Saturday, November 08, 2014
Friday, November 07, 2014
Back to Iraq: Look the Other Way as Obama Sends 1,500 More Troops to Iraq
Whatever happened to Obama's promise of "no boots on the ground"? Commander-in-Chief Obama is sending 1,500 more US troops to Iraq as ISIS threatens to overrun the country. Total US troops strength will double to around 3,000. Isn't this the same guy who pulled all US troops out of Iraq to appease his far-left base? Now, we're going back.
Look the Other Way as Obama Sends 1,500 More Troops to Iraq
Look the Other Way as Obama Sends 1,500 More Troops to Iraq
Pa. Democrats' No. 1 target in 2016: Sen. Pat Toomey
Former Congressman Joe Sestak is already planning to run against Toomey and all the talk has been about Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane running against Toomey in 2016, but Kane has been bogged down in one scandal after another since taking office last year. Her stock was dropped dramatically among Pennsylvania voters.
Democrats' target in 2016: Sen. Toomey
Democrats' target in 2016: Sen. Toomey
Thursday, November 06, 2014
Every Newly Elected GOP Senators Campaigned on Repealing Obamacare
The American people gave Republicans a mandate on November 4: Repeal Obamacare. So let Obama veto it. Congress should vote to repeal Obamacare as its first priority in 2015.
100% of Newly Elected GOP Senators Campaigned on Repealing Obamacare | CNS News
100% of Newly Elected GOP Senators Campaigned on Repealing Obamacare | CNS News
PA Gov. Corbett: Penn State 'probably' should not have fired Joe Paterno
While some pundits blame Gov. Tom Corbett's defeat Tuesday partially on his handling of the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse case while Corbett was Pennsylvania Attorney General, the lame-duck Republican governor drops a bombshell today.
Corbett: Penn State 'probably' should not have fired Paterno
Corbett: Penn State 'probably' should not have fired Paterno
Conservatives Want Pileggi Out as PA Senate Majority Leader
The conservative American Future Fund Political Action issued the following statement on the pending leadership fight within the GOP caucus:
"This past Tuesday, while Republicans across the nation were celebrating landmark victories, Pennsylvania Republicans were facing the first defeat of an incumbent Governor in the Commonwealth's history," said Nick Ryan, Chairman of American Future Fund Action. "One of the main causes of the defeat of Governor Corbett was the inaction, ineptitude, and impotence of the Republican leadership in the Pennsylvania State Senate."With Republicans controlling 30 of the 50 seats in the Pennsylvania Senate, a majority vote of 16 within the GOP Caucus is needed to win the post of Majority Leader, which Pileggi has held for the past eight years.
"For four years, Governor Corbett was unable to pass virtually any legislation that would have moved Pennsylvania in the right direction. The cause was simple, members of the Republican State Senate cared more about union bosses in Philadelphia than their constituents or the good of the Commonwealth as a whole. The blame for all of these problems lies at the feet of Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi. Pileggi's Philadelphia Boss-Style politics has no place in the leadership of the Republican Party should we hope to govern based on principles rather than our campaign coffers," concluded Ryan.
Pa. Gov.-Elect Tom Wolf is already a lame duck
If you voted for Tom Wolf because you think he's going to spend more money on liberal causes, you're in for a major disappointment.
Pennsylvania voters didn't like Tom Corbett, but they also wanted a barrier to the Wolf agenda, so they gave Republicans greater control of the Pennsylvania Legislature.
From the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:
Corbett's loss was balanced by Republican gains in the General Assembly. The party picked up three seats in the 50-member Senate, raising its total to 30, and increased its House majority from 111 to 119 among 203 members, the largest majority since the 1957-58 session.
New Pennsylvania Governor Wolf expected to have to bend on agenda
Pennsylvania voters didn't like Tom Corbett, but they also wanted a barrier to the Wolf agenda, so they gave Republicans greater control of the Pennsylvania Legislature.
From the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:
Corbett's loss was balanced by Republican gains in the General Assembly. The party picked up three seats in the 50-member Senate, raising its total to 30, and increased its House majority from 111 to 119 among 203 members, the largest majority since the 1957-58 session.
New Pennsylvania Governor Wolf expected to have to bend on agenda
GOP fight brewing in PA Senate over majority leadership
Dominic Pileggi, a Philadelphia-area state senator who helped scuttled much of Gov. Tom Corbett's agenda in the Pennsylvania Senate, is now facing a potential challenge to his leadership from more conservative members of the GOP caucus.
Pileggi is the main reason Pennsylvania does not have property tax reform or the elimination of the state monopoly on liquor sales or pension reform. He blocked every Corbett initiative and helped put Tom Wolf in the governor's office.
GOP fight brewing in state Senate over majority leadership
Pileggi is the main reason Pennsylvania does not have property tax reform or the elimination of the state monopoly on liquor sales or pension reform. He blocked every Corbett initiative and helped put Tom Wolf in the governor's office.
GOP fight brewing in state Senate over majority leadership
Wednesday, November 05, 2014
Have we heard the last of Sandra Fluke?
Tick ... tick ... tick ... Are Sandra Fluke's 15 minutes of fame finally over? It would appear her fledgling political career is definitely over after an embarrassing loss on Election Day.
Sandra Fluke, Loser
Sandra Fluke, Loser
GOP expands majorities in state House, Senate but loses governor's mansion
Tom Corbett blew it Tuesday, failing to capitalize on the anti-Democratic Party wave. A poor campaigner with lousy political advisers, Corbett lost his bid for a second term to a guy who sells kitchen cabinets, never ran for office before and promised to raise taxes. Very disappointing. Of course, Democrat Tom Wolf's big-government agenda is irrelevant as Republicans expanded their majorities in both the state House and Senate on Tuesday. Wolf will get none of his initiatives through the Legislature over the next 4 years.
GOP expands majorities in state House, Senate | News | witf.org
GOP expands majorities in state House, Senate | News | witf.org
Mount Penn voters turn down merger with Lower Alsace
Mount Penn elected officials did a terrible job of selling the merger plan to borough residents.
Mount Penn voters turn down merger with Lower Alsace | Reading Eagle - NEWS
Mount Penn voters turn down merger with Lower Alsace | Reading Eagle - NEWS
Tuesday, November 04, 2014
GOP Gets 2 Arkansas Senate Seats for the First Time in Over 100 Years
It's turning into a historic night for the Republican Party. The Republican candidate for US Senate in West Virginia won for the first time in more than 60 years ... and now this ...
GOP Gets 2 Arkansas Senate Seats for the First Time in Over 100 Years | FrontPage Magazine
GOP Gets 2 Arkansas Senate Seats for the First Time in Over 100 Years | FrontPage Magazine
Scaife estate tax payment of $100M filed in Pa.
Democrat Tom 'Taxman' Wolf must be overjoyed tonight. Pennsylvania collected $100 million from the estate of Richard Scaife, who died earlier this year. But Wolf doesn't think Pennsylvania residents are paying enough taxes.
Scaife estate tax payment of $100M filed
Scaife estate tax payment of $100M filed
Corbett clear choice for Pa. governor over Wolf's dangerous agenda
From the Williamsport Sun-Gazette endorsement of Republican Pa. Governor Tom Corbett over Democratic challenger Tom Wolf:
"We endorse a second term for Gov. Corbett. Contrary to the ridiculous claims of Wolf, Corbett has increased the state's funding of education. He wants to continue managing the gas industry that is generating jobs and producing revenue and attack the looming pension crisis with changes to make it solvent in the long-term future. He wants to privatize the liquor store system, bringing in revenue from sale of licenses and increasing consumer choice."Corbett clearly the choice over Wolf's dangerous agenda - SunGazette.com | News, Sports, Jobs, Community Information - Williamsport-Sun Gazette
Monday, November 03, 2014
Another Pa. Newspaper Backs Tom Corbett Re-Election for Governor
The Johnstown Tribune-Democrat is the latest Pennsylvania newspaper to endorse Gov. Tom Corbett for re-election.
"We have a vision for the future of Pennsylvania that includes a burgeoning natural gas industry, a growing economy and progress in the war on drugs, and we believe Tom Corbett is the better option to get us there." the newspaper's editorial board writes.
Read the full endorsement editorial here.
"We have a vision for the future of Pennsylvania that includes a burgeoning natural gas industry, a growing economy and progress in the war on drugs, and we believe Tom Corbett is the better option to get us there." the newspaper's editorial board writes.
Read the full endorsement editorial here.
Guest Column: Election Day Predictions
Chris Freind, a Philadelphia-based columnist, offers his annual pre-Election Day predictions:
Election Day 2014: All too easy
Predicting this year’s election results makes for an easy column. But perhaps more important than the returns are the reasons behind the vote, since understanding the electorate’s mindset provides insight into what direction the country will take.
The American people have always accepted their government not being efficient. After all, democracy - free people governing themselves - is not a particularly efficient system. Just the best.
But for whatever reason, things have become exponentially worse. Now, there is a pervasive feeling that we have returned to the Jimmy Carter years, where nothing seems to work because the system is utterly broken.
Examples abound: the Obamacare website failure was a multibillion dollar fiasco; the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration’s website repeatedly crashed after the recent airbag recall; the CDC’s response to Ebola was fraught with amateur mistakes; NASA cancelled the shuttle program without a replacement, and its latest rocket exploded in spectacular fashion; the immigration crisis continues unimpeded; and the Secret Service’s multiple failures, including its inability to literally lock the front door to the White House, makes them look like the Keystone Kops. And the list goes on.
Taken individually, none would influence the vote. But collectively, given the level of disgust over the government’s ineptitude, people will vote against the Party in power. The buck stops with the President, so Election Day will be a boon for Republicans. But a word of caution to the Grand Old Party: they would be wise to understand that it’s not so much people embracing them but rejecting the status quo.
What they do with their gains - simply be obstructionist, or articulate and execute a bold vision - will go a long way to determining their future success.
Here is the breakdown:
Governor: This is the easiest call. Democrat Tom Wolf will trounce incumbent Tom Corbett in an historic landslide. It will be a humiliating defeat for Corbett not only because he will become the first modern-day Governor to lose re-election, but, quite possibly, the only Republican Governor in the nation to lose.
Despite riding to victory in 2010 with a ten-point margin and having record Republican legislative majorities, Corbett failed at virtually everything, from liquor privatization to pension reform, and from reducing some of the nation’s highest taxes to reforming a failed educational system (though he did manage to give Pennsylvanians the highest gas taxes in the nation).
Yet rather than blame himself for legendary incompetence (and that’s saying something in Harrisburg), it’s been everyone else’s fault: the media (of course), an intransigent legislature, unions, former Governor Ed Rendell, and probably even extraterrestrials. Corbett had everything, so the total failure must be laid at his own feet.
But far and away, the biggest reasons Corbett will lose are his handling of the Jerry Sandusky investigation while Attorney General and his devastating effect on Penn State and its football program. Half of the University’s mammoth alumni network think Corbett put Joe Paterno in his grave prematurely, and the other half are convinced he allowed a monster on the street much longer than necessary for purely political reasons.
To this day, Corbett has adamantly refused to answer the most basic questions: Why did he direct a narcotics agent with a small staff, instead of specialized Child Predator units, to lead the pedophilia investigation? Why did it take three long years to make an arrest? And why did he, as a Penn State Trustee, approve the extremely harsh sanctions against the University and then reverse course by suing the NCAA in a case that turned out to be not just legal folly, but a boon to a law firm that happened to be a large campaign contributor?
Much of Corbett’s base has abandoned him because they simply cannot trust a man whom they believe put political fortunes above children’s physical welfare. This election has little to do with Tom Wolf and everything to do with Tom Corbett. The Sandusky affair will always cause great pain, but for many, booting the Governor will bring about a sense of closure.
Congress: Given the redistricting after the 2010 census, control of the House of Representatives will remain in Republican hands --- great news for the GOP since it holds a sizable majority. In fact, Republicans will pick up a handful of seats nationwide, and hold many being vacated by GOP members. Ryan Costello wins handily in Chester County (Jim Gerlach’s seat), as will Tom MacArthur in New Jersey (former Eagle Jon Runyan’s district). No other Pennsylvania races are remotely competitive.
U.S. Senate: This is where the GOP will make its biggest gains. Democrats currently control the 100-member chamber with 53 senators (though effectively they have 55 since two Independents caucus with them), but their majority will almost certainly fall. Republicans are poised to pick up seats in Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Montana, South Dakota, and West Virginia. Louisiana will probably see a runoff, where the GOP’s prospects are favorable. Kansas, typically a Republican stronghold but where GOP incumbent Pat Roberts is in trouble, will, in the end, stay Republican. Depending on the extent of the Republican groundswell, North Carolina may flip, with gains in New Hampshire and Virginia possible, though significantly less likely. Despite the GOP’s penchant for snatching defeat out of the jaws of victory, a Republican majority is all but guaranteed.
Interestingly, the GOP’s anticipated majority may be short-lived. The tables could well be turned in 2016, when Republicans will be forced to defend more seats than the Democrats, a task that much harder if their presidential nominee is a dud, wholly unable to relate to the average American, a la John McCain and Mitt Romney.
State House: Republicans hold a substantial majority, which they will not only keep but likely expand. The Democrats’ best hope for a pickup is the Delaware County seat vacated by longtime Representative Nick Micozzie, but at the end of the day, the GOP will carry that District.
State Senate: The GOP holds a 27-23 edge here, and will add to it. The question is by how much. The state’s most hotly-contested race is the 26th District seat (comprising Delaware and Chester Counties) being vacated by Ted Erickson. Delaware County Councilman Tom McGarrigle is locked in a bruising, multimillion-dollar fight with Plumbers’ Union Business Manager John Kane.
McGarrigle has been attacked for his past tax problems while operating a small business, as well as raising taxes multiple times as County Councilman. But above all, his association with Tom Corbett was proving toxic. As of Labor Day, the race seemed Kane’s to lose.
And that looks to be exactly what has happened.
McGarrigle and the vaunted Delaware County Republican Machine rallied, incessantly hammering Kane on his $276,000 salary and his pledge to keep his union job should he be elected. That barrage has knocked Kane off-message, and his campaign has floundered in recent weeks. All of which brings up two points:
1) Why would the Democrats nominate a union official in the first place, knowing that such a position is a lightning rod? There were more than enough controversial aspects to this senate campaign, from taxing natural gas to funding pubic education. Why would they willfully inject such a highly-charged issue, especially knowing how close the race would be?
2) How could Kane and his braintrust not have anticipated the exorbitant salary and keeping-both-jobs issues being so front-and-center? And how could they not have crafted better responses? Thinking there would not be a huge backlash taking a union paycheck three times higher than a senate salary is unfathomably naïve. It’s pretty hard being the independent Kane claims to be when his salary and campaign are bankrolled by a special interest.
Kane’s best hope is that Corbett will get crushed in Delaware County. Regardless of campaign issues, at some point McGarrigle’s campaign could be doomed by Corbett’s numbers. McGarrigle can still win if Wolf gets 57 or 58 percent. But if the rout gets much higher, Kane will prevail.
Prediction: McGarrigle emerges victorious. Barely.
And that’s all she wrote.
Chris Freind is an independent columnist and commentator. He can be reached at CF@FFZMedia.com
Election Day 2014: All too easy
Predicting this year’s election results makes for an easy column. But perhaps more important than the returns are the reasons behind the vote, since understanding the electorate’s mindset provides insight into what direction the country will take.
The American people have always accepted their government not being efficient. After all, democracy - free people governing themselves - is not a particularly efficient system. Just the best.
But for whatever reason, things have become exponentially worse. Now, there is a pervasive feeling that we have returned to the Jimmy Carter years, where nothing seems to work because the system is utterly broken.
Examples abound: the Obamacare website failure was a multibillion dollar fiasco; the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration’s website repeatedly crashed after the recent airbag recall; the CDC’s response to Ebola was fraught with amateur mistakes; NASA cancelled the shuttle program without a replacement, and its latest rocket exploded in spectacular fashion; the immigration crisis continues unimpeded; and the Secret Service’s multiple failures, including its inability to literally lock the front door to the White House, makes them look like the Keystone Kops. And the list goes on.
Taken individually, none would influence the vote. But collectively, given the level of disgust over the government’s ineptitude, people will vote against the Party in power. The buck stops with the President, so Election Day will be a boon for Republicans. But a word of caution to the Grand Old Party: they would be wise to understand that it’s not so much people embracing them but rejecting the status quo.
What they do with their gains - simply be obstructionist, or articulate and execute a bold vision - will go a long way to determining their future success.
Here is the breakdown:
Governor: This is the easiest call. Democrat Tom Wolf will trounce incumbent Tom Corbett in an historic landslide. It will be a humiliating defeat for Corbett not only because he will become the first modern-day Governor to lose re-election, but, quite possibly, the only Republican Governor in the nation to lose.
Despite riding to victory in 2010 with a ten-point margin and having record Republican legislative majorities, Corbett failed at virtually everything, from liquor privatization to pension reform, and from reducing some of the nation’s highest taxes to reforming a failed educational system (though he did manage to give Pennsylvanians the highest gas taxes in the nation).
Yet rather than blame himself for legendary incompetence (and that’s saying something in Harrisburg), it’s been everyone else’s fault: the media (of course), an intransigent legislature, unions, former Governor Ed Rendell, and probably even extraterrestrials. Corbett had everything, so the total failure must be laid at his own feet.
But far and away, the biggest reasons Corbett will lose are his handling of the Jerry Sandusky investigation while Attorney General and his devastating effect on Penn State and its football program. Half of the University’s mammoth alumni network think Corbett put Joe Paterno in his grave prematurely, and the other half are convinced he allowed a monster on the street much longer than necessary for purely political reasons.
To this day, Corbett has adamantly refused to answer the most basic questions: Why did he direct a narcotics agent with a small staff, instead of specialized Child Predator units, to lead the pedophilia investigation? Why did it take three long years to make an arrest? And why did he, as a Penn State Trustee, approve the extremely harsh sanctions against the University and then reverse course by suing the NCAA in a case that turned out to be not just legal folly, but a boon to a law firm that happened to be a large campaign contributor?
Much of Corbett’s base has abandoned him because they simply cannot trust a man whom they believe put political fortunes above children’s physical welfare. This election has little to do with Tom Wolf and everything to do with Tom Corbett. The Sandusky affair will always cause great pain, but for many, booting the Governor will bring about a sense of closure.
Congress: Given the redistricting after the 2010 census, control of the House of Representatives will remain in Republican hands --- great news for the GOP since it holds a sizable majority. In fact, Republicans will pick up a handful of seats nationwide, and hold many being vacated by GOP members. Ryan Costello wins handily in Chester County (Jim Gerlach’s seat), as will Tom MacArthur in New Jersey (former Eagle Jon Runyan’s district). No other Pennsylvania races are remotely competitive.
U.S. Senate: This is where the GOP will make its biggest gains. Democrats currently control the 100-member chamber with 53 senators (though effectively they have 55 since two Independents caucus with them), but their majority will almost certainly fall. Republicans are poised to pick up seats in Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Montana, South Dakota, and West Virginia. Louisiana will probably see a runoff, where the GOP’s prospects are favorable. Kansas, typically a Republican stronghold but where GOP incumbent Pat Roberts is in trouble, will, in the end, stay Republican. Depending on the extent of the Republican groundswell, North Carolina may flip, with gains in New Hampshire and Virginia possible, though significantly less likely. Despite the GOP’s penchant for snatching defeat out of the jaws of victory, a Republican majority is all but guaranteed.
Interestingly, the GOP’s anticipated majority may be short-lived. The tables could well be turned in 2016, when Republicans will be forced to defend more seats than the Democrats, a task that much harder if their presidential nominee is a dud, wholly unable to relate to the average American, a la John McCain and Mitt Romney.
State House: Republicans hold a substantial majority, which they will not only keep but likely expand. The Democrats’ best hope for a pickup is the Delaware County seat vacated by longtime Representative Nick Micozzie, but at the end of the day, the GOP will carry that District.
State Senate: The GOP holds a 27-23 edge here, and will add to it. The question is by how much. The state’s most hotly-contested race is the 26th District seat (comprising Delaware and Chester Counties) being vacated by Ted Erickson. Delaware County Councilman Tom McGarrigle is locked in a bruising, multimillion-dollar fight with Plumbers’ Union Business Manager John Kane.
McGarrigle has been attacked for his past tax problems while operating a small business, as well as raising taxes multiple times as County Councilman. But above all, his association with Tom Corbett was proving toxic. As of Labor Day, the race seemed Kane’s to lose.
And that looks to be exactly what has happened.
McGarrigle and the vaunted Delaware County Republican Machine rallied, incessantly hammering Kane on his $276,000 salary and his pledge to keep his union job should he be elected. That barrage has knocked Kane off-message, and his campaign has floundered in recent weeks. All of which brings up two points:
1) Why would the Democrats nominate a union official in the first place, knowing that such a position is a lightning rod? There were more than enough controversial aspects to this senate campaign, from taxing natural gas to funding pubic education. Why would they willfully inject such a highly-charged issue, especially knowing how close the race would be?
2) How could Kane and his braintrust not have anticipated the exorbitant salary and keeping-both-jobs issues being so front-and-center? And how could they not have crafted better responses? Thinking there would not be a huge backlash taking a union paycheck three times higher than a senate salary is unfathomably naïve. It’s pretty hard being the independent Kane claims to be when his salary and campaign are bankrolled by a special interest.
Kane’s best hope is that Corbett will get crushed in Delaware County. Regardless of campaign issues, at some point McGarrigle’s campaign could be doomed by Corbett’s numbers. McGarrigle can still win if Wolf gets 57 or 58 percent. But if the rout gets much higher, Kane will prevail.
Prediction: McGarrigle emerges victorious. Barely.
And that’s all she wrote.
Chris Freind is an independent columnist and commentator. He can be reached at CF@FFZMedia.com
Obama touts Wolf for Pa. governor at half-empty Philadelphia arena
Seven of 10 Pennsylvania residents disapprove of Barack Obama's policies, so why does Tom Wolf want to bring them to Pennsylvania?
President Obama touts Tom Wolf's bid for governor | witf.org
President Obama touts Tom Wolf's bid for governor | witf.org
Liberal Pa. newspaper declines to endorse 'untested' Democrat Tom Wolf
A major blow to liberal Democrat Tom Wolf, who expected an automatic endorsement from one of Pennsylvania's most liberal newspapers, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The newspaper's editorial board says it cannot endorse the 'untested' Wolf for governor.
From the newspapers "non-endorsement" endorsement editorial:
"... it is hard to tell how (Tom Wolf's) leadership at a small company not open to public view has prepared him for the bare-knuckled politics of working with a Legislature, particularly one controlled by the opposing party. "
The newspaper stops short of calling Wolf a liar:
"Perhaps because he self-funded his primary win and has had a fat lead in most polls, the novice candidate has left some of his views undefined. He has been reticent about the details of his plan to change the income tax structure, claiming he can’t be specific on who will pay more and who will pay less until he has a look at the inside books. That claim rings false."
Read the full editorial here.
(The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is the third Democratic-leaning newspaper that has declined to endorse Wolf for governor, joining the Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News.)
From the newspapers "non-endorsement" endorsement editorial:
"... it is hard to tell how (Tom Wolf's) leadership at a small company not open to public view has prepared him for the bare-knuckled politics of working with a Legislature, particularly one controlled by the opposing party. "
The newspaper stops short of calling Wolf a liar:
"Perhaps because he self-funded his primary win and has had a fat lead in most polls, the novice candidate has left some of his views undefined. He has been reticent about the details of his plan to change the income tax structure, claiming he can’t be specific on who will pay more and who will pay less until he has a look at the inside books. That claim rings false."
Read the full editorial here.
(The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is the third Democratic-leaning newspaper that has declined to endorse Wolf for governor, joining the Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News.)
Saturday, November 01, 2014
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