Landau "cited employment statistics showing 68 of 70 employees in the Sheriff’s Department are registered Republican, and 41 percent of those have contributed financially to the GOP.".
The Delco Times reported that (county rolls put total employees at 65), but did not dispute the extremely high percentage of Republican employees or of financial contribution to the GOP.
Delco Times: Landau has so far gone after the county Solicitor’s Office, the Election Bureau, Voting Machines and Voter Registration offices, as well as the county Executive Director and Chief Clerk offices for having high levels of employees registered to vote Republican or donating to Republican campaigns and committees.
While the GOP holds a slipping registration advantage, they certainly do NOT represent over 90% of the electorate (actually only 55%). So, why do Republicans hold more than 90% of the jobs in key County Departments (particularly in those that are supposed to be non-partisan)?
County Executive Director Marianne Grace defended the partisan GOP hiring practices by pretending that Landau was making personal attacks on law enforcement personnel. Is she claiming that the Sheriff's department is over 95% Republican by sheer chance? How stupid does she think the voters of Delco are?
In honor of our new local casino, I'll put this in gambling terms: If you had a pile of playing cards that were labeled 55% GOP and 45% non-GOP, what would you think if 68 out of 70 cards came up GOP? How about if next 31 cards for the "Election Bureau, Voting Machines and Voter Registration offices" ALL came up 31 GOP cards in a row?
At this point, any reasonable player would be calling for the Gaming Commission to examine the deck and arrest the dealers and casino owners.
The only way to stop the GOP machine from "stacking the deck" and "dealing from the bottom" is to elect David Landau, Ann O'Keefe and John Innelli to "inspect the cards" and deal with the voters fairly. It's long past time the voters stopped the GOP machine from gambling away our future.
5 comments:
While I think the facs Landau is pointing out are intersting, I think he is hurting himself by doing it. The people he is pointing to are lower level employees who do not make that much and are regular working people trying to make ends meet. They should not be criticised--their masters whould be. He has now done nothing more than energize 3000 people, their friends and family to vote and work hard on e-day. Not smart politics.
WhyNotUs-
First of all, the problem is clearly with the people ("masters") doing the hiring and apparently looking at the voter registration or GOP political activity and locking out Dems and Independents from these jobs. Landau has criticized them and not the workers. But, where is your concern for the non-Republicans that have been turned down for County jobs?
So, you only find it interesting that taxpayer dollars are being spent on apparently unfair hiring practices and political discrimination?
Delco GOP runs the government like a pre-civil-rights movement company in the old South. Imagine that 55% of the population was white, but more than 90% of the jobs were going to whites (with 100% in key departments). If it was any worse in Delco, the Democrats would have separate water fountains.
If the stories that float around during election time are true, the "masters" keep strike lists to make sure their 3000+ "employees" show up a the polls or work them or donate/kickback.
How many of the 3000 employees are really Democrats that changed their registration to get a job? How many of them will be eager to change back and lose their shackles?
By effectively locking out the talent and ideas of the other 45% of the electorate, the GOP is costing taxpayers more.
"I shilled the sherriff, but I swear it was in self-defense!"
Really, whynotus, that logic will just preserve the status quo. THe patronage system already establishes that those "3000" people were going to vote Republican. But nobody is going to break this dreadnaught unless they make the case about how rigged the system is--and keep making it over and over and over again.
"If the stories that float around during election time are true, the "masters" keep strike lists to make sure their 3000+ "employees" show up a the polls or work them or donate/kickback."
Finally, you acknowledge that one of "the stories tht float around" may not be true! (This one isn't.)
You are making real progress here David! I am really proud of you!
By the way, as you mention, some of those 3,000 employees may have changed their registration to get a job -- because people like you keep spreading these "stories" that convince them that that's what they have to do, not because it's true.
But that wouldn't stop them from voting Democrat in the past umpteen County Council races, would it, if that's what they really wanted?
Trust the voters, David. They've been sending you a message for a long, long time. (And it has nothing to do with national politics; no one is blaming the war in Iraq on County Council.)
Pat-
Actually, I believe the stories are completely true in some of the stronger GOP areas. I also believe that while many may vote Democratic in the booth, they are still conscripted to help out with the elections or to coerced to contribute. Unfortunately, whistle-blowers are afraid to come forward because they will not risk their jobs, particularly when they believe (rightly or wrongly) that even some judges look at donation lists, so that no one will protect them. So, they suffer in silence and hope the Dems win and change the environment.
BTW, wasn't there a story a few years ago (maybe on a blog) about someone in the courthouse strongly urging (coercing) employees to buy tickets to some GOP fundraiser on a boat or something? Might have seen it on the Thomas Paine or Haverford blog.
As for the Voters, the GOP Party, GOP County Council and GOP candidates back Bush, Cheney, Santorum and Weldon. Once the voters realize that the Delco GOP does not share their values or priorities, they'll the Dem's that matched their votes for higher office candidates. The message for the voters is to make the connection and then select the Dem candidates.
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