The story makes light of the dramatic action he took in 2023, when a heavily traveled portion of Interstate 95 collapsed. In 12 days, Shapiro had the highway back in action, much to the relief of Philly commuters. But what about Harrisburg?, complains author Ryan Zickgraf, who actually hails from the Chicago area. You see, his ebike and car were stolen last year. And a cRaZy lady stole his cat. And porch pirates steal Amazon packages, too.
Well Ryan, let me clue you in. Shapiro is the Governor of Pennsylvania, not Harrisburg's Mayor or its City Council. Unlike Donald Trump. he recognizes that his powers are limited.
Zickgraf does make one valid observation. Renovations to his private residence outside of Philly included security upgrades, which even Zickgraf concedes are understandable at a time when nutjobs are intent on killing public officials. But they also include $290,000 for landscaping and groundskeeping. I'd agree that this should be explained, and I'll bet they were made necessary by the security upgrades. But it could be a lot worse. He could be accepting the unconditional donation of a $400l million luxury jet from Qatar.
I think this attempt to muddy Shapiro only makes him look pretty good. Having said that, he's certainly not my top choice as our next President.
'which masquerades as a challenge to think again, is pretty much parroting whatever Trump trashes or extols at any given moment'
ReplyDeleteLike you do for McClure
Hello from the UK where I’m visiting for a few days before my return to our valley home. Your points about Harrisburg are well taken. The Unherd doesn’t understand our tax system - what are voters really willing to pay for? - nor does the author understand how badly Harrisburg and Reading and Pottsville and Johnstown and Hazleton (and maybe York) were damaged by the departure of industry to the non-union South and overseas. Bethlehem and Lancaster won, kinda, in comparison, in the aftermath. Bethlehem had two higher-eds, the Moravian Church and the focus on heritage, as well as development money from the casino to fuel its revitalization. I’m not sure what Lancaster’s secret sauce is, though it’s got exotic spices from around the world. It feels very welcoming and is a lot of fun to visit.
ReplyDeleteAs for Allentown, our friend Michael M. may care to weigh in on the success of reviving Allentown’s central business district and its east side’s 200-acre state hospital property.
I have no idea as to the accuracy of this podcast, but unhurd is actually usually pretty unbiased in its conversations, certainly not a Trump sycophant. Trashing the source is just an attempt to shield Shapiro from criticism. Did you actually view the program, or is this a democratic flash message to supporters.
ReplyDeleteRubio/DeSantis 2028 - the saner choice
ReplyDeleteThey are absolutely correct.
ReplyDeleteMy opinion. At this time the Ds do not have anyone to run in 2028 that isn't tarnished. This will quickly change after the mid-terms as tRUMP will continue to put his foot in his bully mouth, and his military and domestic war mongers continue to alienate everyone except the most delusional MAGA cultists. I have not seen such division and hatred since the 60s. It saddens me greatly.
ReplyDeleteThe PA Chapter of the Jim Jones' Temple of Trumpers don't want to hear this but Shapiro may be what the country needs. He's done a good job as governor; not perfect, but he keeps the peace, which is what the US needs, a return to civility in executive leadership. He's not a nitwit like Walz nor an establishment goon like Hillary, and certainly not confused babbler like Kamala. I sense Shapiro has a conservative side, too, and he's smart enough to keep that low-key so he can stay relevant as a rising star in the Democrat party.
ReplyDeleteI like Shapiro as Governor but also not my choice for President maybe US Senator. My choice is either Seth Moulten or Andy Beshear.
ReplyDeleteShapiro truly is not worth anyone’s time but to ignore him is dangerous. He continues to lean so far left into left wing ideology and those beliefs that it makes PA an embarrassment. You are good at observing and investigating, Bernie, but it doesn’t take much to see where he’s taking PA.
ReplyDeleteAs a Democrat, I'm hoping for a middle aged heartland/rust belt moderate candidate, to try and win back the white house with a centrist platform. Our party is too far left and we need a departure from old far left vanguard of Pelosi, Schumer and Bernie Sanders but not young, coastal liberals like Hakeem Jefferies, Corey Booker or AOC. We need to return to my parents Democratic Party, that stood up for honest, law abiding, hard working Americans the way they currently stand up for undocumented illegals/scammers with 10 year old deportation orders. Look at how we handled the border, the unwillingness to close the border cost us the election and gave us Trump. We need a move to the center.
ReplyDelete