WHYY’s FIRST State of Play: Delaware’s budget

Filed in National by on July 7, 2017

El Somnambulo lands on Gov. Carney and Acting Gov Swchartzkopf from the top rope.

El Som

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Jason330 is a deep cover double agent working for the GOP. Don't tell anybody.

Comments (15)

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  1. jason330 says:

    El Som – There is so much truth being laid down in that clip. I hope WHYY keeps inviting you back.

  2. Tom Kline says:

    Yikes, no wonder the Delaware Dem party is in major trouble….

    Where’s the counter point?

  3. anonymous redux says:

    that photo is the best

  4. Jane says:

    So where exactly does McBride fall on your list of who is at fault for this budget? Did he play no role in the negotiations? It’s not as if he was able to keep his caucus in line – see numerous votes taken by Bob Marshall this year as proof to that end. From the way it’s described here, Schwartzkopf led negotiations with all the Republicans on his own. Where was the Senate Democrat leadership? Are you purposefully giving them a pass? Aren’t they just as responsible?

  5. jason330 says:

    I can’t speak to the Senate, but as for McBride, would you give a dog a steak and expect him not to eat it?

    Republicans always press for cuts over increasing revenue. Carney and the Acting Governor gave away the store prior to minute one of day one of the “negotiations”. Being upset with McBride for this execrable budget would be like being upset with a dog who ate a steak.

    Carney is either naive or stupid, but whichever it is the bottom line is that he doesn’t seem to understand how modern Republicans operate. That is unforgivable in 2017.

    The Acting Governor is neither naive or stupid. His got what he wanted out of this budget because his goals are the same as the people he was ostensibly “negotiating” with.

  6. Jane says:

    I see this entire budget debacle being entirely Carney’s fault. He put forth the shared sacrifice bullshit and then went up and down the state attempting to sell it to whomever would listen. I don’t see how the democratic leadership in the General Assembly had much choice but to carry the water for their Democratic Governor. He was the one who lent credibility to the idea that additional cuts could easily be identified and absorbed. Had he not cozied up to every republlican lawmaker at countless budget reset meetings preaching his shared sacrifice platitudes and nonsense, the republicans wouldn’t have had such a strong message in support of more cuts. From the outside looking in, it appears the Speaker and the Pro Tem were screwed the minute Carney started talking.

  7. jason330 says:

    Screwed or elated? From all the high fives at the signing, I’d say Acting Governor Pete was elated. He got everything he wanted out of this budget.

    So yes – the blame falls on John Carney.

  8. El somnambulo says:

    Jane: Revenue bills originate in the House. So Pete determined which bills would NOT be run.

    Also, the House D’s in theory had the super majority needed to pass the tax increases.

    That’s why the focus on Schwarzkopf.

    However, Senate D leadership was an utter disaster. It is impossible to overstate what the losses of Blevins and Peterson meant.

  9. Jane says:

    I’m confused. Isn’t Schwartzkopf the lead sponsor on every other revenue bill (which I’m fully aware revenue bills must begin in the House) with the exception of the PIT bill? I can’t imagine that bodes well for his reelection, correct? Sure, I wish some other revenue ideas were included in this mix, but didn’t Carney express his opposition to those?

    I understand the disgust over repealing the estate tax, I’m disgusted by it myself, but if Republicans in the Senate refused to pass the corporate franchise tax increases without it, what other option was on the table? With a Governor preaching cuts and shared sacrifice, exactly what leverage did Democrats have at that point?

    I’d imagine Republicans were biding their time, hoping better DEFAC numbers would bring a reprieve, and all the while forcing Democrats on JFC and Bond to cut their way to a balanced budget. Isn’t that essentially what happened? Democrats in the General Assembly are being blamed for the cuts and the tax increases, when in fact this entire bullshit outcome was by Carney’s original decree. If anyone got what he wanted out of this budget it was John Carney- to assume Democratic leaders in the legislature were doing much more than carrying the water for his administration seems really far fetched to me. Wouldn’t deference be given to the newly elected Governor and his vision for how state government should operate and be funded?

    If either Schwartzkopf or McBride were to have actively opposed the Governor’s shared sacrifice nonsense, wouldn’t that require unanimous support from their respective caucuses to even attempt to go in a different direction? Frankly it would likely require the majority caucuses in both chambers to present a united front, which seems virtually impossible given who the members of those caucuses are. Would a strategy of having your Democratic Governor at odds with members of your Democratic leadership in the legislature produced a more favorable outcome? I don’t see how, but you’re the experts, right?

    Again, for me, this all goes back to Carney. He set the tone, he proffered up a message, then he spent a ridiculous amount of time selling that bullshit to any and every Delawarean he could. He attempted to mimic the strategy employed by Markell in 2009 when the state faced twice the deficit, but he failed miserably. He didn’t get it then, he doesn’t appear to want to get it now.

  10. Jason330 says:

    Yes Carney gave the game away in advance, but there were other rev. options that the Acting Governor stiff armed.

    I’m not sure why you want to exculpate Schwarzkopf, but there is more of enough shit in this morally bancrupt budget to smear everyone in Dover.

  11. Jane says:

    I wasn’t attempting to exculpate anyone. I’m genuinely curious as to what other options were on the table that were supported by Carney and/or McBride that Schwartzkopf “stiff armed”? I don’t read this blog on a daily basis or any other blog regularly for that matter, but I do follow local news and I try to pay attention to my elected state government officials. I honestly don’t recall reading or hearing about these additional revenue options whatsoever. Sure there were multiple versions of PIT reform, beyond that, nothing comes to mind? If you’d care to recount these other options, I’d be interested in reading about them for next year, as we are sure to face additional budget challenges at that time.

  12. loritool says:

    I have to admit, a good job Steve on WHYY

  13. Thanks. It was a six-minute rant. I think he asked one question and got out of the way. This had been building up inside me for a few days.

    Someone asked about a counterpoint. I think they’re working on something like that. I just hope it’s not someone who will merely spout party talking points. I’ll never be a ‘root for the laundry’ guy.

  14. Jane: I take your point and agree that Carney is probably deserving of the most blame. From the beginning, he talked 50-50 revenue/cuts as the goal. He also, and this is the biggest problem with Carney, has been in thrall to the Chamber from the beginning.

    I disagree with your suggestion that, if Pete didn’t have express support from either Carney or McBride, he shouldn’t have pushed the alternatives, like the LLC fee increase and/or the two top brackets. Without those bargaining chips available, the D’s had to seriously fold. Or, in this case, kick the can down the road. I think that the LLC increase, in particular, was attainable.

    McBride is the least culpable, although he’s not who I’d want as President Pro-Tem. He’s least culpable only b/c he doesn’t command a super-majority, meaning he couldn’t possibly push the same legislation through in the Senate as Schwartzkopf could do in the House.

    I hope that we agree here, though: They all sucked.

    One more point and I’ll stop (I promise). A lot of flak is justifiably hurled at Speaker Pete b/c he’s done this before. Walked down the hall a couple of years ago and cut a budget deal with the Senate Rethuglicans, leaving his own caucus in the lurch. On economic issues, he’s a Chamber DINO.

  15. Interesting point of view from the left. I think that you covered that perspective in an intelligent and engaging way. Good job. I had to post it on DP.