Fetterman, A Non-Partisan Politician

So far Fetterman is shaping up to be an independent voice in the Senate, despite being a Democrat. He refuses to vote for a government shutdown, but speaks out against what he considers abuses by whomever.  

He wants to fund Homeland Security, including ICE, but has sent a protest letter to Kristi Noem about purchasing two warehouses in eastern Pennsylvania for detention centers.

Although he proclaims that he wants to reach across the isle and work with Dave McCormick, he might also want to remember that no good deed goes unpunished. The Democrats will resent whenever he votes against the party policy, and the Republicans will still resent him as a Democrat. However, there are independents, such as myself, who appreciate his issue by issue deliberations, as opposed to party rubber stamping. At any rate, he has four more years to please and offend both partys and their voters.

Wall Street Journal Visits Allentown

I'm always interested when big media visits Allentown...they usually get it wrong. Last year the New York Times did a story on the revitalization of Hamilton Street. While impressed by the $billions of new buildings, they failed to comprehend the taxpayer funded, privately owned real estate scheme...they assumed the Potemkin Village was actually teeming.

Yesterday the Wall Street Journal did a story on the upcoming 7th District race and the Hispanic voters. They think that the Hispanics put Ryan Mackenzie over the top in 2024, but that they may not support him for 2026. They blame that divorce on Trump's heavy handedness with ICE. I don't disagree with their analysis, but think that they overestimate the Hispanic vote. The WSJ was here for one or two days, I've here since what the NYT referred to The Latinization Of Allentown decades ago.

I believe that a Democrat will flip the seat back to that party, but not just because of the Hispanics. The Hispanic flip will be bigger than the Journal foresees, because that new detention center in Berks County will need detainees. But Ryan will lose because the bread and butter MAGA's turned out for Trump, not him. More than the Hispanics, he'll lose because the independents are fed up with Trump's dictatorship. Ryan will bet on the Trump support and campaigning, and not speak out enough to save himself.

Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District

A closely watched race next November will be for our local congressman. While the incumbent is Republican Ryan Mackenzie, the Democrats have a contested primary in May. The top three candidates for that race are Ryan Crosswell, Bob Brooks and Lamont McClure.

If contributions and money on hand for the campaign prevail, it whittles down to Crosswell and Brooks. Crosswell is a former federal prosecutor who resigned, rather than back off a case as requested by associates of  Trump. Brooks is head of the state fire fighters association, and has the party backing.

I consulted with fellow blogger Bernie O'Hare about the candidates. Bernie thinks (and hopes) that McClure's experience will end up putting him ahead primary night. He feels that Crosswell's Republican past is a bug and will haunt him. For an independent like myself, that is not a bug, but a feature. I hope that come November it will be Ryan vs Ryan.

The Dumb And The Desperate

On Friday I posted about Trump's FBI trying to prove that he won the 2020 election. For what purpose? Only the dumbest would think that Trump is concerned with election integrity. The skeptical think that the real motivation is to discredit the upcoming midterms, where Republicans will likely be decimated.

The Trump coalition is composed of the dumb and the desperate. We know what the dumb look like. The desperate are partisan Republicans, who are setting themselves up to lose for the next decade. Nobody inclined to be a Democrat will make the same mistake they made in 2024. I believe that minorities will be back home with the Democrats. The Hispanics saw the prison in El Salvador, and the rush to build Alcatraz in the Everglades. The blacks saw the eagerness of the ICE Troopers.

The dumb is self-explanatory, but I'm surprised at the stubbornness of the Republican Party. Do they care that much about Trump, and do they think that he cares about them? I've been urging Republicans to stand up and speak out. So far that's a short list, containing no locally elected. While a Mackenzie could not earn back my vote, there is still time for them to assert themselves, but that time is waning. The consequences of Trump's arrogance and unqualified advisors are coming home to roost.

ICE Prison For West of Lehigh Valley

ICE has purchased a large warehouse west of Lehigh County for use as a prison. The 500,000sq. ft. prison purchased for $85million shows that we're getting our share of federal attention. I wonder if Ryan Mackenzie will be bragging about this with his messaging? 

Being in Berks, near the Amazon warehouse, sort of takes some of the shine off the recent Lilly announcement. Will Kristi Noem be coming to look over the new inmates? Who knew that our corner of Pennsytucky would be making the news twice in one week?

Between Allentown and Reading there is a large Hispanic population. I would suggest that our Spanish speaking residents carry their ID with them at all times.

Gilding The Lilly

It was announced with much fanfare that Lilly Pharmaceutical is going to build a new facility on Rt. 78 west of Allentown. Attending the announcement were all our elected officials, including presidential hopeful Josh Shapiro. The show featured that the manufacturing plant would cost $3.5 billion and employ 850 workers. They will produce the new injectable for the weight challenged.

Local media articles mentioned state incentives, including a new entrance/exit for Adams Rd.. We apparently offered more incentives than hundreds of other areas, which also entered the LIlly contest. The big winner of course is David Jaindl, who is selling the parcel to Lilly. More so, he owns the adjoining land, whose value is greatly enhanced by the new exit.

While there are plans to widen Rt. 22 through Allentown, I expect that you'll still be sitting in traffic on 22, long after the new ramp is built for Jaindl. Supposedly a pill is in development to replace the injectable for the heavyset. We'll see how long, if ever, there are 850 employees at Lilly Lehigh Valley.