Where is Joe Sestak?
One of the most important things in Public Relations is that you stay out in front of problems. Make sure that you’re the first one to define your brand, the competition’s brand and the debate. When trouble strikes, make sure you’re the one who is out there first explaining things. In general, make sure YOU’RE the one who creates the first impression in the minds of consumers, because it makes it much easier to keep customers on your side.
This is particularly true in politics. And it’s playing out in Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate election.
This week, Republican Pat Toomey, a former Congressman from the Lehigh Valley region of the state and President of the Club for Growth, ran these ads on Philadelphia television defining himself, Democratic nominee Joe Sestak and the debate in terms favorable to him:
There were no ads in response from Sestak. Why not?
This is not the same situation that Sestak had in the primary, where he held off on a TV ad blitz (including one very devastating ad) until the very end and still easily won. Incumbent Arlen Specter was very unpopular already and primary voters were simply waiting for Sestak to give them a reason to vote for him.
Other than Republicans (Toomey narrowly lost the GOP Primary for Senate to Specter in 2004) and his former constituents, most Pennsylvanians don’t know Toomey. And even fewer Pennsylvanians know Sestak, a two-term Congressman from Delaware County. A big part of this race is going to be which candidate can paint the other one as least mainstream in his views. Toomey has beaten Sestak to the punch on this. And it means that Sestak is going to be fighting an uphill battle to redefine both he and his opponent in a favorable manner.
That’s no easy task, especially for a Democratic candidate this year.
Oh Canada indeed
I just returned from eight days of vacation in Canada. I visited Toronto for two days, Montreal for four days and Quebec City for two days. I had been to all three of those cities more than 20 years ago (I was 8 at the time), but barely remember anything. So it was great to visit this part of Canada again.
Toronto isn’t that exciting for an American tourist, or at least not me. It doesn’t have the historic buildings that Quebec City does, nor does it quite have the vibrancy and exoticness that Montreal, as a French-speaking city, brings to the table. But I got to see a friend from college and saw a Red Sox game against the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre, formerly known as Sky Dome. The last time I was in Toronto, the stadium was barely a year old and was still considered revolutionary. The Blue Jays were also contenders and packed that stadium on a regular basis. Now, in 2010, the stadium is behind the times, and the Blue Jays are forever mired behind the Yankees and Red Sox (and now even the Tampa Bay Rays) in the AL East.
I really liked Montreal. It has plenty of history in Vieux Montreal, fabulous dining and nightlife for those interested in such things, and great parks for people who like the outdoors (one of the better ones, Parc Jean Drapeau on Ille St. Helene, was the site of the picture at the top of this post). If you go in mid-July, as I did, you can also partake in Montreal’s version of the Just For Laughs Comedy Festival, which features shows (both in English and French) all over the city.
One place I recommend that you eat at is Schwartz’s, at 3895 Rue St. Laurent. Smoked meat (beef) is one of Montreal’s culinary specialties, and Schwartz’s, founded 80 years ago by a Russian Jewish immigrant, is considered among the best. Get the “Regular” variety (not the “lean,” which is really nothing more than glorified corned beef) and, if you must go during lunch hour, go to the take out room one door further up the street. It has the same menu, is less crowded and there is seating available.
I’m something of a history buff, so I expected to enjoy Quebec City. And I did. You can spend hours and hours just walking through the streets of the old city – both the part up on the bluffs (Upper City) and the part down by the riverfront (Lower City). Also make sure you take a walk along the city’s original wall (the only one still remaining in North America) and take a tour of the Citadel. It is still an active military installation, and is home to Canadian Army’s 22nd Battallion. If you really want to, you can go there at 10 a.m. daily during the summer for the Changing of the Guard ceremony. But having seen the Buckingham Palace version in London, I found it to be rather dull.
My only major complaint from the trip was the costs. The Canadian dollar’s exchange rate against the U.S. dollar has improved dramatically in recent years, to the point where it’s almost 1-to-1 now. Plus Canada has a national sales tax, in addition to the individual province’s sales taxes. So you end up paying a 13-15% sales tax on everything, and costs add up quickly. The old city in Quebec City was particularly costly, probably since much of everything there is oriented towards tourists.
So long Cleveland
LeBron James finally ended the ridiculous, shameful suspense Thursday night and announced that he is leaving the Cleveland for the Miami Heat, where he’ll join fellow All Stars Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh.
Great night for the Miami Heat. Bad night for the Knicks, who spent the last two seasons clearing out players in anticipation of winning the LeBron sweepstakes. Downright horrible night for Cleveland, which now adds yet another chapter to its 46 years of sports heartbreak (and a lot of heartbreak having nothing to do with sports) since the Browns won the city’s last title in 1964.
But the biggest losers were the media, which shamefully gave LeBron what he wanted by going along for this ride. After allowing LeBron to get his own primetime special to announce his decision on his terms and sucking up to him all the way, ESPN can no longer claim to be a real news source (if they still could anyway). They turned the news into a reality TV show.
So now our long national nightmare is over. It’s about time.
Happy 4th of July
Happy 4th of July!
Today is a day for celebrating all that is great about our country. It’s natural beauty. It’s freedoms, and those who put so much on the line to defend those freedoms. The opportunity it provides for success.
Whether you’re on a beach (as I am while writing this), hiking in mountains, attending a barbecue or watching fireworks, be grateful for what makes this country so wonderful and what has kept it going for 234 years.
Happy Birthday America!
A pleasant evening on the Piazza
Sorry for the long absence. It’s been a busy first half of 2010 for Philly Phoughts. I started a new job at the beginning of February. I also completed another two semesters of grad school, along with a summer session course that ended Monday. I finally have some down time, so I’m back at this, hopefully for good this time.
Tonight, I’m writing from The Piazza in Northern Liberties. This neighborhood just northeast of Center City has been the site of a great deal of urban renewal the last few years that has turned it into one of the city’s rising star neighborhoods. Among the construction projects is The Piazza, a set of new apartment buildings next to the old Schmidt’s Brewery with a courtyard in between. This courtyard includes restaurants, shops, picnic tables, a concert stage and a large video screen.
In other words, it’s a great place to spend a gorgeous summer evening such as this one.
The rest of this neighborhood is laden with a number of nice restaurants and small shops. Revitalized neighborhoods such as Northern Liberties will only help Philadelphia become a more popular city to live in.
MERRY CHRISTMAS
Philly Phoughts Management wishes all of you a Merry Christmas!
Time for Reid to ditch Lieberman, save health care reform
Photo credit Talking Points Memo
Enough is enough.
The news last night that Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CT) is threatening to filibuster health care reform with a Medicare Buy-In, a compromise spurred by Lieberman’s threats to filibuster the public option, is the last straw. It’s time for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to strip Joe Lieberman of his commitee chairmanship, maybe even kick him out of the Senate Democratic Caucus, then go through moderate Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe (ME) or some other means to get Health Care Reform passed.
Enough trying to figure out a member of the Democratic caucus from a very blue state who won’t keep his word. Enough trying to placate a senator who seems content on wrecking his caucus’ most important piece of legislation this Congress, specifically a component of it that, according to a Quinnipiac University poll, 56% of his constituents in Connecticut FAVOR. It’s time for Reid to drop the hammer on this guy and move on before the Democratic party gets destroyed next year.
I don’t know if Lieberman is still bitter about being primaried out by Ned Lamont in 2006 or what. But ever since he won re-election as an independent that year (Connecticut allows primary losers to do so), Lieberman has increasingly gone against the Democratic Party and, therefore, most of his constituents back home. He endorsed and campaigned for Republican John McCain for President last year. Reid let him keep his chairmanship and caucus spot after that, knowing that he’d need him to avert Republican filibusters and get the party’s agenda passed this year. And that gamble has backfired big time, to the point that it is now seriously threatening the legislation that will play a huge rule in determing the party’s electoral fortunes next year and possibly in 2012 as well.
First, Lieberman threatened to filibuster the public option. He wouldn’t even accept one with a trigger, the way Snowe has. Realizing they didn’t have the votes to pass a public option along the lines of what is in the House version, Reid and a group of his fellow Democratic senators composed a compromise that replaces the public option with a Medicare buy-in. But even before the new proposal was scored by the Congressional Budget Office (the CBO report should be in by the middle of this week), Lieberman said yesterday that he’d filibuster that too. Not allow to go to a vote and simply vote against – filibuster.
If Reid strips Lieberman of his chairmanship and/or kicks him out of the caucus, it’s not like the Republicans are going to welcome Lieberman with open arms. Lieberman remains pro-choice and has other liberal view points that won’t help him with the Republican leadership. And at this point Lieberman isn’t going to get re-elected in 2012 no matter what party he runs on. I suppose he could resign in a snit and leave Jodi Rell, Connecticut’s Republican Governor, to appoint a Republican replacement. But that Republican wouldn’t be much more damaging to the Democratic party’s cause than Lieberman has.
As for what alternatives Reid has without Lieberman, he could work with Snowe, who won’t state her position on the compromise until the CBO report comes back but at least has been relatively consistent. If Reid had Lyndon Johnson’s you-know-whats (which he doesn’t), he could twist the arms of other Democratic senators (like Nebaska’s Ben Nelson and Louisiana’s Mary Landrieu) to get on board. But at least Nelson is consistent – he represents a very conservative constituency.
Reid could also try to do what Trent Lott and Co. famously tried to do in 2005 and invoke the “nuclear option” - change Senate rules to end debate with only a simple majority of the Senate, as opposed to the current 60 votes needed. The Republicans would certainly howl for blood if that happened, but they tried it first.
Using budget reconciliation (which only requires 50 votes plus Vice President Joe Biden) to pass the more controversial parts of the bill is probably not an option either. The bill is too complex, the Republicans would force the caucus to hold together through even more objections than it is now and if it was going to happen, Reid needed to do it already.
Whatever Reid does, health care reform needs to get through the Senate, go through conference committee and pass both chambers again. It MUST get done, or the normal losses the President’s party suffers in his first midterm elections will be catastrophic ones. Republicans are going to be motivated to take down the other party next year as it is. If health care reform doesn’t get passed, the Democratic base will stay home as well.
Health Care Reform must get done. And at this point, that means telling Lieberman to leave.
Let the debate begin
What a wild, fun day of action we had yesterday on Championship Saturday in College Football. It left us with five undefeated teams and the debate that will take place almost every year unless the NCAA finds it financially worth its while to institute a Division I-A football postseason tournament – who should play for the BCS National Title.
No. 4 TCU got to sit and watch as four other teams finished the regular season undefeated. No. 5 Cincinnati came from 21 points down to beat No. 15 Pittsburgh on the road, 45-44, to win their second straight Big East title, scoring the winning TD with 33 seconds remaining. No. 6 Boise State demolished New Mexico State to finish 13-0. And No. 2 Texas, despite being stymied all night by Nebraska’s defense and making Eagles coach Andy Reid look like a clock management genius in the final minute, got a 46-yard field goal as time expired to escape with a 13-12 victory in the Big 12 championship game.
The big game yesterday, of course, was the SEC Championship Game, where No. 2 Alabama ended Tim Tebow’s hopes of winning a third national title at Florida with a resounding 32-13 victory. Since I don’t care much about either team, my favorite part about this result was that it spared us having to sit through the inevitable four-hour Tim Tebow ass-kissing session that would have been ABC’s broadcast of the championship game on January 7.
Speaking of that game, Alabama is definitely in, and in light of its performance yesterday will likely be a pretty big favorite. Since all Texas needed to do last night was win, no matter how close or how ugly, it too should be in. But that leaves TCU, Cincinnati and Boise State having done everything they could do and were supposed to do yet still having no shot at the national title. Worse yet, it’s very likely that TCU and Boise State could be pitted against each other in the Fiesta Bowl. Imagine that – you work all year to get into the BCS and presumably have a crack at college football’s big boys, yet instead you get another Mid Major.
And just imagine the chaos and complaints today if Texas had lost last night. Would the BCS honchos have allowed TCU to play for the national title? Would they have jumped Cincinnati above TCU? Or would have Florida, despite getting blown out, still had enough to jump back to #2 and get a title game rematch with Alabama?
Something for everybody: Obama lays out Afghanistan case
Proving once again that he is a very compelling speaker, President Obama had something for everybody last night in laying out his case for sending 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan. In a speech at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Obama gave conservatives what they wanted by sending in more troops, eased the worries of independents and moderates by explaining what he was doing and why he took the length of time he did to make the decision, and threw liberals a bone (or at least tried to, anyway) by setting a goal of starting a withdrawl by July 2011.
President Obama is correct in putting in some kind of exit strategy, even a general one, so we have an idea of how to finish this thing. But I, like a lot of people, am wary of Hamid Karzai and his ability to hold Afghanistan’s notorious factions together solidly enough to have a stable central government. The controversy over his re-election earlier this year didn’t assuage those concerns any. Yes, Karzai is much better than the alternatives (The Taliban or total anarchy), but will only one year with all of the additional troops there be enough? Is Karzai capable of keeping Afghanistan together at all long-term?
Obama would be well-advised to be flexible with that withdrawl date. If Karzai’s government is not capable of defending itself at that point, we need to stay until they are. The last thing the United States (and Obama) need, after all of the billions of dollars spent on this war and the questions about Obama’s leadership, is a repeat of the end of the Vietnam War. The last thing we need is the Taliban and Al Qaeda simply waiting us out under the guise of a “truce,” much like the Viet Cong did (knowing we didn’t have the stomach to fight a guerilla war indefinitely), then overrunning Karzai’s government as soon as the last troop planes take off.
Finally, Obama makes decision on Afghanistan
It took him longer than I (and many others) believe it should have. But President Obama has reportedly ordered 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan to hopefully finish off Al Qaeda, neutralize the Taliban and finish the war that the 9/11 attacks wrought – the war that Candidate Obama rightly said was the justifiable war, the one that we had to win.
Obama will address his Afghanistan decision in a nationally televised speech from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point tomorrow night.
The number of troops is slightly less than what General Stanley McChrystal requested, but it is close enough. The bigger issue, in my opinion, is why it took so long for him to make this decision. I’m all for thinking through decisions carefully to make sure you get them right. I certainly don’t believe in the “shoot now and ask questions later” philosophy that the previous administration took to many of its foreign policy endeavors. But you can’t take over a month to decide whether or not to send more troops to a conflict that you criticized the previous administration for neglecting. This delay certainly won’t help the perception that Obama can’t lead.
Now we better hope the delay won’t hurt this country’s chances of victory.
The Obama Store
I just got back from spending the last two days with family in the Washington, D.C. area. After a nice Thanksgiving dinner and some cake in honor of my mother’s birthday on Thursday, I spent most of the day today in downtown Washington.
And what did I find on the bottom level of Union Station? A store dedicated to President Obama. Yes, an Obama Store. I kid you not. Earlier this year, I saw a cart near City Hall in Philadelphia selling some Obama paraphenalia. But an entire store?
I certainly recognize the historical and social significance of Obama being elected President last year (I even canvassed and made Get Out The Vote calls for him). But this is WAY too much. I don’t recall there being Ronald Reagan or Bill Clinton stores in Washington, or anywhere else for that matter. And while I wasn’t alive at the time, my parents don’t recall there being John F. Kennedy stores either.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING
Philly Phoughts Management wishes everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! If you’re travelling anywhere today, have a safe trip!
Congresssman Runyan? Former Eagle running in 2010
Former Eagles offensive lineman Jon Runyan will retire after this season and run for Congress next year, the Associated Press Reports.
It has been rumored for a while that Runyan, 35, would challenge Democratic incumbent John Adler next year in New Jersey’s 3rd Congressional District, which stretches across Southern New Jersey from Philadelphia’s east suburbs, through the Pine Barrens region to the Jersey Shore. Runyan made the challenge official yesterday. The district is very much a swing district, with a Cook Partisan Voting Index (CPVI) rating of R+1. Adler narrowly won the district by 3.4% in 2008.
“I look forward to a successful end to my career on the field,” Runyan said, “and a spirited campaign against Congressman Adler in 2010.”
Runyan hasn’t played since the Eagles let him go after having surgery on his right knee following last season. He signed a free agent deal with the San Diego Chargers yesterday, which he said would be his last NFL deal.
The Final Four in the way of public option
The political news website Talking Points Memo had a good piece last night analyzing the four Senate Democrats who are balking at supporting the public option, or even voting to bring a bill with a public option to a vote (ie, invoking cloture): Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-CT), Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), Ben Nelson (D-NE), and Mary Landrieu (D-LA).
“These are the four Democrats threatening to filibuster a public option bill down the line. They’re also in discussions with leadership and Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE) regarding a compromise modeled on Snowe’s trigger. How they change the bill so significantly remains unclear (can Reid round up 60 votes to swap the provisions? Does he pull the bill off the floor and reintroduce it with a different public option?) For the time being, though, liberals are turning up the heat on these four. And to succeed, they’ll need to be well aware of what buttons to push.”
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is in a VERY tough spot here. the Dems can rip Lieberman, Jim DeMint, et al in the press or even on the Senate floor all they want. It won’t matter. If no Health Care Reform passes, the Dems are going to get their rears handed to them next year and likely in 2012 as well. The public isn’t going to care that the Republicans or Joe Lieberman wouldn’t vote for cloture. All that will matter to them is that the Democrats had the White House and large majorities in both chambers of Congress and once again proved incapable of governing and actually accomplishing things.
If Reid tries to go Tony Soprano (figuratively speaking, of course!) on those four, he risks at least three of them switching parties and no longer voting with the Dems even some of the time. Lincoln, Nelson and Landrieu would likely benefit politically from this (all three represent states that President Obama lost by at least 15 points last year). Who knows with Lieberman? He represents a very blue state and votes with the Democrats on social issues and even a lot of fiscal ones, but was primaried out in 2006 (he later won re-election anyway as an independent) and may still hold a grudge against the party because of that. He campaigned for John McCain last year, yet still got to keep his committee chairmanship and place in the caucus because Reid knew he’d likely need his vote to get stuff passed. Maybe Lieberman would change parties, serve out the rest of his current term and retire in 2012. Or maybe he’s just grandstanding to get attention for himself and will back down when Reid puts the gun in his face and starts to squeeze the trigger.
Reconcilliation, which doesn’t require invoking cloture (and hence only needs 50 votes plus Vice President Joe Biden), likely won’t work either. Only certain parts can be passed that way, and which ones are at the sole discretion of the Senate parliamentarian. If you think the Republicans are fighting this viciously now, just imagine how many bogus amendments they would propose to bog things down if this goes the reconcilliation route. And even if the Dems could keep 50 votes together through that entire process and get it passed, it would have to be re-approved in 2015. If the Republicans have control of the Senate by that point, Health Care Reform is dead before it’s even had a chance to take effect.
FOX News Poll: Bow-gate much ado about nothing
According to a poll conducted by FOX News (not exactly the most liberal media outlet there is), 67 percent of Americans believe it is appropriate for the President to bow to a foreign leader if that is the country’s custom. Only 26% said it is never appropriate. Even among Republicans, 53% said it was appropriate, to 40% never appropriate.
This was in response to President Obama bowing to the Emperor of Japan last week and the resulting furor. Conservatives have complained about this and Obama’s other greetings when meeting foreign leaders, complaining that he conveys American weakness.
Me? I think that whole issue – not just this case – is much ado about nothing. There are plenty of things worth criticizing President Obama about, but this is not one of them. This is nothing more than the neoconservative meme that Obama is “Anti-American” and the belief in their interpretation of American Exceptionalism (not the original one laid out by Alexis de Tocqueville) – that America and Americans can and must be able to do whatever they want and get whatever they want, and that all other countries are subservient.
I for one think American Exceptionalism is a very short-sighted belief. The United States should not expect, let alone demand, the rest of the world to acquiesce to its whims and desires. There is only one world, and it has to work for all 6 billion-plus humans out there, not just the 300 million in the United States. The same goes for every other country in the world.
And just in case anyone has forgotten, we have far bigger problems to deal with than how President Obama should be greeting foreign leaders. Unemployment is over 10%, a figure that, since late October, includes yours truly. We’re in the middle of two outrageously expensive wars, one of which we shouldn’t have been in to begin with and the other of which President Obama can’t decide how to finish. Health care needs reforming, and President Obama won’t take the lead on one of the cornerstones of his campaign.
How the President greets foreign leaders is not high on my list of things to bitch about.
Reid announces Senate healthcare reform bill
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) unveiled his chamber’s version of Healthcare Reform yesterday. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the Senate’s version will guarantee health insurance coverage for 94% of Americans and cost $849 billion over 10 years, which will ultimately reduce the budget deficit by $127 billion.
“We’re proud of these figures,” Reid told reporters. “Not only do we make [health insurance] affordable for every American, we certainly do it in a fiscally responsible way.”
As expected, the Senate version includes a public option with an opt-out clause, persumably allowing Democrats from more pro-Republican constituencies the cover of voting for the bill, or at least for cloture, while claiming that the bill will give states the option to not participate if they so choose. The Senate version, like the House version, prohibits federal funds from being used to pay for abortions.
Now the tough part begins for Harry Reid. He has to make sure he has 60 votes on board to invoke cloture and get the bill to the floor for a vote. If he does and it passes, the Senate and House versions will have to be combined in conference committee, after which both chambers will have to pass the final version. So while Sen. Reid deserves praise for getting healthcare reform this far in the Senate, there is still a ways to go.
Why Palin gets piled-on
I haven’t posted in a while. And with Sarah Palin’s book Going Rogue coming out this week, there is certainly plenty for political pundits to analyze and discuss.
Via one of my fellow bloggers, I read a column by Andrew Malcolm in the Los Angeles Times that ponders the question of why Sarah Palin inspires so much hatred on the part of her opponents. Is it simply her beliefs themselves? Is it sheer snobishness? Do her opponents, especially her female opponents, somehow feel threatened by her?
Those probably have something to do with it. But I think most of the issue is not Sarah Palin’s beliefs themselves, but the way she conveys them. The Sarah Palin we’ve seen since John McCain tabbed her to be his running mate 15 months ago, the one some of whose fans have tabbed “the female Ronald Reagan,” has been very Un-Reagan-like in her style.
Simply put, she’s been a divider, not a uniter.
Much like Nancy Pelosi and (to an extent) Hillary Clinton on the left, Sarah Palin is very in-your-face with her beliefs and values, in many ways demonizing those who don’t march in lockstep with her. This attitude gets under her opponents’ skin, so when she has a moment of vulnerability (the Couric interview, etc.), they’re more than happy to exploit it.
Reagan espoused his values in a more genteel, welcoming way. Reagan understood that everybody wasn’t going to agree with him on every part of his ideology. But he based his message on a few key non-divisive issues that unified Americans of many persuasions. That’s how he won over the Reagan Democrats (of course, Jimmy Carter being the worst President of the last 60 years helped his cause).
Sarah Palin, however, went on the campaign trail last year talking about “Real Americans” and questioning people’s patriotism and belief in their country’s values. The implication was that anyone who didn’t believe in her brand of conservatism was somehow less of an American. Maybe that wasn’t her intent. But between her campaign style and some of the words that she said and some of the things that happened at her rallies, that’s how it came across. And while it fired up her party’s base, it equally galvanized her opponent’s base against her.
I don’t recall Reagan inspiring that kind of divisiveness. I don’t recall him questioning Jimmy Carter’s patriotism or accusing Walter Mondale of palling around with terrorists. The closest I can recall Reagan coming to that was his “Welfare Queen” remark during his failed 1976 primary campaign. Reagan unified.
If Sarah Palin or any other Republican wants to win next year or in 2012, they need to run the type of campaign that Reagan did, and that Chris Christie and Bob McDonnell did this year. Espouse conservative principles, but do so based on the issues of the day in your constituency. Present a clear alternative to your opponent, but don’t be a jerk about it. And don’t focus simply on pandering to your base with culture war rhetoric. Reagan, Christie and McDonnell didn’t win because of their stances on abortion, gay marriage and gun rights.
This is how Sarah Palin took down Frank Murkowski and the Republican establishment in Alaska to become Governor in 2006. It’s how she had approval ratings of close to 90% before McCain came calling. And it’s what she’ll have to get back to if she’s going to have any chance of overcoming her very sudden and clumsy resignation this past summer and having a political future.
UH OH! No funds in budget for Christie transition
In a radio interview this morning, New Jersey Governor-Elect Chris Christie said there are no transition funds for his incoming administration.
No money for hiring of new staffers. No money to update signs, publications and stationary. No money to do the things that have to be done when one administration leaves and another enters.
”Interestingly, the state didn’t fund the transition,” Christie said in the interview. “They didn’t put any money in the budget for a transition so we need to talk about making sure that we get that squared away.”
Christie defeated incumbent Jon Corzine 49.1% to 44.6% in the November 3 general election, becoming the first Republican to win a statewide election in New Jersey since 1997. He takes office in mid-January.
SEPTA STRIKE ENDS
The mass transit system in Philadelphia is rolling again!
According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, SEPTA and Transit Workers Union Local 234 came to a tentative contract agreement early this morning, ending the week-long strike that shut down Philadelphia city buses, trolleys and the Broad Street and Market/Frankford Subway lines.
Union and SEPTA officials announced the deal at 12:45 a.m. this morning at a news conference outside the Center City office of Governor Ed Rendell, the Inquirer reported. The first buses began rolling again around 4 a.m.
According to the Inquirer:
The five-year contract also calls for a 2.5 percent raise in the second year, and a 3 percent raise in each of the final three years. It increases workers’ contributions to the pension fund from the current 2 percent to 3 percent, and increases the maximum pension to $30,000 a year from the current $27,000 a year.
The deal will reportedly be formally voted on by union members within the next two weeks.
Health care reform: Don’t pop the champagne corks yet
President Obama, Democrats and health care reform supporters are giddy today over the House passing its version of reform late last night. It is certainly a big step in the right direction – a bigger one than any administration and Congress has taken since Lyndon Johnson created Medicare in the 1960s.
But I would caution those supporters to not get too giddy. Because there are still several mountains left to climb before this is a done deal.
The next one is in the Senate, which has yet to pass its own version. On paper, this shouldn’t be a problem – the Dems and those caucusing with them control 60 seats and have the Vice President – more than enough to get a simple majority. In practice, however, it’s not nearly that simple.
Senate debate rules require 60 votes to “invoke cloture,” or stop debate and bring a bill to an up-or-down vote. So Majority Leader Harry Reid actually needs 60 votes to get this done. And there are a number of Democratic caucus members who represent conservative constituencies (or are just in the pockets of the insurance companies) who will be a tough sell to get on board with a public option – one of the most critical parts of any real healthcare reform, in my opinion. This group includes Ben Nelson (Nebraska), Blanche Lincoln (Arkansas), Mary Landrieu (Louisiana), Evan Bayh (Indiana) and Joe Lieberman (Connecticut). Lincoln and Bayh are both up for re-election next year. But Lieberman could be an even bigger fly in the ointment – he represents a rather liberal state (which went for Obama by 20 points last year) and votes with the Dems on most social issues. But he voted for the Iraq War and campaigned for Republican John McCain against Obama last year, even speaking at the Republican National Convention.
Reid could get around cloture rules by trying to pass the Senate’s version through budget reconcilliation, where he would need only 50 votes plus Vice President Biden. But this move would require the spending authorization to be renewed after 5 years. If the Republicans were to regain control of the Senate by that point, you know what would happen then.
The bill has already been delayed in the Senate and now may not even get passed this year, breaking President Obama’s second deadline. And if the debate goes into next year, moderate and conservative Democrats who are up for re-election in otherwise Republican districts or states are going to be even more reluctant to get on board.
Even if the Senate passes its version, it will have to be merged with the House version in conference committee. Both chambers will then have to pass the final combined version before President Obama can sign it. Same rules and obstacles will still apply.
So be happy with this step forward. But don’t pop the champagne corks just yet.
SEPTA strike continues, Gov. Rendell threatens to pull funds
The Transit Workers Union Local 234, which works for SEPTA, the Philadelphia area’s mass transit system, went on strike on Tuesday. Today, they rejected another offer, with Union president Willie Brown refusing to put that offer to a vote by all union members.
The strike has shut down all buses, street trolleys and the Broad Street and Market-Frankford subways. This has caused major traffic jams in Center City and overwhelming crowds on SEPTA’s commuter rail lines, which now are carrying commuters to parts of the city normally served by subways, buses and trolleys.
According to Philly.com, Brown said the union’s constitution doesn’t allow its entire membership to vote on a contract that has first been rejected by leadership. Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, who has been trying to broker a settlement, said the local’s membership must take a vote on the offer by Sunday or he’ll withdraw nearly $7 million in state funds offered to pay bonuses.
“We’re not going to take it to a vote,” Brown told reporters this afternoon. “For the same reason the president of the United States would not bypass Congress and go directly to the people.” He dismissed Rendell’s demand as an effort to divide the union.
Rendell said he will no longer serve as an intermediary in this dispute. “I have a state to run,” he said.
Unions have played a very important role in the history of this country and they still do serve some very noble purposes. But they sometimes don’t know when enough is enough. And it’s hard for government officials, let alone the general public, to have sympathy for them when we’re in the middle of the worst economic downturn in 80 years. The vast majority of Americans would love to have the benefits and job security the TWU claims is no longer sufficient. I certainly wish I did.
Yankees win title no. 27
It took nine years, which admittedly is nothing by the standards of this Cubs fan (they haven’t even REACHED the World Series in my PARENTS’ lifetimes, and both are nearing 60). But that’s an eternity for Yankees fans. Last night, their “wait” ended when the Yankees clinched their 27th championship with a 7-3 win over the Phillies in Game 6 of the World Series.
Hideki Matsui won MVP honors after getting three hits and six RBIs in the clincher. I wish he would have ditched the translator when he got the MVP trophy and for once sounded human. But he had a truly incredible night and is a class act.
Andy Pettitte started on three days’ rest and got the win – his third series clincher in this year’s playoffs. Mariano Rivera got the final five outs. Pettitte, Rivera, Jorge Posada and Derek Jeter – the core remaining from the group that won four titles from 1996-2000 – got their fifth titles. And Alex Rodriguez, who finally had a very good postseason (albeit with a mediocre World Series), got the first title of his 15-year career.
I’m no Yankees fan. But I do have ties to the organization from covering the Yankees’ Double-A affiliate – the Trenton Thunder – from 2005 to 2007. Congratulations to Dave Eiland (pitching coach from 2005-06), Brett Gardner, Melky Cabrera, Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain, Phil Coke and everyone else in the organization who I had the pleasure of working with. I’m happy for those guys.
Only 3 1/2 months until pitchers and catchers report and we start the long slog known as baseball season all over again.
Maine voters reject Gay Marriage
In a bit of a surprise, given the state’s political tendencies and a pretty good turnout for an off-year election, Maine voters have apparently voted YES on Question 1, to repeal the law the state’s legislature passed this year to allow gay marriage, by a 52-48 margin.
According to FiveThirtyEight.com’s Nate Silver, there was a rural-urban divide in the vote, with Portland and the southern part of the state voting overwhelmingly NO (ie, in favor of gay marriage) and the northern, more rural part voting overwhelmingly YES. Gay Marriage obviously remains a very divisive issue in this country and will continue to be.
Joshua Brett
