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Top Story

1. Oz Aide Mocks Fetterman’s Stroke In Escalation of Crudite Tiff

“Republican Pennsylvania Senate candidate Mehmet Oz’s campaign is taking a jab at Democratic opponent John Fetterman after the lieutenant governor’s campaign ridiculed — and raised money off of — a video showing the GOP hopeful shopping for groceries while complaining about the price of crudité.

“If John Fetterman had ever eaten a vegetable in his life, then maybe he wouldn’t have had a major stroke and wouldn’t be in the position of having to lie about it constantly,” Rachel Tripp, Oz’s senior communications adviser, said in a statement.

“No real doctor, or any decent human being, to be honest, would ever mock a stroke victim who is recovering from that stroke, in the way that Dr. Oz is mocking John Fetterman,” Dr. Val Arkoosh said. (The Hill)

Related

Oz Campaign: Fetterman Wouldn’t Have Had A Stroke If He ‘Had Ever Eaten a Vegetable’ “The daytime TV celebrity has been playing defense after an infamous video resurfaced last week of Oz assembling a confounding veggie tray “crudité” as a means to portray himself as an everyman and talk about inflation.” (HuffPost)

Oz Cannot Out-Meme Fetterman But He Can Out-Work and Defeat Him. “One thing Dr. Mehmet Oz will never be able to do is to out-cool John Fetterman. Oz, the Republican U.S. Senate nominee, currently trails Democratic nominee Fetterman in the polls. But Oz’s relative lack of meme skills may not be a bad thing when voters start giving the race more scrutiny next month.” (Washington Examiner)

Fetterman Rallies Steelworkers in Battle For U.S. Senate Seat. “Calling on an old friend, Democrats up and down the ballot in Western Pennsylvania — including U.S. Senate candidate John Fetterman — joined a few hundred United Steelworkers members on Tuesday to reassert their commitment to the “union way of life” ahead of a crucial midterm election cycle.” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

• Fetterman Gives First Pittsburgh Speech Since Stroke, As Rival Steps Up Criticism of His Health. (WESA)
• Fetterman Addresses Union Supporters at Pittsburgh Rally, But Avoids Reporters. (Tribune-Review)

Governor

2. Slashed Funding, Equity, Parent Choice: Pennsylvania Gov Candidates Have Hugely Different Education Plans

“Democratic gubernatorial candidate Josh Shapiro wants to continue to increase public education funding in Pennsylvania, while his opponent, Republican Doug Mastriano, wants to dramatically cut it.

Mastriano, a state senator, would take the funds and move them to separate accounts parents can use to send their children to any school they want, including charter and religious schools.

Shapiro, who serves as attorney general, says along with overall increases, he wants to make funding more equitable across districts.” (WHYY)

Related

Mastriano in Lehigh Valley Swing Blasts PA Crime, Paints Candidacy as Fight Against ‘Tyranny’ “Co-opting the pandemic battle cry “follow the science” and blasting Pennsylvania’s crime rate, the Republican candidate for governor spoke to supporters Tuesday during a swing through the Lehigh Valley.” (Lehigh Valley Live)

Philadelphia

3. Krasner Says No to Compliance With Subpoena

“Embattled Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner will not comply with a subpoena issued by a Pennsylvania House of Representatives committee investigating him.

In an interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer, Krasner called the investigation “illegal,” anti-democratic,” and politically motivated.

“This is a fraud,” he said, adding: “They don’t get to choose [Philadelphia’s] leadership.” (PoliticsPA)

Related

• Philadelphia DA Rejects Subpoena by House Panel Investigating Crime Surge. (Pennsylvania Capital-Star)
• Philly DA Krasner Calls House Subpoena ‘Anti-Democratic’ (The Center Square)

Around the Commonwealth

‘Scorched Earth Campaign’: Group Says 3 PA Officials Threaten American Democracy. “Three prominent Pennsylvania Republicans have been identified as “a grave danger to American democracy” in a new report.” (Beaver County Times)

Why People in State College and Rural North-Central PA Don’t Have Easy Access to In-Person Abortion Services. “Even though abortion is legal in Pennsylvania, Abby Minor, a Penns Valley resident, said she was shocked by how difficult it was to have the procedure done during the summer of 2013.” (Spotlight PA State College)

League of Women Voters Looks to Join Wolf Lawsuit Over Proposed Constitutional Amendments. “Attorneys for the League on Friday filed an application to intervene as co-petitioners against the state Legislature and the action by its majority party on July 8 to adopt a single bill containing five separate proposed amendments to the state constitution.” (Tribune-Democrat)

Pennsylvania Updated Its Voter Registration Form – And It Angered a Lot of County Elections Officials. “It was supposed to just be a small but helpful change: updating the Pennsylvania voter registration form to allow voters to simultaneously sign up for mail ballots. But the blowback from county elections officials was immediate.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Commentary

• Trump’s Terrible, Horrible, Very Bad Two Weeks (Carl Hisiro, PennLive)
• Fetterman’s Political Menu – Chopped Veggies  and Class Envy (Christine Flowers, Broad + Liberty)
• It’s Time to Fix Harrisburg – Let’s Start With the Ground Rules (Eileen Walkowiak, Bucks County Courier Times)
• Everyday Ethics: What Children Can Teach Us About Politics (John C. Morgan, Delco Times)
• Play Stupid Games, Win Stupid Prizes: Metcalfe’s Antics Will Cost PA Dearly (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
• The Pennsylvania Sunshine Act Shouldn’t Be Used as a Weapon to Shut Down Discussion (LNP | Lancaster Online)
• PA Lawmakers Expect Automatic Pay Raises. We Should Make Them Earn It. (York Dispatch)