Pennsylvania Democrats, particularly Western Democrats, are pushing the house leadership to drop the gun control issue. They know it’s going to hurt them if gun control becomes a big issue, and Democrats are seen as the ones pushing it.
Kotik says the Democrat-controlled House should be focusing on issues such as property tax reform and health care. Kotik says he and the other members who signed the letter should not be asked to put up votes on social issues he believes are likely to go nowhere in the Republican-controlled Senate.
He’s absolutely right. It makes no sense for Democrats to address an issue like gun control when there’s no chance of passage. Ed Rendell has a lot to learn about the state he governs.
I suspect Rendell knows plenty about his state already. Check where he gets his campaign contributions from. The bulk probably comes from urban areas like Philadelphia who are pushing gun control.
Hopefully, Bryan Miller will find a way to put a positive spin on this, too–I like a good chuckle.
Except that he has a razor thin Democrat majority in the house, which presumably the Democrats have an eye on growing. All it would take is two Democrats to get defeated in the election for control to go back to the Republicans.
Rendell is no doubt pandering to Philadelphia Democrats, but Philadelphia Democrats don’t have the numbers or the votes to run the state. Without the rural Democrats, we have a Republican majority.
Yes, but Rendell can come out ahead in terms of political contributions just by pushing the issue. He doesn’t necessarily have to win on the legislative front.
Contributions don’t equal votes. One thing to remember is that the majority of Philadelphia is hardly made up of the likely regular voter demographic. Rural voters who follow these issues are going to fall into that category.
Besides, Rendell is a lame duck, he’s got no where to go, and the newbies in the legislature have their entire careers in front of them. At some point, common sense kicks in.
Contributions themselves don’t equal votes, but they let you buy things that do bring in votes. Just because he’s a lame duck doesn’t mean his committee is. Long after he’s out as Governor the Committee to Elect Rendell will still be going strong, funneling money into other people’s campaigns, party accounts and partying in general.
Look where the Democrats House and Senate accounts get their money from. Most of that probably comes from Philadelphia and urban centers. Directly or indirectly the rural Democrats tap into them and that’s how they can be influenced.
They can be influenced to some degree, but not to the point of changing their position on an issue that matters to constituents. Unless they willfully want to give up their seat, they won’t do it.
If you go by that logic that anytime a donation from a farther left candidate equals votes, then Washington makes even less sense than it normally does. Even Obama gives to Hillary, but she’s not picking up his policies. Delay gave to more moderate Republicans, but they didn’t wave the flag for him every time.
Money isn’t without influence, but I still think you’re giving it far more power than the actual votes.
Everything is up for sale all the time; it is a matter of price. The reason for that is because constituents don’t elect people. Most people don’t vote and of those that do most vote for their party candidate. With districts drawn in such a way as to favor a particular party, if you look at the enrollment statistics and voting history for state and federal districts, the majority of incumbents are going to be re-elected no matter what they do because their seats aren’t competitive. Professional politicians know this that is why they follow the money and the party. Campaigns aren’t funded by individuals with $10 and $20 donations and they’re not run by amateurs. Money comes from special interests in $250, $500, $1000 denominations and logistics come from professional party functionaries. As the highest ranking elected Democrat in the state, Rendell is the defacto head of the PA Democrat Party and will have the biggest say in how their resources will be spent. That is why Bill Clinton, as defacto head of the DNC when he was President, pushed the AWB through because the Democrat Congress was given the choice of either a possibly upset electorate verses a guaranteed loss of party support.
Comparing PA state politics to Country wide politics is probably a bad idea. Especially considering the fact that in much of SWPA winning the Democratic Primary is what gets you the position (and they generally don’t run unopposed)
It’s a remnant of political machines from days gone by.