The LuLac Edition #3249, July 17th, 2016

THE FEMALE CHRISTIAN REPUBLICAN CONSERVATIVE SPEAKS

Current Lackawanna County GOP Commissioner Laureen Cummings. (Photo: Times Tribune)

So the other day Lackawanna County Commissioner Laureen Cummings held a news conference to decry the Scranton Times Tribune and say that it was biased against her. Wow what Lackawanna County politician has ever done that!!!!! But this is a bit different. Unlike other commissioners under criminal investigation, the newspaper was reporting what was already out there on Social Media and in Public Meetings.
On Social Media Cummings decried the fact that there was same sex marriage. Here’s the thing, The Supreme Court, a court lead by a Conservative Justice appointed by George W. Bush made that call. It is the law of the land. Conservative’s seem to clutch the Constitution only when it fits their philosophy.
Cummings said that the paper mischaracterized her comments that a land bank might lead to more Sherman Hills in the Lac. She tells us that if the economy is revived there would be no need for Public Housing since everyone presumably would be fat and happy. BUT Social Conservatives pretty much side with a Congress that has blocked any type of job creation plans for the last 6 years! But I digress.
But here is where Cummings does have a point. In her statement to The Times she read, "Casinos were approved by the citizens based solely on the premise that they would be used to defray the cost of property taxes, not to form yet another government entity. It is ironic that this government entity, the land bank, was created to clean up blight, which directly resulted from our constituents’ inability to pay the very property taxes which the very same casino money was intended to relieve."
You can’t dispute that. Property taxes are killing people and one point that Cummings missed was the fact that connected people in The Lac don’t pay taxes or fees. Just look at the “great citizens” some who have taxpayer funded jobs are in arrears.
The Land Bank is a good idea and Cummings is just plain wrong that it will lead to more low income housing. But what she is correct about is the fact that governments in Lackawanna County have been so ineffectual that no one trusts them.
Cummings complained that the Times Tribune misunderstood the word “them” when she was referring to
Cummings disputed her use of the word “them”. During the land bank meeting a Times-Tribune reporter, Dave Falchek, eavesdropped on a conversation I had with Marie Schumacher, who was also in attendance.
Mr. Falchek mischaracterized a reference to the word “them” in our conversation as somehow referring to low-income residents. In fact it referred to a governmental agency which might derive benefit or receive funding from the land bank.
Falchek is no rookie and I don’t think any reporter in Wilkes Barre, Scranton or Hazleton wake up every day and say “How am I going to attack this politician?” If you are a public figure, your conversations are subject to eaves dropping. That’s why I know a politician who checks the stalls in the Ladies Rooms when she is in there doing her thing. Some might call it paranoia, others might call it smarts.
Cummings needs to do the following:
1. Park her opinions on Social issues at the door if they even remotely insult her constituents. Not all are white, female Christian Conservative Republicans.
2. Know that every conversation even one that you think is eavesdropped on is fair game.
3. Don’t attack the media. They are only the messenger and will be there long after people remember your name or your tenure.
4. Don’t expect a retraction or the paper to write it the way you want. Isn’t going to happen.
I supported Cummings for the sole reason that she would scrutinize every aspect of the finances in The Lac. And so far she has done that.
But in order to avoid distractions from her message, she needs to be more artful in dealing with the Media.
The Scranton Times Tribune doesn’t care if she is Female, a Conservative or even a Republican. But they do care what she does and says as a Lackawanna County Commissioner.

DONALD USES SARAH PALIN

Former Vice Presidential candidate and Trump supporter, Sarah Palin. (Photo: CNN)

So many GOP heavyweights will not be at the Convention in Cleveland by choice. But someone who wanted to be there (“I Betcha) was former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. Palin, if you remember came out strong for Donald Trump very early. Trump used her endorsement to get votes.
But the national GOP pretty much wants to erase the image of Palin’s Vice Presidential run from the collective memory banks. Trump, a man of loyalty did not come to her defense or aid. He didn’t fight for her to have a role at the Convention.
I really have no dog in this hunt. I never was a big Palin fan but just a thought. All those Trump voters who were told by the candidate that he would make their lives better should understand that if he jettisoned a former Governor and icon of the right, just what will he remember about them? Just asking.

RADIO GUY MAKES IT BIG 

Mike Pence as his role as Radio Talk Show Host (Photo: Indy News) 

Ronald Reagan became the very first radio guy to be President. He worked in Iowa at WHO in the 30s. In Pennsylvania both Al Benedict and Ernie Kline were broadcasters. Pence became a Conservative Talk Show hot that launched a political career. 
Talk Radio has made Conservatism a major part of the GOP platforms. Pence was one of those hosts who people took to and he personally built that into a career. Reality star and radio guy. There was a time not so long ago that that twain would never meet.