patching...
Update: Stay up to date with Patch. Like us on Facebook! »
Welcome back, Patch Blogger!

Democrats

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Patch Poll: Should Gov. Corbett Award Pennsylvania Lottery Contract to British Firm?

This week, some state House Democrats voiced their opposition to Gov. Corbett's plan to award a contract to privatize the lottery to Camelot Group—with no other bidders in the running.

The Pennsylvania Lottery is one of the most successful and well-managed state lotteries in the nation. Last year, the PA Lottery had annual sales in excess of $3.2 billion and, according to House Democrats, has held administrative costs to record lows of just over 2 percent. According to DailyFinance.com, Pennsylvania State Lottery has steered $20.6 billion to a variety of causes since it began, but its profits have primarily been funneled into an elderly benefits fund. This fund includes subsidies for transportation, tax rebates and Medicare. As of last year, about 61 percent of the annual ticket sales go to prizes, 30 percent goes to the state and the rest is for expenses. That's a higher percentage of prize return than most other states…

sieben13

7:18 pm on Saturday, January 12, 2013

If we didn't have President Obama , I know where your sorry ass would be .Poor repuglcans amaze me ,you can't do anything for your party except vote. You have no serious money   more ›

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Last Push: Sewickley Volunteers Work to Get Out the Vote

Democrats and Republicans plan to work the polls, transport voters on this Election Day.

With just a day before the election, volunteers at the Republican campaign headquarters in Sewickley were making telephone calls and passing out campaign materials to supporters who stopped in.  At the Democratic headquarters, volunteers at the Broad Street location were also still handing out campaign items and speaking to supporters as well.  For both campaign offices, weeks of phone banking, door-to-door canvassing and political discussions have come down to today, Election Day. Their efforts are anything but over, as the polls open at 8 a.m. Alisa Lenhardt, Republican volunteer, said they plan to have volunteers out at every polling place, including 11 people at the St. Stephen's Church polls and 25 working at the campaign office at …

Monday, November 5, 2012

Candidate Cookies Show Tight Presidential Race

If cookie sales at the Ultimate Pastry Shop are any indicator, the race between President Obama and Governor Romney is too close to call.

If cookie sales at The Ultimate Pastry Shop in Sewickley are any indication, the race between President Barack Obama and former Governor Mitt Romney is tight. Bakery owner Tina Echement said the pastry shop on Thursday began selling political sugar cookies that contain edible, caricature-like images of the candidates. Customers can either go for the portrait cookie that resembles their presidential pick or opt for the anti-cookie—one with a red slash across the initials of the undesired candidate. Election Day is the last day to purchase the cookies if you want your vote to be counted in the bakery's mock election. Store hours are 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. Echement said people see them as a fun way to get involved in the elections. The bakery is …

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Did the Presidential Candidates Answer Debate Questions Directly with Solutions?

How do you feel Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama did in terms of specifically addressing how they will move the country ahead?

President Barack Obama entered the ring ready to spar Tuesday night as he and Republican challenger Mitt Romney tangled over the economy, job creation, trade, energy, immigration, the auto-industry bailout, inequities for women workers and other issues posed at a town hall debate held at Hofstra University. Candy Crowley, CNN's chief political correspondent, moderated the town-hall format debate, trying to keep the candidates to two-minute responses to questions posed by some of the 82 uncommited voters from New York City gathered at the university's Long Island campus. Obama, who had been criticized after the first presidential debate for not being aggressive enough in challenging Romney, showed a different side Tuesday. Both men appeared…

Comment_arrow

LeonA

3:21 am on Friday, October 26, 2012

"Never in any of the 4 debates was there other than the moderator and the two candidates who spoke." did you miss the second presidential candidates' debate?   more ›

Saturday, October 13, 2012

Libertarian Party Will Appear on PA Ballots

Judge's ruling ends state GOP's challenge for upcoming general election Nov. 6.

Pennsylvania voters now will have at least four choices when making their choice for the next President of the United States in next month's general election. The Associated Press reports that Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, the Libertarian Party's nominee for president, will appear on the ballot after Commonwealth Court Senior Judge James Gardner Collins ended a state GOP effort to individually validate each of the 20,601 signatures the party needed to meet the state's ballot requirements. Mike Barley, executive director of the Pennsylvania Republican Party, told the AP that the Libertarian Party had submitted more than 50,000 signatures and that more than half of them had been invalid. Neither Democratic nor Republican candidates …

Oren Spiegler

5:14 am on Monday, November 5, 2012

Amen! You have performed a public service by advising the public not only Governor Johnson's presence on the ballot, but of this debate. If more individuals would consider a third-party candidate like him, we would not be relegated to having to choose between the two highly flawed individuals that are running for president. A vote of conscience is never a wasted vote.   more ›

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

The Debate Begins: How Did the Candidates Do?

The first debate is over. Take our poll and tell us in comments your thoughts after watching the first face-to-face debate between Mitt Romney and Barack Obama.

In short segments that often exceeded the allocated two-minute time periods, the presidential candidates tackled economics, health care, Social Security, education, the role of goverment and the deficit in a debate that sometimes found them saying the same thing in different ways. In a debate moderated by PBS' Jim Lehrer, both Democratic incumbent President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney talked about domestic issues and how they would tackle them, if elected in November. Obama talked of working to make the middle class stronger, job training through community colleges, keeping tuition low, lowering tax rates especially for manufacturers, boosting American energy production and working to close the deficit. Romney talked…

Comment_arrow

Bob Howard

5:43 pm on Wednesday, October 10, 2012

For Erin: Have you read Obamacare? It is not a solution to the problem of the uninsured. After it is fully implemented it is estimated that 20 million and up to 30 million will remain uninsured. If it was really about insuring the uninsured, it could be done for all the uninsured at a fraction of the costs as is currently done with auto insurance. 159 new agencies are being created. Their …   more ›

New Republican and Democratic Headquarters Open in Sewickley

The two offices are located within a block of each other in downtown Sewickley.

Obama for America-Pennsylvania held an ice cream social Friday night to usher in the opening of its new Democratic headquarters on Broad Street in Sewickley. A block away, on the corner of Beaver and Broad streets, the Sewickley Valley Republican Committee opened new campaign headquarters in the former pink & blue storefront. The Republican campaign office officially opened its doors on Monday. The two openings are a sure sign that the Nov. 6 election is moving closer, with the first presidential debate between President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney scheduled for 9 p.m. tonight. Both the Republican and Democratic campaign headquarters in Sewickley serve as hubs for the presidential race as well as local and state candidate races…

Thursday, September 6, 2012

After the Conventions: Who Will Win the 2012 Presidential Election, Obama or Romney?

Now that the Democratic and Republican delegates have officially chosen their nominees, Patch wants to know: Who are you betting on to win?

It's official: With President Barack Obama's acceptance speech Thursday night in Charlotte, the Republicans and Democrats have formally chosen their nominees for the 2012 presidential election. Let the real race begin. Much can change between now and Nov. 6: Gaffes, scandals or even major international news events could shift the dynamics of the campaign. The latest Gallup Polls show registered voters preferring Obama to Mitt Romney by just one percentage point, 47 percent to 46 percent. A USA Today/Gallup poll taken before the party conventions found American voters think Obama is more likeable, but they trust Romney more to handle the economy. Pundits have been busy for months handicapping the major-party candidates on various factors: …

Comment_arrow

N/A

9:45 pm on Sunday, September 23, 2012

Oh absolutely not. I really do not mean to offend, but that is the opposite of contextual information and international perspective. That kind of statement about the Western world is very ethnocentric and has been disproved over and over again. There have been examples of the legal fair treatment of women since...what is the furthest example that I can think of...Hammurabi's Code in Ancient …   more ›

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Should We Keep the Affordable Care Act—or Parts of It?

Opinion runs strong when it comes to 'Obamacare.' Let us know where you stand on the health care issue.

This week, the House passed a bill to repeal the nation's Affordable Care Act, more commonly known as "Obamacare." The vote was 244-185, with five Democrats siding with the Republican majority. The vote marked the 33rd time since 2010, when the law was enacted, that there was a move to eliminate, defund or otherwise scale back the program. Analysts project that there is little chance the repeal vote will pass in the Democratic-controlled Senate. The Supreme Court upheld the law as constitutional last month. Opinions on whether to keep the bill or repeal it have been very split, although some people and politicians favor keeping portions of the law in effect, such as allowing children to remain on a parent's policy until age 26 and …

Comment_arrow

b smith

7:13 pm on Thursday, July 26, 2012

Shall I continue Kelly? Denial is not a river in Egypt more pies on what went on there as wellbut I'm tired of bursting the libs fantasy bubbles for the evening.   more ›

Sunday, July 8, 2012

What Is the Most Important Issue in the Presidential Election?

This campaign is full of issues but, in the end, which is most important to you?

Pittsburgh was a political hot spot on Friday when President Barack Obama, a Democrat, and two Republican vice-presidential hopefuls, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, came to town to discuss their platforms with supporters. Obama's speech centered on economic recovery, education, health care, student loan interest rates and the middle class. Pawlenty and Jindal, hoping to drum up support for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, focused their talks on job creation, energy regulation, taxes, health care and federal spending. Take our poll and let us know which of these issues is the most important to you or most likely to influence your vote. Tell us why this issue is important to you in the …

Comment_arrow

N/A

2:20 pm on Tuesday, October 9, 2012

True Story: http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/522928_499583840054405_1096840712_n.jpg   more ›

Got a Hot Tip?