Deminpenn
Deminpenn's JournalBeaver County elects new head of Dem Party
Stephen Dupree was elected the new head of the Democratic Party here. He's looking to fill 52 vacant committee seats in the county with young members.
Link: http://www.timesonline.com/news/governmentandpolitics/beaver-county-democratic-party-elects-stephen-dupree-chairman/article_d4a0f8ea-ee20-11e6-bd69-eb2fd72e494b.html (goes to paywall after 24 hrs)
"I think the party needed a reformation," Dupree said Wednesday. "It needed to get back to its identity of being the workingman's party and not just a party that cared about social issues. Obviously, I care about social issues, but that's not our sole focus."
He said he hopes to reinvigorate the party with an infusion of young members, he said.
There are 52 vacant committee seats in the county, and he'd like to see those filled with younger members who can then tap into the experience of the party's older hands, he said.
"I see us working together to build a better Democratic Party," Dupree said.
Protests come to Greensburg, Westmoreland Co
Link: http://triblive.com/local/westmoreland/11885532-74/refugees-trump-week
Westmoreland County is Trump country in spades, so it's good to see even folks there are protesting and gaining numbers.
Where's Pat?
From PAspotlight twitter:
Word on the street is Sen. Toomey is set to make an appearance near Philly tonight. Meet Up: ShopRite Plaza at 5000 State Rd at 5pm. RT pls.
It's a DelCo GOP finance committee event, "The Annual Chairman's Club Dinner", Fed 2, 2017.
6PM @ Drexelbrook, 4700 Drexelbrook Dr, Drexel Hill, PA
Remember to thank PA Dems standing up to Trump
I know there's lots of focus and energy on calling Toomey and other Rs about their support for Trump and his minions, but it's also a good idea to call Dems who are oppossing Trump/his nominees/his policies. I just called Sen Casey's local office and told the staffer who answered to thank Sen Casey, that we were proud of him and that he could count on my vote next Nov. The sound in staffer's voice went from professional to noticeably happy.
Profiles in Courage (or not) list
Thought it might be good to start a list of all the federal/state/local office holders who have showed up at airport and other rallies and supported the protestors. Feel free to list the cowardly lions, too.
In my Commonwealth of Pennsylvania that I have see:
Gov Tom Wolf
Sen Bob Casey, jr
Rep Bob Brady
Rep Dwight Evans
Mayor Bill Peduto (Pgh)
Mayor John Fetterman (Braddock)
Mayor Jim Kenney (Phila)
Rep Brendan Boyle
Rep Mike Doyle (sorta, has an interesting chart on his twitter, though)
Rep Charlie Dent (sorta)
Crickets:
Sen Pat Toomey
Backtracking:
Rep Lou Barletta
Jan 25: Tweet https://twitter.com/RepLouBarletta/status/824347294610952192
Jan 27: https://twitter.com/RepLouBarletta/status/825169805212786690 (the comments are pretty good, too)
Tuesdays with Toomey
Good stuff: http://www.post-gazette.com/early-returns/ernational/2017/01/25/Pittsburgh-election-protesters-against-Donald-Trump-say-work-just-beginning-sister-march/stories/201701250123
Pennsylvanians are gathering at Toomey's state offices to let him know how they feel. Toomey won't meet with them though.
Western PA voters weigh in
The Post-Gazette has a series of dispatches from western PA "Trump Country" voters. Read it and weep.
http://newsinteractive.post-gazette.com/dispatches/
Here's the thing specifically in Beaver county, Shell is pouring billions (with a B) into a new ethane cracker plant. The plant won't be operational for a few years yet and just yesterday was approved for a conditional use permit. The site prep is unlike anything I have ever seen in my lifetime although I'm sure when the mills were being built it was similar. There are jobs for all the skilled trades, plus civil engineers and engineers of all types that are going to outsiders because there aren't enough local qualified individuals to fill them. Even if Trump would magically create some jobs, I'm skeptical that any of the interviewees would even be qualified to get them.
Rally supporting social services, 1/21 in Beaver, Pa
For any of you in or near Beaver County, there is a rally called “Stand Up for Peace, Jobs and Justice,” in front of the Beaver County courthouse on Sat, Jan 21st at 1PM.
Details:
Called “Stand Up for Peace, Jobs and Justice,” the rally will start at 1 p.m. in front of the Beaver County Courthouse. It is expected to last about two hours.
Tina Shannon, an organizer of the event, said Tuesday that those in attendance will voice their support for programs like Social Security, Medicare, a $15 minimum wage and access to affordable health care.
http://www.timesonline.com/community/news/briefs/rally-to-be-held-saturday-to-support-social-service-programs/article_3755f78c-dd9c-11e6-838e-77d60e47f52c.html
1st priorities: Casey - Jobs; Toomey - sanctuary cities
Not really a surprise, but our Democratic senator, Bob Casey, focused his first 2 bills in the new senate year on jobs and the economy and our GOP senator, Pat Toomey, introduced his first bill on punishing sanctuary cities like Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
http://www.timesonline.com/news/governmentandpolitics/casey-toomey-unveil-legislative-initiatives-in-new-session/article_dde070c8-d919-11e6-b41f-03636a98f0c3.html (reverts to paywall in 24 hrs).
Paspotlight.org
This is a terrific website set up about a year ago to combat the creeping rightwingism of PA Republicans.
http://www.paspotlight.org/
The site doesn't pull any punches and lays out the truth in plain language. Lots of good stuff exposing what our state Rs and their supporters are up to.
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