This is Your Rep: Scott Perry Edition

This clip of Congressman Scott Perry (York-R) has been making the rounds recently

In it Perry compares repealing the ACA to repealing slavery, and denies that the government will shut down. He accuses Chris Matthews, the anchor of the program, and Congressional Democrats of not reading the legislation. Matthews took offense at the comment, taking it to its logical conclusion, that Matthews, a journalist, did not do his job. Matthews subsequently kicked Perry off the show. 

What this brief episode should make glaringly obvious to you and anyone who hears about it though, is that Perry is most certainly a right-wing extremist, a Tea Party Republican. 

Even though the freshman Rep. likes to affiliate himself with NoLables, a C4 organization focused on building bipartisanship there should be no surprises about Perry's policy goals. 

Perry conforms as a member of the House GOP's suicide caucus (as documented in this handy map from the Cook Political Report). Those who want Romney's agenda passed or they will shut down the government and possibly breach the debt ceiling.

A lot of Perry's insanity certainly has to do with the insanity of the way his district was gerrymandered after 2010. Perry is currently the congressman for the 4th congressional district. This is a district the until 2010 was actually on the PA/Ohio border. After the GOP redrew the district lines in 2010 the new 4th district includes all of York and Adams County, and only the city of Harrisburg from Dauphin County. This creates safer seats for all of the Dauphin County suburbs and rural areas that are more conservative than Harrisburg is.

Perry is also legitimately responding to the demands of these more conservative constituents. He has more than once been to Tea Party events and meetings. There is no question that the policy outcomes of what this small group of people wants would be detrimental to not only the almost 50,000 Dauphin County residents within his district but also the residents of the city of York, and really anyone who is not an independently wealthy doomsday prepper. 

If we want to push Perry and the very real threat of lasting Tea Party politics back then we need to organize to stop it. Even if it would be difficult to vote Perry out of office, we could make it easy for Perry to save face when he does not agree with all of the Glenn Beck and Bill O'Reilly watchers in his district by showing him that a sizable part of his constituency does not agree with them.

Dauphin County Young Dems Take Top Spots

This past weekend was the Fall PA Democratic State Committee Meeting. Held at the Valley Forge Casino and Resort in Montgomery County.

There was the usual glad handing and candidate meet and greets as well as the festive atmosphere of reception after reception. There was as well a meeting of the PA Young Dems, umbrella organization of this Dauphin County Chapter.

At the meeting it was time to elect a new slate of officers and Dauphin County came away from the process looking strong. The new President, Danny Bauder, appointed three Dauphin County Dems to top positions in PA Young Dems. Matthew Pianka became the Central Region Vice President. Current Dauphin County Young Dems President David Madsen is the new Minority Caucus Chair. Dauphin County Young Dems Secretary Brendan Murray became the Labor Caucus Chair.

Lets hope the confidence expressed by fellow YD's will show through into our local activities and increase the strength of our party here at home. Well done gentleman! 

Work Search Requirements

This has issue has gotten some traction now that the effects of  a rule change allows state unemployment benefits to be withheld if those collecting the benefits don’t register with a useless career site, are coming to fruition. Tom Corbett is using the same language in his Medicaid talk. 

The desire to of Republicans stems from a couple places. Skin deep it is an easy appeal to not just the party base, but really many independents and Democrats too who don’t know any better. They throw around the terms “Government Waste” and worry that poor people’s priorities aren’t straight. Deeper than that though I think the conversion of many non GOPers to this line of thinking has been a messaging victory for them.

The position that you should have to look for work while on unemployment, or Medicaid (even when you already have a job) stems from the feeling that people who are poor are poor because they don’t try hard enough. As in the people who are poor are not actually interested in looking on their own. This position ignores a startling amount of research to the contrary, and is downright cruel (I would go so far as to say psychically damaging) to the people living these realities. 

Yet from Ronald Reagan’s welfare queens to Mitt Romney 47% comment the message remains the same. Policy priorities like this should remind us all why we are affiliated Democrats. 

At a time when people are dropping out of the work force in droves maybe if the Republicans were really concerned with helping the unemployed they would stop cutting investment in and from the public sector.

Way to Go Brad Koplinski

I think it’s definitely worthwhile to take moment and give credit where credit is due. Harrisburg city councilor, Brad Koplinski has set an impressive campaign pace.

The Koplinski campaign for Lt. Governor just announced that they have campaigned in every county in the state. Nick Field with PoliticsPA has the scoop.

Koplinski said he intends to visit every single county again before the primary election next spring. The other purpose of this expedition, besides of course trying to get elected, is that Koplinski is pledging to turn the Local Government Advisory Committee, which is chaired by the Lt. Governor, into a more effective organization.

No other candidate for any 2014 statewide offices can claim this distinction, though I bet John Hanger comes close.

Not only has Koplinski wined and dined the locals at every county fair he can find, he has racked up quite a few endorsements along the way. PoliticsPA again;

The first endorsements in the Democratic primary for Lieutenant Governor are in. Harrisburg City Councilman Brad Koplinski rolled out a list of more than 100 supporters.

The full list is on the site and you should check it out. These are wide ranging, but it does matter. When the time comes for voters pull the switch for such a low information race, Brad simply having been there will make a difference for him.

Brad has also made it clear that he is actually interested in what it is the Lt. Governor does, aside from Presiding over the Senate and being second in the state line of succession Koplinski has spoken a lot about his role at the head of the Local Government Advisory Committee. Here is him wonking out with progressive Jon Geeting at Keystone Politics;

Infrastructure is a huge problem for local governments. We got this transportation funding advisory study that recommends about $2 billion in maintenance, but it’s just for the state roads, it doesn’t really touch the 27,000 miles of local roads. There’s very few County roads in this state. Most of the County responsibility is bridges, which is important, and I didn’t know this until recently but we have all these structurally deficient bridges – what that means is,  when they build a bridge they build it so it can hold 140,000 lbs, but over time there’s some wear and tear on it, and then they say it can only hold 80,000 lbs. Not a problem, but then it gets to the point where they have to start lowering the weight restrictions on it – that’s when it become structurally deficient. So maybe it’s 60,000 or 40,000 – still safe but [pause] something’s bound to happen. It’s going to be like what happened in Minneapolis.

This will obviously contrast with Lt. Governor Cawley’s own record, but also the other Democrats in the race who have not said much to date. There is a lot more to the campaign and I said, the low information surrounding Lt. Gov votes could favor a candidate with star power, but right now congratulations are in order. Lets hope he keeps up the hard work. Well done Brad!

One Democratic Vote, One Democratic Winner

Over the last three months (and counting), Harrisburg citizens witnessed constant alterations to the official ballot of candidates for the mayoral election in November. From day to day and week to week, formal candidate announcements and complimenting news reports repeatedly verified the standing list of candidates competing for the post to lead the City of Harrisburg.       
         

Two inseparable confirmations immediately followed the primary election on May 21, 2013.  The one-term mayor, Linda Thompson (D), was voted out of office and Eric Papenfuse (D) received the plurality of Democratic votes. 

Unanswerable confirmations prevailed for the four remaining mayoral hopefuls:  Dan Miller (D), a Republican write-in candidate,Lewis Butts (D), a Democratic write-in candidate, Nevin Mindlin (I), an Independent candidate, and Nate Curtis (I), a “Curtis for Mayor” candidate. 

To date, the only balloted candidates to compete against Eric Papenfuse is Dan Miller.  For the remaining candidates, Nevin Mindlin is battling a judicial ruling and Nate Curtis withdrew his candidacy following a different judicial ruling.

Nevertheless, Young Democrats are faced with an unprecedented decision in the general election.  Do you vote for Eric Papenfuse, the official Democratic nominee, Dan Miller, a Democrat who received the Republican write-in vote or Edwin Butts, a Democrat under a write-in campaign? 

A political conundrum exists for Young Democrats.  Consequently, Young Democrats need to weigh the importance of four decision criteria – party loyalty, political leadership, campaign promises and poll results – before electing the next leader of Harrisburg.

First, a party loyalist remains committed to the official recommendation of the Democratic Party.  The Dauphin County Democrats and Dauphin County Young Democrats advocate the election of Eric Papenfuse who won the Democratic ticket in May.  The importance of this criterion rests on the theme of unity, which strengthens activism and cohesion to establish a broader, synced voter base. 

Political party disunity is prevalent at the state and national levels, and overcoming this alarming phenomenon requires local semblance.  Consequently, Young Democrats need to “support” the official nominee who won the Democratic ticket in the primary election.  (The term “support” is blatantly ambiguous and implies monetary donations, volunteerism, grass roots mobilization and/or peer education.) 

Second, political leadership is undoubtedly a prominent criterion in any election.  In the City of Harrisburg, the looming multi-million dollar debt in conjunction with a dismantled city government needs fresh, novel leadership to drive jurisdictional improvements.  

Eric Papenfuse is a successful businessman who relishes smart management techniques to lead the city’s top office.  Voters need to understand the implications of strong political leadership since the Mayor carries a four-year term with successive terms determined by the electorate.  A candidate with the traits, skill set and integrity of proven leadership is necessary to address the known and unforeseeable challenges.

Third, voters need to acclimate themselves with the embodiment of a candidate’s campaign promises.  The value of campaign promises is weighted less than the two aforementioned criteria since outcomes are nonexistent until the elected candidate assumes office.  Nevertheless, the candidate’s campaign promises create a perceived, attainable future for the voter. 

Knowledge of the current crises facing Harrisburg include, but not limited to, the debt burden, economic disinvestment, budget-stricken schools, deficient infrastructure and isolated criminal activity.  Eric Papenfuse’s campaign provides well-rounded solutions to resolve these issues and more.

Finally, voters less accustomed to the issues and policy solutions tend to sway their opinions on the availability of poll results. Similar to the third criterion, the weight of poll results is less than party loyalist and political leadership.  However, poll results carry an empirical, evidence-based snapshot of current voter opinion. 

Until the November election, colleges/universities, media outlets and think tanks will question a sample of voters on their current choice for mayor.  The results will alter from poll to poll and time to time.  Differences arise from trending political campaign activities, successful and failed public policy acclamation (at the local, state or national levels) impacting societal behaviors and dissimilar social, political and/or economic values and beliefs of polled voters.  The essence of this criterion is to create a launching pad for further investigation on why a poll result favors a candidate over another. 

Altogether, the menu of decision criteria empowers Young Democrats with a profound awareness of how to make an informed decision for mayor.  The Dauphin County Young Democrats align with Eric Papenfuse who encompasses the right attitude, strategy and moral compass to steer Harrisburg into a profitable, peaceful and successful city.  

-This post was a contribution from a fellow DCYD member, if you wish to contribute to the blog feel free to email us at dauphincountyyoungdems@gmail.com

Putting the Labor back in Labor Day

Hopefully everyone had a great, long weekend. I think I would be remiss if I did not take some time to talk about Labor Day. Like my recent post for the anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, much is misunderstood and forgotten about this end of Summer holiday. 

Labor day was set as an American Holiday in 1887 to commemorate the American Labor movement. It was however intentionally set to not coincide with May 1st, the internationally recognized "labor day", to avoid associations with the Haymarket Masacre and the international socialist and communist movement.

This history is no doubt worth celebrating, as local State Senator Rob Teplitz did yesterday by addressing the Harrisburg CLC Labor Day Breakfast.



Many of the great strides made by labor movement include but are not limited to the 40 hr work week, paid vacation, breaks at work, FMLA and so on. 

Union affiliation peaked in the 1950's though and the place of organized labor has often been questioned for its future role. It is important then to take the time to remember why PA Dems should continue to fight for unions. Harold Meyerson explains in his post If Labor Dies, What's Next, from the American Prospect.

As unions shrank, inequality grew. From 1947 through 1972, productivity in the United States rose by 102 percent, and median household income rose by an identical 102 percent. In recent decades, as economists Robert Gordon and Ian Dew-Becker have shown, all productivity gains have accrued to the wealthiest 10 percent. In 1955, near the apogee of union strength, the wealthiest 10 percent received 33 percent of the nation’s personal income. In 2007, they received 50 percent. 

Today, wages and benefits make up the lowest share of America’s gross domestic product since World War II. Wages have fallen from 53 percent of GDP in 1970 to 44 percent today. Profits have been growing at wages’ expense. Michael Cembalest, J.P. Morgan’s chief investment officer, has calculated that reductions in wages and benefits were responsible for about 75 percent of the increase in corporate profits between 2000 and 2007.
Veteran workers in unionized plants still make $26 to $32 an hour, new hires in companies like General Motors and Caterpillar make between $12 and $19 hourly, with contracts that lock them into these lower levels no matter how long they may work there. In 2008, average hourly wage and benefit costs in the Midwest were $7 higher than they were in the South; by 2011, they were $3.34 higher. An entire region is downwardly mobile.

It is clear that without organized labor then, inequality has grown. Why might this be? As Meyerson explains, like any other market, a union gives the labor side power. With this power better benefits and wages can be achieved on behalf of ordinary workers. Even non-union workers reap the benefits of union contracts in the labor marketplace. Companies had to compete for employees providing them with good positions, lest they organize. The current path we are on though, with across the board trends in downward union density, does not bode well for the middle and lower middle class.

In PA, a state steeped in labor history, that workers power could come to an end. Right-to-Work legislation has been in enacted in more union dense Michigan and other states with similarly tea-party disposed governors. 

Right-to-Work legislation has nothing to do of course with ones ability to do a job. It enables the beneficiaries of a union contract to opt out of paying dues to their union. This deprives the organization of the money it needs to organize and operate, with the goal of getting the workers a better deal. It also deprives the worker of the impetus to be an active member of their union.

In 2011 the Corbett Administration said that a Right-to-Work law was not a top priority but that the governor would sign it, if one reaches his desk. The winds of fortune have since changed for Governor. With approval ratings at record lows the governor is looking for a way to turn things around. Dan Denvir in the Philadelphia City Paper reported secret polling had been done surrounding the Philadelphia Schools crisis in June that showed Corbett would be best off blaming the teachers union for the crisis. An assault on organized labor might be a larger part of the governors plan to turn his image around.

Just last week, Eric Boem of the PA Independent reported that known anti-labor advocate, Dick Yeungling said in a meeting with the Pennsylvania Press Club that he would like to see lawmakers in Harrisburg approve a measure to make Pennsylvania a “right-to-work state,” because he believes it would help bring jobs to Pennsylvania. This is likely not the case, and even if it were the quality of those positions and similar ones would be significantly degraded by the effects of the law on organized labor's power.

It is important then to remember the gains of the past and even the benefits we reap today from the American Labor Movement. Nowadays they sit on a precarious perch.

Here's a labor day classic!