In this my last (Promise!) Primary Day-related post, I want to reflect on some of the news stories that appeared in The Philadelphia Inquirer on Tuesday for which the LONG, SLOW  Day of Apathy allowed me entirely too much time for idle thinking and obsessive analysis.  This is a semi-regular feature of the blog.  It allows me to share some views on the news of the day; and in this case, some of the products of having way too much time to contemplate the world around me.

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1.  Social Security Steps Up Pace to Insolvency 

The Associated Press reports that Social Security has picked up down-hill momentum towards the black hole of insolvency, lopping three years off the estimated date when – if the status quo is maintained – the program so many count on for retirement funds and disability payments will become insolvent.  The date-to-insolvency took a few steps closer because millions of baby boomers are now hitting the SS roles, the weak state of the U.S. economy, and the politicians’ reluctance to bite the bullet and fix the problem!

Lower payroll receipts also appeared linked to high energy costs as employers cut back on hours of operation so to save on energy.  56 million Americans rely on Social Security payments for retirement or for disability.  The average retirement benefit is $1,232/month, the average disability payment $1,111. 

Before I go any further, I must mention that I have no dog in the Social Security fund.  I ama Civil Service Retirement System-eligible employee of the U.S. Navy.  I do not pay into SS; I will not get anything out of the program either.  I am constantly in awe of all the people who fret about Social Security going away because of insolvency, yet they push back hard at any attempt to even open discussions on finding potential solutions.

Hey whatever … Just hope your money is still there when it’s your time to retire.

If SS and Medicare exhausts their trust funds the U.S. Government would collect enough in taxes to pay only 75% of current benefit levels for SS, 87% for Medicare, which currently serves 50 million people.

At some point, Someone in Congress will have to step up, grab America by the scruff of the neck, and shake them into coherence. Unfortunately, that person – hero that they would truly be – would then become a political eunich following the inevitable castration by the nervous herd of American taxpayers and the likes of AARP, who would rather walk around with their hands over their ears singing “La la la la la la la” than face the reality of this worsening situation.

I’m just glad I’m not counting on Social Security for my Life After Retirement!

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2. An Incredible Dream

Comcast Corporation has just released a 424-page history of the corporation entitled, “An Incredible Dream“.  The book is neither a tell-all docudrama, nor is it a casual coffee table conversation piece.  In fact, unless you work for Comcast, you will not even be able to buy it.

The book with founder Ralph Roberts image gracing the cover is intended to serve simply as an authorized history of the corporation for the purposes of integrating new hires and for use by Comcast public relations people to polish the corporation’s image by getting the facts down on paper.

The book traces the company’s beginning as a small local cable provider in Mississippi to a corporation with $50 billion in annual revenue.  Its release was timed to coincide with Ralph Roberts’ recent 92nd birthday.

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3.  Hunger Games

Saw the movie Hunger Games recently.  Very dark, foreboding movie about the cruel and vindictive penalties forced upon a fictional set of Districts within a twisted materialistic, post-apocalyptic North America.  The tribute which the rebellious Districts (13 of them, by the way) must offer each year is that of a male and female adolescent for the Hunger Games fight-to-the-death. 

It was sad, ugly, bold, and fascinating.

The competition is televised of course!  Hosted in a Metropolis populated with exotic personalities.  Think Lady Gaga  crossed with Munchkins from Wizard of Oz.  Really strange.  But a good story that pushes the mind to the “What if?” 

That’s just a little background to set up my subject.  See the movie.  It’s a good film.

Anyway on Primary Tuesday I read two interesting views on applying the movie to potential political outcomes in a given nation (i.e. here).  One alluded to The Hunger Games as a Big Government cautionary tale.  Another saw a government hijacked by greed and materialism with no services for the poor, no compassion, no justice for the oppressed. 

After thinking about it, I came up with my own storyline.

The Metropolis, with all these weird people, was obviously New York!  Maybe San Francisco, possibly LA … But definitely a Liberal bastion.  Of course this means the Leftists won the war … somehow … probably by taxing the Districts to death and then outspending them with their own money.  So the 13 Districts (13 Colonies?) rebelled and were crushed, thereby allowing the Liberals to go hog-wild on colorful clothing, wacky hairdos, and whacked out reality TV.  The Hunger Games allow the Liberals to distract all the Districts – both loyal and rebellious – from the fact that they have no Economic Plan!

Just sayin’ …

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4.  Number of illegal immigrants from Mexico drops

For the first time in decades the number of illegal aliens from Mexico living in the U.S. dropped.  Roughly 900,000 fewer illegal workers are living here.  Which just goes to show that even an illegal migrant hates a crappy economy!

If you took the time to read my recap of Tuesday’s primary voting you also would have noted how unbelievably bored I was during what  a long, long day.  In the best of circumstances you have  candidate choices or tough – even the occasional NASTY  – campaigns that pique the interest of voters and motivates them to get to the polls and perform their civic duty!

The other favorable part of that scenario – from a poll watcher’s point-of-view – is that it makes the day go quickly.  You’re busy greeting voters, passing along information and maybe a political preference or two.  You have the opportunity to converse with neighbors you rarely get to see.  And if that community relationship permits, you can get into some very interesting political discussions. 

But that doesn’t happen on a day like this past Tuesday.  And – believe me – you miss it when you’re there at the polls for the better part of 13 hours.  It was a REALLY long day …

And yet as the day wound down with just a few hours left for voting, I had a chance to meet and speak to one of the least known Presidential candidates running for the Republican Presidential nomination!  Pennsylvania State Senator Stuart Greenleaf stopped by to say, “Hi!”  (For the Senator’s benefit, this was at the Horsham Fire Department building on Meetinghouse Road.)

The buzz you’re hearing are those people, who do not live in the Philadelphia region of Pennsylvania (and even quite of few of those who do), offering up a collective “Who???”  That’s right … Presidential candidate Stuart Greenleaf!  You probably had no idea he was running. 

Well, he’s not … not really. 

Greenleaf simply wants to be heard.  He believes he has legitimate ideas for solutions to real problems.  When he couldn’t attract the attention of a national candidate, he decided to become one.  However, when a virtual unknown – nationally anyway – runs for President, it takes an enormous amount of arm waving to attract any attention.  This is why you might have read about his candidacy in local papers but never heard another word about it.

Yet, he pressed on.  Why?, you might ask …

Senator Greenleaf is a man worried over the future of the United States of America.  He’s concerned about the deficit condition of the Federal Government.  He’s concerned about the competitive status of American Businesses, especially American Small Businesses.  He concerned about the health of the U.S. dollar.  He’s concerned about the effect illegal immigration is having on the under-employment of American workers.  And he’s concerned about Intellectual Property Rights on ideas and products developed by Americans.

Essentially, Stuart Greenleaf is concerned about all the things important to the global status of the US of A!

Now obviously, Senator Greenleaf has no expectation of propping his feet atop The Oval Office desk this January.  No, his intent was to draw attention to the what he considers the Biggest Problems we face as a nation looking to remain economically free, strong, and a leader among the Community of Nations.  His desire is to invigorate the discourse and creativity needed by offering up his own ideas and pushing them out into the American Public Square. 

All Senator Greenleaf wanted was to open a discussion, perhaps getting one of the national Republican candidates – Mitt Romney now his primary target – to listen and consider these ideas for use in their own campaign, to stoke the National Debate.

One of his proposals is unique.  It’s the one I have the hardest time wrapping my head around.  This concept is to capitalize – or back – the “U.S. monopoly dollar” (my wording) with the estimated $127 trillion (Greenleaf’s figure) in federal holdings of lands, property, timber, mineral rights, etc.  Greenleaf holds that doing so is infinitely better than holding a dollar backed essentially by NOTHING.  He claims such a valuation would permit the U.S. Treasury to print enough fully backed, REAL money to wipe out our $15 trillion national debt! 

Now I’m no economist, and a lot gets by me whenever a discussion swings around to the debt, the deficit, and the economy.  But the idea of capitalizing the dollar in this way – at the very least – intrigues me.  Is it a rational, practical solution to the national debt nightmare ?  I have no idea; but I’d like to see it vetted in sight of the American taxpayer!

What I do know is that I really, really like the fact that SOMEONE is thinking “outside the box”; looking for solutions;  unafraid of the catcalls and derision one side or the other always seems to enjoy raining down on someone who climbs out on the narrow limb;  seeking consensus on solutions by simply trying to open the discussion!

When I think of the distinction between an elected Representative – be it at the State or Federal level – and a Senator, I see the Representative (Congressman federally) as the one who controls the way the Government runs and the way it is funded to provide the services expected of it.  When I think of Senator on either level, I envision a Protector of the Interests of the People. 

One Greenleaf quote from his website reads as follows:        

“A debt-free USA is a truly free USA – no longer hostage to foreign creditors, no longer enslaving future generations to unconscionable indebtedness, no longer trapped in an economic paralysis.  By restoring American solvency, we will restore American sovereignty and our greatness as an engine of enterprise and prosperity for all our citizens.” – Senator Stewart Greenleaf

In my utopian view of how Government representation should work, Stuart Greenleaf is doing exactly what we should expect of a State Senator.  He is looking out for the Interests of the People!

For that reason I told Senator Greenleaf I admired the fact that he put himself out there, as a lonely State Senator with absolutely no concern for the cut of criticism or the apathy of those afraid to take a chance, to push us up that first step.  He wasn’t doing it for himself or for ambition, certainly not to become the Most Powerful Man in the World.  I told him I was proud because he did this in the interests of my children’s future.  

Hopefully at some point, They might start listening and maybe – just maybe – start seriously talking about how best to fix things.

Another Pennsylvania primary, another very long, very quiet, very dull day …

The good news is that the battle lines have been formed for the General Election on November 6!  Since the presidential slates are already determined, we will skip right to the contested primary battles that were decided yesterday.

On the Republican side businessman Tom Smith was the overwhelming favorite (39%) to face off against incumbent Senator Bob Casey.  This was a direct rejection of Governor Tom Corbett’s attempt to strong-arm the PA GOP into backing Steve Welch (20.8%), an on-again, off-again Democrat … er … Republican.  My dark horse pick and eventual Cranky Man vote getter, Sam Rohrer ran a surprising 2nd (22.4%), well behind Mr. Smith.

One has to wonder if Senator Casey will finally come out of his shell to face the Republican challenge and re-acquaint himself with the Pennsylvania electorate he represents.  He has been laying low for quite some time.  The only stand of note which Casey has taken lately was to condemn the Washington Nationals baseball team for their “Take back the ballpark”, anti-Phillies fan program.  Maybe SEN Casey is a bit tentative in associating himself to closely with President Obama, who is unpopular in most areas of the state not called Philadelphia.  Time will tell.

The only other Republican race of note – for nomination for Auditor General – was won by John Maher by an almost 2-1 margin over Frank Pinto. 

On the Democrats side, the only real race of interest was a nasty head-to-head contest between local wunderkind, Patrick Murphy and Kathleen Kane, a former Lackawanna County prosecutor.  This race was the nastiest.  Nastier even than the Tom Smith-Steve Welch contest.  In the end, Kane’s Pennsylvania judicial credentials won out over Murphy, who had none.  Kane will face Cumberland County prosecutor David Freed, who ran unopposed.

Aside from local questions, unopposed incumbents and challengers, and the selection of National Convention delegates, that was that.

The real story – however – was the wealth of apathy expressed by local voters.  Certainly there was a lack of big headline races with the concession of Rick Santorum in the presidential primary.  But there were several other important and very interesting partisan races as described above.  Yet turnout was extremely low on a beautiful April day. 

I know, I was there … all day and evening long!  Primary days are torture plain and simple.

Anyways, I have my theory as to why voters simply show no interest in selecting the candidates who will represent said voters’ purported civics and government philosophy in the General Election (GE). 

1.  Everyday voters simply do not care who picks the candidates that will represent them.  For some reason, they are quite content for Party Leadership – be it Democrat or Republican – to do the picking for them.  Yet as we saw yesterday, the Party Leadership does not always reflect the intent nor the best interests of the party voter.  Party leaders do not always have their hand on the pulse of their constituents.  Why most voters don’t seem to care, I have no answer.

2.  The above of course assumes that voters are paying attention.  You have to know there is a primary election to decide – or choose – to not care enough to vote.  It’s hard to reconcile that thought with the fact that this is a Presidential Election Year!  There is an overwhelming – even annoying – level of political news coverage during these campaigns.  Certainly, Rick Santorum’s decision to pull the plug on his national campaign kept voters away, as did the fact that no Democrat challenged President Obama for The Oval Office nomination.  But you have to wonder what keeps voters away from the polls when important local and regional nominations are being decided.

3.  Voters simply do not identify closely with the Parties they list as representing their political philosophy.  This is my personal choice to explain voter apathy in the primaries.  In this scenario, voters make a clear distinction between the collective identification of being a Democrat or a Republican and the leadership that actually manages, organizes, and pulls the levers operating the party’s apparatus.  The voter does not see themselves as Decision Makers, only perhaps endorsers of decisions already formulated for them.  These decisions – made by the Party Leadership – are not defined simply by who appears on the officially endorsed party slate of candidates.  It includes who gets the majority share of Party campaign funding, Party endorsement speakers, and Party-provided campaign logistics.  Here the voter sees the decisions about who will run “for them” being made weeks or months before they even step into the booth.  They are there just to rubber stamp the selections.

Either way you cut it, it’s a puzzling picture of political apathy.

Another primary day is upon us.  But much of the excitement has been drained with the recent concession of Rick Santorum for the Republican presidential nod.  This development removed whatever caché tomorrow’s vote held for most people, including me.  Yet like any other primary day – boring though they tend to be – important decisions will be made with or without our participation.

The Presidential race really isn’t worth mentioning, unless you are looking to make a statement.  Frankly, I was willing to cast my ballot for Santorum, based on his principles and despite the fact that his steadfast belief in those principles was what often made him unattractive to many voters.  It matters not now; but I’ll still give Rick my vote … as a statement.

The most interesting Pennsylvania race involves Republican choices for a candidate to challenge U.S. Senator Bob Casey.  The field is crowded with five potential candidates: Steve Welch, Tom Smith, Sam Rohrer, Marc Scaringi, and Dave Christian.

Steve Welch is being pushed by the Pennsylvania GOP as the party-endorsed candidate.  But that endorsement was not a smooth ride with many local GOP committees pushing for local candidates or those with far better Republican records and conservative leanings.  To understand my point here, try googling Steve Welch and note the entry “Steve Welch Democrat”.  It’s interesting because just like Arlen Spector, Welch likes to go where victory is more likely.  He was a Republican before he became a Democrat which preceded his decision to become a Republican … again!  Then just as incredible as that story sounds, Governor Tom Corbett strong-arms the State Republican Committee to endorse Welch – barely – for what looks like to be a very good chance to unseat Bob Casey this November.  Unfortunately, Welch looks no better than Casey when you consider Welch’s outspoken support for Barack Obama in the 2008 Presidential election and his support for Joe Sestak in 2006. 

Is that REALLY the kind of “Republican” you want taking on Bob Casey???

If not, then you probably don’t want Tom Smith either.  Smith was not only a Democrat but also a Democratic committeeman.  He re-registered as a Democrat as late as 2005.  So you have to wonder … Why does Welch and Smith seem so smitten with being Republicans now?  Was it because they perceived a weak Republican Senatorial field and a path to a senatorial office easier than challenging an incumbent Democrat from within the Democratic Party?  Who knows?  I just know it smells kinda funny, so I’ll be voting for Sam Rohrer.

Rohrer was a Pennsylvania State Representative for nine terms (18 years).  Fourteen of those years were spent on the Appropriations Committee.  He has a solid record on Conservative economic issues.  What’s best is he’s been a Republican and stayed one all along!

The biggest decision Horsham residents of the Pennsylvania 13th Congressional District will be made by Democrats, who have a choice even if that choice does not show up on the ballot.  Incumbent Allyson Schwartz has a challenger who she chased off the ballot using the courts and the threat of financial retribution.  As a result, Nate Kleinman is mounting a shot-in-the-dark write-in campaign to unseat Schwartz in the Democrat primary.   It’s the kind of politics played by those with all the Power and all the Money.  The kind of politics that does not like to take chances with the vagaries of voter preference and free choice.  For that reason alone, I’d LOVE to see Nate Kleinman accomplish the almost impossible!

The winner will face Joe Rooney, a resident of Ardsley and the lone Republican who has filed to run in the November general election. 

The only other truly juicy primary race involves – once again – the Democrat side of the primary ballot.  Kathleen Kane and Patrick Murphy square off for the Democrat’s nod in the Pennsylvania Attorney General race.  I have already said my piece on the qualifications of one of these candidates who has NEVER prosecuted a criminal case for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania!  Patrick Murphy walks and talks like a politician looking for a nice place to hang his hat until the Democratic National Committee comes calling once again. 

The only other State primary contest is for the Republican nomination for Auditor General between Frank A. Pinto and John Maher.  Maher has the State GOP endorsement; but as we saw above, that’s not always the most savory choice.  I do not know enough about either of these men to make a recommendation.

Don’t forget to vote!