Many months ago, as the Chair of the Abington Democrats, I wrote“what’s wrong with politics today?”
Unfortunately, here we go again, and this time I again have hope that the same ending as the last time will continue to show what's right with our town. As many of you are no doubt aware, there is a special election tomorrow, Tuesday, to fill the unexpired term of Josh Shapiro's seat in the state House of Representatives, the 153rd.
A week or so ago, the Montgomery County paper, The Intelligencer editorial board described the republican running, Nick Mattiacci, as immature, naïve, with answers easily dismissed. I was relieved. Relieved not just because I'm the Chair of the Abington Democrats and I'm obviously for Madeleine Dean, but because that was exactly what I was thinking about Mr. Mattiacci as well and it was reassuring to my own judgment to hear that an independent board saw Mr. Mattiacci as I do. As an attorney, I was trained not to “close my eyes” (sorry for stealing your line Gov. Corbett) to the opposition's arguments. However, each time I saw Mr. Mattiacci, each time I see one of his mailers,the descriptions, “immature, naïve and easily dismissed answers” came to mind.
Let's look at the evidence.
Out of the gate, Mattiacci's slanderous telephone poll telling people that Madeleine was “disbarred and illegally practicing law”was ridiculously false. (Exhibit A, Madeleine's Active license).
Then Mattiacci's stance on billboards In his best Mitt Romney impersonation, Mr. Mattiacci feigned concern to many citizens when asked about our local fight against billboards. Then, he plastered his campaign photo on the only billboard currently near Abington over by Mt. Carmel church. Anyone have an etch-a-sketch for Nick to use?
Mattiacci's campaign has included paid workers shipped in from New York and New Jersey with signs on street corners that say “Democrats for Mattiacci” and yelling to passer-bys that he is the Democrat running; Further, it came to light recently that someone on Mattiacci's payroll (to the tune of thousands of dollars) was writing“letters to the editor” all over the Internet and to the TimesChronicle pretending to be an unbiased observer.
That's bad enough, but hardly shocking given how Nick and his buddies in the Harrisburg Republican GOP (who have bankrolled all of Nick's mail pieces and that disgusting phone poll that lied about Madeleine Dean and her family) have run his campaign so far. But what's even more troubling was ironically pointed out by a commenter to one of the above “unbiased letters,”(hat tip to Mark Lombardi on Abington Patch). That is Nick's ties to now jailed Fmr. House Speaker John Perzel.
It's no secret that Perzel took over the Philadelphia Patronage Authority, excuse me, the Philadelphia Parking Authority so that he could fill the PPA with PhillyRepublican patronage jobs. http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2011/11/04/part-2-the-land-of-oz/
It's also no secret that Nick's one and only job, his only experience, has been with the Parking Authority for the last five years.
Mr. Mattiacci has been running hard on the “I'm the new guy,” “Dean's a Politician,” “I'm independent of party politics” spin, yet he's worked at the biggest patronage palace this side of the Mississippi for the last five years and now we find out he has on his payroll the same guys that were on Perzel's payroll.
Nick's trying so hard to fool you into thinking he's independent, he lied about it. Ironically, on April fools, Nick wrote “I've never been active in any political party organization.” http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/local/the_intelligencer_news/opinion/why-i-m-running-for-state-representative-in-the-rd/article_080d2d3f-5ddb-5a33-ba63-761799990645.html
Never been active? That's a lie. See Exhibit B (I made this exhibit, not bad if I do say so myself).
Finally we have the twisting of Madeleine's record. Madeleine has been a professor for the last 11 years, probably around the time you were going to Prom Nick. Much like Mr. Mattiaccci has his license in New Jersey but apparently didn't practice there, so he failed to pay into the NJ Client Protection fund 3 years in a row. Thus, the NJ Supreme Court and the NJ Disciplinary Board ordered Mr. Mattiacci not to practice law in New Jersey. (See Exhibit C).
Yet, despite having the same administrative orders against him 3 years in a row, Mattiacci attacks Madeleine for not keeping up her continuing legal education credits to maintain “active” status one time three years ago, when she hasn't practiced law for longer than he's been a lawyer.
That's more than disingenuous, that's flat out hypocritical.
Your a hypocrite Mr. Mattiacci because you've actually been involved with Philly Republican politics longer than Madeleine's been involved with local politics and you're a hypocrite because you've attacked Madeleine knowing you have the same administrative orders against you in NJ.
I 've heard some of Mattiacci's supporters say “he's young, he's independent, just like Josh Shapiro.” Well, in my best Lloyd Bentson voice, I'd say, I know Josh Shapiro, and Mr. Mattiacci, you are no Josh Shapiro. What made Josh “Josh,” was not his youth, but it is his strong integrity, just like Madeleine.
Despite all that you and the Republican's in Harrisburg have thrown at her, she still wants this race to be about the serious issues that face our area and our state. That's why the Intelligencer said “Madeleine Dean has a maturity that Mr.Mattiacci lacks.” It's that kind of strong integrity, maturity as the editorial board called it, in addition to her intellect and strong ties to the community that inspired the Democratic party to ask Madeleine Dean to consider running to fill Josh Shapiro's seat.
She's no “opportunist” Nick, as you keep trying to accuse her of, rather, her strong integrity and strong ties to the community are opportunities for our area.
She’s lived in Abington her whole life, her very large family deeply rooted in this community, especially Glenside. I’ve talked to a lot of people in this township, and let me tell you, there’s something special about Glenside, the way the people know and care about each other is amazing.
Like the community of her roots, Madeleine trusts and cares so much about Abington as a whole. For example, after the shock and hurt as the calls streamed in about that slanderous poll, she remained resolute and handled the above attack with class and dignity, because she’s confident that once the people heard the truth, the people in Abington wouldn’t stand for this. Abington, you should be proud that you produced her. Instead,Mattiacci and the Republicans in Harrisburg see fit to “double-down” their attack on her. That’s sad and frankly their mistake.
While you Mr. Mattiacci, from what I've seen, your entire campaign has been built upon a house of cards.
You're not the Democrat, as the sign holders you hired from NY and NJ were yelling to passer-bys;
You're not independent, as you state in your “April fools letter” as the State GOP has paid for every one of your despicable mailers, and that disgraceful “push poll.” Margeret Gibbons, an actual columnist, (aka not paid for by the Dean campaign) asked the question: “WHO IS IN CHARGE” of Nick Mattiacci's campaign? I can't phrase it any better than she did:
“If candidates refuse to accept responsibility for all aspectsof their campaigns, then voters should hold those candidatesresponsible.”
So, who is in charge of Mattiacci? easy one: the republicans in Harrisburg of course.
The state GOP in Harrisburg, the same guys who've slashed our kid's eduction one billion dollars, that's billion with a B, while leaving corporate loopholes untouched;
the same guys who are waging the war on women by trying to pass the most invasive forced ultrasound legislation in the country;
the same guys who passed the voter suppression law that will risk hundreds of thousands of the youngest, poorest, and most senior constitutional right to vote;
the same guys who at this very moment, have a bill that will define marriage as between a man and a woman. (yep, here in Pa);
the same guys that keep giving the oil and gas industry hundreds of millions in hand outs by refusing to pass an adequate severance tax to protect our landand water anywhere near what states like Texas and Alaska have in place right now. Instead, the republicans in Harrisburg give the oil/gas industry laws like the “GAG LAW” on our doctors who find out what's in that poisonous mess they are using to frack, by law,the Doctors can't tell anyone, including their patients, that's us. Thankfully, doctors are fighting this, but Nick won't fight it if he gets to Harrisburg.
Mattiacci is for all this, but he doesn't want you to know it. Here was his response to the Editorial Board of the MontCo paper: “What really floored us, however, were his comments about Act13,the controversial law governing the gas drilling industry. Mattiacciexpressed confidence that the safety regulations passed by Republicanlawmakers are sufficient, and that the Legislature would never pass abill that endangered Pennsylvania citizens. Such naivete can hardlybe reassuring to voters.”
That same Editorial Board described Nick as “naive,” with answers “easily dismissed.”
I would add hypocrite given the above – you're not independent Nick, and that's your choice, but stop trying to pull the wool over the people in Abington and Upper Dublin's eyes. As Margaret Gibbons wrote, take some responsibility.
So, on April 24th:
If you believe in education;
If you believe we need more oversight on the oil/gas industry thathas swooped into our state;
If you believe equal protections under the constitution, and not the crazy laws the Harrisburg Republicans are passing against gays and women right now;
If you believe elections should be about issues, and not the immature non-sense that we have seen from Mr. Mattiacci;
Then you agree with the Editorial Board and will vote for Madeleine Dean.
Please, don't forget to vote tomorrow in the Special Election, Tuesday,April 24th, obviously it matters.
Again, read Save Ardmore Coalition, everything you have said, has been said, and refuted by facts. http://www.saveardmorecoalition.org/node/6344/yikes-al-gore-wrong-earth-not-warming-met-and-east-anglia The liberal conventional media elitist groupthink narrative, I am afraid, has been far too influential on your own thinking. Allow The Bob to light your way through this miasma and free you from your errors. Really, we are right and you are wrong and it is embarrassing to maintain your position in face of the words of one of the world's leading global warming climate scientist. Al Gore is an alarmist because there is political gain to him by demagoguing the issue and, unfortunately, has misled you and others.
For a bit of a better spin on American news try going to a foreign source.
He is a model; he was slated to become a regular on CNN had he not died. He has been a conduit. Read his book [Righteous Indignation]. Know what he fought, and then note his unique achievements.
You are disturbing and have nothing really to say.
Asked if he was now a climate skeptic, Lovelock told msnbc.com: “It depends what you mean by a skeptic. I’m not a denier.” He said human-caused carbon dioxide emissions were driving an increase in the global temperature, but added that the effect of the oceans was not well enough understood and could have a key role. “It (the sea) could make all the difference between a hot age and an ice age,” he said. He said he still thought that climate change was happening, but that its effects would be felt farther in the future than he previously thought.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climatic_Research_Unit_email_controversy#Timeline_of_the_initial_incident
also, Marcel told me that Madeline was not practicing law--and was raising her family--during the 3 years she wasn't submitting her CLE-hours I told him that I'd felt I'd provided subdued-critique of the race on this page; it would be desirable were the two candidates to debate regularly during the next 1/2-year Finally, I told Madeline this-a.m. that she should "smile for the camera" as she did in her photo with Josh; her husband replied, "I think she's HOT!" I told him of what I've written here, namely, that she should explain why she neither [1]--took a leave-of-absence, nor [2]--submitted her teaching-hours [@ La Salle] for CLE-credits.
First, he ignores gross ad-hominem entries that appear intended to taunt. Second, he focuses upon ensuring that the "audience" is not the provocative, sometimes obnoxious D-bloggers, who serve as foils when conveying key-thoughts to everyone else. We share the desire to "comment with a purpose" [reminiscent of the "fun with a purpose" logo of "Highlights for Children"] as evidenced by how I drew upon this experience when speaking with official bodies. Indeed, the fact that the School Board personnel were aware of these postings reflects the proper context in which to perceive "Patch" as a communications-entity.
Under Votes 2269 Over Votes 0 Vote Count Percent Nicholas Mattiacci 4,009 43.51% Madeleine Dean 5,206 56.49% Total 9,215 100.00% 1105 vote differential, or 13% of the vote. A win is a win, and I'd certainly say that 13% (double digits) is impressive given the attention focused on this election. Two things that were rather telling: 1) As far as the county goes (according to Patch) -- "About 24 percent of registered county Republicans, or 50,454 voters, came to the polls, compared to 39,557 Democrats, a 16 percent turnout." So does that mean that a good portion of the Republican voters selected Dean as opposed to the so-called "Democrats for Mattiacci" who were campaigning on his behalf? You would have expected a closer race than a 13% differential if the turnout in 153 was along the lines of the turnout in the rest of the county. 2) Almost 20% of eligible voters in the 153rs didn't vote in the Special Election. I'm not sure if those people failed to vote in error or if that number is off for any other reason. Or maybe they just didn't care and showed up to vote for something else. Lastly -- I found some interesting stuff on Twitter and here on Patch regarding Mattiacci's campaign & afterparty at the VFW, especially in regards to the "surprising turnout of younger volunteers." Still trying to piece the information together...
The younger voter "surprise" isn't really surprising. The "Hope and Change" message of 2008 has turned sour for a large segment of a younger generation that see's large debt and limited job prospects as part of their immediate future. It's not too hopeful when you assume 10's of thousands of debt to land a job at a mall kiosk or bagging groceries. Many are also smart enough to know that, for them, Social Security and Medicare, are nothing short of a shell game that their elders in power refuse to correct, leaving their generation to face the heavy lifting of fixing something that their forebearers didn't have the courage or the will to face. Expect to see more young people at future GOP events, give them credit for seeing what many of their elders and some of their peers don't see yet. 2012 will not be a repeat of 2008 when it comes to young voters. John Monaghan - GOP Committeeman, Abington
I wasn't the one who said that it was a "surprising" turnout of younger support for Mattiacci but was instead quoting a Patch article from earlier yesterday and the credits line on one of the photos. As someone who hasn't missed voting in an election since I turned 18, I think it's fantastic when the younger generation accepts their priviledge to vote! I do find that a number of the items you mention (Social Security, Medicare, the economy) are issues that are not solely the concern of one party or the other. If they're wealthy teens, the'll flock to the GOP. If they're middle-class teens or those who are not among those considered wealthy, they'll likely flock to the Democratic vote once again as they usually do. No one party has the monopoly on fixing any of those issues & involvement of youth in BOTH parties will be a key factor in the coming election. Another really interesting thing from yesterday: a teen who has done some work for Mattiacci's campaign (at least that's what some initial details/evidence show) Tweeted yesterday to be sure to "vote for Nick Mattiacci, DEMOCRAT." I made a screencap of her tweet, which she since deleted earlier this morning -- but I wonder if there was an effort (as it was intimated during the "Democrats for Mattiacci" debacle) to mislead Democratic voters into thinking Mattiacci was really a Democrat; or was this poor girl was misled herself to think Nick wasn't a Republican (which is something you'd think he was proud of)?
And the difference between your generation and the current generation (I hesitate to call them mine because I feel that "my" generation got skipped a bit) is that the current generation seems to have a sense of entitlement whereas the older generations worked harded for what they earned.
We can both agree that every politician would be better served to be reminded why they are in office; but in reality we know that the party powers will always stand in the way.