Post 1: What are your issues?
Candidate 1: Katie McGinty
Candidate 2: Edward
Clifford III
Candidate 3: Everett Stern
Candidate 4: Kerith Strano Taylor
Candidate 5: Glenn
Thompson
Candidate 6: Pat Toomey
--------------------------------
Post 2: The environment:
Candidate 1: Glenn Thompson
Candidate 2: Pat Toomey
Candidate 3: Katie McGinty
Candidate 4: Edward Clifford III
Candidate 5: Everett Stern
Candidate 6: Kerith Strano Taylor
---------------------------------------
Post 3: The Economy
Candidate 1:Everett Stern
Candidate 2: Kerith Strano Taylor
Candidate 3: Glenn Thompson
Candidate 4: Pat Toomey
Candidate 5: Katie McGinty
Candidate 6: Edward Clifford III
------------------------------------
Post 4: Gun control / security
Candidate 1: Pat Toomey
Candidate 2: Glenn Thompson
Candidate 3: Kerith Strano Taylor
Candidate 4: Everett Stern
Candidate 5: Edward Clifford III
Candidate 6: Katie McGinty
--------------------------------
Post 5: What is your background?
Candidate 1: Edward Clifford III
Candidate 2: Katie McGinty
Candidate 3: Pat Toomey
Candidate 4: Glenn Thompson
Candidate 5: Kerith Strano Taylor
Candidate 6: Everett Stern
Total:
Katie McGinty (1, 3, 5, 6, 2)
Edward
Clifford III (2, 4, 6, 5, 1)
Everett Stern (3, 5, 1, 4, 6)
Kerith Strano Taylor (4, 6, 2, 3, 5)
Glenn
Thompson (5, 1, 3, 2, 4)
Pat Toomey (6, 2, 4, 1, 3)
Sunday, November 6, 2016
PA Electoral Choices 2016: What is your background?
Post 5: What is your background?
If someone is running for political office, I want to know what they've done for a day job. Have you owned your own business? Been a stay-at-home parent? Worked in a school or a hospital? Volunteered your time to any charities? More specifically than "how do you earn your money?" I want to know, "What have you done for the last 10 years of your life? How have you helped Pennsylvanians?" When I specifically searched for "biography" or "known for" or "background" they almost all started with what the candidate's father did for a living. Um... I get how this can affect a person's upbringing but is it THAT important? Still, I included it when I found it. I also included educational history (did this person go to college, if so, what was his or her major?) As far as I can find, one candidate is currently divorced. I finally had to bite the bullet and list who is an incumbent, because this is part of "what have you done for the last few years?" so I really feel like I may as well attach names to this, but there are two incumbents on this list, and four non-incumbents on this list. So I'll at least sort of keep you guessing.
Candidate 1: Accountant for a financial services firm. Lifelong resident of Pennsylvania. Worked with the Ron Paul campaigns in 2008 and 2012, doing community outreach and event planning.
Candidate 2: Father was a police officer in Philadelphia. Graduated college with a chemistry degree, then graduated law school. One marriage. Three kids. Was an advisor to Ed Rendell, is now chief of staff to Tom Wolf. Has campaigned for the environment and the elderly, attempting to expand Medicaid to include 600,000 Pennsylvanians.
Candidate 3: Father was a union worker. Graduated Harvard with a degree in government. One marriage. Three kids. Served as a US Representative for three terms recently, but did not run for a fourth term in the House because Candidate 3 campaigned with the promise of term limits. Is now running for Senate instead. Was part of the 2013 government shut-down, and voted against re-opening.
Candidate 4: Father was a Navy veteran. Graduated Penn State, then attended Temple for post-graduate work. Worked as physical therapist and rehab specialist. Volunteer firefighter, scoutmaster. Has served four terms and is up for re-election. Voted in favor of re-opening the government after the shut-down.
Candidate 5: Parents owned an auto shop together. Graduated high school at 16. Graduated Penn State, then graduated law school. Divorced. Two children. Serves on local school board. Practices law. Serves as a legal guardian for children in the foster care system.
Candidate 6: Graduated from a Florida university with a business degree, then attended another Florida university for masters in business. Worked for a financial firm. Uncovered a terrorist fund and informed the FBI. Was fired. Opened own business, is now CEO.
If someone is running for political office, I want to know what they've done for a day job. Have you owned your own business? Been a stay-at-home parent? Worked in a school or a hospital? Volunteered your time to any charities? More specifically than "how do you earn your money?" I want to know, "What have you done for the last 10 years of your life? How have you helped Pennsylvanians?" When I specifically searched for "biography" or "known for" or "background" they almost all started with what the candidate's father did for a living. Um... I get how this can affect a person's upbringing but is it THAT important? Still, I included it when I found it. I also included educational history (did this person go to college, if so, what was his or her major?) As far as I can find, one candidate is currently divorced. I finally had to bite the bullet and list who is an incumbent, because this is part of "what have you done for the last few years?" so I really feel like I may as well attach names to this, but there are two incumbents on this list, and four non-incumbents on this list. So I'll at least sort of keep you guessing.
Candidate 1: Accountant for a financial services firm. Lifelong resident of Pennsylvania. Worked with the Ron Paul campaigns in 2008 and 2012, doing community outreach and event planning.
Candidate 2: Father was a police officer in Philadelphia. Graduated college with a chemistry degree, then graduated law school. One marriage. Three kids. Was an advisor to Ed Rendell, is now chief of staff to Tom Wolf. Has campaigned for the environment and the elderly, attempting to expand Medicaid to include 600,000 Pennsylvanians.
Candidate 3: Father was a union worker. Graduated Harvard with a degree in government. One marriage. Three kids. Served as a US Representative for three terms recently, but did not run for a fourth term in the House because Candidate 3 campaigned with the promise of term limits. Is now running for Senate instead. Was part of the 2013 government shut-down, and voted against re-opening.
Candidate 4: Father was a Navy veteran. Graduated Penn State, then attended Temple for post-graduate work. Worked as physical therapist and rehab specialist. Volunteer firefighter, scoutmaster. Has served four terms and is up for re-election. Voted in favor of re-opening the government after the shut-down.
Candidate 5: Parents owned an auto shop together. Graduated high school at 16. Graduated Penn State, then graduated law school. Divorced. Two children. Serves on local school board. Practices law. Serves as a legal guardian for children in the foster care system.
Candidate 6: Graduated from a Florida university with a business degree, then attended another Florida university for masters in business. Worked for a financial firm. Uncovered a terrorist fund and informed the FBI. Was fired. Opened own business, is now CEO.
Saturday, November 5, 2016
PA Electoral Choices: Gun control and security
This is the touchiest subject I've handled yet.
If you think people in PA have strong feelings about coal, just mention the words 'gun control' and then you'll see what strong feelings look like.
As my friend John Acker said, "I've heard this from the people of Potter County since 2000. I'm sure it was prevalent well before. Al Gore was going to take their guns away, so was John Kerry and Barack Obama. It's strange how this claim that x candidate is going to take guns away seems to be the one of most long lasting and pernicious undercurrents in republican political persuasion. The even stranger thing is that it doesn't even need to be directly addressed in political ads or by the Republican candidates. It has become memetic. It's automatically assumed that whoever is running on a democratic ticket is going to not just restrict gun access, but physically come into homes and take guns away from citizens."
What do the candidates have to say? Let's see:
Candidate 1: [would] "require criminal background checks for those who purchase guns at gun shows and on the Internet—the same requirement on the books for purchases at gun stores." [would seek legislation that] "protected individual privacy by outlawing a federal gun registry."
Candidate 2: [would] "eliminate the requirement that a licensee must conduct business at a gun show only in the state that is specified on the licensee's license." and "loosen restrictions on inter-state gun purchases."
Candidate 3: [said] "...the Second Amendment should not be taken away...[but] some people should not be allowed to obtain one, such as anyone using a firearm to threaten another, domestic violence perpetrators, and people who have been involuntarily committed to a mental health facility."
Candidate 4: [would] "oppose all legislative actions that impose unnecessary burdens on law-abiding gun owners." "The Second Amendment is the original homeland security act. I will tirelessly fight to defend this basic Constitutional right."
Candidate 5: [said] "The federal government vastly exceeds its authority when it regulates guns. The regulations in place create victims of law-abiding citizens by restricting their ability to defend themselves." “The background checks in place now for purchasing a firearm are adequate."
Candidate 6: [said] "The Second Amendment is a protected individual right." "...I come from a family of hunters. Good sportsmen don't want to see terrorists able to buy weapons. They don't want to see criminals or the mentally infirmed have access to lethal weapons." "The need for commonsense gun safety measures has become clearer than ever."
I was incredibly surprised to find out who was who in this one. See who you side with, then check your answers on my "cheat sheet", posted tomorrow.
If you think people in PA have strong feelings about coal, just mention the words 'gun control' and then you'll see what strong feelings look like.
As my friend John Acker said, "I've heard this from the people of Potter County since 2000. I'm sure it was prevalent well before. Al Gore was going to take their guns away, so was John Kerry and Barack Obama. It's strange how this claim that x candidate is going to take guns away seems to be the one of most long lasting and pernicious undercurrents in republican political persuasion. The even stranger thing is that it doesn't even need to be directly addressed in political ads or by the Republican candidates. It has become memetic. It's automatically assumed that whoever is running on a democratic ticket is going to not just restrict gun access, but physically come into homes and take guns away from citizens."
What do the candidates have to say? Let's see:
Candidate 1: [would] "require criminal background checks for those who purchase guns at gun shows and on the Internet—the same requirement on the books for purchases at gun stores." [would seek legislation that] "protected individual privacy by outlawing a federal gun registry."
Candidate 2: [would] "eliminate the requirement that a licensee must conduct business at a gun show only in the state that is specified on the licensee's license." and "loosen restrictions on inter-state gun purchases."
Candidate 3: [said] "...the Second Amendment should not be taken away...[but] some people should not be allowed to obtain one, such as anyone using a firearm to threaten another, domestic violence perpetrators, and people who have been involuntarily committed to a mental health facility."
Candidate 4: [would] "oppose all legislative actions that impose unnecessary burdens on law-abiding gun owners." "The Second Amendment is the original homeland security act. I will tirelessly fight to defend this basic Constitutional right."
Candidate 5: [said] "The federal government vastly exceeds its authority when it regulates guns. The regulations in place create victims of law-abiding citizens by restricting their ability to defend themselves." “The background checks in place now for purchasing a firearm are adequate."
Candidate 6: [said] "The Second Amendment is a protected individual right." "...I come from a family of hunters. Good sportsmen don't want to see terrorists able to buy weapons. They don't want to see criminals or the mentally infirmed have access to lethal weapons." "The need for commonsense gun safety measures has become clearer than ever."
I was incredibly surprised to find out who was who in this one. See who you side with, then check your answers on my "cheat sheet", posted tomorrow.
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