Cunningham with $700K on hand

Lehigh County Executive Don Cunningham raised about $136,000 in the first three months of the year, leaving the likely gubernatorial candidate with $706,000 in cash on hand, according to campaign finance data.

Among Cunningham’s largest donors were Bethlehem developer J.B. Reilly and Los Angeles real estate mogul Edward Roski, each of whom gave Cunningham $10,000, according to his campaign finance report.

Cunningham, a Democrat who is up for reelection this year, spent about $62,000 during …

NRCC radio ad highlights Murtha’s airport

A new radio ad by the National Republican Congressional Committee is targeting House Democrats, in part, for their support of Congressman John Murtha’s (D-12) earmarked airport.

Murtha himself is not a target of the ad campaign.

Audio of the ad can be found …

Thing of the Week

The news is pretty slow, so I have a few nominees for thing of the week…

1. Arlen Specter’s Soap Opera
2. Tom Ridge sinking the GOP’s Heart
3. The Eastern Box Turtle is our State Reptile
4. Pens vs. Caps (Both of whom I hate)

Now, the winner is the Pens vs. Caps 7-game thriller of a series, because the political news is crawling like I-95.

But, I need to comment on the Eastern …

Here comes the judge

Among the joys of driving through Pennsylvania in an odd-numbered year are the signs for judicial elections that line the highways—many illegally placed, but if you win the election, presumably you don’t have to worry. Although almost every expert agrees electing judges is a bad idea, one has to concede that it is highly entertaining.

Judicial elections are the closest thing we have to pure politics: There are virtually no issues and the signs rarely …

Gun owners endorse Pat Toomey: A Philadelphian’s heart sinks

In the race for District Attorney here in Philadelphia, strict gun control measures have been advocated by all of the candidates, who take hard-line stances on the illegal purchasing and resale of handguns.

This is progress for Philadelphia.

It is also why a Philadelphian’s heart sinks when he sees the headline: Gun Owners of America Endorses Toomey.

In what is presented as a pThe statement begins by declaring that Specter played an instrumental role in confirming Eric Holder as Attorney General, who is viewed by pro-gunners as an anti-gun liberal./p
p“Every time Attorney General Eric Holder opens his mouth and talks about reinstating the Clinton gun ban, gun owners know they have Arlen Specter to thank,” says Macey./p
pIn February, Holder briefly mentioned that the possibility of reinstating an expired Clinton-era ban on the sale of assault weapons is being discussed in Washington. This raised eyebrows amongst pro-gunners. But what Macey and other pro-gunners fail to consider is that the assault weapon ban is thought to be a way to quell drug cartel violence in Mexico, not take their own personal guns away./p
pThe critique of Specter also makes the argument that the Senator’s vote for the financial bailout somehow curtailed Pennsylvanians’ second amendment rights./p
p“The bailout is being used as a tool of the anti-gun left with provisions that can fund anti-gun activist organizations,” says Macey. He goes on to say, “The bailout also contains provisions to require your doctor to retroactively put your confidential medical records in a government database. Medical records have already been used to deny about 200,000 military veterans their second amendment rights and that situation will be made worse for all citizens thanks to the Specter bailout bill.”/p
pSo let me get this straight, Mr. Macey. The fact that you now have to file your medical records into a government database means you won’t be able to go rabbit hunting this fall?/p
pMacey clearly wasn’t reading the NRA-ILA’s Web site, as a a href="http://www.nraila.org/legislation/read.aspx?id=4430" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.nraila.org']);return TrackClick("http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nraila.org%2Flegislation%2Fread.aspx%3Fid%3D4430','response')"response/a was posted to rumors such as Macey’s medical database paranoia. The NRA-ILA’s response reads as follows:/p
p“We have been hearing many rumors, and receiving many inquiries, about “supposed” provisions in the federal economic stimulus bill that would negatively affect our Second Amendment rights. Fortunately, and contrary to what you may have heard, there are no provisions in this bill prohibiting firearms or ammunitions anywhere, or for anyone.”/p
pAlthough the Gun Owners of America statement labels Toomey a pro-gunner, it says little about the candidate’s actual stance. The statement says that he was “‘A-rated’ by Gun Owners of America during his time in Congress.” Toomey was also rated A by the NRA, based on lifetime voting records relating to gun issues./p
pAccording to a href="http://www.issues2000.org/PA/Pat_Toomey_Gun_Control.htm" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.issues2000.org']);return TrackClick("http%3A%2F%2Fwww.issues2000.org%2FPA%2FPat_Toomey_Gun_Control.htm','issues2000.org')">issues2000.org, Pat Toomey voted in 2003 to pass a bill …

Specter’s ‘Democratic sweep’

Meant to mention this earlier, but Arlen Specter has to be at least a little spooked by the opposition he’s seen from Democrats since coming over to their side.

Evidence? Well, aside from reportedly …

The First Read — May 13, 2009

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Every Monday-Thursday morning, pa2010.com compiles the most important political news of the day, from newspapers to the blogosphere and back. Enjoy this edition.

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ANALYSIS: As a political obstacle looms, Onorato looks to put the onus on Harrisburg
The recent state Supreme Court ruling that mandated property tax reassessments …

Diagnosis Pennsylvania

Health care reform is an inherently hot-button political issue. It’s been that way as long as I can remember. In fact, I distinctly remember the moment it entered my consciousness. The middle school I attended aired a news program aimed at students every morning called “Channel One.” During an expository piece on the rising costs of health care one commentator, a doctor, made the statement: “It is ridiculous to think that the poor are entitled …

Does Representative Jim Gerlach Agree That President Obama Is ‘Trying To Deliberately Kill Jobs and Drive the Stock Market Down?’

By THE DEMOCRATIC CONGRESSIONAL CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE

Does Representative Jim Gerlach Agree That President Obama Is ‘Trying To Deliberately Kill Jobs and Drive the Stock Market Down?’

First there was Rush Limbaugh openly rooting for President Obama to fail. Now Congressman Pete Sessions, Chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, added the bizarre claim that President Obama is trying to deliberately kill jobs and drive the stock market down. All of this begs the question: does …

Onorato Unveils Plans for Green Roof on County Office Building, Rain Gardens in Courthouse Courtyard

By THE OFFICE OF ALLEGHENY COUNTY EXECUTIVE DAN ONORATO

PITTSBURGH — Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato today announced the construction
of a green roof on the County Office Building – the first green roof on a public building in
Allegheny County – and the conversion of the planters in the Courthouse Courtyard into rain
gardens.

“These projects will save energy, reduce stormwater runoff, and cut down on the amount of
pollution reaching our rivers,” said …