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4/29 Ups & Downs

The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. Check out who made our post-election list!

Down ArrowJoe Sestak. Seven years of practically non-stop work and Joe Sestak is still no closer to the United States Senate. It wasn’t easy of course, as it took three opponents, the President, Vice President, two PA Governors, a PA Senator, the current Senate Democratic Leader, the future Senate Democratic Leader, the DSCC, organized labor and EMILY’s List to bring Sestak down. Nonetheless, the indefatigable candidate’s political fortunes are dimmer than ever before. It’s tough to see where Sestak goes from here, but it would be truly surprising if he didn’t somehow find something to run (or walk) for eventually.

Up Arrow1Tom Wolf. Governor Wolf has had a rough time in office so far, defined by that year-long budget battle, and really need a win. On Tuesday, he got several victories. Katie McGinty, Josh Shapiro and Dwight Evans were all endorsed by Wolf and they all won. Not to mention Hillary Clinton, who held her election-eve rally at City Hall alongside the Governor and tons of other PA Democrats. Perhaps the 2016 primary contests can provide Tom Wolf with some much-needed momentum.  

 

Down ArrowChaka Fattah. Congressman Chaka Fattah’s long political career is finally coming to an end. The incumbent lost his fight with State Rep. Dwight Evans, making him the first Congressman to be primaried this year. Now, his impending criminal trial looms as Fattah faces long odds in defeating the 29 indictments against him. 2016 just continues to get worse for Chaka Fattah.

 

Up ArrowBill Shuster. As Tuesday neared, you got the feeling that Rep. Bill Shuster was getting nervous. The Congressman touted the NRA’s endorsement and launched some last-minute TV ads in his attempt to hold off a primary challenge from Art Halvorson. Early in the night, it appeared Shuster might go down. Eventually, though, Shuster survived with a slim 1,009 vote victory. Now, he is already turning toward the presidential race as he endorsed Donald Trump yesterday.

 

Down ArrowBill Golderer. The most embarrassing defeat award goes to Bill Golderer, who was decimated by Mary Ellen Balchunis in the PA-7 Democratic primary. Balchunis, despite being beloved by local Democratic activists, isn’t seen as a serious threat to Congressman Pat Meehan (he easily defeated her in 2014). So it made sense when the DCCC urged Golderer to get into the race. He also did a decent job fundraising and even got Steny Hoyer to do an event for him. So there’s no excuse for being blown out by forty-eight points. Suffice to say, don’t expect to see Golderer run for another political office.   

The tweet of the week goes to MTV’s Hanif Abdurraqib for pointing out this all-time gaffe moment.

https://twitter.com/NifMuhammad/status/725349358435074049

25 Responses

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  3. Cue the music …. for AG Kane’s song … …

    Don’t you know I’m still standing and you are all pieces of shit
    Looking like a true survivor, putting’ Eakin on the skids

    I’m still standing after all this time
    Making sure Fina gets his due, a little bit of prison time.

    I’m still standing – yeah yeah yeah
    I’m still standing – yeah yeah yeah

    Once I never could hope to win
    You started with the smear campaign; and I had a frown
    The stuff you leaked was meant to cut me down
    And if Harrisburg was a real circus, you’d be a clown by now

    You know I’m still standing better than I ever did
    Looking like a true survivor, exposing your sexual pics of kids

    I’m still standing after all this time
    Picking up supporters in my life; as you do your lyin’

    I’m still standing – yeah yeah yeah
    I’m still standing – yeah yeah yeah

  4. When is Ron Castille getting locked up for his illegal leak?

    Pennsylvania Supreme Court Chief Justice Ron Castille authorized a special grand jury investigation into the matter of Kane’s alleged leak of protected information.
    Yet, it appears that Castille has leaked secret information about the very grand jury examining Kane:

    “Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille told reporters that some of the documents in question constituted grand jury material, which would be confidential…. Questioned by reporters at the annual Pennsylvania Society gathering in New York, Castille countered that at least one of the documents that appeared in the Daily News story should have been confidential. ‘It was a detective’s statement,’ said Castille, speaking to two reporters at the Metropolitan Club.” (Philadelphia Inquirer 12/14/14)

    So, because of grand jury secrecy rules, there is a detective’s statement that Kane should not have provided the Daily News. If she is precluded from revealing it because it is secret, then how can Castille discuss it?

    Furthermore, would not Castille’s revelation that the detective statement is at the center of the new grand jury investigation be a further violation of grand jury secrecy rules?
    The law is incredibly clear that Castille is violating the law because discussing anything in a grand jury is verboten:

    “All evidence, including exhibits and all testimony presented to the grand jury, is subject to grand jury secrecy, and no person may disclose any matter occurring before the grand jury, except…Defendant in a Criminal Case…[and] A grand jury witness may disclose his or her testimony”. (PA Code Rule 556.10)

    When is Castille’s perp walk? Why was Kane “selected” for prosecution while Castille has not been?

  5. Ha3,

    Totally agree. Not only do the corrupt prosecutors violate people’s rights by illegally leaking material – the Press that get the benefit of all the “leaked” information then go on to protect the corrupt prosecutors that feed them stuff for their articles.

    Hope the FBI is paying close attention.

  6. Pat – PPA did not even report on this HUGE case when the Superior Court initially threw out the charges a couple months ago.

    It’s funny. When he launched the PSU3 case, there were leaks left and right. The Press reported whatever Fina & The Corbett Pervs wanted them to report. Fina even violated the Ethical Rules by going on TV and commenting on how strong his case was (yes – the one just gutted by the Appeals Court).

    And now – radio silence. Not only does the Court throw out the majority of the charges, but they go out of their way to RIP Frank Fina for his unethical behavior. But no reports in the Press.

    This is why the current system is a problem. Unscrupulous prosecutors (like Fina & The Corbett Pervs) have gamed the system. With their illegal leaks, they select damaging information and give it to the Press. And before the “target” ( chosen often for all the wrong reasons) has a chance to avail himself of the protections the Courts provide, he is convicted in the court of public opinion.

    These guys are corrupt ayyyy-holes. Time to stop protecting them. Agree on Craig and Angrla too. The INKY better realize that they have been co-conspirators to Fina & The Corbett Pervs.

  7. Interesting that there is again no article here about the AG’s decision not to appeal the Superior Court’s decision to toss the majority of the charges in Frank Fina’s Penn State case. The Superior Court found that Fina’s conduct was “highly improper.”

    And, of course, Craig McCoy at the Inquirer penned an article wherein he never mentions Fina’s name and never types “highly improper.” Hm- I wonder why.

    Could it be that Fina & The Corbett Pervs have been illegally leaking material to McCoy’s paper for years? Remember – when Fina’s pal Barry Feudale was thinking about illegally leaking material, he e-mailed Craig McCoy. And he CC’d Frank Fina.

  8. Bill Golderer spent $239,391 or $13.09/per vote
    Mary Ellen spent $45,541 or .88c/ per vote, and won by nearly 50 points.

    Let’s not forget, Mary Ellen had to put up with 10 months of Lindy Li, before Lindy rolled a “six” with her congressional district dice, and ended up with snake-eyes.

    Long Walk Back to Virginia-
    I’m still wondering if all the Sestak supporters were paid shills (well… underpaid)

    Pat Unger-

    Sestak has been a blight and a plague on this party. The winners are the voters for making the right choice this time.

    “Momma”-

    Plenty of other political hacks for me to go after.

  9. A giant down arrow for John Estey. I wonder who he will take with him.

  10. The fact Fattah even ran for election shows most politicians di stain for the average voter….morons are out there voting….yahoooo

  11. You can probably add a down arrow for Mike Turzai who will likely face a challenger in the general election. He was so desperate to avoid facing Dr. John Craig Hammond in the general election that he created a fake “Democrats for Turzai” organization and hired temps to man the polls to fool Democrats into writing Turzai’s name in.

    http://www.post-gazette.com/early-returns/erlocal/2016/04/29/Democrat-declares-write-in-victory-setting-up-November-challenge-for-Mike-Turzai/stories/201604290193

  12. Still not hearing much from the Admiral’s groupies. Was there a suicide pact at his fancy election night party in his office parking lot?

  13. Take a look at Katie McGinty’s big win by the numbers:

    •656,375: Total number of Pennsylvania Democrats who voted for Katie
    •43.05%: Percentage of Democratic primary voters who cast a ballot for Katie
    •59: The total number of counties Katie won
    •10.16%: Katie’s margin of victory in the primary

  14. Pompous? I little more than that. This from the latest Temple alumni mag.

    JOSEPH GALE
    DEGREE: BBA, real estate and finance, Fox School of Business, 2011
    OCCUPATION: Rogue Republican
    LOCATION: Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania
    Growing up, Joe Gale and his family ate dinner together every evening.
    “It’s where I learned my most valuable life lessons,” says the
    Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, native. The nightly family discussions
    of current events also sparked Gale’s interest in politics.
    In high school, he volunteered at the polls and was elected committeeman
    of his precinct. As a Temple student, he founded a
    Republican student organization at Ambler Campus and ran unsuccessfully
    for Plymouth Township Council. And last year, Gale
    found himself part of the political revolution taking place in the
    U.S. when he ran unendorsed by the Republican Party for
    Montgomery County commissioner, the highest elected position in
    the county.
    “I’m the Donald Trump of Montgomery County,” says Gale,
    “with different hair and a smaller wallet.” How did the 26-year-old
    pull off one of the biggest upset victories in Pennsylvania?
    By applying the values he learned at his family’s kitchen table:
    “My parents taught me that whatever you do in life, if you do your
    very best, you won’t have any regrets,” says Gale. “My biggest asset
    in the race was that I wasn’t afraid of losing.”
    His first upset was in the primary, but that win didn’t gain him
    any support from the Republican Party, which wouldn’t endorse
    him in the general election, either.
    Gale ran a grassroots campaign, holding 137 small meet-andgreets
    he called “Cups of Joe,” where he was able to get to know
    voters and hear their concerns. Those voters gave Gale his second
    upset, in the general election last November.
    “What’s special is that the people elected me,” says Gale. “I
    wasn’t picked by the party or the big law firms or the unions or
    special interest groups or lobbyists.”
    As commissioner, a role he compares to being CEO of a corporation
    with a $389 million annual budget and 3,800 employees, Gale
    hopes to restore the county’s downgraded bond rating and revitalize
    Norristown, the county seat.
    His plans after his four-year term is up? “People ask all the time
    if I would challenge Tom Wolf, but I’m not old enough”—the age
    requirement to run for governor is 30—“so for now I just take it one
    day at a time. I’d like to open a real estate firm with my brother. Or
    if I do a good job here, maybe I could go further in politics.
    —Kate O’Neill

  15. David has gotten a little carried away. Sore winner (even though he, technically, did not win anything).

  16. The biggest loss here is for poor David Diano. My God, if Sestak never runs again who will David continue to hate?

  17. Edit (I was typing too fast on a small screen): Wallace wins for best comment. Couldn’t agree more. The kid is far from a kingmaker. He needs to deflate his ego. I was a supporter until the win went to his head and he became obnoxious. Admirable for such a young man to win a county wide seat, but no need to act so pompous.

  18. Walace wins for best comment. Couldn’t agree me. The kid is far from a kingmaker. He needs to deflate his ego. I was a supporter until the win went to his head and he became obnoxious. Admirable for such a young man to win a county wide seat, but no need to act so pompous.

  19. obviously the most embarrassing defeat went to Joe Gale (who lives with his mother) for backing a tax-delinquent deadbeat clown for congress and got thoroughly walloped.

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