I previously published my absentee ballot. If Hillary wins by one vote, you can blame me. My vote was canceled out my two people who work with me and voted for Trum. I also voted for Pat Toomey (US Senate) Matt Cartwright (Congress), Eugene DePasquale (Auditor General), Joe Torsella (Treasurer), Joe Rafferty (Attorney General).
For my State House District, I gave Ann-Marie Panellaa write-in. I voted to extend the mandatory retirement age for judges and to ease Home Rule Charter requirements for advertising. And yes, I did miss a question.
I completely disagree with Toomey on most issues, but he gets my vote because he's his own man while Katie McGinty is a partisan hack who is there to do what Papa Ed Rendell tells her. If Sestak were the nominee, I would have voted for him. Controller Steve Barron and I have a bet on this race. If Toomey wins, he will have to prance around the courthouse in his kilt for a day, and I will bury him on this blog. If McGinty wins, I have to wear a kilt.
The Cartwright-Connolly race is a no-brainer for me. Connolly is a likable guy with some pretty incredible views. He believes in shutting government down, etc. I prefer grow-ups. If I could, I would be voting for Charlie Dent.
In the AG race, I prefer Republican Rafferty, the guy who actually knows what a courtroom looks like, as opposed to someone who has never tried a case, and who will use the office as a springboard to run for something else.
For Auditor General, I like Eugene DePasquale, who has been effective and tough, against NorCo Exec John Brown.
For Treasurer, Ambassador Joe Torsella, who refused to let Rendell browbeat him into dropping his support of Bernie Sanders.
For state house, I am writing in Ann-Marie Panella Incumbent Joe Emrick is completely nontransparent, and Mattei is an occasional voter with financial problems who was not even registered as a Democrat when I last checked.
In other State House races, I would support Justin Simmons over Joanne Jackson. She sent out a mailer blaming Simmons for anonymous attacks against her posted on this blog, while she herself was trying to enlist me to "like" some Facebook page disparaging him.
Dan McNeill over Dave Molony. The only reason I can figure why Molony continues running for this seat is to attract more customers to his acupressure practice.
Ben Long over Mike "Darth Voter" Schlossberg. Long should get trounced but has run an aggressive race against Schlossberg. he rges that if you like Fed Ed and rob McCord and pay-to play, you'l love Darth Voter.
The strongest against the weakest. Though he's spending money like there's no tomorrow, Zach Mako the debate coward is clearly the weakest LV state house candidate from both parties. He improperly brags about upcoming military missions, but ran from a debate. Phillips Armstrong is the strongest of the candidates, and his #1 issue is gerrymander reform.
28 comments:
I will be voting for Phillips Armstrong hands down. We need a strong voice in Harrisburg and accessible, not a candidate who hides and cannot speak for himself. Armstrong supports redistricting reform, legislature reform, will refuse a salary if a budget is not passed and will not accept per diems. I do have a suggestion regarding his refusal to accept the meal per diem. Until the entire legislature forgoes this benefit that we all pay, I would like to see him collect it, bring it back to the District and donate it to our local food banks.
I will be voting for Armstrong also, he is the real deal. His opponent is a coward and has no experience that I can find.
Schlossberg is a "Fed Ed" clone, supporter and crooked politician. Anyone associated with the "Rotund One" is vile in my mind. He was part of the "Group of Three" who tried to completely sweep Allentown politics under their control. They did manage to get some candidates into office, however, the FBI halted their advance. He offers no substance but contempt in Harrisburg. Ghost voting is a revered practice in is his mind. Since essentially know one can fire him but the voters, this will be a test for the residents in Allentown. We'll see how far the electorate has come since the "Mayor for Life" has come under severe scrutiny!
I'm with 7:08, voting for Ben Long, a decent young guy who has visited my home twice and made some compelling arguments to elect him as State Rep. If Rep. Schlossberg had owned up to the ghost voting, he could have put it behind him. His responses only solidified his reputation as an Ed Pawlowski style politician. I truly think Allentown residents deserve some bright light in politics and maybe Long can do it through all his hard work and positive message.
It's interesting that Hillary Clinton is counting on the college-educated, middle-class women of suburban Philadelphia. I was one of those until 2010, when we moved up from the Radnor area to where we live now near Pennsburg/Red Hill. I still have a lot of girlfriends from Radnor and none, I repeat none of them like her at all.
Hillary Clinton is not representative of the women in this country one bit. Most of us find it insulting that Hillary thinks she’s going to get our vote simply because we are women and she’s a woman. Hillary Clinton is the worst example, male, or female, that the President of the United States could possibly be. She has the morals of a snake, lies when she finds it necessary to, and is not someone for girls to aspire to be. It's really a shame that she is not a better representative for women across the country
I'm with Armstrong as well. I received a call last week for a town hall meeting with him on the phone answering questions from people in the district live. I believe this took place in the time that he was supposed to be debating his opponent.
My question is, if you can't even debate your opponent, how are you going to stand up for your constituents in Harrisburg?
Both Ben Long and Mike Schlossberg lack any kind of real world experience. Ben "worked for the family business".... but otherwise hasn't really had any job experience. He's a kid. A hard worker yes. But very green.
It's was the same with Schlossberg who came right out of college and started working for Democrat king makers. He was then hand chosen for the City council and the state rep seats. Has he ever held a job outside of government?
So the difference is, Schlossbergs ethical lapse with ghost voting and his guilt by association to the allentown Democratic machine. Take a chance with Ben on this one.
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Katie McGinty (other than a ceremonial and theatrical overture to gun reform advocates, he's a partisan hack, a hack who obstructed the SCOTUS for 11 months and obstructed the President even on matters of agreement such as infrastructure spending.)
Matt Cartwright
Josh Shapiro (Guy seems like he supports criminal justice reform whereas Rafferty is a curmudgeonly old school 'lock em up' Republican. We don't need that now.)
Unlike some, I don't feel the need to split my ticket to make myself believe I'm non-partisan. The parties have diametrically opposed stances on many major issues.
Ben Long has the attn span of a 2 yo. GOP should have done a much better job with that position. Allentown is still a Dem district. Schlossberg will win.....sadly!
Rep. Simmons defeats whacko jacko Joanne Jackson in a landslide! She's afraid of people! She walked on the sidewalk during the Coopersburg parade. I had an aunt with mental issues. A gatherings she rarely talked to adults. She told me not long before her passing that it was just easier for her to talk to children. She felt uncomfortable around adults. Reminds me of JJ. I wonder how many Rs she called in her phone bankīng???? She hides inside her box!
Clinton over Trump. Yeah, she's guilty but she is intelligent and God knows what he would do.
McGinty over Toomey. He is just too far right for me.
Dent
Rafferty
de Pasquale (I am a ticket splitter).
I am still debating Schlossberg vs. Long. I do not like either one (Feels a lot like other choices on the ballot this year!).
I think some of the alleged college educated Trump women voters are 50 year old single guys living in their mom's house.lol
OK My predictions for PA
President = Trump (PA & National)
Senator= Toomey
Attorney General= Rafferty
Auditor General= Brown
Treasurer= Voit
US Representative (6th CD) = Costello
General Assembly (131st) = Simmons
Judicial Age= No
Those are my predictions and I'm stickin to them :)
A subject that always is discussed every four years is the elimination of the Electoral College. It's been discussed, and there have been attempts to eliminate it since the first Presidential election in 1788.
Instead of the "Winner take all" system that each state has now, lets have one elector per congressional district who represents the winner of the the popular vote of the district, and two electors per state for the canidate that wins the popular vote of the state, as we have now. That would retain the 280 electoral vote majority needed, but also would have much more popular vote into the electoral vote.
It would also eliminate the Philadelphia and Pittsburg monopoly on Pennsylvania's Electoral Votes. After all, people do vote outside of those two cities, and they are constantly getting pre-empted by the large amount of the votes in the major cities
Um, I don't think you can disenfranchise voters.
Mostly joking, but are you sure you didn't violate the new electronic device in voting statute by posting this?
Actually, I arguably violated two election laws. But I am doing so bc I owe it to my readers to reveal how I voted. I believe this is core political speech and protected under the First Amendment. If wrong, I'll see you in 10-20.
Ok, one last election statement.
What does Donald Trump stand for?
What does Hillary Clinton stand for?
Your vote, you decide.
Do Democrats have standards? Or do they all stand for corruption in government?
That's the decision you have to make before you vote for Hillary Clinton.
Can you tolerate more scandal in government? Her lying to the American people as Preisdent?
Remember the whopper you heard from Obama: "If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor".
What is your tolerance of a liar as commander in chief?
Trump is unable to complete a sentence without lying, so drop that argument. And get her for her own lies, not from someone else.
What does Trump lie about ?
The same people who ordered the FBI to stand down on Hillary Clinton are now trying to intimidate voters. The Justice Department says it will send more than 500 staffers to 28 states on election day to monitor the polls.
Does that sound biased and rigged to you?
Anonymous, just give it up.
Trying to talk sense into a Hillary Supporter is like talking to a wall.
Good catch Bernie at 8:18. The Republican hardliners have been running with that straw dog argument for years. They have a majority of state houses and governors. They control the US House and Senate and still they are angry. So they come up with this cockamamie plan to apportion electoral votes in violation of the constitution. Why? To disenfranchise voters just as you said.
Pennsylvania is a great example. Republicans control our sate house and often win state wide races. However, in Presidential years when many Democrats vote they have problems. So what is their solution? A plan to disenfranchise the majority of voters.
They are sly devils but not quite sly enough.
Jamie K,
Its 270 to win, but to your suggestion: yes 48 of the states use a winner take all system. Any state can change that. Your suggestion of pegging it to congressional districts w/2 going to at-large for the winner of the state is no better because of gerrymandered districts. It was suggested in PA for 2012. I tend to vote GOP, but I recognize and acknowledge that it was a GOP partisan maneuver. If it had passed, even though Obama won the popular vote, Romney would have gotten a heavy majority of PA electors, and if the 6 or 8 states that suggested it in '12 had passed, even though Obama had something like 5 million more popular votes, Romney still would have handily won the EC. How is that any fairer? IF you truly want to reform it, as you say, then states would make the electors proportionate to the state overall popular vote. Short of that, any move away from winner take all will always have the ulterior motives of helping one party or the other.
To do away with the EC, would take a constitutional amendment, and I don't see that happening, but my comments are already too long so won't go down that path.
10:02, Here is a link to some of Trump's bigger lies. He is unableto complete a sentence without lying.
Davde, this blog is not an echo chamber for people who think alike. I encourage diverse views and will challenge people like you, who are so often full of shit.
http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/11/donald-trumps-worst-lies-by-the-numbers
"The same people who ordered the FBI to stand down on Hillary Clinton are now trying to intimidate voters. The Justice Department says it will send more than 500 staffers to 28 states on election day to monitor the polls.
Does that sound biased and rigged to you?"
It sounds like the FBI is reacting to Trump's efforts at voter suppression. I can say that any FBI agent within 100'of a polling station in Pa. will be arrested. They better monitor from 101'.
It is highly amusing that people still make the argument that Hillary Clinton would be more corrupt and scandalous as the POTUS than Donald Trump. Trump would take personal vendettas to the next Nixonian level.
Does that sound biased and rigged to you?
No, it sounds like a prototypical 2016 Breitbart/Infowars paranoid delusional. Seek some help or better yet, expand your horizons in the media in which you consume.
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