Winter 2022 Natural Allies

 

Hanger 2014 Bongs Still Available

Herb grinders and rolling accessories sold separately.

PA-13: Authorities Widen Search Area for Marjorie Margolies

The mystery continues in the search for congressional candidate Marjorie Margolies.

Authorities are expanding the search area after months of absences from debates and community forums across the 13th congressional district.

She was last seen at a fundraiser in mid-February.

Preliminary reports that Margolies may have been transported to central Asia now appear to be inaccurate.

Kane Considering Legal Action After Second Negative Story Written About Her in 14 Months

The Attorney General may sue the Philadelphia Inquirer following the paper’s report that she ended a sting investigation against state lawmakers.

PA-8: DCCC and EMILY’s List Fight Over Who Should Lose to Fitzpatrick

Two of the nation’s top Democratic campaign organizations are engaged in a pitched battle in Pennsylvania’s 8th congressional district. EMILY’s List, which advocates for pro-choice female candidates, is going head-to-head with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, over which candidate should lose  to Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick (R-Bucks) in the fall.

An EMILY’s List spokeswoman enthusiastically touted businesswoman Shaughnessy Naughton. “We are completely confident that with Shaughnessy we can get within eight, maybe even six, points of electing a female PA representative,” she said.

The DCCC is standing firmly behind its candidate, ex-Army Ranger Kevin Strouse.

“We still believe we have a candidate in Kevin that can get 45, perhaps as much as 46 percent of the vote against Mike Fitzpatrick,” said a DCCC spokesman.

The Fitzpatrick campaign declined to comment but noted that the Congressman intends to hold a telephone town hall sometime in the next eighteen months.

Metcalfe Bill Would Ban the Word “Caucus”

State Rep. Daryl Metcalfe (R-Butler) called on his colleagues to replace the “abomination” with a more heteronormative term.

The bill would also ban the word heteronormative.

PSEA Withdraws McCord Endorsement

In a surprising reversal Tuesday, the Pennsylvania State Educators Association pulled its endorsement of Rob McCord for Governor.

“We thought he was an OK candidate. He was funny and interesting, and fun to be around,” said PSEA President Mike Crossey. “But after the endorsement, he was like a totally different person. He started calling all the time, showing up to our regional meetings, that kind of thing.”

“He even asked us for money.”

Crossey said McCord’s TV ads were the last straw.

“Have you seen his ads? It’s like he’s never gotten another endorsement before. Awkward.”

Poll: Corbett Approval Remains 100% Among Dogs

Tom Corbett’s re-election hopes got a shot in the arm Tuesday.

The latest survey from Harper Polling showed the Governor tied with his record high approval from man’s best friend.

Dogs gave Corbett a 100% approval rating for the third consecutive year. The pollster attributed the Governor’s strong showing to his generous policy on biscuits and belly rubs.

Corbett’s real challenge will be to distinguish himself from the pack. The same poll showed canine approval at 100% for every candidate.

Cats, meanwhile, remain largely uncommitted in the race.

Joke's On Us

The joke’s on us. Our hosting company suspended PoliticsPA.com for reaching 3,615% of traffic limit. We hope to be back soon. In the meantime, the day's news continues here.

PoliticsPA's 4/13 Ups & Downs

Happy Friday the 13th, politicos. 


PoliticsPA readers. There are so many of you now that we needed the shut down the primary site today in order to upgrade our server to accommodate all the traffic (hence this blogger.com setup and the different format). Thanks for your patience and your patronage!


Don’t miss PoliticsPA’s list of Winners and Losers from Santorum’s decision to drop his presidential bid.

Up - Clintonites. Former President Clinton is about the highest-value endorsement you can have in a Democratic primary in Pa. He’s more popular among Dems than Barack Obama. On Thursday, the Prez headlined a rally for Kathleen Kane for Attorney General and announced his support for Rep. Mark Critz. It’s great press for Kane (who also got the Inky’s endorsement), and, said national reporter Shira Toeplitz, “This might be the closest we get to a game change moment in pa-12.” Kane and Critz’s mentor Jack Murtha were both strong Hillary Clinton supporters in 2008.

Up - Kathy Boockvar. Kathy had an impressive Q1 fundraising haul, raising $330K. She solidified her top dog status of DCCC recruits in PA and proved she can be a formidable opponent to Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick. Not to mention the fact that because the district is in the Philadelphia media market it will require substantial resources to get on the air in the fall. Similar props go to Larry Maggi (raised $266K in pa-18); Keith Rothfus (raised $241K in pa-12); and Manan Trivedi (raised $229K in pa-6).

Up - LRC. They finally passed a map! After passing a map that did not pass constitutional muster, the Legislative Reapportionment Commission deliberated and deliberated and deliberated and deliberated until they finally could agree on a map that split fewer municipalities and was more likely to pass the constitutionality test.

Up- Rick Santorum. Santorum quit while he could still save face. He quit before the Pa. tide had definitively turned against him and avoided the risk of an embarrassing death blow on his home turf.

Up/Down - Evan Feinberg. The Club for Growth announced this week that they have no plans to pump additional money into the Feinberg challenge to Rep. Tim Murphy. He raised a paltry $71K in Q1, but plans to air a TV ad. However, he did score the moral victory of an (official) endorsement from the Tribune-Review.

Down - Mark Cohen. State Rep. Mark Cohen's campaign manager parked a campaign vehicle in a spot reserved for press at City Hall in Philadelphia. The kicker is that his campaign manager writes for a newspaper in Phila. The Democratic Caucus Chairman's campaign staff certainly raised questions about journalistic ethics that may have gone unnoticed if parking-gate had not arisen.

Clinton Headlines Rally for Kane

By Elyse Clonan and Elena Alessi, Contributing Writers

Willow Grove -- Bill Clinton took the stage at Upper Moreland High School in Montgomery County Thursday evening amid an enthusiastic crowd. He stood with Kathleen Kane, the former Lackawanna County prosecutor running for Pennsylvania Attorney General.  

Kane is one of two Democrats on the ballot in the April 24th primary. Her opponent is Patrick Murphy, a former Congressman from Bucks County.  

Kane presented herself as an “independent prosecutor” who would serve as the “chief law enforcement officer of Pennsylvania, not as a politician.” The former Lackawanna County prosecutor, focused on her background of prosecuting more than 3,000 cases of child abuse, sexual assault, elder abuse, white collar crime, murder and public corruption.  

“We are so energized and humbled and honored,” she said.  “For President Clinton to take time out of his very busy schedule...to come here and be with us shows that he cares about the people of Pennsylvania...he knows this job.  He knows what it takes and he knows the person that is going to do it.”

Clinton, a former Attorney General himself, called the post “in some ways, the best job I ever had.”

“The answer is easy, and its Kathleen Kane,” Clinton said to the crowd of over a hundred supporters who had gathered in the Upper Moreland HS gymnasium for the rally.  “She’s the only candidate that has literally spent years using the power of the law to protect women and children from abuse, to protect seniors...to protect the most vulnerable.”

Clinton’s the highest-profile endorsement in the race so far. Murphy has the backing of most of Pennsylvania’s Democratic party leaders, including former Gov. Ed Rendell, and all of Pa.’s major unions.

Kane campaigned for Hillary Clinton in 2008, leading her northeast Pa. efforts. Murphy was an outspoken supporter of Barack Obama in the primary.