The winners, the losers and a 2016 contender. See who made this week’s list!
PA Democratic Party. The judicial elections were the biggest contests on Tuesday. There were three open seats on the State Supreme Court in addition to open seats on the Superior and Commonwealth Courts. The Democrats swept those races, going 5-for-5. As we discussed in our election post-mortem, the new liberal majority on the PA Supreme Court could last for many years and have a huge affect on the politics of the Keystone State. From the record fundraising to the surprisingly smooth Chair transition, this was a superb fall for the state’s Democratic Party.
Tom Wolf. Nevertheless, the Governor still faces a massive GOP majority in the legislature. In fact, that majority grew by one on Tuesday. Expect the Republicans to trumpet their victory in SD-37 as a sign that voters support them in the budget battle. The result also provided a reminder that Republicans hold a firm grip on the legislature that is nearly impossible for them to lose, while Wolf faces a very real re-election contest in 2018. How do you win a battle against opponents who have nothing to be afraid of? If you have an idea, Governor Wolf would be interested.
Jim Kenney. In what was a shock to absolutely no one, Kenney ran away with the Philadelphia Mayoral race. In fact, it turns out the ex-Councilman won by a record margin. Now the long-time pol finally gets his chance to lead Pennsylvania’s largest city. The only problem? Jim Kenney will soon find himself the leader of Pennsylvania’s largest city. Being the Mayor of a major metropolitan area is an incredibly difficult job that leaves you highly visible yet overly dependent on a state government that cares little for you. That’s a recipe for trouble and poor approval ratings. Just look at incumbent Mayor Michael Nutter or up north at New York Mayor Bill de Blasio. It’s possible Kenney is the perfect person for this job, it’s also possible that the job will consume him no matter hard he tries. We wish him luck.
Dwight Evans. You might have missed the news in the midst of election fever, but Dwight Evans announced that he’ll be challenging Congressman Chaka Fattah in the 2016 Democratic primary. Unlike Fattah’s other three opponents, Evans is considered a serious threat to the indicted incumbent. Not only does he have the experience as a long-time State Rep. but Wolf and Kenney are already getting behind him. To top it all off, he already has a Super PAC. Overall, Evans had the best week you didn’t notice.
Pennsylvania’s Congressional Delegation. The derailment of Amtrak Train 188 was less than seven months ago but it seems everyone in the Capitol building has already forgot. Way back in 2008, the railroads were given seven years to install Positive Train Control (PTC), a system designed to prevent such disasters. After the May tragedy, there were hopes that Washington would do their best to make sure nothing like that would ever happen again. We expected them to make sure the PTC was installed in time. Instead, as Jonathan Tamari of the Inquirer details, they voted to extend the deadline to 2018. Well, actually the deadline can be extended all the way to 2020, when it will almost surely be extended again. The move was done by voice vote so as not to leave an embarrassing trace should another accident occur in the future. We wish the members of Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation would’ve stood as one and forced the issue. Instead they just stood by while their leaders agreed to let the problem go unsolved for who knows how many more years. Far too often it is much too easy to figure out why so many are so cynical about our government.
The tweet of the week goes to Philadelphia Magazine’s Joel Mathis for obvious reasons.
https://twitter.com/joelmmathis/status/661763001289052160
Loading ...
16 Responses
I’d like to ask gulag/Frank Little whether he is ashamed of having his dopey face all over the interwebs asking for a handout.
eagleswing – why don’t you walk up to him and ask him?
i’d still like to hear evidence as to what gulag (a/k/a frank little?) has against judge donahue. as a lawyer one might think he’d produce more evidence to support his charges.
I’m supporting AG Kathleen Kane all the way.
Can we get an Up Arrow for Bob Guzzardi going ham on politicspa again and even earning a Micek shoutout?
What, no down arrow for Montgomery County Republican Committee chair Mike Vereb for singlehandedly causing the loss of the entire slate of row offices (including ones we have held for years) and 2 of 3 judgeships, to the Democrats thanks to his focus on trying to beat fellow Republican Joe Gale from winning as minority county commissioner rather than on fighting Democrats? His actions in this race were so egregious that respected consultant Ryan Shafik at Rockwood Strategies basically put a bounty on his head for someone to primary him since he’s equally ineffective and unpopular in Harrisburg. If this RINO doesn’t deserve a down arrow I don’t know who does.
Speaking of “smoking,” you need to stop smoking Fina’s pole.
Hey “Krazy” – you are the one and only shill troll here. You just use different screen names. If you think Fina has “nothing to do with” this situation – you are a either very stupid or just a bad shill.
Fina and his buddies orchestrated this whole thing. And now we know why. How friggin racist is he?
Jessica, please share whatever you’re smoking. Yesterday Kane once again made a fool of herself by refusing to comply with the Senate process. She relied on a made-up legal argument, stuck her finger in the eyes of fellow (powerful) Democrats, and further solidified public opinion against her. You are one of two or three people in the world defending her, and that’s assuming you’re not the same person as Diano or HaHaHa. Read any news report our editorial, and you’ll see unanimous opposition to the train wreck that Kane has become. Fina has literally nothing to do with the Kane situation at this point. Kane’s futile efforts to drag him into this must make him laugh his as off.
The biggest DOWN ARROW should be for Frank Fina and his pals. Their efforts to railroad the duly elected Attorney General of PA are being exposed. Their pervert e-mails are being exposed. Their racist e-mails are being exposed. And their illegal leaks to the Inquirer are coming to light.
like anyone cares what troll-boy larry types. has Eakin resigned yet?
Yeah, like anybody’s calling David Diano for advice about anything.
“Republicans hold a firm grip on the legislature that is nearly impossible for them to lose, while Wolf faces a very real re-election contest in 2018. How do you win a battle against opponents who have nothing to be afraid of? If you have an idea, Governor Wolf would be interested.”
Tom, call me. 🙂
Hint: if you kick a lot of ass in 2016 with legislative candidates, you can make huge dent in the GOP majority advantage.
Note: See similar advice you ignored in 2014 that has led to your current problems.
Gulag aka Frank Little,
You need to calm the hell down and get a life.
For new Supreme Christine Donohue, sending the porn email will be easy. Just attach one of her Opinions.
http://media.fyre.co/iZECAs4DQ9iJf8hsE4uM_Rile%2081.jpg