15, 2009 at 7:13 am

    sweet. Thanks.

  11. Jason330 says:
    October 15, 2009 at 7:22 am

    Karl rove on now being treated like a news analyist. Sheesus. No wonder I never watch this shit.

  12. Jason330 says:
    October 15, 2009 at 7:29 am

    Oh yeah. Rebecca is right. DV sucks at blogging.

  13. Unstable Isotope says:
    October 15, 2009 at 7:43 am

    I think Markell has been doing a great job in a challenging time. Considering the horrible economic conditions, he managed to balance our budget. His biggest mistake was sports betting, but it sounds like it’s going better than they expected.

  14. anon says:
    October 15, 2009 at 7:44 am

    So we’ve gone so low that “We’re not California” is now an acceptable defence of the Governor. The people are starting to notice that this Governor is all talk and no results. The only thing keeping his ratings up is that the News Journal is refusing to criticize him openly and he keeps having town hall meetings, which are the equivalent of stand-up comedy to anyone with a clue.

    Mortgage-backed securities had AAA bond ratings, too.

    What happened to that book he ‘wrote’ with all the plans in it?

  15. Nancy Willing says:
    October 15, 2009 at 7:53 am

    Jack Markell is doing really significant things with the issues surrounding re-entry (keeping ex-convicts from recidivism). His focus on post-incarceration services and programming has potential toward securing a broader societal stability.

    There’s a real likelihood we’ll see substantial public safety gains in areas hardest hit with crime, substance abuse, mental health issues and poverty in general.

  16. Donviti says:
    October 15, 2009 at 8:50 am

    I’m just asking what he has done. Feel free to answer the question. I’m not implying anything with this post. Hence the “serious” tag.

    Plenty of readers don’t comment. give them something that they might not know.

    I’m not pandering to anyone. I think some folks are being reflexive and defensive. It’s a valid question and can easily be answered.

  17. Joanne Christian says:
    October 15, 2009 at 8:59 am

    Hef is right to ask. I will say this…at least he did make good on a top to bottom departmental inventory of spending (and in short order I may add)….but what’s been done with that has yet to be seen…and he is more accessible to the public.

  18. Donviti says:
    October 15, 2009 at 9:03 am

    This conversation reminds me of the “Obama doesn’t deserve the Nobel” theme

    Rebecca,

    I’m not even sure what conversation we had. The two knuckleheads answered the questions which perhaps got you riled a little. I mean this question with no malcontent at all.

  19. Donviti says:
    October 15, 2009 at 9:04 am

    Oh yeah. Rebecca is right. DV sucks at blogging.

    Fire me then.

    and you suck at quitting.

  20. Delaware Dem says:
    October 15, 2009 at 9:16 am

    LOL. DV v. Jason: ROUND TWO.

  21. Delaware Dem says:
    October 15, 2009 at 9:16 am

    …because the first round was so enjoyable for everyone!

  22. PBaumbach says:
    October 15, 2009 at 9:39 am

    Anon writes “Hasn’t spent stimulus money.”

    Nice parrot-head speak.

    If Jack spent it in the first three months (as many states did), 50% of it would have been wasted, and Republicans would have cried ‘irresponsible spending of the stimulus.’ Instead Markell has adopted a more gradual approach, in which every dollar will be spent by the deadlines, but in a way that better ensures that it is spent well. This used to be what Republicans valued, but now they only value it when someone with an R after their name does it.

    Unemployment in the country is almost 10%–our state needs economic stimulus this year AND NEXT. I like living in a state where we have much of our stimulus money being spent by our governor gradually and responsibly, on good projects, rather than for PR.

  23. Rebecca says:
    October 15, 2009 at 9:44 am

    Whoa! I didn’t mean to set that off.

    Anyway, as you can see, there are a lot of good answers to your innocent question DV. Sorry if I went defensive, but ya can’t just let the fluffernutters rant. We learned that lesson the hard way.

    Here’s the thing about looking for milestones at this stage in our new state and federal administrations. They are coming, but more slowly than the short-attention-span press would like. As Obama said, the ship of state is huge and it doesn’t turn on a dime.

    Both Jack and President Obama faced catastrophic economic issues when they took office in January. Lots and lots of alligators. We are not in a 1930’s Depression due to the stimulus package and serious cost cutting at the state level. Those both took time and energy for the executives and their administrations.

    We’ve had six weeks of reduced unemployment claims, the stock market seems headed in the right direction, and I guess it’s time to start asking “what have you done for me lately?”. The fact that both Jack and the President saved our bacon is old news. But that doesn’t alter the magnitude of the problems they faced and the smart way they responded. And it isn’t over by a long shot. The economic challenges will continue to consume these leaders for the foreseeable future. We’re looking at a jobless recovery and that will impact all of us for a very long time.

    Last night I was at a meeting where I heard that the Governor is absolutely lazer-focused on bringing new jobs to Delaware. Boxwood isn’t going to re-open next week because of this. But let’s wait and see what happens in the next 12 months before we pass judgement.

    Onward!

  24. Donviti says:
    October 15, 2009 at 9:54 am

    no worries at all.

  25. RSmitty says:
    October 15, 2009 at 10:12 am

    The biggest and most clarifying difference and improvement is accessibility.

    To a point I made yesterday, I won’t congratulate a single soul on the budget from this past session, nor do I think anyone should pat their own back on it, for it was done out of necessity and without much creativity. The supposed creativity, lack of a better word, came from picking in a list which tax to increase. The fight on that was how much, not yes-or-no. The only tangible creativity, regardless if you agreed or not, was from Kowalko’s proposal and the counter PIT increase proposal, but they were kicked to the curb faster than a RINO in some sort of Bag-O-Nuts© meeting.

    Markell certainly has ideas, but the horrible environment surrounding his first session made it difficult to impossible to follow through. I don’t care who would be in that office, the environment made it difficult. Now that the 2009 session is over, though, things are different. Things need to get done now, including real creativity on a budget during the next session. His feet and the entire legislature’s feet should be held to the fire, no exception for any party.

    So, I will go with the accessibility part for now, but add that it’s a big deal. It’s a huge factor for a constituency that had become used to being shut out from that office. Not to mention, this accessibility allows for cultivation of possibly great ideas.

  26. PI says:
    October 15, 2009 at 10:28 am

    Accessibility is a good thing. How much did some people expect with the package he inherited coupled with a totally faltering national economy. Jack is making a difference every day he wakes up and goes to work if for no other reason than the fact that he is neigher Ruth Ann Minner or a Republican.

    We’ve had Governors during good economic times who gave us no ‘face time’ and this guy has attended and/or hosted more than 100 public discussions in less than a year. Hell, the only time we saw Minner in 8 years was when she donned her floral super spandex over extended bathing suit to test the murky waters of Delaware just to tell us someone else could see her feet because she was too damn fat to see them herself.

  27. Donviti says:
    October 15, 2009 at 10:28 am

    you sure post a lot for a guy worried about being laid off

  28. RSmitty says:
    October 15, 2009 at 10:31 am

    Nice.

  29. Donviti says:
    October 15, 2009 at 10:34 am

    I’m on fire after being attacked by a turncoat in my qotd post

  30. RSmitty says:
    October 15, 2009 at 10:37 am

    I have less hair and a bigger stomach, but remain better looking. Plus, I tend to agree with you more than many of your own contributors, WTF is that about? BIG difference!

  31. Donviti says:
    October 15, 2009 at 10:57 am

    true
    true
    NEVER!!!

    We aren’t as partisan is what it really means. 🙂

    I’m going to catch shit for that one in
    1
    2
    3

  32. Suzanne says:
    October 15, 2009 at 11:45 am

    I don’t think the question is necessarily what he has done, we all know it
    – cut his own salary by twenty percent (an increase that Minner put in place and he didn’t think would be fair given the economic situation in the state).
    – he woke up the legislators by telling them that there needs to be an 8 percent pay cut for state employees if they don’t try to really sit down and figure out a way to cover the budget shortfall – if they failed to do so, the State would have to shut down – -we made it (even though nobody liked it) – but other then some other States, we didn’t have to get shut down or pass an emergency budget.
    – worked tirelessly to advocate on behalf of sports betting, raising the cigarette tax, and raising the alcohol tax, to bring more revenue to the State.
    – signed legislation to reduce Energy use
    – maintained Delaware’s AAA Bond rating
    – approved legislation banning discrimination based on sexual orientation in housing, insurance and employment (FINALLY!!!!)
    – vetoed the Bottle Bill (that would have repealed the deposit)
    – proposed/signed education reform initiatives
    – abolished the DSTP

    For those who say he hasn’t done a thing or not done enough – I want to know what they think that ANY Republican could have done better by now (realistically). And no, the question isn’t aimed at you Perennial Protack.

  33. Kilroy says:
    October 15, 2009 at 9:36 pm

    http://kilroysdelaware.wordpress.com/2009/10/15/jack-markell-spotted-walking-on-water/

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