Our local blogosphere includes a few gifted writers. Chris Casey has been picked up by Huffington Post. Now, Pam Varkony has the headline story at The Daily Caller - "On the Road With the Toomey Campaign."Pam spent two days following the Toomey campaign, and tells me that everywhere they went, people are "angry and scared." I've noticed that myself.
But why are people angry and scared? Some Democrats actually believe this is a reaction to their inability to implement their complete agenda. On the other hand, the tea party movement is a grass roots reaction by conservative Republicans infuriated primarily by the health care overhaul and increased government spending.
Here's what I think. We're becoming a nation of extremists, very much like the two U.S. Senate candidates in Pennsylvania. Moderate voices are being drowned out by the dissonant voices in disaffected left and right, both smugly convinced of their intellectual and moral superiority. I am a Democrat routinely criticized for daring to respect and appreciate leaders in both major parties who are accountable, transparent and willing to work with each other.
The rest is details.
Increasingly, and especially as newspapers struggle, elected officials play the spin game. Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski, instead of frankly acknowledging Allentown's crime problem, will mislead the public and marginalize legitimate criticism. State Rep. Jennifer Mann can actually be a paid consultant for a major state vendor, and refuse to disclose what she is being paid.
Two questions Bernie. Was she wearing pumps while on tour? And what were they made of?
ReplyDeleteThank you
You'll have to ask Pam.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful photograph of Pam.
ReplyDeleteShe's quite a looker and with her new book, quite a published historic writer as well. Best wishes to her.
You complain about how you are characterized yet call Joseph Sestak an "extremist." A lifetime military officer who dares to be a Democrat. It used to be people like Sestak were considered moderates. The country's loudest media has moved to the right convincing people that patriots like Joe Sestak are extremists. Pat on the back for your contribution to the noise.
ReplyDeleteDude, you keep lamenting the fate of moderates. Moderation by conservatives is what got us in the mess we are in. The blue hairs commandeered the R party when they were given authority by the conservative base. R's acting like D's. That didn't work. Then in the last two years, total control to the D's has given them the chance to prove their hypothesis wrong as well.
ReplyDeleteIf conservatives act as true conservatives, which does entail some responsibility to something other than one's own personal gain at the expense of anyone and/or everyone (paleocon as opposed to neocon), things will work out great. This is the founding philosopy of our great nation, and it can and will work again if, and only if, it is REAL and sustained.
And, the whiner Bill White is probably correct about the Tea Party movement. It will die out because it is a movement and not the innate belief of the vast majority of a united people, as it was at the time of our founding. Like 1994, the electoral victory will come, and then everyone will most go back to their lives, avoiding the real heavy lifting of permanently reducing government's expense and influence. That will lead to "moderated" watered-down attempts to fix things, which will fail as they always do, and kill the movement for another generation. That will truly be a shame, but is the track record and what we should expect.
Anonymous said:
ReplyDelete"It used to be people like Sestak were considered moderates."
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Wrong! It used to be that people like Sestak couldn't have gotten out of the Democrat primary because there were enough sensible Democrats. Sadly, that has changed.
One can only hope that Sestak loses and the liberal Progressives that have taken hold of the party are ousted.
"elected officials play the spin game. Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski, instead of frankly acknowledging Allentown's crime problem, will mislead the public"....by sponsoring fireworks ordinances
ReplyDeleteWrong! It used to be that people like Sestak couldn't have gotten out of the Democrat primary because there were enough sensible Democrats. Sadly, that has changed.
ReplyDeleteEnough "sensible" Dems not to elect a decorated veteran and career military commander? Uh, ok. I weep for this country.
"You complain about how you are characterized yet call Joseph Sestak an "extremist." A lifetime military officer who dares to be a Democrat."
ReplyDeleteI don't think Sestak is an extremist, but he played one to defeat Specter at the polls. He will lose to the real extremist, Pat Toomey, who is very sincere. I don't think either choice is very good, but suppose I lean towards the fake extremist.
Anon 11:24 said:
ReplyDelete"Enough "sensible" Dems not to elect a decorated veteran and career military commander? Uh, ok. I weep for this country."
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He may have been a good Navy man and I thank him for his service. However, as a congressman he has been a dismal failure and supported every liberal spending program he could to the point of bankrupting this nation.
There is a reason that military service is not a prerequisite for serving in Congress. Service in the military does not guarantee that one will govern well. Sestak has proven this.
"Sensible" (a.k.a. Rational) Dems would understand the long-term damage that liberal progressives like Sestak are doing to this country and repudiate him. Our country simply cannot afford more liberals like Joe Sestak.
You'll really be weeping if Sestak gets in and the liberals continue to spend us, our children, and grandchildren into oblivion.
I appreciate and applaud Joe Sestak's military service. Heck, I even appreciate and applaud John Kerry's military service....it's what they've done SINCE that service that I have questions about.
ReplyDeleteWhat I do NOT appreciate is the fact that Joe Sestak not only approves of the massive health care plan rammed down our throats by Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, he THOUGHT IT SHOULD GO FURTHER, arguing on the House floor for a "robust public option." And he voted AGAINST an amendment which would have exempted the medical devices needed by wounded soldiers from the tax on medical devices that kicks in later.
Rasmussen's weekly poll of 1,000 Americans about the health care bill shows that this week, 57% of voters want it repealed. That number varies from week to week - one week it was as low as 52%. Another it was as high as 62%. But not once since the passage of the health care boondoggle has the number dropped below 52% of Americans who want to see it REPEALED.
Yet Joe Sestak supported the bill, supports it still, and continues to tell people it was a good thing, while every day more nasty little surprises are discovered within its 2,700 pages that apparently no one bothered to read.
Sestak isn't an extremist because of his service. His service to our contry has nothing to DO with how he votes in Congress, and since elected, he's supported virtually everything Nancy Pelosi has wanted him to support. That's what makes him an extremist.
So while I won't EVER disrespect the man's military service, I don't have any problem disrespecting how he votes in Congress, and anyone who says you can't separate the two is just silly.
Bernie O'Hare said:
ReplyDelete"I don't think Sestak is an extremist, but he played one to defeat Specter at the polls. He will lose to the real extremist, Pat Toomey, who is very sincere. I don't think either choice is very good, but suppose I lean towards the fake extremist."
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Bernie -
I suppose our country is at a point where Pat Toomey's desire to have our government stop its out-of-control spending makes him an "extremist".
I think Pat served the 15th district well during his six years in Congress and that you would find few examples of the extremism that you seem to fear.
On the other hand, Joe Sestak is a very large part of the problem that exists - right now - in Washington. Sestak didn't "play" the part of a big-spending, big-government Congressman - he has the voting record to prove it. He was willing to rubber-stamp any piece of legislation the Democrats brought forward.
We simply cannot afford to make Joe Sestak a Senator. That's reality.
Tooomey has always been recognized as a far right conservative. a admire his personal integrity and his sincerity. What bothers me is his unwillingness to compromise those beliefs. His self-certainty, and unwillingness to consider other options, is what makes him an extremist. Sestak is a faux extremist. He painted himself that way to appeal to the anti-Specter crowd, but I question whether he believes anything.
ReplyDeleteNow if you are far or even moderately to the right, I could understand the support for Toomey. As someone whose views tend to lean left, Toomey is scary to me. On the other hand, so is Sestak. His only saving grace is that I don't believe him.
The truth is we had a good Senator and dumped him.
Bernie O'Hare said:
ReplyDelete"What bothers me is his unwillingness to compromise those beliefs. His self-certainty, and unwillingness to consider other options, is what makes him an extremist."
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Bernie -
Again, this isn't someone who doesn't have a track record. Toomey did serve the 15th district well for six years, keeping his word when he didn't run for a fourth term.
He endorsed Charlie Dent in this year's race well before primary season, when primary challengers to Dent were considered likely. I believe he also endorsed Charlie when Charlie first ran for the 15th District seat.
Granted, Charlie is a Republican but Charlie is also a self-described moderate. I don't think Pat would endorse Charlie if Pat were the extremist you believe him to be. Similarly, I don't think Charlie would have endorsed Pat if Pat were the extremist you believe him to be.
We do, however, have a really big problem facing our country right now and that problem is the expansion of government and government spending. Fake or not, with his votes in Congress Joe Sestak has very much helped to create that problem.
That's the reality that we need to vote on in November.
Good point. I'll think about what you say. My thoughts on ths race are equivocal, to say the least.
ReplyDelete".....unwillingness to compromise those beliefs."
ReplyDeleteI hope he does not compromise those beleifs. Too much bad stuff comes outof Washington so that the pols can look like they're "getting something done". I don't think it's right to compromise your beliefs to appear to "get something done"
Bernie, just because Pat firmly believes in certain inherent economic principles, it doesn't make him extreme. He has always been very analytical and reasoned about how market principles work. He's one of the few who will not only tell you what he believes, but has made the case by laying out how it can work in his book.
ReplyDeleteThe bottom line is that our government does not make or spend one dollar that isn't taken from its citizens. Right now we are trying to pretend otherwise and that is a dangerous path. You can't take money from anyone and put it through a government system (pay a few people along the way to "handle" it), and then have more at the other end. Just look at how much it takes to "create" a job. Now that's crazy...and extreme. And...the jobs being created are mostly taxpayer supported. There is no growth there.
Sestak has never made the case.
Some would say the election of President Obama validated the platform he ran on which included healthcare. Joe Sestak understands that healthcare reform is needed as do the American people. A targeted misinformation campaign can sway a lot of people. I'm wondering which is better, a congressman interested in the welfare of all people whether insured, employed, rich or poor or Pat Toomey whose past life invented the very Wall St hijinks that destroyed the American economy.
ReplyDeleteMake no mistake. The economy is not in the tank because we now mandate that children get insurance with pre-existing conditions but because Wall St greed brought down the nation. Pat Toomey is a Wall St sycophant and any Tea Party person should be ashamed to vote for such a person.
We do, however, have a really big problem facing our country right now and that problem is the expansion of government and government spending.
ReplyDeleteYes, this problem suddenly reared it's head in January of 2009. Please.
The sore loserism is amazing. Government shrunk under PResident Clinton and expanded beyond belief under President Bush. None of these Tea Party people had one word to say before President Obama had the audacity to put people first for a change.
Pam who does your plastic surgery. You look fabulous darling.
ReplyDeleteEvery day since I've published this blog, a coward comes on at 3 AM to attack Pam personally. I've deleted the others, but will allow this one to stand so people can see a low life in action. It takes real courage to come on anonymously and attack a woman.
ReplyDelete