DAILY GRINDER: Despite Signs of Compromise, PA GOP Says ‘No’ to Tax Hikes
Maybe you heard that some old, cranky GOP Senators and Representatives are thinking about maybe, at some point, possibly opening themselves up to voting for tax increases for the good of the nation? No? Well, yes, it’s happening, maybe! And the mere thought of it has Americans for Tax Reform head Grover Norquist, whose anti-tax pledge those Congresspeople will...
Continue ReadingLibertarian Party Prepares Philly Ballot Access Fight with Help From Other Third Parties
The Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania handed in about 49,000 signatures on Aug. 1 to get presidential candidate Gary Johnson on the statewide ballot. A week later, as expected, the Pennsylvania Republican Party challenged about 44,000 of those signatures, alleging, among other things, that 26,000 Philadelphia-based signatures came from individuals who are not...
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Q&A: Kevin J. Williams, Director of ‘Fear of a Black Republican’
Trenton, New Jersey-based film director Kevin Williams spent six years asking some simple questions: With so few African American Republicans in the U.S., does the Republican Party even want them? And what effect is that having on the inner city, in which most politicians are Democrats and, oftentimes, have little visionary competition from the right to make...
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Philly GOP Elects a New Chairman—Maybe
GOP activist Mike Cibik speaks to ward leaders. A somewhat rebellious faction of the Philadelphia Republican Party met at a church in Northern Liberties last night to elect a new Chairman. And they did. Now, the only question is whether or not that election was legitimate. An election was needed, it was claimed, after apparent former Chair Vito Canuso’s last...
Continue ReadingDAILY GRINDER: Nutter Calls Trayvon Martin’s Death “An Assassination”
Mayor Nutter went on MSNBC on Sunday to speak about the Trayvon Martin killing in Sanford, Florida. “I’ve called this nothing short of an assassination,” Nutter said. “This individual Zimmerman followed Trayvon for some period of time. Trayvon was not a threat to him.” There is a candlelight vigil for Martin tonight at 6:30 p.m. in Love...
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Norquist Tells Pa Republicans: Don’t be a ‘Rat Head’
Image: Wiki Anti-tax activist Grover Norquist spoke to the Pennsylvania Leadership Conference on Friday and, as is his shtick, filled his speech with a few odd metaphors. Norquist is well-known for both creating the anti-tax pledge of the 2010 elections and once saying he wishes for government to be small enough that you could “drown it in the bathtub,” among...
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2012 Election: DNC, Obama Response to Santorum Shows Race Changing
It wasn’t long ago the Democratic National Committee and Obama Campaign were sending out daily emails attacking Mitt Romney’s attacks on them, in between the former Massachusetts governor’s ‘America the Beautiful’ serenades at lowly campaign rallies. But things have changed. New polls show former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum leading all...
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A View From Inside ‘Occupy CPAC’ in Washington, D.C.
The last time I took a ride with local community organizing group Fight For Philly for a story, we’d ridden a school bus around North Philadelphia, then headed back to Center City as members pushed their opposition to Wells Fargo’s school-swap deals and Sen. Pat Toomey’s indebtedness to corporate interests. On Friday, the trip would take us south—on a...
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Election 2012: Will Contraceptives be a Winning Campaign Issue?
Here’s something: The newest attack on the Obama Administration is his health plan’s requirement that companies and organizations cover contraceptives for their employees. It began with the Catholic Church (which we covered here), wiggled its way through the Republican National Committee and its affiliates, and is now in full attack mode in the mainstream...
Continue ReadingDAILY GRINDER: Pushback Against Gov. Corbett’s Food Stamp Policy
Some anti-hunger groups are criticizing Gov. Tom Corbett’s $2,000 “asset test” for food stamps, calling the move unnecessary and a little weird. Richard Weishaupt of Community Legal Services said, “I don’t think they’ll save any money at all,” which is true, but ask yourself: Is this about money or looking like a good conservative? This article...
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