Pols On The Street: Another Trump Card!?

by Joe Shaheeli

WARD LEADER George Brooks gives the go-ahead sign to bus driver to commence a trip to Baltimore Harbor for a full day of seafood and entertainment. The annual event is a big hit for his ward. Ladies flanking him are Rose Little and V. Tutie Fields. Photo by Wendell Douglas.

Does it matter if Donald Trump blames cheating on Election Day if he loses Pennsylvania? For those of us who know how it all works, it shows he personally doesn’t understand the political system, how elections work, who is responsible for monitoring and placing before the electorate the thousands of polls that open from 7 am to 8 pm. That also may go to his campaign team as well.
But is his broadcast and telecast worry over falling victim to cheating at the polls a clever ploy?

Calls to this office from one of the national political mags, found us answering questions as to what can be done illegally at the polls to aid and abet the success of the candidate of choice in a major race such as this one approaching the nation on November 8.

Why pick on Philly and Pennsy was our first thought? The obvious answer was PA and the City’s Pols have made news as targets deluge of Federal investigations! Or is it the fact the Philadelphia turnout is key to who wins or loses Pennsylvania in a national election?

So we answered the queries, explaining that what takes place here at a polling place could also be replicated at a polling place in the home town of Punxatawny Phil. In Philly, there are just over 1860 polling places waiting for voters to stroll in. In Pennsylvania, there are over 9200 polling places.

Steal a few votes here and a few more there, vote in Aunt Tilley or Uncle Wally, who are registered but won’t come out and don’t care if you voted them in illegally, and you can win or lose a state easily.

Normally, shenanigans, such as have been inferred by Trump and others, from both sides of the aisle, will pop up more frequently in close, bitter primary fights for municipal and state legislative races. But not so much in national events such as a presidential election.

But, then again we have pockets of enthusiastic supporters, who go gung ho for their candidate and will try to squeeze in a few extra votes even though the only reward they will ever get is a subpoena from a grand jury well after their candidate is sworn in.

Raising the alarm and concern over cheating at the polls, though cheating will be minimal at best, does one thing for sure and that dampens the fire in the stomach of the people we’ve described above.

Possibly that is what is the motive behind the Trump charges he could lose Pennsylvania due to cheating at the polls.

IN FRONT of Union League of all places is one of Donkeys featured around city promoting Democratic National Convention. Union League is using this one to promote its public exhibit of GOP and DEM conventions going back a century.
Photo by Joe Stivala.

County officials are reportedly demanding more authority, flexibility regarding how elections are run. County officials across the share financial woes related to staffing and opening dozens of polling places. Some counties need to replace outdated technology. They’ve been turning up in Harrisburg in more numbers than usual since all see their recourse is the Legislature. Not only are they pitching for ways to get additional revenue, some also are presenting their ideas on how to revamp the Election Code, in the hopes that changes will give them more flexibility and ultimately, save taxpayer dollars.

Kathy Officially In A Toss Up Race

Some pollsters are claiming Donald Trump’s “troubles in Pennsylvania” are hurting Sen. Pat Toomey’s re-election odds.

Several polls have indicated Hillary Clinton has moved to about ten percentage votes over Donald Trump in the president race. That’s a long coat tail and it could take Kathy McGinty into the Senate. One needs to remember it was Gov. Tom Corbett’s strong showing in his first race that towed US Senator Pat Toomey into the winner’s circle. If Hillary’s polls remain constant, McGinty could be our next Senator. Senator Toomey is seeking a second term against Democratic nominee Katie McGinty. The U.S. Senate is currently comprised of 54 Republicans 46 Democrats.

Aware of the mportance of a high Philly turnout, Katie McGinty visited the Western Learning Center Tuesday with Reps. Jordan Harris and Leslie Acosta. After reading to children in the center’s lending library, Katie spoke with working parents and child care providers about her plans to make childcare affordable and help make our economy work for women and working moms.

We see a vulnerable spot in her campaign. She leans too heavily on being anti gun. It is not paying off in this state. McGinty has been criticizing her opponent for being soft on the issue of gun violence, something she again repeated on Monday during her appearance at the Pennsylvania Press Club. But Toomey, also on Monday, received his second endorsement from prominent gun control activists, who praised him for his efforts “to help prevent felons, domestic abusers and the dangerously mentally ill from obtaining firearms at gun shows and online.” Go figure!

As Was Predicted Here, MoveOn For McGinty

What a farce! MoveOn leadership polled its members to see who they should support in the US Senatre Race. Knowing the organization, what it stands for, and where it can be found on any election, it was esy for us to predict Katie McGinty would be their choice. So they voted and well over 95% of their members said they chose McGinty.

That’s why we wonder how effective are these groups. The leadership knew who would win. Why not send their members out to knock at doors and get commitments instead from voters for Katie?

Pence Visit Makes State Dems Tense

Donald Trump’s running mate Mike Pence campaigned in Delaware Valley yesterday, eliciting this statement from Pennsylvania Democratic Party Chairman Marcel L. Groen.

“This is the first time the Trump-Pence ticket has visited the Philadelphia area, perhaps because the people of Southeastern Pennsylvania have already rejected their divisive and hateful campaign”.

AMBASSADOR Glliam Donde’ of Guinea, 2nd from right, attended a reception in City Council Chambers hosted by Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell as part of her 16th Annual Echoes of Africa event. The reception announced support for Guinea water purification project undertaken by a PA company. Seen also are Stanley Straughter, Chair of the Mayor’s Afro-Carib Initiative, and Rep. Dwight Evans. Echoes of Africa also includes a day at the zoo for kids with breakfast and awards. Photo by Joe Stivala.

The latest Franklin & Marshall College poll shows the Trump/Pence campaign losing in Southeastern Pennsylvania by a margin of 40%. So why would Groen feel any comment is needed at this time?

And, even worse, why organize protest rallies outside Trump/Pence rallies in PA? The anti rallies sometimes get out of hand and make the protestors look like a rabble gone wild. That turns off people.

Though Vera Cole, GOP candidate for Pennsylvania House, Bucks County Democrats, and other groups protested a rally in Pipersville, PA, Tuesday, they didn’t win more votes for Hillary. But they may have managed to turn off some of her lukewarm supporters.

Is Governor Wolf A One Termer?

That’s the same question bandied about for many of the state’s more recent governors in this same time frame into their first terms. Save for Ed Rendell, a check will show the majority found themselves with the same slipping poll figures attached to Governor Tom Wolf’s approval numbers.

Tracing the past two months of Quinnipiac polling, we find Gov. Wolf slipped from a 41/46 approval to a 40/50 approval/disapproval.

On the contrary we find, from our weather bells, he continues to grow in favor among Democratic leaders as he learns the ropes of negotiation. His latest move had approval from Democrats as well as Republicans.

His decision to nominate former First Deputy Attorney General under Kathleen Kane, Inspector General Bruce Beemer to replace Kane, surprised First Deputy Bruce Castor who had taken over the role in an acting capacity. But members of the General Assembly leadership with whom Wolf’s staff had conferred sent indications they were supportive.

Though she has pulled herself from the bullseye position, Kathleen still remains a prime target. The state House of Representatives will continue its impeachment investigation hoping to uncover any other misconduct that wasn’t covered by her criminal trial.

Catholic League Prexy Missing One Target

Catholic League’s fiery leader Bill Donohue comments on the latest scandal in Pennsylvania law enforcement: “Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams, like now-disgraced Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane, has tried to make a name for himself through a campaign of Catholic-bashing. As we noted earlier this month, Williams continues his vendetta against Msgr. William Lynn, whose bogus conviction over his handling of sexual abuse allegations has just been tossed out for the third time”.

But Bill is missing another major target, Archbishop Charles Chaput, whose comments in one of his columns has drawn the ire of pro-lifers. He said both presidential candidates were poor candidates for the presidency.

Weighing them in his light, that may be true. However, he failed to note and add one major difference. Hillary Clinton will be going all out to insure Planned Parenthood continues to get more money for the abortionists. Donald Trump plans to dry up their well, which has been funded by unhappy taxpayers.

In the eyes of Pro-Lifers, Chaput has failed his trust as a shepherd.

State law allows our District Attorney to accept gifts if received without favors being delivered in return. Such has not surfaced with Seth.

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