March 8, Man on a Mission

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What’s Happening Today
President Joe Biden will visit Strath Haven Middle School for a campaign rally at 5 p.m.

Happy Birthday
Cake and candles for Rep. Perry Stambaugh (Fri.) and Rep. Robert Freeman (Sat.).

Pennsylvania Political Headlines In Your Inbox Daily
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Top Story

1. Biden Takes On Trump, Republicans In Fiery State Of The Union Speech

“President Joe Biden on Thursday laid out his case for re-election in a fiery State of the Union speech that accused Donald Trump of threatening democracy, kowtowing to Russia and torpedoing a bill to tackle U.S. immigration woes.

In a 68-minute address to Congress, Biden, a Democrat, drew sharp contrasts with his Republican rival and gamely challenged Trump’s supporters in the chamber during a speech that was watched as much for the 81-year-old president’s performance as it was for his policy proposals.” (Reuters)

• Complete Text of Biden’s Address
• Complete Text of Sen. Katie Britt’s GOP Response

Related

Ahead of PA Visit, Biden Tells Congress To ‘Pass Bobby Casey’s Bill,’ In Animated State Of The Union Speech. “While President Joe Biden was addressing a joint session of Congress Thursday night, the key audience for his State of the Union address was voters in swing states like Pennsylvania — where he’ll travel the following day.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Guess Who’s Coming to Delco? “Fresh off his State of the Union address, President Joe Biden will hold a campaign rally in Delaware County on Friday. The president will visit Strath Haven Middle School in Wallingford. He is anticipated to arrive at Philadelphia International Airport around 2:45 p.m.” (PoliticsPA)

‘The Official Start Of The Campaign’: Biden Heads To PA After State Of The Union Address. “Pennsylvania is a key — if not the key — battleground state,” said Ashley Koning, a professor and pollster at Rutgers University. “It’s no surprise that he’s visiting Pennsylvania after the State of the Union to kick off the general election.” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

TikTok Users Unload On Congressional Offices Over App Legislation. “Congressional offices, including those in the Pennsylvania delegation, are being inundated with calls from users of TikTok, the social media app, over the possibility that the House could move on a bill to force the app’s sale by its Chinese owner.” (PoliticsPA)

State

2. Does PA Have 80K Duplicate Voter Registration On Its Rolls?

“Claims that Pennsylvania has 80,000 duplicate voter registrations cited twice recently by a state lawmaker are missing important context, according to the researcher behind the estimate.

The estimate first appeared in a Jan. 4 post reviewing voter data in seven states by German-based identity resolution company Tilores, which appeared to grab the attention of Jefferson County Sen. Cris Dush as his office included the figure in two separate bill memos related to the state’s voter rolls.” (Bucks County Courier Times)

Related

Report Classifies 87 Pennsylvania State Lawmakers As ‘Election Deniers’. “States United Action, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization with a mission to protect elections, issued the report Thursday using data collected  with the assistance of Penn State University’s McCourtney Institute for Democracy.” (Penn Capital-Star)

In PA, The Senate Is Transparent About Per Diems. Why Doesn’t The House Follow Suit? “Pennsylvania lawmakers have a mixed record when it comes to transparency.” (Erie Times-News)

Shapiro Promotes Higher Ed ‘Blueprint’ As GOP Seeks Details On Potential Cost. “Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro wants to reorganize how higher education is delivered in the commonwealth while Republican lawmakers have called out in budget hearings for definitive details as to how his plan might be accomplished.” (CNHI News)

Budget Secretary Monson Defends Shapiro Plan To Spend Part Of Pennsylvania’s Surplus. “Gov. Josh Shapiro’s top fiscal strategist defended proposals to invest some of Pennsylvania’s $14 billion surplus in education, infrastructure and people and borrow another half billion dollars to prepare the commonwealth for new industry.” (Penn Capital-Star)

Ethics Panel Denies Request To Investigate Sen. Mastriano For Actions After 2020 Election. “A Democratic state senator’s request for an internal ethics investigation into Republican Sen. Doug Mastriano’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results was denied.” (PennLive)

Around The Commonwealth

3. You Know There’s An AG’s Race, Right?

“Quick: Can you name who’s running for Attorney General? (Hint: There are five Democrats and two Republicans.)

We’ll get to the candidates in a minute — it’s actually an impressive field, on both sides of the aisle. But first: What’s the job? Why does it matter?” (Philadelphia Citizen)

Related

How Much Has President Joe Biden’s 20 Visits To The Philly Region Cost City Taxpayers? “Plus: A cease-fire resolution ceases to exist. And some win and some lose while trying to stay on the ballot in state representative races.” (Philadelphia Inquirer Clout)

Jim Roddey, The First Allegheny County Executive And A Staple Of Pittsburgh-Area Politics, Dies At 91. “James C. Roddey, a man who shaped a new government as the first chief executive of Allegheny County and who remains the only Republican ever to win the region’s premier office, has died. He was 91.” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

• Jill Stein Aims To Make The PA Ballot; Remembering The First Allegheny County Executive Jim Roddey. (WESA Politics)

Revenue Loss Is ‘Threatening The Fiscal Health Of Our City,’ Pittsburgh Controller Says In Scathing Letter. “Pittsburgh City Controller Rachael Heisler sounded the alarm over the city’s projected revenues in a letter sent this week to Mayor Ed Gainey and City Council members.” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

HD-103: 5 Democrats Vying For Rep. Patty Kim’s Seat Offer Views On School Choice, Climate, Housing. “Democrats have plenty of choice when it comes to replacing state Rep. Patty Kim in the 103rd House, which takes in Camp Hill, Lemoyne, East Pennsboro Township and parts of Harrisburg.” (PennLive)

Editorial

4. What’s On Your Mind

• ‘Biden Brought the Heat’: Our Columnists on the State of the Union. (New York Times)
• ‘The Biden Campaign Staff Is Probably Doing Cartwheels’: Nine Columnists On The State Of The Union. (Washington Post)
• Biden’s Partisan State of Disunion. (Wall Street Journal)
• Whole-Home Repairs For The Whole Country. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
• The New Book Every American Needs To Read Before They Vote. (Will Bunch)
• Support for Trump Has Spiked Among Black Voters. Why? I Asked Some To Find Out. (Jenice Armstrong)
• Poll Workers Ensure Safe, Secure Elections In Pennsylvania. (Jerry Feaser)
• It’s Better To Be Right Than Partisan. (William Cooper)
• Delco Democrats Must Own Spate Of Deaths At County Prison As Media And Activist Group Strategically Disappear. (Broad + Liberty)
• Supreme Court Rules It’s Unconstitutional For State Governments To Decide On Trump’s Qualifications. (Robert A. Strong)

1 Thing

5. Boathouse Row’s Show of Lights

“Philadelphia’s iconic Boathouse Row was relit Thursday night after a year of darkness, offering a glistening debut of 6,400 programmable LED lights illuminating the 19th-century houses along the Schuylkill and evoking joyful exclamations from spectators who watched from across the river.

At 7 p.m. Boathouse Row came alive in bright red lights, eliciting oohs and aahs. Then a house turned blue, followed by one in yellow, and another in orange, and purple and pink. At one point the lights started to sparkle like the stars in the night sky above this long-awaited reveal. And of course the theme song to Rocky started playing.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

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