Barack Obama made an excellent choice with his selection of Delaware Senator Joe Biden to be his running mate. On Saturday I spent the day working at the Democratic booth at the Centre County Grange Fair and throughout the day people were asking if the announcement had been made. Everyone I spoke with expressed positive opinions about the choice. If this is any indication of the type of qualified people Barack Obama will surround himself with as President, we can all rest assured that our country will be headed in a better direction come January of 2009.
The daily trivia question at the Democratic booth was "What Pennsylvania town was Joe Biden's hometown?" I'm usually pretty good at trivia but Kim Bierly had to tell me the answer was Scranton PA. Read More »
As we move into the fall campaign season, the McCracken for Congress campaign is receiving several important endorsements. Earlier this month we were honored to receive the endorsement from the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO. This is a key endorsement from an organization that is a leader in supporting the rights of the working people, not only in the 5th district, but in Pennsylvania and across the nation. Read More »
Nationally, Drill Here, Drill Now seems to be the only issue where Republicans are gaining any traction with voters during 2008. For those who donâ��t know, Drill Here, Drill Now started on the website www.americansolutions.com. A couple of mouse clicks on the American Solutions website will take you to a screen with friendly welcome from none other than former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. Read More »
Since January when we began our campaign for the 5th District seat in the US Congress, I've consistently stressed that my biggest concern is the fiscal mess that has happened in Washington. This week, White House officials admitted the Bush administration would leave office in January 2009 with a record budget deficit sitting on the books of $482 BILLION. This record $482 billion deficit is coupled with a record debt of $9.5 trillion.
On January 20th, 2001, when George W. Bush was sworn in to his first term in office and the Republican Party had control of both houses of Congress, the United States government had a record budget surplus, our economy was in a period of record expansion and the national debt was being paid down. In fact, if the Bush administration would have continued the fiscally responsible polices from the 90's by continuing to grow the surplus and pay down the debt, the federal debt could have been retired by 2013. Read More »
The highlight of the past week was the opening of the Centre County Democratic Campaign Headquarters in State College. Over 200 people were on hand to celebrate the opening that included a round of rousing speeches from candidates and campaign representatives including Greg Stewart and Jay Paterno for the Obama campaign, Auditor General Jack Wagner, State Representative Scott Conklin and candidate for state representative Joanne Tosti-Vasey. I want to thank and congratulate Centre County Democratic Chair Diane Gregg, Greg Stewart, Ben Flatgard and everyone else involved in getting the headquarters up and running. Having a facility like this in downtown State College is going to be a tremendous help to all the candidates and the people who are working on the campaigns. Read More »
This week the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission released details of their plans to repair Interstate 80 using the funds generated from tolls paid by users of the highway. It was stated by the Turnpike Commission and their consultants that "An assessment of the interstate showed that more than half its length has not been repaved since it was built some 40 years ago". In press accounts, Barry J. Schoch, identified as Project Manager, also detailed plans to build a "cashless open road tolling system" that will utilize the EZ Pass system to collect a portion of the tolls. Mr. Schoch also described how vehicles not equipped with EZ Pass will have their tolls collected saying "a driver without E-ZPass will have his or her license plate photographed, generating a mailed-out bill for the vehicle owner". He also stated that this non EZ Pass system "is not currently used on any U.S. highway." Read More »
I'm pleased to report the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has rejected the permit application filed by PA Waste LLC to construct a 5,000 ton per day municipal waste landfill in Boggs Township, Clearfield County. As county commissioner, I've been working over the past 4 years, first with Rex Read and Mike Lytle, and now with John Sobel and Joan Robinson McMillen, to oppose the construction of this landfill in Clearfield County. Read More »
If you are interested in being more involved with democratic action in Jefferson County, PA, then please consider attending a meeting of the Jefferson County Democrats!
At these meetings, you will get to meet candidates and elected officials, hear from representatives of the state democratic committee, participate in voter outreach, and hear about the policies that are shaping your lives! You will also have time to socialize with people who share your values. At their most recent meeting on May 28,
Read More »We have credible information that Republican operatives are going to cause a ruckus (perhaps even violence) at the DNC meeting and try to clash with HRC supporters so that the media captures it and it divides the part further. This is why Plouffe sent out the call not to go!
Remember they have been "posing " as Obama or HRC supporters on blogs and make fake nasty arguments and comments to inflame. I have this in writing from them- yes, we got a hold of it.
The Republicans are the original dirty tricksters (NIXON, ATTWATER- who repented on his deathbed for all the dirty tricks and smears) and if you saw "RECOUNT" they come to brawl- elections are a street fight for them.
Please alert others and alert as many national media sources as you can so that they have a “heads up” on this. If you live in the metro DC area " alert the local media.
The explaination of She-who-shall-not-be-named's continued remorseless behavior has been revealed:
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/5/25/123312/547/223/522533
It explains:
- why she never left Bill, she feels no pain
- why she changes her story at will
- why she rationalized staying in the race with an
unthinkable reference
- why she thinks the American people are not smart enough
to believe her
Check it out. Do something, before it's too late.
If there is any good to come out of HRC's remarks, is that she became Barack's #1 Defender.
She'll be forced to defend his life, lest she be implicated (even by the Court of Public Opinion)
She'll be forced to defend his candidacy, lest she appear to be working in the shadows against Barack.
This video made me cry: in anger, in sadness, in bitterness
Smoking Gun, people! From the Horse's Mouth!
HILLARY RAISES ASSASSINATION ISSUEDEFENDS LONG-RUNNING CAMPAIGNHillary is finished, and the Clintons should be arrested immediately. I can't believe she actually said it. Wake up America!
You can get more involved in democracy by joining your local democratic committee! There was a meeting of the Clearfield County Democrats on Tuesday, May 13th. If you live in Clearfield, PA, please consider joining them at their next meeting on June 10th.
At their latest meeting, the Clearfield County Democrats discussed several outlets for involvement including joining sub-committees to plan fundraising and voter registration events, attending the Pennsylvania Democrats Committee Meeting, taking the DNC Neighborhood Leader pledge, and hosting a house party for 5th Congressional District Democratic Candidate Mark McCracken.
The committee is currently forming a sub-committee to plan a voter registration both at the Clearfield County Fair the last week of July in partnership with the City of DuBois Democratic Committee. A sub-committee will also be formed to plan a fund raiser later this summer.
The committee is also in the process of developing a web page to help reach out to interested voters.
The next meeting is June 10th.
Various other means of involvement and strategies were discussed on May 13th, including...
Read More »From Mother Jones: http://www.motherjones.com/mojoblog/archives/2008/05/8220_the_weird_mccai.html
The Weird McCain-Dictator Connection
When you have advisers who are interested in international conflict resolution, you get into one kind of trouble. When you have advisers who are lobbyists, you get into another.
John McCain has been forced to cut ties with two campaign staffers recently because of their ties to the military junta in Burma. The first, Doug Goodyear, was the man McCain had selected to run the 2008 Republican convention. Goodyear is the chief executive of DCI Group, a lobbying firm that was paid $348,000 in 2002 to improve the junta's image in America and to push the federal government to improve relations with the notorious human rights abusers. The second, Doug Davenport, was a regional campaign manager for McCain who helped found DCI Group and served as head of its lobbying practice, where he also worked for the junta.
This is a great example of (1) why lobbying is so freaking toxic, and (2) how, if you build your campaign machinery with lobbyists in dozens of key positions, you run into problems.
But the problem isn't just Dougs Goodyear and Davenport. The watchdog group Campaign Money Watch is now calling for three more McCain staffers to resign because of connections to distasteful foreign regimes:
Charlie Black, whose lobbying firm represented human rights abusers like Philipines President Ferdinand Marcos, Zaire dictator Mobuto Sese Seko, Somalia's Mohamed Siad Barre and Nigeria's Ibrahim Babangida, as well as foreign oil interests like the Chinese government's CNOOC. Black currently serves McCain as a spokesman and senior counsel;
Tom Loeffler, whose firm has made more than $10 million since 2006 for lobbying for the Saudi Arabian monarchy and oil interests. Loeffler serves as McCain's national finance chairman; and
Peter Madigan, a lobbyist whose firm received $800,000 to represent the United Arab Emirates in a class action suit over allegations that boys are enslaved and forced to be camel jockeys. He is also is a former lobbyist for Shell Oil. Madigan serves as a top fundraiser for McCain.
We've reported on Black, a true super-lobbyist, before. Campaign Money Watch also calls out McCain for his connections to oil and gas, which undercut his claims of good environmental stewardship.
The demand to fire the lobbyists comes as McCain gives a speech on environmental policy today. Oil and gas interests have donated $780,662 in campaign contributions to McCain's candidate and leadership committees over his career, according to a Campaign Money Watch analysis of campaign finance data provided by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.
This is not a message of hate, it's a message of tough love, which some of you will choose to ignore.
I hope the rest of us don't have to suffer the consequences of your actions.
John Edwards is very close to endorsing Barack Obama.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qggO5yY7RAo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qq7CAIsSd44
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ia2EiSujR3g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUOVVgzxZNM
Watch in order for evidence pointing towards the most sought after endorsment.
The real work of democracy is never done. The real work of democracy is involvement at every level of governance. We need to reach out to even more people and ask them to register to vote. We need to make sure more people, more democrats, vote in November.
There are several races in Western PA that need our help. If we are to have more democratic elected officials working to safeguard the future of PA and our democratic values, then we need to act.
The National Democratic Party is asking people to volunteer to be neighborhood leaders and talk to 25 people about voting and elections at least three times before November. But, we can do so much more!
We could have voter registration drives throughout the summer at fairs and carnivals or even yard sales and picnics!?
More people need to be ready to participate in elections! Since January, we have already registered 218,923 new voters! 70 % are democrats! Of those, 164,026 people changed their party from republican to democrat!
Read More »Some of you sound, uh.... bitter?!
For any John McCain Supporters This Post is for you:
Think about the values you throw aside in spite, to support this man who is more arrogant than King Bush:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lJxa2ghYLg
Don't let your spite vote enable John McCain to destroy lives, and destroy America:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67ANtTZpCmE&feature=related
Our future (and our children's) is still at stake!
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