Pennsylvania

Intentional acts, targeted individuals and death rituals + this day in history w/the Bite of the Century and our song of the day by Florence + the Machine on your Morning Monarchy for June 28, 2018.

Hit-and-run down, jetset Jesus and suicide by scarf + this day in history w/Operation Opera and our song of the day by Kanye West on your Morning Monarchy for June 7, 2018.

(ZHE) — For the past month, residents in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, have been reporting mysterious booms overnight. However, nobody — not even local authorities — can explain. Now, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has arrived in Upper Bucks and Lehigh Counties to investigate the nighttime explosions. Springfield Township police say that multiple earth-shaking booms occurred as recent […]

No one will need that graphic againIt wasn't that long ago that Pennsylvania was a Republican state. In my lifetime presidential elections went to Republicans in the Keystone State 8 times and to Democrats 10 times. In 1980, 1984 and 1988 Pennsylvania voters went for Reagan over Carter (49.6% to 42.8%), for Reagan over Mondale (53.3% to 46.0%) and for George W. Bush over Michael Dukakis (50.7% to 48.4%).

The GOP, particularly the NRSC, is starting to acknowledge they have their first Todd Akin/Richard Mourdock of 2018: Lou Barletta. In 2012 when Joe Donnelly was winning a Senate seat in Indiana and Claire McCaskill was being reelected in Missouri because their opponents were judged by voters as too insane and extreme, Bob Casey was running in Pennsylvania against a mainstream conservative, Tom Smith.

Ashford lost the debate badly-- so the DCCC told him to stop debatingExcept for the inappropriate use of the word "moderates" to characterize reactionaries, I loved Wedneday's wrap up in the Washington Post by James Hohman of Tuesday's primary elections. Oh yeah and the word "far left" to describe actual moderates. But that's why the Beltway media does.

Progressive champion Kara Eastman defeats the DCCC, the Blue Dogs and the New Dems-- our heroAll across the country there are counties and districts where Bernie beat Hillary in 2016 (and many where Bernie got more votes on primary day than Trump as well).

Every time there's some bump up or down in the polls I have half a dozen nervous campaign managers who call me to talk about what it means. It means nothing. No, I assure them, the wave is not cancelled. I suggest they check out the special election swings; those swings are far more predictive of what to expect in November than any polling.

Bernie's point this week, when he asked his supporters to back 3 candidates in Pennsylvania, was that "if we are going to defeat right-wing Republicans in 2018 and 2020, we need to win in states that Trump won, like Pennsylvania.

In Pennsylvania an ungerrymandered congressional map spelled doom and gloom for the GOP. That's why, at least in part, Charlie Dent, Ryan Costello, Bill Shuster and Pat Meehan all announced early retirements and why Brian Fitzpatrick, Rothfus and Mike Kelly still may (or wish they did). The PVIs of these districts changed significantly enough to drive these Republicans out of office.