March 12: Opposites attract

Here We Go, Tuesday, Here We Go. Thanks for being a subscriber to the PoliticsPA Playbook. We appreciate the support.

PA Weather


Farrell | Sunny, 66


Greencastle | Sunny, 66


Haverford | Sunny, 63

PA Sports


Sixers (36-28) | Tue vs. New York


Flyers (33-24-8) | Tue vs. San Jose


Penguins (28-27-8) | Tue vs. Ottawa

What We’re Hearing
Protect Our Care is launching a $5 million+ advertising program to promote the benefits of the Inflation Reduction Act’s provisions to lower drug costs, recognize health care champions like Rep. Susan Wild (PA-07) and Rep. Matt Cartwright (PA-08), and urge them to continue the fight to lower health care costs.

Happy Birthday
Cake and candles for Sen. Wayne Fontana.

Pennsylvania Political Headlines In Your Inbox Daily
The PoliticsPA Playbook gives you all today’s PA political headlines in an easy-to-read email format. All by 8 AM. And it’s free. Subscribe now.

Top Story

1. Progressive Coalition Seeks to Defend Lee, Other ‘Squad’ Members Targeted by AIPAC

“A coalition of more than 20 progressive groups launched a campaign Monday to counter the power of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), opening up a new front in the domestic political battle over Israel and Gaza.

Reject AIPAC includes Jewish peace organizations and Arab American and Muslim groups that have been organizing in record numbers since the Israel-Hamas war began in October.

Its goal? To “organize Democratic voters and elected officials to reject the destructive influence of the Republican megadonor-backed AIPAC on the Democratic primary process and our government’s policy towards Palestine and Israel.”” (PoliticsPA)

Related

Fitzpatrick, Johnson Spar Over Aid For Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. “Speaker Mike Johnson is working to kill off any discharge petition in the House, of which there are two right now. This is natural for any speaker, of course. But at the same time, Johnson said he’s made no promises to put a foreign aid bill on the floor. This doesn’t sit well with Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), the top Ukraine booster among GOP lawmakers.” (Punchbowl News)

McCormick, Unaware Of Its Benefits, Wants To Repeal Biden’s Infrastructure Law. “Dave McCormick, a former Connecticut based hedge fund manager running against U.S. Sen. Bob Casey in the 2024 election, has made repealing President Joe Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law one of his key campaign issues. ” (The Keystone)

America’s Election Chiefs Are Worried AI is Coming For Them. “Election officials are important enough to fake — and public enough to make it easy to do — but anonymous enough that voters may easily be tricked.” (POLITICO)

The 2024 Elections: Pennsylvania is a Purple State That Is Developing A Light Blue Tinge. “With Pennsylvania being one of the key swing states in the 2024 presidential election, Robin Kolodny looks at the state’s recent electoral history and the population shifts which may not be favorable for Republicans in November.” (LSE)

State

2. Opposites Attract: Two PA Lawmakers Share A Bond Despite Being On Other Sides

“In the Pennsylvania House, the two appropriations chairmen will go to battle over policy while not making things personal, which makes them very rare in these hyper-partisan times.

State Rep. Seth Grove and State Rep. Jordan Harris are an unusual pair.

Harris is black, urban, and a Democrat and Grove is white, rural, and a Republican. Opposites that apparently attract.” (abc27)

Related

Democrats Running For Pennsylvania Attorney General Walk Fine Line On Criminal Justice Reform. “The Democratic field includes a wide variety of candidates: two prosecutors, a defense lawyer, a state legislator and a former state official. But the candidates are largely emphasizing their ability to enforce laws rather than their ability to tackle over-incarceration or address historic inequities.” (WESA)

• abc27 to host the Pennsylvania Attorney General Democratic Debate Tonight. (WHTM)

Torsella Backs Bizzarro In State Treasurer Race. “Democratic state Rep. Ryan Bizzarro has picked up the support of a former state treasurer as he seeks to secure the Democratic nomination and take on Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity, a Republican, in the fall.” (City & State)

PA Election 2024: A Complete Guide To The Primary Candidates For Auditor General. “During the April 23 primary election, Pennsylvania Democrats and Republicans will pick their parties’ candidates for state auditor general, one of the commonwealth’s three elected row officers.” (Spotlight PA)

Stefano Seeks to Eliminate Annual Mail-In Voter List. “Another day. Another attempt to alter Act 77. Sen. Pat Stefano (R-Fayette) is looking for co-sponsors to legislation that would repeal the annual mail-in voter list portion of the bipartisan bill.” (PoliticsPA)

PA House Lawmaker Unopposed After Ballot Challenges — And Party Pressure, Says One. “Former Dauphin County Democrat state House candidate claims a top Democrat urged her not to challenge the Republican incumbent because he is a “good guy and works across the aisle.”” (PennLive)

Around The Commonwealth

3. There’s New Leadership In Fulton County PA. They Still Chase Trump’s 2020 Grievances

“Fulton County commissioners continue to roll the dice with taxpayer money on a 2020 election gambit that’s failed repeatedly in court.

The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania this past April found the county in contempt for allowing multiple third-party inspections of Dominion Voting Systems machines used locally four years ago. Their ruling put Fulton County taxpayers on the hook for all Pennsylvania Department of State and Dominion legal fees in relation to the case — a tab that may soon eclipse $1 million.

Though Fulton County voters in November replaced two of the three sitting commissioners with newcomers, the freshman officials recently acted to continue this saga in court — just weeks before one of their attorneys became a wanted woman in Michigan.” (Chambersburg Public Opinion)

Related

Philly City Council Poised To Confirm First-Ever Chief Public Safety Director. “A Philadelphia City Council committee on Monday voted to make Adam N. Geer the city’s first-ever chief public safety director, confirming the former prosecutor and tasking him with an administrative role to coordinate the city’s response to crime.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Pittsburgh Could Expand Downtown Tax Cuts In Effort To Galvanize Development. “In an effort to resurrect real estate in the heart of the city, Pittsburgh officials could soon give downtown developers bigger tax breaks.” (WESA)

Solutions Sought To Improve Child Care Availability, Affordability In PA. “Child care advocates and providers in Pennsylvania on Monday urged government investment in early learning as they say low pay is a big factor in the industry’s deterioration.” (CNHI News)

Editorial

4. What’s On Your Mind

• Attempts to Keep Trump Off The Ballot Were Ludicrous. So Are His Claims Of Unchecked Immunity. (Kyle Sammin)
• Charter or Public? All That Matters Is The Quality Of The School. (John Fry)
• PA Promise Can Expand Higher Education And Save A Shrinking Workforce. (Saleem Ghubril)
• All Pennsylvanians Should Be Able To Enjoy The Digital Age. (Nathan Flood)
• What Pennsylvania’s Constitutional Laboratory And Its Trailblazing Experiments Portend For 2024. (Jerry Dickinson)
• The State of the Union Wake-Up Call. (Halie Soifer)
• Preserving Access To Public Information From Public Bodies. (Jennifer Bertetto)
• The GOP Wouldn’t Be Fit To Govern, Even If Trump Were To Leave. (Mark Weisbrot)
• Time to Turn the Clock Forward on PA Presidential Primary. (Lowman Henry)

1 Thing

5. Pizza With The President

“Like many families, Friday night is pizza night in the Cunicelli family, but this past week brought special guests as President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden stopped at their Rose Valley home for pizza before heading to the campaign rally at Strath Haven Middle School.

“We have Friday pizza at my house and this week we were lucky enough to have the Bidens sit down with us,” said Jack Cunicelli, who with his brother David own 320 Market Café in Swarthmore. “They were wonderful: Great people to talk to, great people to be with. It was a lot of fun.”” (Delco Times)