It's all over, but the crying.
There are few other ways to put it. County-wide Democrats got crushed this year.
The next days and weeks will be filled with analysis, blame, finger-pointing, and recriminations. I have a big smack-down on where I think the blame lies... but I will leave that for another, more public, venue.
The GOP candidates raised a ton of money and worked together (they were almost indistinguishable from each other). The Dems did not raise as much money nor work closely together. I believe that had the Dem money all been pooled into a single joint campaign, they would have done better. Frequent, joint-campaign, mailers would have helped get out our message.
That aside, the GOP did a great job of turning out their voters. It is currently an open question as to whether the "case against the courthouse" energized the GOP to protect their patronage, or the Dems to fight against it. If the final vote analysis resolves that question, I'll discuss it at some point.
I would like to give Andy Lewis credit for one thing. In Haverford, the Twardy/Moran faction of Haverford Republican party actively and maliciously campaigned against Andy. Their actions made this blog look like a love-letter to Andy, by comparison. For those wondering, Andy earned their wrath by helping expose their corruption of Haverford politics. So, Andy deserves credit for putting up with this on top of legitimate criticism from the Dem ticket.
The Dems put up a good fight all over the county, and will have to cherish the few local victories they did win.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
28 comments:
Well, David, I know I said I wouldn't kick you when you were down, but . . . I lied.
This victory is just so sweet after all the abuse that we took at your hands on this blog.
You definitely win, hands down, the gold medal for name-calling and insults, but we won what really matters.
And it's even more sweet because this was, I think, the most well-financed Democratic opposition EVER, and yet they didn't even come close.
What's more -- and I think you will enjoy this one too -- David Landau spent at least ten times more than O'Keefe and Innelli, but he barely outpolled them. Sweet!
I don't know the final numbers, but I am pretty sure that the margin of victory in this race was larger than the margin of victory in 2005. We're on the way back up!
And that display of what has to be one of the most questionable political judgment of all time, i.e., the unholy alliance between the right-wing Republican pro-life Rick Lacey and the left-wing Democrat pro-choice David Landau, probably didn't earn either of them a seat at the grown-ups table of their respective parties.
David, I do appreciate the kind words about Andy Lewis. George Twardy and his merry band of raving lunatics really went out of their way to trash Andy, and though George definitely hurt us in Haverford's Sixth Ward, the effort barely measured on the Richter scale elsewhere.
I had the pleasure of spending several hours of quality time with the charming and always stylishly dressed Mr. Twardy -- the baseball hat added just the right dash of elegance to his hunting jacket and green khakis -- and he couldn't have been more courteous.
No, I mean really -- he couldn't have been more courteous, because he is not capable of it. I think he was raised by wolves.
So he only yelled at me a couple of times, but he did he snarl continually. And he called the constable to put them on alert that he might need protection from me at any moment, and he twice asked the Judge of Elections to throw me out of the poll, because I wouldn't let him trash Andy.
Well, David, it's been real.
P.S. Did I mention that we also swept all four of the Haverford Commissioner races in which we had candidates?
Well, so much for all the Ds enamored wiht candidiates that raise lots of money. While money raising is nice, and as the Rs showed necessary, what is also required is a little smarts in how to spend it--Landau and his band of dopes failed that miserably. He spent so much on his bullet balloting to the exclusion of his "teammates" that could have been spent on GOTV for the entire demo ticket in highly concentrated Democratic areas that experienced light turnout. I hope that Dems realize that this snake-oil salesman and his band of dopes deserve what they have gotten. The topper would be if Landau's clowns lost control of NP...poetic justice if that is the case.
Pat-
Gee. Thanks for being such a gracious winner. (Not!)
I spent about a half-hour hanging out at Coopertown and pleasantly talking and joking with Andy, even about blogging. He laughed when I suggested that they budget a one-man prison on the Haverford State site for Moran (and put a hand ball court on the back wall of his cell).
The loss by Larry Chrzan was probably the most disappointing of all. Haverford really lost out on having an honest, intelligent, progressive commissioner that would have made them proud. Nothing to cheer about there for either side.
As for Landau, I expect he and his lone-ranger philosophy will get their asses kicked at some high-level internal meetings. However, the REAL culprit, in my mind, is Sestak. He didn't lift a finger to help the Delco Dems and completely abandoned the candidates beyond a few sporadic and hollow words of endorsement. He selfishly horded his volunteers and donors, and ignored all pleas to bring unity to the ticket by significantly funding the joint campaign. While Sestak will be able to retain his seat in 2008, he made his job harder, by making our jobs harder.
Certainly, it was a moral victory for Ann, getting so close in votes with only a fraction of the money. Of all six candidates, I felt John was the MOST qualified to deal with the financial complexities of Delco government, and his defeat was truly a loss for Delaware County.
But, Pat, don't start counting your chickens before they are hatched. 2008 is a presidential year and there's going to be a ton of money/GOTV for the Dems. All the local union people that worked for the GOP council candidates are going to be out in force for Hillary. All the TV ads in the Philly market will reach Delco as well. Dem registration will be way up in 2008.
WhyNotUs-
Your analysis of Landau's campaign, in this and a previous post, echoes the opinion of many high-level insiders that warned Landau about his strategy. I would have preferred a "win" over an "I told you so", but that's all we have for now.
There were some local wins and we need to compare the strategies used there against the races we should have won and figure out if there was anything better we could have done. The GOP financial edge is difficult to overcome. Bang-for-the-buck (or dollar per vote) we were more efficient (except Landau).
Andy is always gracious, but I am sure it was made easier by the fact that I didn't tell him the vicious, cruel things that you said about him here.
I am a very gracious winner, but what I am responding to here is not so much the fact that your side lost as the vitriolic, nasty, abusive stuff you posted about Andy, Christine and Tom here.
I am hoping that you learned from this experience, and that being a jerk doesn't help your cause any.
Pat-
A) It seemed to have helped your cause.
B) Andy laughed when I told him that I wrote about how you think he "craps rainbows". He understood that it's all in fun and chuckled about how worked up you get. He's a big boy and what I wrote is mild compared to what the Twardy faction did.
C) You need to chill.
While I believe the three GOP candidates will conduct business as usual and not open-government, I will give them the chance to try and withhold final judgment on that until they get to vote. While Cannon and Lewis are likely the most moderate of the bunch, I have little doubt that McGarrigle will remain the total party/Sexton puppet he has always been. If Andy and Christine find themselves on the losing end of a lot of 3-2 votes for reform, then I will not feel so bad. I think they will regret not having a Dem instead of being stuck with McGarrigle.
Time will tell.
David:
I think you are reding it wrong--From eveything I have read and folks I have spoken to, McGarrigle is probably the most decent human being of the bunch--Fizzano Cannon is Reilly's protege and Andy Lewis will say and do anything for approval (sorry Pat). Landau mistargeted whe he focused on McGarrigle--Lewis was always the weak link because fo the split in Haverford--Springfield was always voting McGarrigle and McGarrigle alone wiht no R split there. Fizzano Cannon is the femal candidiate and makes no sense focusing on her. Pat--Tell Andy to thank David for not focusing more on him this year--we can do that in four years (or sooner).
As to my analysis David, whether you think its Democratic insider or not, it is nothing more than common sense--why do you put bullet voters in Democrat dominant towns, where 90% of the vote cast is a straight D ticket, but you do not move heaven and earth to make sure the large D registration comes out to vote? Hindsight is 20/20, but common sense is common sense...Landau wasted more money than Innelli and O'Keefe raised, all in some misguided belief that you can elect one in a three person race. He got what he deserves, and we must move forward as a party form here. We must be vigilant to ensure that the same type of snake oil salesmen do not take us for a ride again.
The Morning After Quarterback
“There has to be a morning after,” or so says the line of the song. And, indeed, stiff back, sore feet, and sleepy eyed, I awoke this morning to the same Delaware County that I’ve always known. There were Democratic gains in the municipal level. Sharon Hill gained three council seats and a tax collector but remain overall in the minority on council. Millbourne saw two seats go Democratic. Norwood, a longtime bastion of Democratic control who had slipped in recent years resurged back. Ridley Park swept all five seats on council to become Democratic for the first time in recent memory. Colwyn finally went Democrat – something that should’ve happened a long time ago – and Darby Borough gained two more Dem seats on council to remain in firm control. Most impressively, Marple gained two more seats on the Board of Commissioners to now have four Democrats and a very friendly Republican, giving them control. All-in-all, while the Republican machine maintained a firm vice grip on county seats – as they’ve done since the 1970’s and really, for almost the entire history of Delaware County – Democrats showed strongly in areas where we don’t traditionally do well.
My friends in Clifton Heights came very close to winning some key seats and showed a tremendous amount of gain. With the amount of hard work they’ve put in, they will surely be a Democratic town soon. In Folcroft, three of our four candidates fell short by about fifty votes. It was disappointing in part because I was very involved in the campaign and felt that we had a terrific message and packaged that message very well. Still, I am encouraged that Joe Papaleo will be given an opportunity he’s long dreamed of – to serve as a member of the Folcroft Council. I hope he works hard and earns the trust that’s been placed in him.
As for the county race, I have many thoughts. It came as no surprise to me that the Republicans easily beat their Democratic counterparts in the race for County Council. The Democrats ran a disjointed, unorganized, ineffective, and incoherent campaign. Despite the strong insistence by the members of the Delaware County Democratic Committee – and I mean the voting members of the county committee as sure as I mean the leadership – that the winners of the Democratic Primary work together and form a single campaign, and the assurances from those candidates that such cooperation would happen, it never occurred. David Landau raised a ton of money and spent it all on himself – which is what most candidates do. Despite equally impressive credentials on paper, Ann O’Keefe and John Innelli did less with less. David worked hard and I won’t take that away from him. He out raised, outspent, and outworked his running mates and deserves some small amount of credit for that ability.
I say small amount of credit because while David showed that he was an effective fund raiser, he also showed that he is not the brilliant strategist that his own propaganda machine would have you believe. He hired a staff consisting of someone far too unfamiliar with the inner workings of Delaware County; a product of the same inefficient and far too unsuccessful State Senate Democrats’ campaigns of the past. Jared Solomon, his campaign manager from Montgomery County, spent the majority of his time trying to strong arm and intimidate county committee members and municipal party leaders into working for David and David alone. He alienated more workers than he could’ve hoped to sway with his infantile tactics. While both Solomon and Landau have claimed large roles in the Sestak victory last year, anyone who paid close attention to that campaign knows that Sestak won because he raised a ton of money, had a tremendous resume, engendered a ton of support from committee members, leaders, and Republicans, and most importantly, ran at the right time. Had it not been for the controversy surrounding Curt Weldon, Sestak’s victory would hardly have been so assured.
Even taking away the outright refusal to work closely with Ann O’Keefe and John Innelli to form a cohesive, solidified campaign – which is hard to do, because not once did I see an advertisement, poster, sign, mailing, or reference to the Republican candidates’ campaign that didn’t include all three candidates – there are other glaring issues that point to David’s defeat. In a quote last night after the election, David – who was unable to admit a mistake throughout the campaign – was still at a loss for why he lost. “This election, to me at least, in the 30 seconds we had to analyze it, is about turnout,” said the dejected and defeated David Landau after the polls closed and it was clear that despite spending an estimated $200,000 on the race, he couldn’t even top the outcome of the most recent Democratic Party campaign for county council in 2005.
Well, from a considerable distance, I can point to more than simply voter turnout as the reason for David’s demise at the polls. I’ve already pointed to his absolute refusal to work as a part of a team for the bulk of the campaign. It’s really a shame. If you saw the one piece of joint literature that the Democrats did put together – last minute, last second, nearly after the polls closed – it was a great piece. There are other factors, though, that led to a rather humiliating result at the polls on Tuesday.
1) The Message. Democrats – not just David Landau, but also Ann O’Keefe, John Innelli, and every county council candidate who has run at least for as long as I’ve been involved in county politics have tried to impress upon the voters of Delaware County that because there are no Democrats on council, there’s something horrible going on in Media. David’s campaign further tried to uncover the “cronyism and corruption” in the courthouse by telling voters that the vast majority of county employees are registered Republicans. The shock! The horror!
Let’s face it, folks: the average voter in Delaware County doesn’t especially care whether county council is controlled by Republicans or Democrats. They also don’t especially care whether there’s minority representation guaranteed on the council. Most voters, rightly, feel that the best candidates should be the ones elected to a position. The idea of a guaranteed minority seat is far from anathema to most voters. In fact, most voters simply don’t care.
Frankly, why should they?
As long as residents feel that their elected officials are doing a decent job, they don’t especially care whether there are five Republicans, five Democrats, or a mix of party members on council.
Voters are also smart enough to realize that towns that have Democratic governments have a tendency to hire more Democrats than Republicans, just like the Republican controlled county government hires more Republicans than it does Democrats. Is it right or fair? No, of course not. The best candidate should be offered the job. But when two equal candidates are available, of course the hiring agency is going to hire someone with ideological similarities. That’s how a machine stays a machine. It’s the same all over and anyone who claims Democrats don’t do the same thing are simply deceiving themselves – and forget that we live just outside of Philadelphia. Because the average voter is smart enough to realize that this is true, the argument is not compelling. I’m not going to vote one bum and his cronies out simply to put another bum and his cronies in. I need a more compelling reason. So do the voters of Delaware County.
The county Republicans succeed and will continue to succeed because they play it very safe. The elected representatives in county government survive by the status quo. They provide just enough services in a manner that is just satisfactory enough to the simple majority of Delaware County residents to keep them employed. By and large, they avoid major controversies, embarrassments, and missteps – at least enough to keep themselves within the good graces of the voting public.
Not only did David go after the lack of minority representation in the county, he then proceeded to attack the hiring practices of the county as led by the Republicans. As I have already said, this has little impact as an issue on voters. In fact, because of the approach, it actually backfired on David. While he calls it cronyism, the employees that David attacked are county voters’ fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, neighbors, and friends. I’ve often said that wrenching control of the county from Republicans will be the hardest feat for Democrats because of fear. There are a lot of people who either directly or indirectly count on the continued power of the Republican Party for their very livelihood. The Republicans – and those who count on them for that livelihood – aren’t going to let that control go easily.
2) The Ego. This goes back to the message. David clearly tried to portray himself as the next Joe Sestak and both he and his staff – especially, I think, his staff – expected that David would be treated like Sestak was. This also translated into his campaign. I think he truly expected that he would be able to replicate the energy, enthusiasm, and result produced by the Sestak campaign. Instead, David alienated himself from a large number of would-be supporters.
3) The Target. I don’t know the specific formula David Landau and his campaign chose to follow when selecting his target. I do know that among the target, though, were Republicans who had been identified as…well, I’m not sure what term they were using but essentially Republicans who were attainable, swayable, switchable, convincible, etc. Basically, these were the Republicans that Landau and his team thought they might be able to convince not to vote Republican but instead to vote for him. This in and of itself is not an uncommon practice – political consultants make millions every year working on target formulas hoping to provide that extra edge in getting a candidate elected.
Here’s where the story gets funny, though. It’s the kind of story that should be repeated to all future campaigns to warn of the danger of trying to capture the persuadable (that’s the word I was looking for!) target. There is a gentleman well known in and out of the county courthouse. His name is Frank Catania. I know Frank. I like him. I don’t hold his Republican credentials against him, but I’m very much aware of them. Frank has been the county solicitor, the Republican Party solicitor, and the Bureau of Elections solicitor – among other titles. Anyone who’s spent more than a few days in Delaware County would be aware of who Mr. Catania is. The Catania family name is amongst Delaware County Republican Royalty – along with names like Judge, Sexton, McNichol, and Miccozze.
Anyone but a political neophyte to Delaware County would know that if the last name is Catania – it’s a pretty good likelihood that they are not, in fact, a persuadable Republican. Perhaps it’s due to Jared Solomon’s relative inexperience in Delco, or perhaps someone just didn’t check over the formula too well, or any other feasible explanation, yet, Mr. Frank Catania – he of the famous Republican last name, family lineage, and career –received not one, but six targeted David Landau for County Council mail pieces intended for persuadable Republican voters.
As you might’ve guessed, Mr. Frank Catania was not persuaded.
On the surface, one might say, okay, so big deal. It’s not like Landau was operating some sort of secret stealth campaign. On the contrary, he ran a highly public and visible campaign and so anything he did, said, or mailed, was very likely going to come to the attention of his competitors. Still, when you’re running a targeted mailing for persuadable Republicans and send six mailing pieces to one of the most stalwart, visible, and well-known members of the Republican Party in Delaware County, one really has to question whether your tactics were so expert and whether low voter turnout is a satisfactory enough answer for why you lost so horribly.
So, what’s next for this political activist? A break, for sure. A viewing of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington – a post election tradition to keep me believing in the possibility of politics rather than the probability of it - certainly. And then, it’s back to working for candidates and causes that I believe in with the hope that it‘ll all someday make a difference. We’ll celebrate our victories, lick our wounds, and come back for the next campaign.
Wow. Thank you, Michael, for an intelligent analysis, something I haven't seen on this board before.
Just a few more comments and observations:
To WhyNotUs: I don't see how it would have behooved Landau to go after Lewis instead of McGarrigle. With what? Lacey and Breslin did their damnedest to go after Lewis with a bunch of old tales they tried to spin into scandalous allegations, but Lewis deconstructed each one, to the public and the press, so they were discredited. Are you saying that Landau should have resurrected Breslin's and Lacey's discredited allegations? Do you really think that would have worked?
To Michael, et al: I am not sure that it would have helped the Dems to have run a united campaign, either. People have been voting Republican in this County for years. Telling the Republican base that they have been wrong all these years, and that they need Democrats, in the absence of any compelling issue, doesn't sound like a way to win votes. Sestak could do it because of the war and because of that investigation into Weldon (speaking of which, anyone heard anything about that lately??), but the Dems didn't have any issue compelling enough to convince the majority of voters that they had made a mistake.
And seriously, what does it say about Landau's campaign that he solicited the support of Rick Lacey and, apparently, George Twardy? That doesn't sound like a formula for success either.
Pat:
Lewis always was the weakest republican--if one could be picked off, it was him.
Soliciting Lacey, Twardy and/or Polidoro is exactly the reason why Landau spent more than 200K to het 3K more votes than John Innelli--bad politics and idiotic strategies--
This might not have been the year, but it was year to build for th future--we did that in some respects, and will not fall for the next snake oil salesman who promises to raise money.
Sestak won because he was a candidite superior to Weldon, who raised a lot of money, and everyone united and focused on his race. Uniting to focus on one campaign, as was done in the Sestak campaign, was, I thought, a lesson learned. Obviously, the "senior" adviser did not learn that, and thought it was all about money.
Anyway, congrats Pat. BUt know this, we will be watching for all the reforms Andy and company promised. It is quite a formidable list, I can't wait. We all know it was lip service and hollow campaign rhetoric--after all, they are Republicans and this is Delaware County.
You're so cynical, WNU! From talking to the three candidates, I believe them to be perfectly sincere in their pledges. When they get into office they might find, like a lot of candidates, that the situation isn't as simple as they thought, and that change comes slowly. Just look at the Democrats in Haverford; they haven't really accomplished much. But I have high expectations too, and I'll be watching along with you, especially in the "transparency" area.
WhyNotUs-
The Springfield connection for McGarrigle causes me to be suspicious.
BTW, ton of speculation on who you are. Someone in the leadership/inner circle apparently agreed with you, because I was asked who you were (I guess for recruitment). I told the person: "I thought you were WhyNotUs." :-) The list of people with your sharp analysis and obvious dislike for Landau isn't very long. However, most of the ones I could think of wouldn't know a blog from a toaster. If we are a a Dem function, feel free to introduce yourself.
Michael-
2) The Ego. This goes back to the message. David clearly tried to portray himself as the next Joe Sestak and both he and his staff – especially, I think, his staff – expected that David would be treated like Sestak was. This also translated into his campaign. I think he truly expected that he would be able to replicate the energy, enthusiasm, and result produced by the Sestak campaign. Instead, David alienated himself from a large number of would-be supporters.
I think the real story is whether Sestak will be the next Landau. Sestak ran a selfish campaign in 2006, screwing many St. Leg. candidates and sucking up all the oxygen. In 2007, Sestak was A.W.O.L. when the county candidates and party needed him most. By comparison, Landau and his campaign were generous. For his failure to help, Sestak now has to explain to the big money people at DNC how the Delco Dems did better in 2005 than in the post-Sestak era.
Pat-
There have been many intelligent comments on this blog. Your comments about the virtues of continued GOP rule are not among them. The waste and fraud of monopoly rule keeps taxes higher than surrounding counties and inhibits the injection fresh ideas. With the low turnout, the GOP relied upon their base and ignored the majority that votes Dem when the turnout is high.
I don't think Landau had to "solicit" Twardy's support against Andy. In fact, I doubt if anyone could have dissuaded Twardy.
Seems like PAt has already begun hedging on the great reformers. I can't wait for the OCunty Council meetings next year--we'll be all over them.
David--glad to know my identity has spawned so much interest...know this, I don't necessarily dislike Landau, I just think he surrounded himself wiht ioncompetence...also, please tell me where his campaign was generous...by my accounts, his campaign was not generous to party people who would not genuflect and distribute the bullet. That's not generous, that's inimidation, controlling and anti-party. It is also why he lost and why his numbers are worse that previous years.
WhyNotUs-
My point was that while Landau was not particular generous, Sestak was even less so. The Sestak campaign callously brought out a lot of split-ticket Republicans that voted for Joe, but against the local state Rep Dem candidate. Mike Farrell lost his St. Senate bid by a very small margin, and could have won with real support from his Congressman.
This election we had several local township races that we lost by single digits and many will probably blame Landau for increasing GOP turnout.
I know that George Matysik did make efforts to reach out to the O'Keefe and Innelli campaigns to keep them aware of events/press conferences, though he was frustrated by myriad scheduling conflicts that prevented more joint events.
During the debates, Landau, O'Keefe and Innelli showed tremendous teamwork and I think towards the end, David began to realize the value of cooperation, but too late to make a difference.
WhyNotUs-
I finally figured out who you are and sent you an email to your real address. In hindsight, it made perfect sense, but you were completely off my radar (figured you were too damn busy helping everyone else). Thanks for taking the time post.
David:
When the campaign manager for the Landau campaign tells a municipal party leader and candidate for local office that he - the leader/candidate - must push David Landau literature to the exclusion of all else because the Landau campaign is the "only campaign" it not only shows a complete lack of generosity on behalf of the campaign, it also shows the arrogance, mean-spiritedness, and lack of cooperation exhibited throughout the Landau campaign for world dominance.
As for our Congressman - you're right, David, that he wasn't as generous, giving, or supportive of candidates as he might have been. If he hopes to be seen as a party leader - which he himself has indicated - he'll need to do more to support local candidates and causes. Still, don't be so quick to blame Sestak for the outcome of this year's election. No, the blame lies squarely with two people: Mr. Landau and Mr. Solomon.
Pat: I think you're right that even had the Democratic candidates worked together, they still would've found the road rocky and victory difficult if not impossible to attain. While I think that there are issues that could've and should've been used to persuade the voters to go D instead of R, they weren't pursued. A joint campaign would've helped, but a better message certainly would've helped more. The focus was all wrong and, you're right, Dems need to give a compelling reason to vote for them over the Repubs. I didn't see that.
I do not think George was the problem--you know who the problem was in the Landau Campaign (and to some extent David because he let it happen). Anyway, enough of him...onto next year and beyond. What is the hot state rep race and who is beating Pileggi?
Also, I don't know who you think I am, but, based on your comments here, you're wrong.
Michael-
While I agree that Landau and Solomon burned more bridges than they built, this all could have been avoided.
At the start of the campaign, it was clearly conveyed to Sestak that what was needed was for him to work to raise funds for a joint campaign AND ask his 2006 volunteers to work on the joint campaign exclusively, and not for any one candidate. He did neither.
There is NO doubt that if Sestak raised then dropped $100K onto a joint campaign (with appropriate conditions like join literature), that all three candidates would have found a way to make peace.
One of the root causes for Landau not cooperating was his ability to out raise John and Ann by many times. This led to the flawed conclusion that they were less viable, when in fact their skill-set was more in strategy than fund raising. Sestak seeding and committing to the joint campaign (with no strings beyond cooperation) would have ended the competition and put everyone on the same page.
I won't repeat Sestak's privately stated reasons for not doing this. Besides confidentiality of a private conversation, I just believed he was completely bullsh*ting everyone anyway and didn't believe his stated reasons. What I DO believe is that he had no faith in the county party or candidates (despite the faith giving to him as a newcomer to Delco). I also believe that he is a total control freak and wasn't going to support candidates that wouldn't follow his orders or be micro-managed.
While Joe can serve as a unifying presence or a fund-raising catalyst, he is NOT a leader any more than a tyrant or a cult figure is a leader. Joe is just a selfish opportunist whose interests currently coincide with the national Democratic agenda. The local politics is clearly a distasteful annoyance that is necessary to help his future aspirations (whatever they may be). My guesses: Specter's Senate seat or a patronage appointment under a new Clinton administration.
He didn't work this hard to end up as a Congressman dealing with people like me. :-)
WhyNotUs-
You are not who I thought. So, back to square one on the guessing.
If you are not already involved with the leadership, you should be. The smart people were saying what you said and ignored. We need more like you making the case.
There have been many intelligent comments on this blog. Your comments about the virtues of continued GOP rule are not among them. The waste and fraud of monopoly rule keeps taxes higher than surrounding counties and inhibits the injection fresh ideas.
David: This is just the kind of ad hominem remark that diminishes you. My comments are not "intelligent" because they don't agree with your view.
And you again repeat your mantra about the "waste and fraud of monopoly rule," but you have yet to provide one iota of support for that kind of blanket allegation.
I think it, therefore it is seems to be your guiding principle.
Pat-
Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
If you want to be intellectually dishonest, go create your own blog. You KNOW how Sexton has managed the Delco GOP and what a rip-off the prison deal was. The Courthouse has not been an example of open government. Try getting the details of the annual budget. Why did the three GOP candidates list open government in their platform? (they won't actually open the government, but it was a mild acknowledgment that the government was not open)
You can pretend on a blog that the Delco GOP is on the up-and-up, but everybody on this blog, including you, know it's just pretend.
Anyone notice today that in the Inky there is a story that the Soccer Stadium in Chester decision is now "delayed" and in the DT the article about the owner of the supposed movie studio in Chester Township has "lawsuits" pending against him? Election must be over--hate to be so cynical, but it is quite coincidental.
whynotus- I can't speak to the movie studio but I can tell you that MLS (the soccer league that the prospective Chester team would play in) just awarded a franchise to Seattle. They've said that they were looking to add no more than two new teams and the Philadelphia region team was one of several in contention. With Seattle getting a team, it throws a potential hitch in the giddy-up, if you will. So, much as it might look a bit George W. Bush, "Quick, Homeland Security declare a Code Orange, the election's coming!" I think it's likely more a product of coincidence. But, I've been wrong before.
If you're done crying, Mr. Diano...how about a new post?
Michael-
Just been busy catching up on family stuff, social life and "decompressing". I'll post soon.
I'd like to thank and congratulate Delco Republicans of the year award winners Mr. David Landau and Mr. Jared Solomon.
Without their strategy that so effectively stunted local Democratic candidates countywide, Republicans might've lost a lot more than the local seats they did lose.
It's bad enough that they planned a campaign that crushed any chance there was for Dems to win on the county level, but their inane targeting and mailings to Republican committee people and leaders also probably ensured that local Dem candidates in Haverford, Radnor, Upper Providence, Folcroft and elsewhere lost by just a few votes in many cases.
Way to go, Dave & Jarrod! We could only be prouder of you if we were Republicans.
Joseph-
You are not going to get much argument from me on this one. I was not part of the targeting effort, though I had strongly suggested that the only Republicans to even consider where those that came out in Nov 2006, but do NOT come out for primaries (i.e. not hard-core).
When I questioned the strategy of targeting Republicans for GOTV, I was assured that only Reps that had been called/canvassed previously were targeted. Clearly this was not the case.
The other problem I heard about was that on election day, Landau's mother at the Haverford Quadrangle was handing out bullet-ballots for Landau only, and not the running mates.
Well, Jarrod is off to join the military. I vote him "Most likely to be killed by his own troops". As for Landau, he may still have a few supporters that drank the Kool-Aid, but the "All for one and that one for himself" philosophy officially has a stake driven through it and can stop sucking the life-blood of the party.
what happened to moran?
He was convicted of soliciting a bribe.
Post a Comment