Enough already.
The headline on the Delaware County Times and weaselly caption is bad enough, but it's my observation when voting that have inspired my frustration. Philadelphia voted for change. But by all apearances, Delco, Montco, Chester County, and Bucks County all voted for the status quo. I'm left with no possible alternative hypothesis other than the Democrats don't care about Delaware County (or suburban Philadelphia) politics.
The Delaware County Times delivers no value as far as local political reporting, save the occasional 1-inch column. The "Sound-Off" section sounds like a cross between internet forum and local bar circa 1:55 AM. And you can always count on a trio of Gil Spencer's Opinion Local Columns heaping negative criticism on Democratic challengers or lauding compliments of GOP incumbents landing in your mailbox. The Inquirer and the local TV-news networks only cover Delco for crime and scandal. We are horribly under-served. Perhaps we like it that way.
As election day drew nearer, my wife, as she does, collected the various print endorsements. I'd say we received GOP mailings on a 5:1 ratio as compared to the Democrats for the County level council seats. I saw no TV ads, no radio ads, and no door-to-door visits by any of the candidates. No robo-calls, no visits from local leaders, nothing. I understand that there's no money for these things, and that the GOP is entrenched and backed by an all-powerful machine.
The DelcoDems are horribly positioned. The only reason Joe Sestak was able to win his House Seat in Congress was due to his backing by the party establishment, with little discernable thanks to be given to the county leadership. Except for the occasional rant against George Bush and the Iraq War (a brave stance, now that overwhelming majorities oppose both) you hear nothing from them.
No attempts to build an infrastructure. NO GOTV (get-out-the-vote) effort. No effective information gatherer or disseminating device. No go-to-person for sound-bites or commentary. Nothing.
(And yes, I do understand that they get no national or state level [party] financial support. That just means they need to be more creative).
Visiting my fire house, I see Township Manager Jack Ryan handing out ballots. No Democrats to be seen. I go in, sign the book, and vote. I know nothing about any of the Judicial Races (thanks liberal media and DelcoDems), and I take special note the DA Michael Green, Delaware County Township Commissioner Jack Hennessey, and the entire Southeast Delaware County School District;s up-for-election seats were run entirely unopposed.
You mean there were no suitable candidates amongst the county's residents? Or that we didn't look?
One party rule has been devastating both locally in the City of Philadelphia and nationally in Washington, DC. Elected officials, when no longer threatened with re-election, become increasingly complacent, indifferent to constituent concerns, beholden to campaign contribution and single-issue ideologies, and not-infrequently corrupted, either morally, ethically, or criminally.
So why is it? Why isn't there any serious attempt to fix things, to bring some sort of balance? Daddy Democrat pointed out that the GOP ran (since what, 1980) county council voted unanimously 2012 times since 2003. That's a fascinating number, isn't it. Were they all in agreement about what was best for the county and their constituents? I wonder.
So I'm left with a singular conclusion to all of this. Up until recently, the Republicans had a significant advantage to the Democrats in voter-registrations. Despite this, on the National and State level, those voters consistently have delivered Democratic candidates while maintaining the status quo locally. I suspect that the national and state Democratic Parties realize this, and do not wish to spend additional money to benefit local politics.
To be fair, we're not exactly clamoring for change, are we? If the citizenry won't do it themselves, perhaps they don't want it. And that can't possibly be true, can it? Think we can do better? Email me.
