SB36	AN ACT TO AMEND TITLES 19 AND 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO COLLECTIVE BARGAINING.
	SB97	AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 6 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE DELAWARE FALSE CLAIMS AND REPORTING ACT.
	SB99	AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE, RELATING TO THE STATE EMPLOYEE’S PENSION PLAN.
	SB109	AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 30 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PERSONAL INCOME TAX.
	SB118	AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PUBLIC WORKS CONTRACTING.
	SB149	AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 30 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO TAX CREDITS.
	SB163	AN ACT TO AMEND TITLES 5 AND 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO FORECLOSURE PROTECTION FOR HOMEOWNERS.
	SB175	AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO NURSING FACILITIES AND SIMILAR FACILITIES.
	SB204	AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 19 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE MINIMUM WAGE
	SB207	AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 24 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS TO PRACTICE MEDICINE.
	SB252	AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 6 & 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO FORECLOSURE PROTECTION FOR HOMEOWNERS
	SCR12	URGING CONGRESS TO ENACT THE EMPLOYEE FREE CHOICE ACT.
	SCR24	ESTABLISHING A TASK FORCE TO CONSIDER THE NEED FOR ADJUSTMENTS TO AND/OR REVISIONS OF EAGLE’S LAW, ENACTED IN 2000 TO ESTABLISH MINIMUM STAFFING LEVELS FOR RESIDENTIAL HEALTH FACILITIES.
	SCR40	CREATING A TASK FORCE TO PROTECT, PRESERVE AND ENHANCE THOROUGHBRED RACING IN DELAWARE.
	SCR41	CREATING A TASK FORCE TO PROTECT, PRESERVE AND ENHANCE THOROUGHBRED RACING IN DELAWARE.
	SR11	ESTABLISHING A TASK FORCE TO CONSIDER THE NEED FOR ADJUSTMENTS TO AND/OR REVISIONS OF EAGLE’S LAW, ENACTED IN 2000 TO ESTABLISH MINIMUM STAFFING LEVELS FOR RESIDENTIAL HEALTH FACILITIES.

It is obvious Bob cares about the “little” people. When it comes to choosing between corporate profits, and a working wage, his track record in that regards, is obvious.

Probably more than any other, he is aware of how much the current plan of Delmarva has disrupted the lives of most of his constituents. Probably more than any other, he is knowledgeable of how little one can trust Delmarva Power to deliver upon their promises. Probably more than any other, he can sympathize with those who desperately wish their electric bills would go down.

Supporting Delmarva will only make them go up.

Let me ask Bob a simple question.  Would most union members have the standard of living they had during the Clinton years, if….the labor unions had rolled over and allowed employers to do what they wanted?

No.

Those benefits were fought for. Earlier last century gun battles raged when workers sought to get money for the work they provided….A corporation is happiest when employees work for free. Only when they have no other choice but the threat of a unionized work force, will employers willingly pay wages high enough which benefit both parties simultaneously….

Anyone who disagrees with this should study how coal mines functioned as late as the twentieth century far up in the hollows of West Virginia…….One has only to Google Pinkerton raids, to see that force, not negotiation was the common method used to keep wages artificially low……..

The similarities between coal of Appalachia and Delmarva Power of Delaware, are rather uncanny. Both control their respective legislatures. Both feel that they can do whatever they want, state laws be damned. Both feel that “their subjects” are not capable of thinking for themselves and will, pay any price for the services so graciously given.

One would think that Bob Marshall would jump at the chance to support those struggling against Delmarva’s super high rates for electric power….One would think that Bob Marshall would willingly vote to support Bluewater Wind which will guarantee its rates from now until 25 years, at a price that is $5 dollars/MWh less than that which Delmarva is currently paying for the electricity you are using right now……

One would think…..

But as we know, none of Hitler’s cabinet spoke out against the Fuhrer, except for the one who botched the bomb. But none of Bush’s Republicans spoke out against the drums of war, except for one from Nebraska………. Likewise three Senators voted with Harris McDowell to allow an obviously flawed report onto the Senate floor, which seemed to discredit Bluewater Wind.

Of those three, Bob Marshall was one……..

The State Senate is about “getting along.” If you piss off Thurman Adams or Tony DeLuca, none of what you wish to accomplish, will ever move forward or see the light of day. Bob has the unfortunate job of kissing asses, both male and female. Tongue in cheek (yuck) one could say, based on the amount of legislation listed above, he must be good at it….

But sometimes getting along, which may seem well for the short term, will damn you forever in the long term. I am currently thinking of one Pontius Pilate, who based on the lessons ascribed to us from the Gospels, certainly didn’t want to do what he did, but under “social” pressure, washed his hands and entered fame a cursed man……

He was not disparaged for what he was……But for what he did not do.

Technology moves us forward….We traded horses for steam locomotives. We traded piston propellers for jet engines……We traded tubes for solid state, and that for silicon chips…… Each step along the way, the losing side, fought hard to prevent the competition from moving in…… Some areas may have won the battle, only to suffer economic hardship as people went elsewhere where wiser, more astute persons, were wise enough to calculate new technology into their economic equation…….

Bluewater Wind will need local union labor to complete its mission. Every grocery store, every restaurant, every strip mall, every gas station, could use some of that local union income being spent in their establishment.

If Bob votes no, that infusion of income will probably wind up in New Jersey. Later…..when the dinosaurs die, or come up for re-election, whichever comes first….and wind is eventually passed, the installation of the offshore towers will be done not by Delawareans, but by citizens of our neighboring state to the East.

Their malls, restaurants, and grocery stores will thrive. Many of ours here in Delaware may go out of business. Without Bluewater Wind, we can expect our unemployment expenses to climb; that at a time when we lack resources to even run our government…..

Perhaps New Jersey can lend us some money if Bob votes no…..

Bob’s heart is in the right place….but so was Pilate’s. The question which all of Delaware is pondering tonight and for the next several weeks, is whether he has the balls to stand up to his friends and do the right thing…….?