DAILY GRINDER: Gov. Corbett Decries Liquor ‘Privatization’ Plan
You think it, Tom Corbett says it! (OK, his press secretary does. This time. Sort of.) “The governor wants to privatize the LCB,” he said yesterday, as reports of House Bill 11’s new “privatization-lite” language swept the Commonwealth. According to the amended PLCB privatization bill in the House, the LCB would keep its state stores, though...
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New Report Explains PA Republicans’ Disdain for Electoral College
The Center for American Progress’ Ruy Teixeira and John Halpin have a new report out called “The Path to 270” all about how President Barack Obama can win re-election in 2012. It’s a pretty wonky PDF, but the main point is this: Democrats can win by focusing on a “center-left coalition made up, on the one hand, of voters who have gotten ahead on the...
Continue ReadingUpdate: Occupy Harrisburg Disrupts Redistricting Meeting, Corbett Won’t Fully Support Electoral College Plan
Things are heating up in Harrisburg as Occupy protesters there infiltrated a redistricting commission meeting, and forced a 35-minute delay in its start time. According to a report at PA Independent, the protesters shouted common Occupy slogans like, “This is what Democracy looks like” and “We are the 99 Percent.” Protesters were upset that not all voices...
Continue ReadingDAILY GRINDER: It’s Corbett vs. Nutter on Clean Air
You know those “long overdue” EPA regulations for which the City of Philadelphia went to bat in Washington last week? Governor Tom Corbett is one of the Republican leaders fighting against the Clean Air rules, which would save the lives of an estimated 3,000 Pennsylvanians per year. Corbett and other conservatives have claimed there are economic impacts to...
Continue ReadingDAILY GRINDER: Tom Corbett for President?
Governor Tom Corbett signed some wingnut demands during the 2010 election season. Some of those demands—like the “Don’t raise taxes” thing—were brainchildren of one Grover Norquist. Old Norquist is happy with the monster he’s created in the Pennsylvania governor. So much so, he recently Tweeted, “PA gov Tom Corbett. Pledge taker and keeper....
Continue Reading‘English-Only is Not Giving Us One More Job’: Rep. Babette Josephs Says Republicans Fiddle While Pennsylvania Burns
It’s estimated 14,000 jobs have left Pennsylvania since Governor Tom Corbett has come into office. Half of 20-something Philadelphians are unemployed, one-in-five children lives in poverty in the greater region and the city of Reading was just listed as the worst poverty stricken city in the country. Not that we’re saying Corbett is to blame. At least...
Continue ReadingDAILY GRINDER: Food Stamp Chaos Extended
Don’t tell Matt Drudge, but as it turns out, those people whose food supply was destroyed in Hurricane Irene will have more time to apply for Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance, also known as D-SNAP, also known as free ride food stamp chaos! Victims from Bucks, Chester, Philadelphia, Montgomery and Northampton Counties have until October 4 to apply...
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Republican Legislature May Back Off Voter-Disenfranchisement Bills for All the Wrong Reasons (Updated)
With each passing day, the Republican Legislature’s plans to give democracy a roundhouse kick to the jugular receives a setback. This time around, it was Pennsylvania’s Republican representation in the Washington Garbage Heap that applied the much needed “Hold on, let’s think about this” brakes. According to subscription-only Capitolwire, the Pennsylvania...
Continue ReadingDAILY GRINDER: Philly Lunch Ladies to be Replaced with Frozen Brooklyn Warehouse Food
Wondering what your kids are going to be eating next school year? Try this: “meals cooked, plated, and frozen several days before consumption and trucked in from a warehouse in Brooklyn, N.Y.” Why? Because it’ll save money, of course. The city believes not paying workers to staff functioning kitchens in 26 elementary and middle schools throughout Philadelphia...
Continue ReadingDAILY GRINDER: Internal Poll Calls Nutter Odds-On Favorite, Not Too Bad On Eyes
It’s internal poll publicity time. Which means politicians will throw numbers at you, which will amount to, uh, absolutely nothing! Check this out: A Nutter Administration internal conducted by Garin-Hart-Yang finds Nutter’s got a 67 percent approval rating in the city (snort) and only 16 percent in the negative! (snicker) If he went up against Republican...
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