I received some lit from the Mark DeSantis campaign and I have to say that it's pitch perfect.
On the outside there's a silhouette of a man with five bullet points starting with "Progressive, people-oriented approach to government."
At the bottom in large type it reads "PITTSBURGH'S IDEAL DEMOCRATIC MAYOR..."
When you open it up, you see DeSantis in place of the silhouette and a large headline reading "ISN'T ALWAYS A DEMOCRAT."
Very clever and on point.
Other headlines inside include: "Party aside, doesn't this sound like your ideal mayor?" and "We're not asking you to change your party. Just your future."
Then there's a card to tear off and mail in to volunteer for Democrats for DeSantis.
Very well done.
If I have a chance, I may put up pics of it later.
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22 comments:
DeSantis signs are starting to sprout around the city. Have yet to see a Ravenstahl sign . . . and I agree, a great piece of DeSantis lit. They GAVE the kid a chance . . . and he blew it.
It figures that the same traitors who were once "Democrats for Roddey" are now for DeSantis. If you look at the guy's program he's basically proposing a Grover Norquist-style TABOR for Pittsburgh, but that doesn't faze the "Democrats" in Shadyside, Friendship, Squirrel Hill and the tonier parts of Highland Park. Thankfully this self-important surrounded-by-suburbanites jerk won't gain traction in the rest of the city.
Here is a photo that says all that needs to be said about Mark DeSantis. That's who you're backing. Nice going, traitor.
anonymous #2 - I'm not fond of the idea of voting R in November, but I at least want to be open to the idea, should it prove a good one. Also, please don't be so quick to judge those neighborhoods you mentioned - this pitting of neighborhoods against one another is starting to sound like the ridiculous Dowd-Bodack fight.
Signs don't win elections.
kr: Read the damn program on DeSantis' website. As I said, he is basically following the lead of Grover Norquist. To claim that he is the real "Democrat" in the race is to ignore basic facts entirely in favor of upper-middle-class fantasy land. If that amounts to "pitting neighborhood vs. neighborhood," then your argument is with reality and not with me, since I'm just the one who's pointing it out, not the one who made it that way.
DeSantis is the more liberal of the two candidates. Luke is pretty right-wing, and a very conservative person. DeSantis is a moderate Republican and a moderate. If Luke was in Maryland, he'd be a "mainstream" (and around here, that's right wing, look up Rep. Roscoe Bartlett's voting record) Republican. And DeSantis would probably be a mainstream Democrat.
And the Luke crowd has no right to talk about "traitors." After all, Luke's number one pal, Jimmy Motznik, actively campaigned for party-switcher and REPUBLICAN Michael Diven when he ran for the State Senate.
And no, lawn signs don't win elections. But a lack of lawn signs does lose elections...
There's no doubt that DeSantis' budget program amounts to Act 47 part 2, but it seems like that is what we need. The city needs fiscal discipline. DeSantis is not going to fully close the pension gap (in my opinion), but he will put more money into it. I've already said his plan is kind of rough, but Ravenstahl's budget seems like fantasy land (from what I hear, I haven't actually seen it, and yes, I take that as a reason to vote for DeSantis, who at least has posted highlights of his budget plan)
I got the same campaign lit in the mail too... I'm a registred Democrat.
I'm wondering what Desantis is sending to people who are registered as Republicans?
Mike Guss: As usual, you don't have the faintest notion of what you're talking about. Read DeSantis's actual plan on his website. It is very standard far-right municipal policy: cutting services, creating a two-tier retirement system for municipal workers, tax cuts for the rich, and arbitrarily-imposed spending controls written into the city charter in the manner of the TABOR proposed by Grover Norquist. Of course, you don't even know what TABOR is, because you don't have any interest in reality or facts: therefore you claim that DeSantis is more "progressive" than Ravenstahl, because for people like you, it's never about what you know in your head, but what you feel in your gut.
Truthiness triumphs among the liberals!
Progressive as in: He won't take gifts from interested parties (trips to NYC in private planes, $9,000 golfing outings, etc.).
Progressive as in: He won't treat the City of Pittsburgh as his own personal candy store (joyriding in Homeland Security SUVs, etc.).
Progressive as in: He won't try to put in totally unqualified cronies into positions that they have absolutely no qualifications to do (a la Luke nominating Dennis Regan for head of Public Safety).
Progressive as in: He's pro choice and won't be whispering to ACDC members how anti abortion he is (and yes, this is a city issue -- see Luke's vote on the Bubble Zone).
ETC.
Maria: I've still seen no evidence that you've actually read DeSantis's program. Go do that, and then you can come back here and try to explain to me how TABOR is "progressive."
If people like you are "progressives," then I most certainly am not.
Not wasting money. Focusing on crime. Making sure that the city is financially solvent. Mark DeSantis reminds me of another great recent Mayor, Martin O'Malley (DEMOCRAT--Baltimore), Yarone. O'Malley's people didn't use federally funded security vehicle to tailgate at country music concerts. O'Malley didn't take golf outings from interested parties. O'Malley was always good to his word, and showed up at neighborhood meetings. O'Malley's now the Governor of Maryland; and your guy, well he's a lame duck.
Also, just so you remember what I'm talking about take a look at this article: The Mayor's Pal Headed Democrats for Diven! Don't call me a traitor. Partisan affiliation basically means nothing at the local level, but it means a hell of a lot in Harrisburg.
Well, anonymous 7:20, 9:55, 11:32am, 12:21, yeah, DeSantis has a proposal to limit the growth of city government spending with a sort of wacky formula (CPI plus/minus population growth?). I don't think thats going anywhere, but it is a sort of nice club to pound city council with. The city doesn't really provide social services, but it might need to expand rapidly for some reason, so in general I would oppose such a limit.
I guess some small business men are rich, so I guess his proposal for a tax abatement for small business could be seen as a give away to the rich. Except that I would bet the majority of small business men aren't rich, and we could sure use some more businesses and jobs in town. Plus nobody is going to do well if the city goes under.
And new city workers (when we can afford them again) will probably appreciate (defined contribution) 401k's that can't be raided or under-funded. The existing workers might want to get in on that, there are tax advantages not available with traditional pensions.
Also, I'm sick of the scare tactics. Grover Norquist influencing Pittsburgh policy, please. He can't even get his number one pal, Gov. Mitch Daniels (R-Indiana) to follow TABOR. Of course, I'm guessing it's kind of hard to read in the back of the Homeland Security Par-Tee! Vehicle, so I can't really blame you for being out of the loop on that one.
Only Anon found the nonexistent TABOR link/mention on the DeSantis website.
Maria, and all of the rest of you ostriches with your heads in the sand: Once again, go read DeSantis's website, then come back here and try to claim that his proposal for a spending cap tied to CPI and population growth/decline is anything other than a TABOR. Read the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities' description of what TABOR is. TABOR was a disaster in Colorado, and I shouldn't have to argue about the merits of TABOR with anyone who is a self-proclaimed "progressive." That's obviously not where Ed Heath is coming from anyway, so I'm not interested in engaging him at this point. I'm interested in disabusing the rest of you ignoramuses who think you're liberals or even on the left or "progressive," and who are thinking of voting for the right-wing candidate for mayor.
Mike Guss: I am quite pleased that Norquist hasn't had as much success as he's wanted to have, but that's no thanks to people like you. You actually want to make a Norquist ally mayor of Pittsburgh. Once again, read DeSantis's actual proposal and tell me that that bullshit is anything other than a TABOR. As for your effusive praise of Tommy Carcetti or whatever his name is, the less said the better.
Yarone: I have read DeSantis' proposal. It's not exactly what I want from a city government. But it is what is needed.
The reality is that with a crushing debt and a looming pension disaster, Pittsburgh can't afford to have all the bells and whistles in a local government. Somethings have to bite the dust in order to make sure that the schools still open, the roads are paved and that the police, firefighters and EMTs show up quickly. Those--not wasteful street face grants, or political trash picker-uppers--are the essential functions of local government.
That's what the Mayor should be focused on. That's what DeSantis said he'll be focused on. I was one of those people that did give the Mayor a chance. And he had lost any chance with me the nano second he named Denny Regan as Public Safety chair. If Denny wants to go lead the Redder Uppers, fine, I don't care. But to play politics with public safety (as he did again in June), is inexcusable and down right reckless.
Also, if we had a Mayor that didn't constantly drive around in government-owned and operated cars with two body guards to go partying, maybe there'd be a few crumbs left over for the parks.
DeSantis is the better choice. He's a moderate Republican, not a right-wing flame thrower. The only better person the Republicans have is Paul O'Neil. I would've preferred an ethical Democrat, but since one is not on the ballot, I am supporting the Republican.
I never praised anyone named Tommy. Merely the Governor of Maryland, Martin O'Malley, D-Baltimore, who is a good and ethical public servant. Surely you've heard of his work called CitStat? That system helped Baltimore get out of a hole not unlike Pittsburgh's. But it doesn't work if it's staffed by cronies, so it's probably a bad idea for your guy.
DeSantis voted for GWB not once, but twice and supported Santorum, AND had the poor judgement to admit to it in the Post Gazette. He had me until that. I wish we could vote for none of the above.
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