Bruce Springsteen To Play Barack Obama Rally Saturday

Yes, yes! Okay! I know I’m derelict on this one! It is true: Bruce “The Boss” Springsteen is playing a Barack Obama benefit this Saturday on the Parkway. (By the way, thanks, Phawker, your post on this gave me a seizure.)

Here’s the conversation I had where I heard about this, probably a lot similar to yours.

Springsteen is playing the Parkway on Saturday!
Me: Oh, neat!
It’s a benefit for Obama!
Me: Oh, well, that’s cool, too, I guess.
It’s an acoustic show!
Me: Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!

So, yes, Bruce will play the Parkway to help Barack Obama, and if he plays “Atlantic City” the whole crowd will cheer when he goes, “Well they blew up the chicken man in Philly last night…” “Whoo! Say our city’s name again!” they’ll shout. And then a few weeks later they’ll vote for Obama and he’ll win the presidency. “Whoo! Good thing he never got caught with blow!” they’ll say, some of them will, to themselves at least.

Anyway, look: You can get tickets by volunteering to register voters. While Philadelphia will come in somewhere north of 80% for Obama, the rest of the state (besides Pittsburgh and the good colleges) hates blacks, Democrats and cokeheads. So there’s a bit of an uphill battle here for ol’ McHopey, and the only way for him to have a chance is for Bruce Springsteen to play a show for him.

The Boss for Ambassador of ROCK! Or at least to New Jersey.

Green Collar is the New… Uh… Whatever

I may be three hours behind you people, but your humble guest editor is on the job. Tonight, I subjected myself to about ninety minutes of Democratic National Convention speeches in order to glean wisdom and absorb change. Here are a few observations:

- The phrase “Green Collar Job” was repeated dozens of times by several different speakers. I had heard it being bandied about casually in the past, but I think I witnessed the actual birth of an annoying catch phrase tonight.

- Your own PA Sen. Bobby Casey, Jr. sure does sound like a muppet. Kermit, to be exact. But on the plus side, he unintentionally led the crowd in several chants of “four more months!” which delayed his speech for about a minute.

- Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano was all like, “You think I give a rats ass if McCain is from my state? I hope that sucker loses, hard!” Those were her exact words, really.

- The big name Republican the DNC booked for tonight? Jim Whitaker, mayor of Fairbanks, Alaska (Population: 31,000; Notoriety: zero). Way to stick it to the other party, guys! Whitaker is clearly a bigger get than the Republican’s pick of, uh, former candidate for Vice President and current Senator Joe Lieberman (D., Conn.).

- The news media is just dying to make a huge deal out of Clinton supporters refusing to support Obama. Dying, I tell you. It’s funny to hear all the politicians being interviewed being like, “Shut up, please.”

- I apparently missed Gov. Ed Rendell speak. Did anyone see him? Did he go off prompter?

- The basic message of former Virgina Governor and keynote speaker Mark Warner: Walnuts McCain is more of the same. We’ve already heard this message 5,000 times tonight.

OK, that’s about all the news coverage I can take tonight. See you tomorrow, possibly with some words on Clinton’s speech.

A.C. Descends Into Anarchy, Incessant Lawsuits

Hey, remember when that mayor was missing in Atlantic City? Yeah, of course. Well, it seems the departed Bob Levy would be a better mayor than whatever is going on in Atlantic City now. And, so, the process where only one nomination was allowed for the selection of Atlantic City mayoral candidates is being challenged in court by the State Democratic Committee.

Yes, New Jersey’s (New Jersey’s!) Democrats are so angry they’re suing the Atlantic City Democrats for being even more corrupt than anyone ever imagined.

[T]he process ran counter to what city party Chairman Scott Evans told committee members and the media. Evans earlier said all nominees would be considered and the party would name the top vote-getters.

Instead he called the vote after taking nominations from only one person - city ethics board member Howard Barsky, who nominated Evans, a school board member and city fire battalion chief, city Business Administrator Domenic Cappella and former City Councilwoman Barbara Hudgins - at the meeting Oct. 17.

Meanwhile, Evans said they filled City Council vacancies this way and they didn’t do anything technically illegal so nyah nyah nyah.

More »

Democrats Wasting Money Faster Than Republicans

Hey! Do you know much aides in state government make? If you’re reading this blog, there’s a good chance they make more than you! (Note to potential advertisers: This is a joke. The average income of a Philadelphia Will Do reader is approximately $200,000, all of it in disposable income.)

Figures released yesterday show the Democrats, surprise surprise, pay their employees more than the Republicans do. The Republicans, on the other hand, make their employees work Christmas Eve and don’t give them health insurance, leading to the death of 17 children named Tiny Tim. Also all of the Democratic employees are illegal immigrants.

House Democratic employees are costing taxpayers $34.5 million a year for their 835 employees, with an average salary of $41,261.

House Republicans, on the other hand, are spending $30.9 million on payroll annually for their 839 employees, with an average salary of $36,912.

House Democrats handed out $1,854,505 in bonuses last year to employees, nearly seven times higher than House Republicans’ $269,661.

The difference was reversed in 2005, when House Republicans handed out $649,661 in employee bonuses, compared with House Democrats’ lesser $468,271.

You know, the Republicans have done a nice job of winning the spending (or, if you wish, wasting) money war on the national level. But it’s good to see that, at least in this state, the Democrats are still on top of their game. My philosophy is: The more the government spends money, the funnier it gets. So, really, these totals can only mean good things for this blog.

House Democrats paying staff more than Republicans [Bucks County Courier Times]

Up, Up And Away

The man in the photo at right has recently been accused of sexual harassment in a lawsuit, and not one of the alleged advances was “Would you like a mustache ride?”

Okay, the pictured man is Stephen M. Sweeney, a state senator and Freeholder-Director of Gloucester County’s Democratic Party. The woman accusing him of sexual harassment is Diane Kirwan-Patterson, who works in the county’s economic development office and used to hold a position in the county Democratic Party.

There’s a whole bunch of subplots involved — Kirwan-Patterson was demoted at her job in the county office because she accepted rooms form a ventor (she denies this), she’s also on medical leave and is unlikely to return to her job before she retires — but what you want are the hot, juicy advances. Oh, and here they come (no pun intended):

According to her lawsuit: At a cocktail party in 1998, Sweeney, who is also a state senator, asked her in earshot of three of her co-workers whether she would “get naked for him.”

The following year, while in a hotel suite in Atlantic City during a conference, Sweeney told Kirwan-Patterson “how nice it would be” for the two of them to sit naked together in a Jacuzzi.

In 2000, during a meeting of county officials, when Sweeney yawned, Kirwan-Patterson asked him if those present were keeping him awake. Sweeney replied, “Oh Diane, you could keep me “up’ any time you wanted.”

Do you think he did the finger-quotes by himself, or were those implied by Kirwan-Patterson?

Sweeney faces sexual harassment lawsuit [Camden Courier Post]

Mayor, Councilman To Become BFFs

In case you don’t follow Philadelphia politics — and, if you don’t, just thank God — Mayor John Street and at-large City Councilman James Kenney aren’t exactly best buds. Kenney has been one of the mayor’s most vocal critics. Street, in turn, left a bag of flaming dog shit on Kenney’s porch, ruining Kenney’s new Bruno Maglis. (Note: The preceding sentence is made up.)

Anyway, Democratic party head Bob Brady has gotten the two together and they’ll soon have lunch. Whoo! Philadelphia politics is saved! Let’s all do a mascot dance and celebrate city unity!

However, there might be some division as to what, exactly, is going on. KYW 1060 reports:

Q: “What is it you hope to gain?”

Kenney: “Tasty food.”

Q: “When was the last time you had lunch with him?”

Kenney: “Never.” [...]

No word yet on who picks up the check:

Street: “Not me! I don’t know who’s going to pick up the check! I don’t know.”

Hmm, sounds pretty dicey there. Better have them prepay, or you know there’s going to be a fight over who picks up the tab.

Mayor & Councilman Kenney Consider Turning Over a New Leaf [KYW 1060]
Earlier today: White Suburban Moms Have It Tough
Yesterday: Dual dance off on ‘Good Day’

Modification Error of the Day

A headline from our friends over at NBC 10:

Phew. It’s good to know that the New Jersey Democratic Party hasn’t stooped low enough to kidnap Republicans. It’s nice to see some politicians still have some class.

N.J. Democrats Have Money, Not Republicans [AP via NBC 10]

I, for one, welcome our new mechanical overlords

Geeze, I know you guys are desperate for votes, but now you’re trying to get machines on your side? I don’t think this is going to work.

Democrats: Machines must get vote [Inky]