April 3: Resistance is Real

Happy Hump Day. Could someone please turn off the water?

PA Weather


Brookville | Showers, 47


Carlisle | Heavy Rain, 49


Honesdale | Rain, 38

PA Sports


Sixers (41-35) | Oklahoma City 109-105 | Thu vs. Miami


Flyers (36-29-11) | Fri vs. Buffalo


Penguins (34-30-11) | New Jersey 6-3 | Thu vs. Washington


Pirates (5-0) | Wed vs. Washington


Phillies (2-3) | Cincinnati 9-4 | Wed vs. Cincinnati

What We’re Hearing
U.S. Senate candidate Dave McCormick brought in $6.2 million in the first quarter of 2024, matching his Q4 haul. The total includes a $1 million investment from the candidate.

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Top Story

1. Republicans Pushing To Embrace Mail-In Voting Encounter Widespread Resistance

“When Donald Trump held a rally last year in Erie County, an important area in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, the top Republican official there went one by one to the 11,000 people waiting in line to ask one question: Would you like to vote by mail?

It did not go well.

“I tried to give them a mail-in ballot application, and could only get out about 300,” Tom Eddy, head of the county’s Republican Party, said. “Every one of them said either, ‘No, that’s not the right way to vote,’ or ‘Trump does not agree with it.’”

What happened in Erie County is emblematic of the ongoing feud within the GOP over one of the most fundamental elements of elections: how to vote.” (NBC News)

Related

Trump Calls Migrants ‘Animals,’ Intensifying Focus On Illegal Immigration. “Donald Trump called immigrants illegally in the United States “animals” and “not human” in a speech in Michigan on Tuesday, resorting to the degrading rhetoric he has employed time and again on the campaign trail.” (Reuters)

Reschenthaler Introduces Bill To Rename Dulles Airport After Trump. “In a two-page brief, Pennsylvania Rep. Guy Reschenthaler has introduced a bill that would rename Dulles International Airport in Virginia as “Donald J. Trump International Airport.”” (PoliticsPA)

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey Assails Corporations For Holding Consumers Captive To ‘Greedflation’. “U.S. Sen. Bob Casey and Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina M. Khan discussed their plans to combat big corporations excessively increasing prices for goods during a roundtable discussion Tuesday. ” (Penn Capital-Star)

Polls

• Trump Leads Biden in Six of Seven Swing States, WSJ Poll Finds. (Wall Street Journal)
• Gallup: It’s ‘Likable’ Biden Versus ‘Strong’ Trump In November. (Semafor)
• Yes, We’re Divided. But New AP-NORC Poll Shows Americans Still Agree On Most Core American Values. (AP)

State

2. Why PA’s Efforts To Regulate Social Media Companies Have Failed So Far

“Despite bipartisan interest in setting ground rules for social media companies, Pennsylvania lawmakers are struggling to reach a consensus amid privacy and other concerns that don’t neatly break down along party lines.

In recent months, the legislature has debated bills that would mandate disclosure of artificial intelligence-generated images, ban TikTok from state-owned phones, and require monitoring of minors’ social media. The debate around the latter most clearly demonstrates the balancing act legislators are trying to achieve.” (Spotlight PA)

Related

Pennsylvania Leadership Conference Begins Thursday. “The largest and longest-running state-based conservative conference begins Thursday as the 2024 Pennsylvania Leadership Conference gets underway at the Penn Harris Hotel in Camp Hill.” (PoliticsPA)

Legal Recreational Marijuana Could Bring $41 Million In Tax Revenue To Pennsylvania In Its First Year, Fiscal Report Finds. “Legalizing adult-use marijuana in Pennsylvania has long seemed unlikely, but Republicans in the state legislature have acknowledged the commonwealth is missing revenue.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

PA-07 Primary: Republican Candidates Talk Foreign Intervention. “The trio of candidates competing in the Republican primary for Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District by and large voiced strong support for former President Donald Trump’s foreign policies.” (LehighValleyNews.com)

HD-10: Amen Brown Is Facing Two Primary Challengers For His State House Seat — And They’re All Putting Up A Fight. “One of the most competitive primary election races in the Pennsylvania state House this year is a three-way rematch for a West Philadelphia-based seat.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Around The Commonwealth

3. How The Economy — And Philadelphia — Could Determine The Presidential Election

“The race for the presidency is in full swing, and the state of Pennsylvania — and more specifically Philadelphia — may well decide who wins.

This forecast is based on a model of presidential elections that my colleagues and I at Moody’s Analytics have been using to predict who will be the next president in elections going back to Bush vs. Gore in 2000.

Given that we are economists, it is no surprise that the principle underpinning our model is that the economy may not be at the top of voters’ minds in every election, but it is rarely less than a close second. In other words: “It’s the economy, stupid.”” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Related

Kitchen Table Politics: Maria Montero. “On this episode of the relaunched Kitchen Table Politics Podcast, Kyle Sammin sits down with candidate Maria Montero for a discussion on her run for the Republican nomination for Congress in Pennsylvania’s 7th district. ” (Broad + Liberty)

PA House Primary Preview: Southwest. “In the second of our series, today PoliticsPA will take a look at two races in the southwestern portion of the state.” (PoliticsPA)

Gainey, Innamorato Say PA Lawmakers Should Mandate Regular Property Assessments Statewide. “Property owners across Allegheny County have received millions of dollars in refunds after appealing their property valuation. But that’s cut into the revenues of the county and local school districts, as well as Pittsburgh and other municipal governments. With more pending appeals in the pipeline, and the threat of a proposed Pittsburgh Public Schools lawsuit to compel a countywide reassessment, local leaders say they’re still considering the merits of calling for a reassessment themselves.” (WESA)

PA’s Student Teachers Ready For New Stipend Program To Launch. “Applications for a new student teacher stipend program will be available to download by April 11, according to the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency, which is tasked with administering the program. Stipends will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis.” (PennLive)

Editorial

4. What’s On Your Mind

• My Commonsense Plan For A New Era Of Energy Leadership In PA. (Gov. Josh Shapiro)
• Why PA Should Deploy the National Guard to SEPTA Right Now. (Brian Pollitt)
• Liberals Can’t Fight Censorship With One Hand While Enabling It With The Other. (Jonathan Zimmerman)
• You Can’t Text And Drive In PA You Shouldn’t Be Able To Stream And Drive Either. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
• Railway Safety Act Shouldn’t Be Derailed. (Tribune-Review)

1 Thing

5. The Legend Of The Bald Eagle Mountains

“Central Pennsylvania is dotted with old legends. Interesting stories dating back hundreds of years cover the area, and many of them were documented by Henry Wharton Shoemaker.

Shoemaker was a writer and folklorist from Clinton County. He is known for having written down old legends into his books, preserving them for the future. He has been accused of manufacturing or embellishing them, but many people believe that he wrote them down largely as they were told to him. And his books are an entertaining view of the folklore of Pennsylvania’s past.” (NorthCentralPA.com)

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