Can't touch this.Did you know state house candidate Ron Shegda collaborates with MC Hammer? That's right, bippy, and that's just one of the things I learned Friday night at a LV Tea Party meeting. Let me tell you the story.
Now I've been to a few LV Tea Party meetings, after which I've criticized their unelected leaders for playing politics while masquerading as a nonprofit. Well, they're finally getting around to electing those leaders. What's more, they must be serious about retaining their nonprofit status. They ejected state house candidate Ron Shegda, who tried to use the meeting as a platform for his campaign against State Rep. Bob Freeman.
Hammer Time.
Shegda has been playing this game with non-profits for some time. In mid-August, his supporters linked Notre Dame High School's web page to a webcast containing four signs endorsing his state house race. And during Musikfest, he conned the LV Tea Party into funding another political webcast. As Shegda drones on from "Tea Party Platz", some kid in a remote video occasionally stops his dumb bell workout to give a thumbs up signs at two Shegda campaign signs.
On Friday night, when I arrived, Shegda's sister was in the back looking for cookies. Unfortunately for her, the only thing back there were miniature "Don't tread on me" flags, and she couldn't eat them. Shegda was back there, too. I had no idea, but he's something of a rock star. He was handing out his latest CD, entitled "Ron Shegda for PA State Rep 136th." It includes cuts of these big hits:
"The Two Things Show Intro," performed by Ron Shegda & MC Hammer.
"Pennsylvania Political Polka Medley," performed by Jolly Joe Timmer and Ron Shegda;
"Puff the Magic Mayor," lyrics by Ron Shegda; and my favorite,
"Two Minutes of Wisdom," by Ron Shegda.
Unfortunately, Shegda needed three minutes of wisdom. The Tea Party had asked him to stop campaigning, but he continued. He even started passing out flyers for a Republican rally on Sunday at Easton Circle. Eventually, he was asked to leave.
Tea Party: "I told you, homeboy, you can't touch this."
Shegda: "Now why would I ever stop doing this?
With others making records that just don't hit
I've toured around the world, from London to the Bay
It's 'Shegda, go Shegda, MC Shegda, yo, Shegda'
And the rest can go and play."
Out he danced.
Bernie, thank you for reporting fairly that our group did not support or allow Ron Shegda's political or partisan efforts to continue at our general membership meeting on Friday evening.
ReplyDeleteMaybe I'm just naive, but I honestly expected that no members of our group would take advantage of its members that way once we made our policies and prohibitions clear. Who knew we were going to have to police meetings to make sure no one pulled that kind of crap? Like I said, I'm probably naive.
The next time you're at a meeting, please introduce yourself to me. I'll be the one who's probably standing behind the patriotic jewelry.
Hi Donna, I saw you but you were busy. Next time I go I'll make it a point to say hi. I'm sorry to see you declined a nomination bc your speech was the best one I heard.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the kind words, Bernie, sorry we didn't get to meet. I LOVE doing the reports and only wish I had enough time to really let people know what's going on with both the health care reform bill and other legislative issues that concern health care, but, sadly, there's only so much time in a meeting.
ReplyDeleteLast October I was featured speaker for one of the meetings and felt there was JUST enough time to make a full report in 30 minutes....so in the absence of enough time to explain everything, I try to do something a little outrageous at each meeting to leave a strong enough impression that will make people want to learn more. They can do that by reading my online physician/patient newsletter Liability and Health News Update, which I've been providing to doctors since 2003, and recently added the entire membership of the tea party group.
You should get them through our meetup mail service, yes? I've been truncating what goes to tea party members, though, as I often get political in the newsletter and I don't want to break any rules. If you'd like to get the whole thing directly, you can email me at LiabilityNEWS@aol.com and I'll add your email address to the mailing list.
Of course, I'm often guilty of trying to put five gallons into a two gallon bucket, so I'll probably NEVER have quite enough time to let people know what I think the public needs to know about what's REALLY going on in health care. That's a large part of the reason I did the interviews with Shegda, even though I know that his audience is very small.
At some point I want to let our members know why I declined the nomination, and it was purely a function of timing and another commitment.
Had the nomination been for a six month term, I probably would have accepted, but in a couple of weeks, I become president-elect of the Pennsylvania Medical Society Alliance, and I take office as president of the statewide organization in October 2011.
Needless to say, I'll be pretty busy with health care reform, public health awareness, medical school scholarships, health care legislation, and other issues in the coming 24 months.
However, I will continue with the tea party group as chair of the health care committee (assuming the new board wants me to, of course) - I just won't be involved in the policy-writing, day-to-day operations of the group. So, hopefully, I'll still be making silly speeches about health care issues long into the future....since my husband will likely never retire and my silly oldest son wants to be a surgeon like Dad, I'm probably stuck fighting for health care for a LONG time.
OK, I only hit publish once....I don't think your blog server likes me....
ReplyDeleteThe teabaggers are the unwitting shills of the big health Insurance Companies. I have a question for them. How do you think Hospitals and Insurance Companies make their money? By helping people?
ReplyDeleteHow can Hospitals open new and larger medical palace's on every corner? How can health Insurance companies sponsor everything from baseball stadiums to Chamber of commerce dinners? Why do drug companies advertise to the general public on TV, at enormous cost, when only a physician can prescribe the drugs they tempt you to want?
I think the tea party has some noble points it raises about waste of money in government and the role of government in general.
However, despite the "non-partisan" tag-line, the truth is the anti-Obama hate and prejudice is rampant and other than Morganelli's, "the Latin's are coming the Latin's are coming" pandering, we see no Democrats get recognized.
I want to believe you want to rationally discuss the state of government in America and even health Care reform but your words and actions seem about as reasoned as radical Islamists.
Sorry, but that is the perception of many Americans who sympathize with your efforts to a point, the point is usually breached when former radio morning"zookeeper" disc jockey Glenn Beck does his bullshit routine. You really don't believe this guy do you? I mean his huckstering is even more blatant than Limbaugh.
Shills of Big Insurance? Bawhawhahahahaha. Obama just gave them a limitless pool of customers who must buy whatever rotten product Big Insurance foists on them - or be fined or incarcerated!
ReplyDeleteObama is the biggest gift Big Insurance has ever received from Big Government. Until forcing people to purchase a product under threat of federal law is declared unconstitutional, Big Insurance loves Obama.
Shegda should relax. He's preaching to a choir whose votes he likely has already.
ReplyDeleteTea Party adherents will vote for anyone who can fog a mirror over the invisible Bob Freeman, whom many believe to have died several years ago.
Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteShegda should relax. He's preaching to a choir whose votes he likely has already.
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I couldn't promise him my vote, but then he's not in my district.
When I arrived with my family he was at the front door of the building handing out his literature and telling people to remember to vote Republican, I said "no guarantees there". At least he was outside then. Other members and visitors have always been respectful and have kept their electioneering and petition drives well outside of the meeting room. I didn't realize that he had continued his actions inside, I missed all the action. :-(
Anon. 3:52 - Exactly WHAT words and actions are you referring to when you accuse the "teabaggers" (an extremely offensive sexual term which labels those who USE it as rigid ideological extremists who clearly don't want to have a conversation)of being as rational as radical Islamists?
ReplyDeleteDon't spend more money than we have sounds pretty reasonable to me.
Don't destroy the best health care system in the world by putting it in the hands of the people who run the post office sounds pretty reasonable to me.
Don't raise taxes in a recession and cause even more jobs to be lost sounds pretty reasonable to me.
Funny, I thought it was the folks over on MSNBC who were spitting and frothing and calling the former vice president a vampire and such....of course, you may just agree with them, Anon 3:52.
You know, just for ease of use, if you're too embarrassed by your comments to use your name, you could just make one UP....how about if we call you Kermit?
If I'm a shill for big insurance, though, I'd really like to know - where have my checks been going?
Yo Donna, hate to rain in your teapot but Glenn Beck and Fox use the term "teabaggers", long before anyone else. I have the tape to prove it. If you don't want to be confuse for turds don't swim in the sewer.
ReplyDeleteJust sayin!
Anon 9:18
ReplyDeleteKinda sad to think about you hanging on to tapes of Beck to prove some nonsensical point...
Kinda of sad to think there are people who still think Obama is not an American or is a Muslim.
ReplyDeleteVery sad indeed.
Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteKinda of sad to think there are people who still think Obama is not an American or is a Muslim.
Very sad indeed.
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I'll agree with that.
Back on topic, Shegda have any future gigs?
ReplyDeleteHi, "Kermit,"
ReplyDeleteThe term "teabagger" as a description for people in the tea party movement was coined by MSNBC raving lunatics to demean those in the movement.
If Beck or Fox used it, it was to demonstrate how the left wing and the "old" media were describing the patriots who were involved. They CERTAINLY did not first use the pejorative term which compares American citizens to a particularly nasty sexual act.
Still waiting for the examples of how tea party rhetoric is as radical as Islamic extremists....probably as long as we'd wait to see the "tape" of Beck and Fox using the term teabaggers.
Kermit, are you STILL using "tapes?" Really?
I am looking for video of his radio show when debate coach Sal Rizzo of Notre Dame High School was his guest. It was great radio and I cannot find it anywhere. Rizzo is a one of a kind person.
ReplyDelete