RealClearPennsylvania Articles
Philadelphia Newspapers and Me
I grew up during the last great era of the newspaper, the decade or so after the end of World War II. From then until the 1990s, when the computer began to render the daily paper irrelevant, I was a confirmed newspaper reader.
In my house in those days, we took in three papers. My uncle bought the Bulldog edition of the Philadelphia Inquirer every night around 7; the Bulletin was delivered in the afternoon around 3:30 and my grandfather, who worked nights on the city’s piers, brought home the Daily News. On the weekend, we got both the Sunday Inquirer and Bulletin after it took over the...
PA's Mixed Messages on Manufacturing Jobs Show Misplaced Priorities
In a state where manufacturing has long been a cornerstone of the economy, recent actions taken by some of Pennsylvania's political leaders reveal a concerning disconnect between rhetoric and reality. Specifically, the stark contrast in the way Gov. Josh Shapiro and his team have handled two separate opportunities to protect crucial industrial jobs in the state highlights an administration that appears to be missing the forest for the trees.
The unsuccessful attempt last month by his Attorney General, Michelle Henry, to prevent the closure of the 132-year-old Anchor Hocking glass...
Erie Captures the Democrats’ Challenges
June gleefully shouted to anyone within earshot, “We are going to make history tonight!” On election night, the Kamala Harris staffer was beyond jubilant. On route to an election party, she howled what had become a victory mantra to every passerby “We are going to make history tonight!” Speaking to me on the condition of anonymity, “June” confided “the vibes were very good. We were hitting and surpassing our expected turnout.” She stopped short, sighed and recalled, “Around 9:30 it turned. It was very sudden. We were all...
Delco GOP Chair On What It Takes to Win Suburbs
Donald Trump won the pivotal swing-state of Pennsylvania for a second time in three elections and the improvements he made in the collar counties of Philadelphia cannot go unmentioned. Trump was able to flip Bucks County, but it’s also important to note the gains he made in Montgomery, Chester and Delaware counties.
In Delaware County, specifically, the traction he gained with working class voters, as reported by the Philadelphia Inquirer, shows you the connection he made with blue collar workers in the steady blue precincts.
In order to understand the gains made by Trump, I spoke with...
Amend the Constitution: January 20th Is Too Long to Wait
The world has changed. Life has changed. Politics has changed. It is time to change the 20th Amendment of our Constitution. January 20th is too long to wait for a new president.
In accordance with the 20th Amendment to the Constitution, Donald Trump will take office at noon on January 20th, 2025. His successor will take office at noon January 20, 2029.
From George Washington up through Franklin Roosevelt’s first term, presidents took office on March 4th. That protracted time period from Election Day to the Inauguration was necessary given the limited ability to travel, communicate, and...
Give Shapiro the Election Reform He Wants and PA Needs
The 2024 election is finally over. On December 4th, the Pennsylvania Department of State certified the results – almost one month after Election Day. And though this election was relatively uneventful (especially by 2020 standards), the lawfare over Pennsylvania’s vague election laws continues to rage.
Several groups, such as the ACLU and the Pennsylvania Republican Party, filed countless lawsuits since the 2020 election for different reasons. Some want to clarify election law, while others outright reject procedures to protect mail-in voting from fraud.
This lack...
Pittsburgh Would Gain By Losing Mayor Ed Gainey
A city gets the mayor it deserves, or so the saying goes. But what did Pittsburgh do to deserve Ed Gainey? His signature achievement – distributing recycling bins across the city – perfectly captures an administration more interested in progressive photo ops than policing broken windows. It’s like hiring an unlicensed contractor to repaint your Lawrenceville row house you’re hoping to flip to some unwary New York City carpetbaggers while the foundation crumbles beneath your feet.
Most of the hard numbers tell a damning story. Consider the shameful state of education in...
Now What? A GOP Governing Agenda
Trump returns to the White House. The GOP has majorities in the Senate and House. Now what?
It’s time to make America great again. To fix what “they” broke. To flip the narrative, so that government works for us – not the other way around. Yet, where to begin?
Inflation. Cleaning-up the Justice Department – including directives targeting parents attending school board meetings, “pro-lifers,” and Catholics who like Latin Mass. The hostages held by Hamas, and Israel’s fight with Hamas and other terror groups. Men playing women’s sports. The...
What Can PA Learn From California’s Minimum Wage Proposition?
Confounding pundits and pollsters alike, Californians voted against increasing the minimum wage this November.
Buried in the headlines of the 2024 presidential election, the shocking failure of a minimum wage hike in a Blue State may epitomize the type of policymaking that Americans are choosing to reject.
It likewise serves as a cautionary tale for swing state conservatives as they deliver for their new working-class base.
The California story started last year, when legislation passed to raise the minimum wage for just two types of workers: those in “fast food” to $20 per...
Was Gen Z Key to Trump’s Electoral Success?
Donald Trump completed his comeback to become the 47th president of the United States in resounding fashion. Trump was able to sweep the seven swing states, win the popular vote, and lead the charge as the GOP took back the Senate and retained the House, all while the party holds a conservative majority on the Supreme Court. There are many positives to highlight about Trump’s win, including his gains among black male and Latino voters, but the most fascinating ingredient of his success may be his appeal to Generation Z and young males, thanks in part to the evolving media landscape and...
Was Gen Z Key to Trump’s Electoral Success?
Donald Trump completed his comeback to become the 47th president of the United States in resounding fashion. Trump was able to sweep the seven swing states, win the popular vote, and lead the charge as the GOP took back the Senate and retained the House, all while the party holds a conservative majority on the Supreme Court. There are many positives to highlight about Trump’s win, including his gains among black male and Latino voters, but the most fascinating ingredient of his success may be his appeal to Generation Z and young males, thanks in part to the evolving media landscape and...
Was Gen Z Key to Trump’s Electoral Success?
Donald Trump completed his comeback to become the 47th president of the United States in resounding fashion. Trump was able to sweep the seven swing states, win the popular vote, and lead the charge as the GOP took back the Senate and retained the House, all while the party holds a conservative majority on the Supreme Court. There are many positives to highlight about Trump’s win, including his gains among black male and Latino voters, but the most fascinating ingredient of his success may be his appeal to Generation Z and young males, thanks in part to the evolving media landscape and...
Was Gen Z Key to Trump’s Electoral Success?
Donald Trump completed his comeback to become the 47th president of the United States in resounding fashion. Trump was able to sweep the seven swing states, win the popular vote, and lead the charge as the GOP took back the Senate and retained the House, all while the party holds a conservative majority on the Supreme Court. There are many positives to highlight about Trump’s win, including his gains among black male and Latino voters, but the most fascinating ingredient of his success may be his appeal to Generation Z and young males, thanks in part to the evolving media landscape and...
What Lessons Will Shapiro Take from the 2024 Election?
Gov. Josh Shapiro was almost selected as Kamala Harris’s running mate, and he wants to be president more than Phillies fans want to win the World Series. As he reflects on the 2024 election, what does he see? How will the lessons he draws affect his governorship, his budget, and how he leads the state?
Donald Trump carried Pennsylvania, all of the “blue wall” states, and a majority of the popular vote. Incumbent Vice President Kamala Harris – with over $1 billion in campaign cash and the open support of most of legacy media and Hollywood – got less votes than her...
Is Fetterman Running Out of Room?
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman's political career has always been a high-wire act. The 6'8" senator, who survived a near-fatal stroke during his 2022 campaign, has managed to keep his balance by constantly reinventing himself. But as Pennsylvania trends increasingly red and his approval ratings slide, even his trademark adaptability may not be enough to save him in 2028.
Fetterman's latest transformation – from progressive darling to pro-Israel moderate who gleefully antagonizes the Democratic left – represents perhaps his most dramatic pivot yet. At pro-Israel rallies, he cuts an...
The Election Was a Referendum on Elitism
The Republican sweep in the national elections this November is a reaction to a brand of leftist elitism that became so distasteful to most Americans that they carried their angst with them into the voting booth. Americans cast their votes for the candidates who made more sense, who didn’t talk down to them, and who didn’t tell them how they should think. They voted for the party that is now apparently for the people, the “common man.” But the “uncommon” elites are not a cut above the rest of us –arguably, they’re the cause of most of the...
Pennsylvania is Now the Bellwether on Democrats’ Future
The Keystone State was expected to be the bellwether on November 5th, and it didn’t disappoint. Not only did Donald Trump carry Pennsylvania by two points—a better showing than his razor-thin victory in 2016 – but the state also flipped a U.S. Senate seat and two House seats for Republicans. Yet now Pennsylvania will arguably play an even bigger bellwether role: showing whether Democrats will learn from this drubbing and deliver policies that make voters’ lives better.
Kamala Harris’s loss means Democrats must choose a new candidate for...
How to Fix Pennsylvania’s Looming Budget Dilemma
Pennsylvanians just elected 228 state senators and representatives. These candidates-turned-lawmakers spent the past several months doing all the challenging work of campaigning: giving speeches, knocking on doors, and fundraising. However, their most challenging work lies ahead.
A few weeks after lawmakers take their oaths of office, Gov. Josh Shapiro will give his fiscal year (FY) 2025–26 budget address. The governor’s budget address formally begins the multi-month process of state budget negotiations. Last year’s FY 2024–25 negotiations created a $47.6 billion state...
Dissecting Pennsylvania’s Election Results
Last week, voters handily rejected Democrats’ progressive, woke, defund-the police agenda that defined the past four years.
Even many voters who often cringed at President-elect Trump or once vowed never to support him found themselves punching their ballots for him without hesitation – displaying their desire for renewed economic prosperity, a secure country, and safe neighborhoods.
Among the many things the results exposed – both in Pennsylvania and beyond – is that the Left’s long reliance on race or ethnicity as a predictor of voting patterns is finally...
Casey Won’t Admit Defeat, But Here’s Why He Lost
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey's final days in office read like a cautionary tale about the dangers of political evolution. His inbox overflows with increasingly desperate fundraising pleas – "Some bad news," "More bad news," "To avoid catastrophe" – while his campaign has embraced an unlikely role: election truther. The three-term senator now spams supporters daily, begging for $5 contributions to fund recounts against Republican Dave McCormick, whose narrow victory most media outlets have already confirmed.
The collapse of Casey's careful political balancing act offers a masterclass in how...
