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Random Thoughts from a Rainy Day...
Posted 3-26-2007
The weather is perfect for the feeling Pitt fans
like myself have after another exit from the Big Dance in the
Sweet Sixteen round. The worst thing about the loss to Ben
Howland's UCLA team was that they tried their best to give the
game to us, and the Panthers just wouldn't grab control. For
those of us that bleed Blue and Gold, it was another painful
reminder that we just aren't there yet with the teams that will
challenge for the national championship. But we are close, and
this year's loss was the most frustrating of any of their recent
NCAA tournament losses.
Sports aside, the day for dropping off the
ballot for this year's election has happened, and the Democratic
field for county commissioner has become a little thinner. Yes
for all his bluster, Mike O'Barto's campaign crashed and burned.
He may not have gotten around to talking about "issues" but that
was no one's fault but his and his campaign manager.
O'Barto's campaign manager sure had a lot of
nerve stating people at the Courthouse pressured his employer to
get him to stop helping O'Barto. That is just one more example
of the reckless nature of some people in politics. He knows what
he did and the overtures that were made to the remaining
Democratic challenger. His comments were an insult to the
Hempfield School District and insinuate that they suppressed his
right to participate in the political process. We all know there
are plenty of employees from that school district that
participate in politics. So to try to twist things to cover for
his own actions really speaks volumes about the type of people
Mike O'Barto surrounded himself with.
Deep down I think O'Barto saw the writing on the
wall, and if the action of his campaign manager provided him the
opportunity to bow out that is a good thing. It is a shame Mike
listened to some people that were not really looking out for him
because, at least from my perspective, we had always had a
friendly relationship. As I mentioned before, we had appointed
Mike to the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission and had a
positive relationship with him as leader of his township. One
thing you can be sure of, we will always work with his township
to serve the people in ways that improve their quality of life
as we do with all municipal governments.
I am enjoying watching Perry Christopher
fracture the Republican Party on a daily basis. The best part is
he spreads his hypocrisy with a straight face. The latest
nonsense is that Mike O'Barto and Pittsburgh Mayoral candidate
Bill Peduto should not have withdrawn from their races but that
the unendorsed candidates on the Republican side for county
commissioner here should step aside. Why should Democrats fight
with each other but Republican voters should take the word of
Perry and his minions as to who to support for county
commissioner? Just keep going Perry, you've already alienated a
good man in Jim Bortz and his followers, how are you going to
dance around this thing if your endorsed candidates don't win,
or even if they do after you've disrespected half of your
party's candidates for commissioner?
I've been on all sides of the endorsement
process as I was first elected in 1995 without being endorsed,
won with an "open" primary in 1999, and have been endorsed since
then. But it is a free country and if candidates ignore the will
of their party's committee, that is part of the political
process.
And finally, Perry thinks anyone that would run
next year against Regola would be an opportunist because of the
tragedy that surrounds the freshman senator. Does that mean he
should be a state senator for life and no one should challenge
him? C'mon Perry even Republicans that have been registered that
way longer than four years may think it is time for a change.
Maybe Regola should do the right thing and not seek re-election?
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