Charles Dertinger is seeking the Democratic nod for the state house seat currently held by State Rep. Rich Grucela. His campaign finance report makes one thing very clear- he'll definitely be looking for that union label. He's running to represent them, not you.An alphabet soup of unions is funding his campaign.
IBEW has kicked in the lion's share with a whopping $8,650. Other unions, from AFL-CIO to the Steamfitters, have kicked in another $6,000. Nearly all of the $15,965 he raised comes directly from non-local unions.
In sharp contrast, Dertinger's Democratic opponent, Frank Scagliotta, has raised $3,103.25, mostly in the form of small contributions from friends and family.
25 comments:
The only point you made here was that Dertinger made 9000 or so more than Frank.
If this were Dent, Ohare would have him Sainted.
Charles Dertinger had the balls to stand up to Angle. That makes him bad in Ohares eyes. Harrisburg does not need another teacher.
The Unions are made up of hard working men and women who built this country. Unlike you Ohare, they have value.
Charles is proud to have the support of working men and women. To bad your candidates only have the disdain of the good men and women of this area.
Did these unions also contribute to Rich Grucela? Does Dertinger get any more union money than the guy who currently holds the seat?
Bernie,
Would you consider a separate blog where we could enter our primary predictions, near and far?
It might be fun to see what others have to say.
"Would you consider a separate blog where we could enter our primary predictions, near and far?"
Sure, I'll do that tomorrow.
"The Unions are made up of hard ..."
Blah. blah. blah. Taking that much money from one special interest is obscene. Dertinger will represent those unions very well, as he always has, but won't be representing anyone else.
Bernie-
With all due respect, is it necessary to make your point by denigrating unions and blue collar workers? How does categorizing people connected to unions as "thugs" make your point? Don't you think that inflaming passions only prevents many from seeing what could otherwise be a sound point on your part?
You're better than that Bernie.
VOR
"Does Dertinger get any more union money than the guy who currently holds the seat?"
If 14/15 of Grucela's money came from the unions, I'd be just as hard on him. This is just obscene.
VOR, Although I think we need unions, a lot of what they do is counterproductive. They are selfish, as when they forced A-town's mayor to lay off junior members rather than take pay cuts, or when one local president complained about a boy scout doing volunteer work.
When someone like Dertinger is bought and paid for by the unions, voters need to know.
Unions are chess pieces to be used by politicians in a corrupt system. They served (and in many ways, still do) a useful purpose in society, but like anything, they can be misused. Special interest groups and a flawed system are no reason to hammer unions in general by presenting an image of a hairy armed guy, with (real subtle) a button describing himself. All I'm saying is the system is broken and we lose any chance at having an intelligent conversation on the subject by inciting the wrong passions. I think you have only encouraged readers to line up on one side or the other to "defend" ideology, rather than encourage discourse with.
VOR
VOR,
I went back and re-read my post to see where I am inflammatory. It is fairly factual. His campaign finance report makes very clear that he will be serving the unions' interests, not those of the rest of us. Nearly all of his money comes from them. I have never seen a more obvious illustration of the influence exerted by one special interest. Not only is it fair to point out, I think it is necessary.
Unfortunately, few voters in this district will see this blog before voting. But they should know and decide for themselves.
I see you don't like the picture. The reality is that unions can be evil. They do not always look aout for the little guy and sometimes work against him, as they recently did in A-town. I'll agree the picture is, to some extenet, inflammatory. But the post itself is fair.
Bernie-
I think now, you get it. I also think I understand your strategy which is not unlike that of the fellow whose job it is at the newspaper to think of neat headlines to place above a story. In a tabloid, that means creating a tantalizing or even cotroversial headline to increase interest in what may otherwise be a lame story.
Now I get it too.
Thanks.
VOR
What's wrong with unions?
There are a lot of decent hard working people in the valley that happen to be members of labor unions.
Have you ever worked a day in your life? I mean actual work, not shuffling paper?
"They are selfish, as when they forced A-town's mayor to lay off junior members rather than take pay cuts, or when one local president complained about a boy scout doing volunteer work."
Selfish? I read a few weeks ago that a recent contract was settled, and your boy the bulldog called "the best he has ever seen" This doesn't sound selfish to me. It sounds as though the union and the county came to a reasonable and acceptable agreement.
Saying all unions are selfish is like saying all lawyers are immoral or shaft their clients.
Sorry if I had to hit close to home to make a point Bernie, but it does make a very clear point. Thanks
The reality is that unions can be and often are selfish, as demonstrated not very long ago in A-town. Union members let their "brothers" be laid off rather than accept a wage concession and give taxpayers a break. A union local president complained about a boyscout picking up litter.
When someone gets nearly all his money from a special interest, whether union or attorney, people should now.
Anonymous said...
There are a lot of decent hard working people in the valley that happen to be members of labor unions.
Have you ever worked a day in your life? I mean actual work, not shuffling paper?
11:48 AM
I was waiting for this.
Actual work? You mean, with your hands? Old fashioned elbow grease?
Who do you think provides those "werkin man" opportunities? Those who can think past happy hour and the next union picnic, that's who. Those who work through lunch and late into the night, as opposed to those who negotiate how they can lengthen the lunch hour and shorten the work day.
Real work? Surely you jest.
Don't call me surely.
Real work? Surely you jest.
You have got to be kidding. Sure, business owners provide jobs. But businesses would not exist without workers. This is very basic economics. Put down Atlas Shrugged and take a breath in the real world.
Real world. Actual work. You mean the stuff you can do. Anything else can't be real, because you can't do it.
You've a problem with believing your perspective is the truth and the way.
As for your "Basic economics", a self-employed carpenter exists as a business without need of his union counterparts, who sit and wait for the call from the hall.
So, while many businesses do require workers, some do not. And, none require union workers.
Econ at the U of Phoenix, perhaps?
Dertinger is the only real Democrat in the race. He is for the people and not looking for another pension.
No more teachers in Harrisburg. Frankly, teachers should be treated like other civil servants on the public dime and not be allowed to run for office.
News flashes:
"Democratic candidate has strong ties to unions".
"Unions endorse Democrat candidate".
No news here Bernie. Let us know when the headline reads "Man bites dog!"
The point made is that your picture choice is more revealing of your apparent personal lack of respect for what created the great middle class in America, which is slowly being eroded. End result? A first generation of Americans (your kids?) with a dimmer future that previous generations. Someone asked whether you ever did a real day's work. The only reason they are asking is because you seem to generally and genuinely not respect unions or labor. Your generalizations as depicted by the picture and the text indicate this, and in this valley, that's still blasphemy.
Thanks for listening...
VOR
Blasphemy?
That word is used often in The 300. I have beenn called that and worse, many times, on may topics. My thinking about unions has evolved.
I grew up thinking they were a good thing. My family comes from the coal regions. One of my grandfathers lost two fingers as a child, picking up pieces of coal to throw in the coal car, which was his job as a 7 year old boy working in the mines with no union or child labor laws.
I saw how unions helped the steelworkers get good wages and great benefits, like those 13 week vacations that you could take every so often.
As a recent college grad, I actually organized a union at JT Baker for the lab technicians. My brother was a teamster and union steward.
I have also seen, over the years, how unions can become very demanding and selfish. One of the main reasons the Bethlehem Steel ultimately collapsed was bc of the high cost of labor. I have seen teachers walk out over nickels and dimes. I have seen police rape a city with an outrageous pension deal based on the highest 30 days. I have seen an Atown union local president complain about some poor boy scout who was cleaning up debris at a park. I have seen Allentown union members screw their more junior members,forcing them to be laid off, rather than making some concessions. I have seen union members act like a lynch mob, creating a "hit list" of county workers they want fired.
So although I still think we need them, many of them have become greeedy and selfish, especially in the public sector.
At the same time, their political influence has waned. They are incapable of delivering votes, or Ann McHale would be exec right now and Dertinger would have been re-elected.
About the only thing they are good for is money. It deeply troubles me that a candidate would allow that one special interest - unions - to fund almost his entire campaign. He will be compelled back the publis sector unions, even on issues where the rest of us overwhelmingly have a different view, like on the subject of pension reform.
I would have the same view if it were the Chamber of Commerce or some other outfit bankrolling a candidate.
Simply puit, Dertinger will not serve us. He will serve unions, and theur are times when what is good for the union is not good for the rest of us.
I do not think this is blasphemy here in the LV. In fact, i think most people feel the way I do on this topic. Maybe I'm wrong, but that's the way I feel.
Thanks for your view as well.
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