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Friday, October 25, 2013

Ott Goes For the Bigot Vote at NAACP Debate

Remember those photos of a stunned Will Smith family as Miley Cyrus began twerking during the VMA awards? Well, that was how a forty-person audience reacted last night to Scott Ott's performance at Allentown NAACP County Exec debate. All he needed to make the night complete was a Confederate Flag. He may have even had one in his truck at the St. James AME Zion Church, buried under his guitar. After watching Ott and opponent Tom Muller answer questions, I think I can safely say that these are forty votes that Scott Ott won't get.  What he did get, after it was over, was a tongue lashing from one angry woman, as two others had her back.

I was a little late getting there because I was visiting my brother in the hospital. He had grown suddenly ill after reading this blog, and doctors are flipping coins over whether he'll last the week. So I missed Ott's initial remarks. But several audience members made sure that I heard about it. Ott reportedly told this crowd of Allentonians, in Allentown, that the only time he gets to see one of them is when they're coming up through the court system.

Not terribly bright.

Tom Muller
What I did hear him say, at one point, is that he's been advised that Latinos all quit school at age 15 to look for jobs. ... And that it makes no sense to teach prison inmates how to cook or perform low-paying jobs because they make too much money selling drugs. ... And that Republicans had advised him not to come to Allentown. ... And that Obamacare is no good.

Not terribly bright.

That might play well on WAEB or at your local KKK, but did not go over well before the NAACP. Ott's one gift is his ability to communicate, so he must have had an off night.

The largely African American audience, to their credit, remained polite.

But after it was over, I got an earful myself. Fran Eddings, CEO of the PA STEAM project at Cedar Crest College, told me she wanted to remain positive, but was clearly upset by Ott. "That was an affront to me as an African American person," she said. "The people of Allentown are not as inept as some may think they are."

Ott was also asked to explain abstaining from voting for a Meals on Wheels grant for needy Lehigh County seniors. At the time he abstained, he said that Lehigh Commissioners are "the last line of defense for the taxpayer." He complained that the "Chinese communist government is fronting us money to feed 85 year old women in Lehigh County." So it's up to patriots like him to "exercise some restraint that the federal government seems incapable of exercising."

Scott Ott
When I questioned Ott about his remarks, he never responded to me. But he had no choice last night.  He explained that he has "concerns that we couldn't feed seniors in our own community" and doesn't want to be dependent on the federal government because that well may some day go dry.

Tom Muller, who was driven to run for executive after being subjected to this kind of tea party pandering, objected that Ott's so-called reform team has a nasty habit of "talking about national problems and the national debt," calling it a "bunch of nonsense" on the local level.

What would he do?

"Yes, we definitely will feed that 85 year old woman in Allentown.

"I would do it every time."

When asked about the Veterans Mentoring Program in Lehigh County, Ott knew little about it. Muller had to explain that it was founded in 2011 to address issues faced by a growing number of veterans who get involved in the criminal justice system. It's a program championed by DA Jim Martin, one of Ott's favorite targets at budget time.

Though he had no idea what the program was, Ott made sure the audience knew that his grandfather stormed the beach at Normandy, fought in the Battle of the Bulge and was ready to go to Japan.

He apparently thinks that veteran status is inherited.

Asked about their ability to play nice with others, Muller pointed out that, under former Executive Don Cunningham, he worked well with seven members of the Republican party. He credited Commissioners who actually read the material prepared for each meeting, and who took the time to call and discuss things. That stopped when the Ott block assumed power.

Ott told the audience not to "mistake the due process and deliberative part of our meetings for divisiveness." He then claimed that David Jones is his favorite Commissioner, in an effort to establish at least some connection with people he had already lost.

Ott's favorite Commissioner was not at the debate. But Brad Osborne, whom Ott voted to dump as Chairman, was there. So were three Ott supporters, planted strategically in the audience with iPads. These political operatives, paid or unpaid, filmed Muller every time he spoke, hoping to catch him in a goof.

When the candidates closed, Ott said he represents a different approach to government. It's one we've seen recently in Washington. He did not mention his work as a Wal Mart greeter or the jobs he quit along the way. Muller reminded the crowd that he actually has a background and some heavy duty experience, including managing Lehigh County for the past 8 years under three different Executives.

He told the crowd that if they support him, the election is November 5. If they support Ott, it's on November 12.

I think everyone in that room, save for Ott and his political operatives, will be voting on November 5.

54 comments:

Uncle Remus said...
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michael molovinsky said...

bernie, apparently the candidates must have done the questions and answers twice last night. i just read the morning call's report on the meeting and it's much different, especially concerning ott's performance and reception.

Anonymous said...

So Scott Ott was honest about how things are and Muller changed his stripes once again and pandered. Just think, a few short years ago this group was probably a punch line at Republican Muller's Republican county club.

O'Hare you will continue to boost the Ott candidacy with these obvious dirty hit pieces.

Who is the racist? The guy who tells the truth or the guy who panders?

Also Muller's attempt at humor with disinformation about the election day was not funny and actually demeaning to his audience.

Anonymous said...

The most insidioue racists are the one like Bernie who falsely report and stoke the fires of hatred. You've flat out lied here. Wow. MM, I agree. False flag stories like these leave a world of greater hatred for minority children growing up and yet to get here. What an awful thing to do. Wow. Life is tough enough for young minority kids without bitter old racists stoking fires and leaving a shittier world for them. Our poor kids.

Anonymous said...

But he teaches bible school, parted waters on the Lehigh, and feeds the poor.....oh wait, my bad, he'll feed them this year but his far right conscience tells him they should look for other sources if funding.

Anonymous said...

I think the most racist entity here is not Bernie but the Morning Call and their partisan reporting. Maybe if they where not run by a T-bagger on the editorial side they would have reported the truth and not the biased one sided republican slant that is usual for this crappy irreverent newspaper.

I am canceling my subscription and I hope this paper fails like the rest and only when all these republican idiots are on the unemployment line will they change their tunes about the safety net and social injustice, heck they may even become less racist when they have to stand in the unemployment line with US.

Anonymous said...

How much Marcellus money does the county receive? Sure must be a hell of a lot if money to fund all out parks.

When will the county go after those bad PTOs who have family movie night and do not buy bookshelves?

Anonymous said...

Scott Ott has no experience and does not care one bit about LC residents. He doesn't own property, doesn't pay taxes and is a pawn to Wayne Woodman. See Wayne runs the show, his plan is to experiment with LC so he can run for higher positions in the Republican party and use LC as an example of cuttting governemnt. He is using Scott to bid his dues and Scott will follow orders because Wayne pays his way along with the rest of the bloc! Residents should be fearful of this guy. He rejects money that would benefit our residents because of his tea party ideology. His real plan is to strip county government. He will cut all of human services, or outsource it to for profit firms. He will cut everything that isn't mandated by law, which is a lot. Prison budgets will be cut, prisoners will be cut loose, cedarbrook will be sold to a for profit entity....only the wealthy need apply. He will gut as many programs as he can. Quality of life will be cut, the zoo, parks, and the courts. He has a vendetta against the DA and the judges and will cut as much as he can by law just to satisfy his tea party ideology of small goverment. He will reject pass through grants that will benefit the county. But he is too wrapped up in the tea party koolaid to realize this money will just go to another county. Scott will ruin LC and he will leave when its sinking. See Bernie, he pushed for reassessment because it lowered taxes for his buddies. Ill bet if you look at the taxes of his apartment and all his cronies residents, bet their taxes went down....and ill bet he places in his administration his buddies. See of course he wil rally aroumd less government, but he will gladly pay his cabinet in excess of 100k. He will ensure his friends get those high paying jobs, but will blast other county workers as high paid do nothings...he is a fake and if you vote for him, you deserve what you get......

Anonymous said...

Ott says his grandfather stormed the beaches of Normandy, was in the Battle of the Bulge and was ready to go to Japan. The same can be said of my dad.

Ultimately,people should be hired because they are qualified to do the job. Not because they come from some protected group.

Advice to those who engage in religious humor. We are not to take God in vain and also, we are not to make false idols. Finally, we shall not engage in false witness even for political reasons.

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

Bernie - thanks for covering this and give everyone a glimpse of the real Scott Ott. Ott is usually clever and articulate. However, underneath that veneer, he truly is an extremist loon. This is from a real interview (not satire) and is a sample of what Ott thinks of African Americans and the Democratic party:

Ott questions why blacks were loyal to Democrats given the party’s promotion of “genocide” for black babies saying abortion does not, “just decimate the black population, for that means killing only 1-in-10. The Democrat party actively, passionately pushes policies that target the race for genocide, with white “physicians” slaughtering a full 50 percent of black infants before they ever draw breath”. Townhall.com May 4, 2008

Anonymous said...

REf 8:01 Are you serious??? The Morning Call is run by the Tea Party people is laughable. The MC is so liberal and so Obama crazy it is pathetic. To say they are Tea Party people is a joke.

Anonymous said...

Politics aside, there's not a racist bone in Scott Ott's body. Bernie has shown the darkness of his soul by making great fun of Hispanic accents, like Julio Guridy's, for example. Old white race baiters like Bernie guarantee a world of hatred and intolerance for our grandchildren. It's always the ones who talk a good game about our grandchildren that ultimately harm them by their deeds. Nice job Bernie. How terribly sad.

Anonymous said...

So Ott "lost" a flimsy 40 votes he never had anyway. So what? Those folks would not vote for a Republican even if his last name was Lincoln. At least Ott showed up at the NAACP forum. He could have punted and taken less criticism from you.

Anonymous said...

Anon 9:19

I agree, I don't think Ott is a racist. He is arrogant and condescending, yes but not a racist. He just happens to be a whackadoodle who is to the right of the tea party if that is possible. For example, this is Ott's position on Social Security and Medicare:

“My entitlement reform proposal is this: If you‘re an American citizen your entitlements are outlined in the Constitution. Nothing else is guaranteed”.

“Cap program benefits at their current levels. Don’t even allow cost of living increases” Townhall.com October 8, 2008

“Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are actually elaborate Ponzi schemes”. Examiner March 30, 2009

This is the Scott Ott voters will get if he elected County Executive. Forget limited government, try no government

Bernie O'Hare said...

MM, That's why there should be more blogs. Maybe, as someone who objects to my coverage, you should have been there. I read Kevin Duffy's account, and it tells the story. Just not the whole story. Blogs serve to supplement the MSM. To me the story is that Ott failed to connect with and alienated his Allentown audience.I provided examples of how he failed to connect. If you are suggesting my story is false, which I think you are, you are wrong. Next time you want to criticize one of my accounts, get off your ass and go to the event yourself.

Bernie O'Hare said...

" You've flat out lied here. Wow. MM, I agree. False flag stories like these"

I think it's pretty obvious that portion of my story is a joke, Ott had made so many insensitive remarks that all he needed to make the night complete was a Confederate flag.

Bernie O'Hare said...

"Politics aside, there's not a racist bone in Scott Ott's body. "

He said what he said and I reported it.

michael molovinsky said...

bernie will defend his hit piece by saying that he was there, and i wasn't. but, when the title and report implies that ott accepted the naacp invitation to mock the blacks, and carry favor with bigots, the purpose of bernie's attendance is transparent.

@9:46, interesting that you look for the "real" scott ott in quotes from 2008 and 09, you're quite the googler. ott has been a victim of distortion by both this blog's author and his readers. the "reform team" introduced a number of amendments which lowers the cost of county government proposed by muller.

michael molovinsky said...

bernie, i was writing my 10:04 comment before i read your comment of 9:54, yet i knew you would be citing your presence at the meeting, and my absence. bernie, you did not attend as a reporter. you went there as a partisan, looking for ammunition. the fact that a naacp forum is not favorable to republican candidates is a given. the story here isn't what ott and muller said to 40 people predisposed to vote Democratic, but how you spun the report, yet want to claim you're being there lends credibility to your hit piece; only in your mind.

Bernie O'Hare said...

I think it's been clear for some time that Ott disturbs me very much, but i don't lie in my reports, MM. My account is a hit piece bc that's exactly what was warranted. You don't insult people in their own house and that's exactly what Ott did. Although the freelancer's report is accurate as well, it fails to tell the real story, which is whether Ott was able to connect with Allentown's largely minority population. The headline online is clearly had both candidates as saying they would connect, but did they? The reporter never asked any of the people there. He in fact left as soon as the event was over. I stuck around. To me, that was the real story.

Just as Ott thinks that being a WalMart greeter qualifies him to be County Exec, you seem to think that reading a freelancer's account in The Morning Call qualifies you to claim my account must be wrong. It does not.

And if we want to talk about disdain for the NAACP debates, we can go into your history. You have written nothing but negative pieces about those debates, after Dan Bosket incorrectly called you a racist. So I believe your own world view on NAACP debates may be a tad tainted.

Anonymous said...

One would have to believe the Morning Call article was written by someone who attended a different debate. Or one would have to assume that Ohare is predisposed to find angles to support his predisposed position for Muller. I would imagine if Ott made any remarks akin to what Bernie has posted here the Morning Call would have been all over that. It would be News if Ott represented himself the way Ohare describes. In fact the MC article highlights the civility of the debate. Ohare is suffering from some form of political delusion here, His credibility suffers to the extent he has any to begin with. This is not blogging. It is more one mans effort to slander and stain a candidate he has never been disposed to as Ott offends his elitist friends like Cunningham and Browning. Bernie is just a flak for the Man.

Bernie O'Hare said...

MM @ 10:15, I was not there as a reporter or as a partisan. I was there as a blogger. I have written extensively about this race, and wanted to see the two of them together. I have heard that Ott is terrific in these settings, but he had an off night last night. I told my readers why, and in my own way. My account is accurate, except for the Confederate flag joke. Just as Scott Ott thinks his readers are intelligent enough to know that Boston has not really surrendered to terrorists, i think my readers are smart enough to figure that out. The fact that this pisses you off so much tells me it is a story I needed to tell.

Anonymous said...

It's funny reading MM attack the Mcall on his blog, only to mention the Mcall account of this debate by name as a way to discredit your account. MM has no problem calling out the Mcall for their pro-pawlowski slant, without once giving a thought to the Mcall's very pro-Ott slant to date.

Bottom line: flimsy logic in politics makes you look like a whiner or an ideologue. Or an ass, which we all know is a badge Bernie wears proudly.

Bernie O'Hare said...

10:223, Obviously, you were not there. Ott did not connect with his audience, and said the things I attributed to him. I quoted one audience member, and she called Ott an "affront" to her as an African American. Did i make that up?

michael molovinsky said...

bernie, as you well know, my blog post yesterday morning fully covered my naacp experience. i did not need, nor did i, bring that experience to my comments here. your premise that ott failed to connectwith the blacks is itself racist. would you expect him to talk and act differently than with other groups? if anybody there was offended by his consistency, that was their problem. the fact that you found a woman or two to enforce your preconception doesn't make ott insensitive, it makes you not objective. the naacp should be commended for having these forums, and conservatives who attend should be commended for making an effort where there will be little chance of reward.

Bernie O'Hare said...

10:29, I don't think there's anything wrong with the morning call account. It is accurate. It just does not tell the real story. The reporter is handicapped by the rules of objective journalism, and this is where i think objective journalism fails. Sometimes, you're unable to tell the real story. That rel story is that the audience was stunned by Ott. They felt that his picture of Allentonians is inaccurate and are concerned about some of his remarks. He certainly failed to connect with this crowd. He probably never had them to begin with, but if his motive was to portray himself as a likable guy, he failed. If anything, his remarks will probably guarantee that more come out to vote against him. That's precisely what Woodman does not want. He is running no Comm'r or City Council in Allentown bc he wants to depress the turnout there and hope that Ott picks up enough votes in the 'burbs to carry the day. If voter turnout in Allentown is above the norm for an off year election, Ott loses. Ott hurt himself last night, and I am pointing it out.

Anonymous said...

Wait, this guy is a Walmart greeter and people are actually considering him to run Lehigh County.

Bizarre. And this Molominsky character is defending him until his very last breath. Only in Pennsyltucky.

Anonymous said...

Mike:

You are correct in your 10:04 post that the Ott quotes were several years old. However, these are comments he made in his late 40's and not something he said when he was young and didn't know any better. They reflect his adult beliefs and are consistent with the philosophy and approach he will bring to Lehigh County government. You are also correct that Ott and his block reduced the budget proposed by Matt Croslis. However, that is not what Ott promised he would do if he and his team were elected to the Board of Commissioners. He specifically promised that they would, "actual reduce spending, not just slow the growth of spending, but actually reduce it". The budget Ott and his group approved this takes County spending to an all time high. There is absolutely no way anyone can claim that Ott has done what he promised he would do - namely actually reduce spending.

So your answer seems to be that you'll ignore that failure, believe that he will keep the promises he is making to get his next position. In the real world you don't promote somebody who didn't do the job they said they would.

Bernie O'Hare said...

I have deleted several comments from the Blog Mentor, attacking MM personally. If it suits his agenda, he will call MM or me a racist, or he will make racist remarks himself. He is blinded by hate and has no interest in this or any other race.

Anonymous said...

Bernie - The most recent Ott mailer touts his starting a non-profit to save a community theater. From what I hear, Ott mishandled the funds and was "run out of town" (the theater was in a town where he previously lived outside of the LV).
I have also heard he was married before. Any of this true? If so, it is not becoming of a man who espouses himself to be "righteous."

Bernie O'Hare said...

He has been married twice, but I would not hold that against anyone. As for the lewistown theatre, i have written about it.

http://lehighvalleyramblings.blogspot.com/2011/08/did-scott-ott-rescue-and-restore.html

Anonymous said...

Nice race-baiting Bernie. No amount of racially sensitive window dressing can cover the bigotry you still clearly hold. Terrible.

Please make some more derisive comments about Mr. Guridy's accent. Bigotry is a barrel of laughs! Just ask your loved ones.

Unknown said...

Otts a right-wing nut bag tea party goofball. Even MM knows this.
The guy is really a joke.

Anonymous said...

Ott apparently was exhibiting the soft bigotry of low expectations.

Anonymous said...

OTT is such a fool that I'm going to hold my nose and vote for the guy that looks like Capt. Kangaroo.
I can't understand why the party let OTT represent them. He's ready for SNL.

Anonymous said...

Anon 11:46

There are a couple of untold stories about the theater Ott says he "saved".

1. If you talk to the folks involved with the theater they will tell you it was his wife (a local DJ at the time) who actually led the effort not Scott Barron-Ott which was his name at the time.
2. In the 20 years since the theater was "saved" it has yet to open to the public but it has consumed almost $500,000 in state and federal grants and earmarks (otherwise known money from taxpayers).

Once again, heck of a job Scottie.

Anonymous said...

I wasn't at the forum, so I can't say one way or the other how Ott really came across. But I disagree with claims by Ott and his supporters that Ott is always actively pushing for spending cuts.

In 2012, Ott and his allies did NOT "look" for cuts, they simply tried to direct the county administration to make $5 million in cuts (the county later agreed to $3.5 million). If they had actually specified which cuts should be made, rather than attempting to pass that buck to a county administration that wasn't interested, they may have been more successful.

This year, actual spending cuts were actually identified by the commissioners, but not by Ott. Fifteen budget amendments put forward by commissioners (some were approved by the board, others rejected) but Scott Ott presented none of them. Mazziotti proposed 9 of the 15, while Creighton, McCarthy and Scheller each proposed two.

Ott talks a big game when it comes to spending cuts, but in the end he lacks specifics and depends on others to do the actual cutting for him.

Anonymous said...

Anon 3:18

Good points on last year's budget. As I recall, Ott said he didn't like the amendment process because it was too difficult to get a majority to agree on the final product (I thought that was what leadership was all about particularly when you have a 7-2 majority).

And when one of the Otters then proposed the arbitrary across the board reduction you mentioned, Scott said it was because he really didn't have the knowledge to say where specific cuts could be made.

Think about that statement for a moment. The man who ran for office in 2011 saying he had a plan to eliminate the 16% tax increase and then cut the millions in spending needed to make that happen says a year later that he doesn't know enough about the County's budget to make specific recommendations.

Anonymous said...

Scott Ott must win because Muller is such a flawed candidate. Hhe is not qualified to have the peoples trust.

Anonymous said...

Muller looks like Captain Kangeroo.

Anonymous said...

Or the Frito bandito. The dud has a porn star moustache.

Anonymous said...

Bernie

Honestly Bernie this is the raunchiest and most desperate post I think I have read on your blog.

By your logic, if you substitute Obama for Ott and the Teaparty people for the NAACP, that would make Obama a racist.

What we've got here is failure to communicate. Some men you just can't reach.

Doh.

X

Bernie O'Hare said...

What i called Ott is not a bigot, but a person who basically completely failed in an tempt to connect with Allentown voters. Along the way, he made remarks that some of them certainly consider racist. I myself do not consider Ott a racist, and my headline is perhaps a bit dramatice. But as i said, he was so terrible that he may as well have walked in there with a Confederate flag.

Bernie O'Hare said...

Unless you vote, and get some friends to join you, he will be the next County Exec.

Anonymous said...

Scott Ott is a real pwrso0n with real beliefs. Muller is a pornstar moustache faker, looking to pad his already sizable county pension to buy another corvette.

Good people will be voting for sanity and decency. They will vote for Scott Ott!!

Anonymous said...

Muller=

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DnP7aXpQf8g/UHbhTzr3MSI/AAAAAAAADOA/ZPbm_b-eboQ/s1600/rich-monopoly-man1.jpg

Anonymous said...

Ott is a real person. With real ideas and beliefs. Not a cartoon character. And that's what's so terribly scary.

Anonymous said...

Ott is a bad joke even as Tea Baggers go!

dirk duncum said...



The comments by Ott clearly show he is an out of touch old windbag. Not neccessarily racist but definitely sheltered and lacking experience interacting with a cross ection of the population. his criticism of the headine

dirk duncum said...

Excuse that last part. I was going to write something else but decided to abstain. I thought I deleted it all, but obviously I did not.

dirk duncum said...



I do not think the MC staff are heavily Liberal. Gunther and the Tea Party blowhard contingent are so over the top to the right that everyone that disagrees with them are communist. Anyway, I perefer the Express Times. What a great paper.

Anonymous said...

Please Muller looked like he was drugged. Mr. Ott was impressive and knowledgeable.

Bernie O'Hare said...

I understand Ott was so impressed with his performance that he skipped out on the Macungie debate and instead had a party so he could watch himself on TV.