PSoTD

The big question is, will this hurt Tom Ridge's ability to draw money from Republicans in the future?

Lynn Swann, the Republican candidate for governor, might benefit more financially by appearing on the campaign trail with former Gov. Tom Ridge, but it might cost him much-needed support in the central part of the state.

Swann, who had a long-standing commitment to speak at the West Branch Manufacturers Association annual dinner next Tuesday, canceled last week after receiving an offer to appear with Ridge elsewhere on the same day.

The Williamsport group said it feels slighted and is withholding the $15,000 it raised on Swann's behalf. Checks are being returned to donors.

Michael J. Sharbaugh, the association's executive director, said he is hearing people say, "I was going to vote for him, but not now. If you can't keep your commitment, you won't make a good governor."

...

"It's a real bonehead move," said Michael Young, managing partner of Michael Young Strategic Research. "He alienated people in an important part of the state. This is an early indicator of a campaign that's in trouble."

Between the Swann campaign and the current dismal atmosphere around Rick Santorum's chances, Republicans in Pennsylvania have to be feeling pretty downtrodden about their chances in the fall.

And you have to wonder what poor Jim Matthews (and his brother, Chris Matthews) are thinking, other than they both may have hitched a political career plan for the future on someone who keeps fumbling.

Yep, the Al Gore movie.

It plays in Harrisburg June 30th at the Midtown Cinema.

From the Center for Rural Pennsylvania:

A Center for Rural Pennsylvania study released in 2000 compared the cost of living across the common-wealth’s 67 counties and found that costs in urban counties were typically about 6 percent higher than in rural counties. Rural counties had lower costs for each component of the index, including groceries, housing, utilities, transportation, health care, and miscellaneous goods and services.

...

Data also indicate that, over the next 10 years, Baby Boomers will be making their way back to rural Pennsylvania. Older Boomers, who are now hitting their retirement years, seem to be attracted to the quality of life in rural Pennsylvania. This is evidenced, in part, by the roughly 5 percent increase in Baby Boomers from 1990 to 2000.

I see that the Washington Post made Pennsylvania's state primary on Tuesday a big national story today. I do think they understate Pennsylvania's reasons for dumping many incumbents on Tuesday:

Some of the backlash against incumbents grows out of specific grievances such as the Pennsylvania pay raise or missteps by individual lawmakers.

The payraise was the ignition, but I think it was the attitude of the state legislators that cost many in the primary. For several, it was downright haughty to those who were protesting the payraise. It was a lack of respect. They tried to foist a "ruling class expertise" diet on the public, and many of them ended up with losing primary campaign vomit as a result.

I don't think the Post gets it. It really isn't about the issue primarily. It's the attitude that came out. Pennsylvanians rejected it as not appropriate for leadership or representation. Do I think it's over? No. Unless Pennsylvania's General Assembly goes into complete hiding over the next six months, I think that attitude will make itself known again. The public is hypersensitive to it now. The press knows it, and will feed the public's sensitivity. This ain't over.

Robert Jubelirer
David Brightbill
Teresa Forcier
Frank Pistella
Kenneth Ruffing
Tom Stevenson
Stephen Maitland
Roy Baldwin
Gib Armstrong
Peter Zug
Fred Belardi
Dennis Leh
Sue Cornell
Paul Semmel

They are all incumbents that lost their statehouse primary races yesterday. There will likely be at least a few more as the election results become final.

God, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's web site is a mess for citizens to use...

I'm not the only one with this opinion... check out Pollywogs' opinion.

First time with the electronic touchpad voting machines. I can see where a large segment of the Central Pennsylvania population is going to struggle with it. It isn't as intuitive as you would expect - for the amount that it costs, I would think it would be as simple as using a MAC machine, but not really. Plus, someone at the precinct has to join you in the booth to set it up for the proper party ballot, and walk you through the process of voting. I think it will be interesting to read the letters to the editor in the following week to see what complaints burble up... beyond the obvious security ones.

Senator Weasel strikes again.

Seriously, can Specter be believed on anything, ever, again?

Go vote.

Here's some Pennsylvania reading for your evening...

Rendell widens lead over Swann to 55-33.

Had their first blogger on a call-in show last night, I believe.

The Public Opinion of Chambersburg makes this editorial recommendation. And it's a good idea to improve it.

The newspaper focuses on the currency, timeliness and quality control of the information available on the site. I'd like to add one more thing about the Megan's Law site. It is great that the site offers a zip code search for offenders. However, most of us don't know the "new people in the neighborhood" by name, just by site. The current site forces a parent or other party to pulse through the site, name by name, to see the likeness of the person. If you're going to offer photos, why not provide that in a one page scan? That's where recognition is more likely to occur, isn't it?

Debut's this Wednesday at 7 PM on PCN.

(Great to see this for Pennsylvania's bloggers, but TV ain't for me. I like my relative anonymity.)