The Lulac Edition #2764, November 2nd, 2014

MAYBE I’M AMAZED

(ELECTION EDITION)

Our "Maybe I'm Amazed" logo.

MAYBE I’M AMAZED……..that more and more candidates seem to be using mass media in the last few days before the Election. On Friday during Jeopardy, I heard one political ad after another in the commercial breaks. (I was working on something for my 590 Forever blog and wasn’t watching). I understand why candidates feel the need to do it, especially underfunded candidates. But once in a while the message might be muddied. It will enhance the people already motivated to vote for the candidate but you wonder if it will reach those undecided or those who aren’t even aware there is an election going on.
MAYBE I’M AMAZED…..that both sides seem to be using the term “low information voter” when that issue they are promoting doesn’t quite jive with their ideology.
MAYBE I’M AMAZED……10th District debate) that in the 10th District Congressional debate Republican incumbent Tom Marino said that the Affordable Care Act needs to be repealed. Seems to me that when you want to repeal something you need to get the support of the majority of your party. These GOP Congressmen who keep voting this way are really starting to look silly.
MAYBE I’M AMAZED…..17th District debate)….that GOP challenger Dr. David Moylan lauded the Affordable Care Act’s Pre existing condition and young adults staying on their parent's health care provisions but then said that his party can make a more consumer friendly plan presumably in the private sector. Really? The people who are paying lower rates are those who are not going through private insurance companies who are raising the rates. The good Doctor really didn’t outline the “plan” he was offering. I was glad the Doctor did get a shout out for his pro life beliefs in his summary. Even though I am not in agreement with him on this issue, I know he is passionate about it.
MAYBE I’M AMAZED…..11th District debate)….that even though there were stark differences between challenger Andy Ostrowsk1 and Lou Barletta that debate seems to have been lost in the media shuffle. I had not heard any buzz whatsoever on that one during the last week of the campaign.
MAYBE I’M AMAZED......117th District debate)…that both incumbent Karen Boback and challenger Laura Dickson seemed to have more in common than don't. Dickson is counting on her Tunkhannock roots to help her overcome Boback’s seniority. Remember the district was reconfigured after the reapportionment of the district.
MAYBE I’M AMAZED…..119th district debate)…..that this exchange just gave incumbent Eddie Day Pashinski still another opportunity to expound on his vast knowledge of the legislature and government. It gave perennial candidate Betsy Summers the opportunity to once more share her ideas especially in the area of legislative expenses.
MAYBE I’M AMAZED…….120th District debate)…that underneath the niceties between Eileen Cipriani the Democrat looking to succeed Phyllis Mundy and Republican Aaron Kaufer there is some tension. Kaufer who has money is attacking Cipriani’s record as a borough leader. Kaufer says Cipriani will be just a face in the crowd while Cipriani is positing that the last thing this district needs is another GOP Legislator in the majority in Harrisburg who will just be one of that majority that some say has not been kind to the middle class.
MAYBE I’M AMAZED…….that GOP challengers Marcel Lisi in the 113th, Melaine Madiera in the 114th and Joseph Albert in the 22nd Senatorial District were passionate and articulate on L.A., Tarone’s radio show during the campaign. In any other area, their races might be competitive because they are good candidates.
MAYBE I’M AMAZED…….at the popularity I possess. Especially on my e mail machine. In the past 4 weeks I have heard from Nancy Pelosi, Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton, some woman named Brenda saying she was crying wanting to hear from me, Joe Biden saying I was the guy in the 18702 zip code that can save America, (ME, JOE, ME??? I’M THAT GUY IN THE 18702 ZIP CODE) the big dog himself President Obama, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, and then today (and they almost got me with this) Al Gore. 
Al, if only you had e mailed me in 2000 I would have told you to put money in Arkansas, swallow your pride and get Bill Clinton to campaign there. then get your ass down to Tennessee and live in a trailer down by the river for the last weekend of the campaign. If you had done that you wouldn’t have to worry about those numb skulls in Florida, (not you Mr. and Mrs. Twig and my cousin Bernie, and Bob Harper) you would have the 6 Electoral votes (you only needed three which I’m sure you don’t me to remind you of) and you’d be sitting in your Presidential Library!
Obviously these are manufactured e mails. Democratic wise man Bob Caruso tells me he gets these all the time but is afraid to mark them as spam in case he gets something vital like a candidate visit or a policy shift. I agree but after this campaign, I’m wavering.
MAYBE I’M AMAZED………that if the Democrats lose the Senate, they won’t realize the main reason why: they ran away from the President. They ran away from The Affordable Care Act, they ran away from Credit Card Reform, they ran away from sane attempts to limit gun violence, they ran away from more deportations of illegals in this country since 1965, they ran away from more manufacturing jobs created in twenty years, they ran away from a booming stock market and they ran away from deficit reduction. Remember how this President was castigated for adding to the deficit with his stimulus plan? Remember how the GOP was hand wringing saying, “Our grandchildren will be paying off this huge deficit from this President”? Remember all of that? Just take a look at this chart on where the deficit was in 2009 and where it is now. As the old country and western song says, “If you can’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything”. That’s why they aren’t going to win the Senate on Tuesday. Or if God has a sense of humor, get a 50-50 tie in the upper chamber.