tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post3905606927140651004..comments2024-03-29T10:36:34.157-04:00Comments on Lehigh Valley Ramblings: Why Are Republicans Winning in Northampton County?Bernie O'Harehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13756311150988957401noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-32123785180523059642015-08-29T11:53:24.267-04:002015-08-29T11:53:24.267-04:00Don't put words in my mouth. The author here i...Don't put words in my mouth. The author here is asking what patterns I see. Matt Mileshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18389910309155997990noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-18931710308074290642015-08-29T11:14:28.209-04:002015-08-29T11:14:28.209-04:00Don't put words in my mouth. The author here i...Don't put words in my mouth. The author here is asking what patterns I see. Matt Mileshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18389910309155997990noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-46021585512734931762015-08-29T01:28:59.094-04:002015-08-29T01:28:59.094-04:00Don't put words in my mouth. The author here i...Don't put words in my mouth. The author here is asking what patterns I see. Matt Mileshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18389910309155997990noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-36515205492253840862015-08-28T23:19:04.600-04:002015-08-28T23:19:04.600-04:00Okay, lets consider something. let's rate the ...Okay, lets consider something. let's rate the best to the worst County Executive ever to hold the office........<br />Hartzell is my no 1<br />Seyfried is my no 2<br />bechtel is my no 3<br />brackbill, brown, Stoffa and reibman are all tied for last.<br />Cmon Bernie, let's have a column dedicated to this issue. <br />How do all you other Bloggers rate the executives.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-9599255186845916912015-08-28T15:49:24.822-04:002015-08-28T15:49:24.822-04:00"Glen Reibman was by far the worst county exe..."Glen Reibman was by far the worst county executive of the home rule era"<br /><br />Right after old dump Gracedale Stoffa. He lied about a dedicated tax for open space, let the swaption balloon to over $30 million and built unnecessary buildings that cost taxpayers millions. Signed crazy expensive union contracts. Other than that you may be rightAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-4483968837585760252015-08-28T08:33:56.565-04:002015-08-28T08:33:56.565-04:00"the biggest Horses ass ever to hold the top ..."the biggest Horses ass ever to hold the top office in the county"<br /><br />Not sure about the size of his glutes, but Glen Reibman was by far the worst county executive of the home rule era. $110 million bond issue, with a $25 million swaption attached and 60% tax increases. Even the Democrats recognized this when they dumped him in the primary.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-88497845634359582872015-08-28T07:02:06.706-04:002015-08-28T07:02:06.706-04:00I see. Matt Miles considers Executive Brown to be ...I see. Matt Miles considers Executive Brown to be very esperienced and a good fit for Northampton County. Give me a break. He is the biggest Horses ass ever to hold the top office in the county. We'll see how the Republicans fare at the next municipal election.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-88705957042801816672015-08-28T04:17:49.987-04:002015-08-28T04:17:49.987-04:00Don't be an ass. Seyfried knows more about the...Don't be an ass. Seyfried knows more about the Home Rule Charter than anyone on county council today. Heckman not only ran the largest county department but has a better working knowledge of how the county government works then any of your current superstars.<br /><br />No wonder the county is in trouble with idiots like you people making stupid statements.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-8781740684391370962015-08-27T23:55:46.602-04:002015-08-27T23:55:46.602-04:00The Democrat's lost because the Republicans fi...The Democrat's lost because the Republicans fielded the best ticket in the county. All the Republicans were smart, experie3nced and on top of all the issues. They are best suited to handle the county issue. The Democrats had no good candidates.<br /><br />Maybe Seyfried and Heckman were decent but they are both older than dirt. People want young, fresh and stimulating people.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-74845071479499822842015-08-27T22:54:58.528-04:002015-08-27T22:54:58.528-04:00Leadership isn't lazy... leadership above the ...Leadership isn't lazy... leadership above the county level doesn't care about municipalities and smaller races. They care about State and National issues and races, because they have rock stars and are, in their minds, winnable. Look at the mobility of the Obama campaign both years. Look at the Wolf campaign last year. Look at the advancement of social issues. The Dems on the larger levels in bigger elections have far out performed Republicans. <br /><br />The flip side is the Republicans have done very well in the smaller more local races. Congress and Senate, as well as State Reps and Municipal races are far better mobilized at the local level, with more of a centralized focus on community and reduced taxes. The Republican State Committee is loaded with capital and pushes mailers and calls to drown out any opponent at the local level. Two completely different modes of operation.<br /><br />Matt Mileshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18389910309155997990noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-48298338382459335522015-08-27T22:34:52.020-04:002015-08-27T22:34:52.020-04:00Matt Miles
All of this started before Obama became...Matt Miles<br />All of this started before Obama became president. Democratic candidates work very hard but their democratic party fails them because the leadership is lazy. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-91683119836314557202015-08-27T22:16:33.267-04:002015-08-27T22:16:33.267-04:00And Anon 6:25, I've worked with candidates who...And Anon 6:25, I've worked with candidates who did work very hard with their campaigns and lost. Your assumtion about Dems being lazy is exactly that. An assumtion, and you know the saying about assuming. Matt Mileshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18389910309155997990noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-8742448140071956062015-08-27T22:09:56.844-04:002015-08-27T22:09:56.844-04:00I'm a Democrat, and I blame Obama for the poor...I'm a Democrat, and I blame Obama for the poor performances at the municipal level. I've worked several different polls for several candidates over the past 6 years, and it's all the same. Those who vote in this county outside of the 4 year cycles hate Obama and won't vote Democrat again. "That damn Obama wants me to show my ID to vote." "I'll vote for anybody but Obama." Even in the off-years!<br />After looking at voting registration records of all of the super voters in the northern end of the county in these past 6 years, the majority of them are older and pretty evenly split between parties. Dems in suburban and rural areas, unless they have a strong resume behind them, have a big uphill battle in any municipal race in this county for the forseeable future.<br />Matt Mileshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18389910309155997990noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-45975320387931927712015-08-27T21:00:05.421-04:002015-08-27T21:00:05.421-04:00I think the Democrat registration advantage is a v...I think the Democrat registration advantage is a vestige of the 'old' steel, Mack and other industrial workers who are now in their retirement years. A large portion of them, both locally and nationally, became "Reagan Democrats' in the '80s. Still Demos but living Republican-like lives.JoshLCowenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04629261668065446844noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-50160466682539116302015-08-27T20:12:04.407-04:002015-08-27T20:12:04.407-04:00When you talk about Harrisburg, or DC, the biggest...When you talk about Harrisburg, or DC, the biggest problem is the partisan way districts are gerrymandered. However, when you get to the NorCo and municipal elections, I think your point that "Democrats are obviously splitting their tickets" is the strongest point. By chance a few weeks I was looking at the Bethlehem Twp primary results, and came to that very same conclusion. While only 1 Dem bothered to throw their hat in the ring (8 of the 9 Commissioner candidates were GOP), I was surprised how many Dems voted. 1238 Dems voted compared to 1267 GOP. However, even though there was only one Dem actively pursuing a write-in, he only had 92 of 211 (or 44%) of the Dem write-in votes. Granted, the GOP candidates were all also pursuing write-ins to try to win both sides, but that means that 56% of the DEM write-ins were likely for GOP candidates. This also means that he only had 7 % (92 of 1238) of the voting Dems, while 17% of the voting Dems likely wrote in a GOP.<br /><br />So you are correct. After the purge of most centrists from the GOP over the past 20 years, those remaining are "lever pullers". While there are Dem lever pullers, Dems are more likely to split their ticket. Of course, indies can't vote in PA primaries, but also split their votes in November.Ovem Lupo Commiterehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03756533892368983383noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-87421598437403971992015-08-27T19:19:17.429-04:002015-08-27T19:19:17.429-04:00If voters bother to educate themselves they will f...If voters bother to educate themselves they will find a stark contrast between the judicial candidates with Brown's ex solicitor deservedly suffering in the comparison. No judicial experience. Legal actions born of ignorance and arrogance already costing taxpayers over $300,000.00! A sense of entitlement with a napoleonic complex to boot. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-11722114483974943562015-08-27T18:25:26.395-04:002015-08-27T18:25:26.395-04:00In the 2013 election, the democrats were supposed ...In the 2013 election, the democrats were supposed to win by 10 percentage points according to the polls. They were outworked by the Republicans and the polling proved faulty. Just because you say you are going to vote for some one doesn't mean you went to the polls and voted for that person. Now the democrats know what is going on and they can combat it if they want to, but my guess is they are too lazy.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-74391417776983494752015-08-27T18:11:06.140-04:002015-08-27T18:11:06.140-04:00They also need good candidates. To the Callahan lo...They also need good candidates. To the Callahan lover at 5:37, his arrogance is extreme. To this day he still sees himself as flawless. Once average folks met him they said the same thing. Also the Democrats fielded some shitty candidates. That McDonald guy seemed mentally unbalanced and Kraft's old girlfriend Christine Bonzo was just plain dumb.<br /><br />Without good candidates they can't compete. Did they even have any decent candidates to match the Republicans?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-73562937357915167252015-08-27T17:54:58.823-04:002015-08-27T17:54:58.823-04:00I disagree. Very few people follow county governme...I disagree. Very few people follow county government, and of those who dom, some are all for making life miserable for the staff. A disturbing number of the County workforce do not even vote. I would not take anything for granted. Democrats need to focus on getting their people out there to stop the diminution of county services. Bernie O'Harehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13756311150988957401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-1504852999872680852015-08-27T17:37:39.031-04:002015-08-27T17:37:39.031-04:00Callahan showed courage by supporting reynolds eve...Callahan showed courage by supporting reynolds even though he knew it would hurt him. The city has come to a grinding halt and is stuck in neutral while Allentown (despite the corruption) and Easton pass us by. I do not doubt there was some Callahan fatigue, that will happen after 10 years of making tough decisions and driving alot of change. Northampton County would love a "do over" after two years of "not ready for prime time" Brown. Callahan would win in a cake walk. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-64428208754400385292015-08-27T16:05:15.040-04:002015-08-27T16:05:15.040-04:00Hokie Jerry, I mean Joe, has a point. Independents...Hokie Jerry, I mean Joe, has a point. Independents are usually very conservative. They go Republican. The Republicans do a much better job of branding themselves from national down to local. just look at the 2013 election. The tea party(taxed enough already) went hard for the Republicans and claimed to have backed most of them. They got elected and immediately raised taxes, their favorite wanted a much larger tax increase. When confronted with this reality many Republicans and Independents have said the Dem's are worse. They complain now but will vote for them again and again. It is impossible for any Party to fight that kind of logic.<br /><br />The city Demo's and Dem machines don't give a shot about the county. Their elections are over after the primary. Without any opposition city Democrats stay home. The ones that do come out tend to vote against Dem's. Look at Callahan. He only took his city by 200 votes. The guy was Mayor for ten years cleaned house in the primary and basically washed in his own city come November, Why? The Dem's that voted hated him for endorsing Donchez' opponent in the primary and voted against him. Many also said his arrogance was just too much. Once again overthinking things, as it hurt other Dems running. Republicans don't overthink they just do. They are more pure in their ideology. If you want a gauge as to popular Democrats you need only look at who gets high votes in a contested Democratic primary. They are the top Dem's.<br /><br />There are some exceptions. Ron Angle got beat in the heavily Republican fourth district. Bernie cited some of the reasons. Even Republicans I spoke to were tired of the Angle sideshow. They were tired of him always being looked at as the typical slate belter. He was the exception not the rule.<br /><br />Unless Republicans run in the cities, something the Republican machine has stooped dead. Dem's are in for a rocky ride countywide.<br /><br />So it is written, so it is!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-70347182994718266002015-08-27T12:48:35.392-04:002015-08-27T12:48:35.392-04:00message for Hokie
in your opinion who will win the...message for Hokie<br />in your opinion who will win the Judgeship and the Controller positions?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-68987748213966405942015-08-27T12:48:17.332-04:002015-08-27T12:48:17.332-04:00message for Hokie
in your opinion who will win the...message for Hokie<br />in your opinion who will win the Judgeship and the Controller positions?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-27071885076246648522015-08-27T12:15:45.539-04:002015-08-27T12:15:45.539-04:00"But I will be voting straight D this time.&q..."But I will be voting straight D this time."<br /><br />Baaa. Baaa. This from the guy who criticizes Allentown voting patterns. Baaa. Baaa. I always split my ticket and will continue to do so.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9299655.post-7354791251632925352015-08-27T11:04:48.320-04:002015-08-27T11:04:48.320-04:001:06, I almost always split my ticket.I prefer to ...1:06, I almost always split my ticket.I prefer to vote for the better candidate, not the party. But I will be voting straight D this time. Bernie O'Harehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13756311150988957401noreply@blogger.com