Miracle In Montgomery County - Democrats in Majority - Obama and Clinton Are Watching
When I first arrived in the area in 1966, Montgomery County was truly the Republican stronghold of the Eastern half of the United States. People who lived there told me, that to get things done, people had to register Republican. That, of course, was a myth, but a good conversation piece.
As of Friday, the official registration figures showed that Montgomery County is now a Democratic County. How did this happen? Well, first of all, there are changing demographics. Thousands of people who moved from the city to the suburbs were Democrats to begin with. Then, of course, there are several significant milestones.
In the nineties, two Democrats won election to Congress. In 2002, Ed Rendell swept the county on his way to becoming Governor. John Kerry was on a hot streak in 2004. And in 2006, Bob Casey defeated Rick Santorum for the Senate in the once arch conservative county.
And then there is George W. Bush. Bush has virtually destroyed the Republican brand in the country, and Montgomery County voters are not happy with him. The war has played a role, along with the economy and questions of competence in government. For this dramatic shift, you can also give credit to Barack Obama, who registers Republicans very quickly in states where he needs them. And Hillary Clinton has played a role.
Most of all, Montgomery County Democrats are providing fresh leadership in state and county government, leaders like Joe Hoeffel and powerful Josh Shapiro, at 34 years old the Deputy Speaker of the Pa. House.
Most of all, its the voters. They have become a bellwether of the nation in searching for new trends and new people . They are fiercely independent voters who don’t like party labels. And they demand excellence and idealism.
How they decide the Obama-Clinton battle on April 22 will tell you a lot about the rest of this campaign.
If Barack Obama can win big in Montgomery County , he will close the gap in the state. Hillary Clinton needs to hold her own there to have any chance of gaining a big win in Pa.
As Montgomery County goes, so may the nation.
A third subway attack occured today. I guess those Septa Police don’t have their act together yet. Who are the perpetraitors of this third wolf pack attack? Maybe the Septa police are color blind, like Larry, and they just don’t know who they should be looking for as possible suspects to prevent these viscious attacks. It’s not the fault of Septa police, because they clearly dont profile, and that’s good- I guess…
Larry’s trying to keep it PC and positive. This isn’t about keep’in it real. It’s about 10k foot views and big picture. Larry doesn’t want to get mired in racism and everyday crime. He’s trying to make a case for a parochial view of the national election.
Thank you Reverend Wright, that is perhaps the most balanced statement that I’ve ever heard from you. Larry does have a small bully pulpit, this blog and his CN8 show, where he could make a difference, and he has been a voice of reason in very tumulteous times going back to the 1970s. My frustration Reverend, is that he knows the score better than most in his position in Philadelpia, yet he’s just dancing around the edges and playing it safe in the twilight of his career. He could step up on this issue and people would listen if he took off the rose colored color-blind glasses. Michael Nutter is ready to have a real discussion on this. He was on Steve Highsmith’s program this morning and answered a brief question about it. Its time for a forum of Philadelhia leaders of all stripes to make it a big issue on TV and other media to talk about it. The hard working black citizens of this city want it dealt with as much as suburban white commuters. My daugther is at Penn and students are preyed upon almost daily by these kids, but since its less violent and just usually racial intimidation to hand over cash, it’s not in the news. The success of these small crimes leads to what see now; the kids become emboldened and feel invinceable from their successes with petty shake down crime. It can be fixed and has been done in New York to a large degree. We need more Philadelphia police officers in the subways, and the DA needs to be making very public how much jail time can go with this nonesense. My son runs in track meets with the juvinile (black) boys at the Glenn Mills school where they end up after these crimes. They are generally great kids with talents that only get exposed once in the criminal justice system. Put some of these kids in the media to discuss the problem,let them speak on Larry’s show to tell where they went wrong along with Michael Nutter and others; take this issue to the hood where it begins, thats the only way to fix it. Larry, the ball is in your court, most of us care, but don’t have the platform to make a difference. Please try to help in a substantive way, it could be your legacy to Philadelphia!
Thank you Reverend Wright, that is perhaps the most balanced statement that I’ve ever heard from you. Larry does have a small bully pulpit, this blog and his CN8 show, where he could make a difference, and he has been a voice of reason in very tumulteous times going back to the 1970s. My frustration Reverend, is that he knows the score better than most in his position in Philadelpia, yet he’s just dancing around the edges and playing it safe in the twilight of his career. He could step up on this issue and people would listen if he took off the rose colored color-blind glasses. Michael Nutter is ready to have a real discussion on this. He was on Steve Highsmith’s program this morning and answered a brief question about it. Its time for a forum of Philadelhia leaders of all stripes to make it a big issue on TV and other media to talk about it. The hard working black citizens of this city want it dealt with as much as suburban white commuters. My daugther is at Penn and students are preyed upon almost daily by these kids, but since its less violent and just usually racial intimidation to hand over cash, it’s not in the news. The success of these small crimes leads to what see now; the kids become emboldened and feel invinceable from their successes with petty shake down crime. It can be fixed and has been done in New York to a large degree. We need more Philadelphia police officers in the subways, and the DA needs to be making very public how much jail time can go with this nonesense. My son runs in track meets with the juvinile (black) boys at the Glenn Mills school where they end up after these crimes. They are generally great kids with talents that only get exposed once in the criminal justice system. Put some of these kids in the media to discuss the problem,let them speak on Larry’s show to tell where they went wrong along with Michael Nutter and others; take this issue to the hood where it begins, thats the only way to fix it. Larry, the ball is in your court, most of us care, but don’t have the platform to make a difference. Please try to help in a substantive way, it could be your legacy to Philadelphia!
There are a few reasons you see the trend towards the Democrat party in Montgomery County:
- Philly is loaded with Democrats, but they’ve been escaping the rathole that is the city and moving to Montco and Chesco. The insane thing is that for the last 50 years there has been single party rule in Philly and they’ve mindlessly elected Democrat after Democrat in the city, and it’s been going downhill year after year. Then they move out here to the ‘burbs and again start electing Democrats… Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result. Don’t be suprised when you get the same result.
- Montco is loaded with rich people. The Democrat-Media Complex loves to paint the GOP as the “party of the rich”, but if you really look at the facts, it is the DEMOCRAT party that is the party of the rich. Look at who the ultra-rich support and how they vote. The GOP “party of the rich” is a media mantra and it plays well with the mindless sheeple voters like the unions and other special interest blocks that make up the Democrat party, but it’s just not the facts.
- Don’t discount that many people have switched parties in order to vote in the primary, and the GOP primary is already decided. The only way to vote in the Democrat primary is to switch parties.
But all in all, it makes a good rah-rah story for the Democrat-Media Complex because it looks good for their guys, but party membership really doesn’t matter all that much in the general election. There have been more registered Democrats than Republicans in PA for years, but we’ve had many GOP governors and senators and PA has gone for GOP presidents several times.
Larry, it’s called “white flight”…all the liberal white Democrat residents of West Oak Lane, Mount Airy, Germantown, East Oak Lane, Olney, etc, moved to Montgomery County to get away from the City and its problems…they practiced NOT, what they preached!
So you are wondering, still? Oy-vey!
Hallelujah, George, hallelujah. God, please watch out for his daughter.
Joe, can I use ’sheeple’ in my next sermon?
Question: why is Larry’s blog not advertised on the homepage any more?
Answer: Because it’s not that good and embarrasses his reputation along with philly.com.
It would not be the equivalent of The Miracle on 34th St if Obama wins the election in Montgomery co. The “nouveau riche” have replaced “old money” in this white bread landscape where being viewed as a liberal is like wearing a badge saying that one is keeping up with contemporary thought. Baby boomers who can’t bring themselves to be called grandma or grampa are still rebelling against the “man”. Larry says that these people are “fiercely independent” I say they are cows who are afraid to grow up and think for themselves. If you can name me one grandparent that lives in Montgomery Co. who is called Grandma I’ll eat my words.
The fear mongerers in the Clinton camp are trying to use this street thug mentality as a scare tactic for whites not to vote for Obama. I hope the voters of Montco (and PA) are smarter than that. The Clintons are the only ones they should be afraid of. Hallelujah.
If George W. Bush has ruined the Republican brand name, just think what Hillary and Bill will do if the truth about about them comes out?
….eh? Now, who kicked that donkey?
So the GOP’s “manure mafia” in MontCo is no more? I guess that’s what happens when you put McMansions everywhere. They’ve got Josh Shapiro out there, who pulled down big paychecks at big Center City firms without actually doing much of any legal work. He worked for Greenberg Traurig, the K Street/DeLay connection firm. Good to see they’re plugged in to the gravy train.
Larry I promise not to dis your columns as harshly as I’ve had in the past. I now understand that writing a blog is more dangerous to one’s health than riding the el. Apparently two bloggers have bit the dust lately and the theory is that the pressure to produce might have a debilitating effect on the writer, although I suspect you will live to be a hundred.
Larry must be trying to discourage this current group of bloggers from continuing to participate. The lack of changed topics and day after day of lame topics is an attempt to reset bloggers.
Maybe Larry is sick with the flu, or something even more serious. It’s very strange, maybe he’s just sick of us?
I’m sorry to report that Larry Kane is recovering in the hospital from a mugging at the Lehigh Subway Station. I don’t want this to be misconstrued as a violence problem on SEPTA, however. All is good in the City of Brotherly Love.
not really…
“We Need More White People”
April 09, 2008 8:47 AM
At a Michelle Obama event, reporters from the Carnegie-Mellon University student newspaper “observed one event coordinator say to another, ‘Get me more white people, we need more white people.’ To an Asian girl sitting in the back row, one coordinator said, ‘We’re moving you, sorry. It’s going to look so pretty, though.’
“‘I didn’t know they would say, “We need a white person here,”‘ said attendee and senior psychology major Shayna Watson, who sat in the crowd behind Mrs. Obama. ‘I understood they would want a show of diversity, but to pick up people and to reseat them, I didn’t know it would be so outright.’”
(For those who would criticize this blog for relying on a college newspaper, please recall how much the Obama campaign in its TV ads relied upon the support for his health care plan by the college newspaper the Daily Iowan.)
In any case, that Michelle Obama advance staffer just summed up the candidate’s issues in Pennsylvania. They do, indeed, need more white people.
I can assure everyone I am not sick, nor am I trying to reset bloggers. I’ve been busy to say the least.
I am, however, intolerant of the blogger who at various times through various posts tells me he can’t stop masturbating!
Don’t worry Larry, once we get national health care for everyone, we can get him some treatment. It’s Bush’s fault.
So, he should have at least bought you a drink, first?