Today, Pennsylvania -- and to a large extent the entire country -- is waiting to hear a Commonwealth Court judge's (second) ruling on the state Voter ID law. Keep your computer tuned to this station for updates. In the meantime, Allegheny County's own Voter ID program was rolled out last night. Just under three dozen voters showed up.
I'm not a high-powered political consultant, but it seems to me that, if your presidential campaign has a chance in Pennsylvania, your surrogates wouldn't have to spend this much time arguing that you have a chance in Pennsylvania. But the key takeaway quote from state Republican chair Rob Gleason -- already seized upon by Democrats -- is here: "A lot of people see [Romney] as a moderate, not a conservative. You know what's nice about him? He can be anything you want him to be." Not only is that exactly the kind of Etch-a-Sketch assessment that is torpedoing his candidacy, but lines like "He can be anything you want him to be" sounds like the state GOP is getting its talking points from, like, the Wilkes-Barre Tourism Council.
Andrew Lee, the owner of a North Side cigar shop, is being charged for allegedly filing a false PFA against Pittsburgh Police commander Rashall Brackney Residents suspect Lee of using the PFA earlier this year to prevent Brackney from testifying about after-hours activity at his establishment.
If you're looking for a high-profile race in which outside money is poisoning politics, here's your poster child right here.
By the way, did you know there's a race for state Auditor General? Oh, it's true. But since it's an above-board debate with a serious, substantive discussion of the issues, no one is paying much attention. Except maybe Above Average Jane, who has a recap of their recently televised debate here.
In today's Utterly Meaningless Municipal Ranking dispatch, we learn that Pittsburgh ranks #5 as a "college town" -- at least among mid-sized cities. Which sounds great, until you get to the end of this story, and learn that "[m]id-size cities ranking better than Pittsburgh were San Jose, Austin, Oklahoma City and Buffalo." Oklahoma City? They don't even have evolution there, do they?
Yes, designating 2012 as the "Year of the Bible" was a rock-stupid bit of obvious pandering by state legislators. And no, there's nothing you can do about it.
