Progress Pittsburgh

Here are some blog posts, article and links that you may have missed.

• Curmudgeon’s Chronicle: City’s historic documents shamefully neglected – What may qualify as the briefest display of historic documents in Western civilization opens and closes in Pittsburgh's City Hall today.
• Ravenstahl gets ex-president’s help at fundraiser – Pittsburgh Tribune-Review – Ravenstahl predicts the event will help him boost his war chest to $750,000 by year's end. Doing so either could scare off would-be competitors or allow him to wage an expensive re-election campaign, if necessary.
• Bill likes Luke; big bucks flow – That loud sucking sound coming from Downtown Pittsburgh tomorrow will be the sound big-pocketed Democrats make when mindlessly emptying their wallets.

  The situation raises a question, though. In today's economy, who has $500 burning such pigeon-sized holes in their pocket that they're willing to throw it at a mayoral campaign that faces no tangible opposition beyond a few feisty blogs?

  At a time when the Thomas Merton Center, one of our most dedicated peace and justice nonprofits in the area, is struggling to stay afloat, a re-evaluation of our financial priorities is long overdue.

  My colleague and friend Joe Sabino Mistick, a columnist for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review who worked for Mayor Sophie Masloff, has already called on Mr. Ravenstahl to donate 100 percent of tomorrow's haul to the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank.

Two results that people seemed to be surprised about is that Obama won by so much in Pittsburgh (58%-41%) and that Obama did not win by more in Philadelphia (65%-35%).

Here’s a comparison of the two cities by census data (2006 estimates).  (Note that this is not necessarily representative of the registered Democratic electorate, but since both cities are overwhelmingly Democratic, we’re going to pretend that it’s pretty close, and it shouldn’t make too much of a difference for comparison.)

Philadelphia is a slightly younger city overall, though Pittsburgh has a higher proportion of the population both between the ages of 20 and 35 and over the age of 65.  Philadelphia has a much higher African American population, and they also have a higher Latino population.

I started to pull these numbers together to ask whether it is true that Pittsburgh overperformed and Philadelphia underperformed for Obama (based on who each candidate’s supposed base is), but I don’t think these numbers tell that story.  Here’s some outstanding questions I have:  Did the Pittsburgh or Philadelphia staff have a better ground game on Election Day?  Did the Obama campaign’s decision not to give out street money in Philadelphia cause ward chairs to sit the election out, or even work the streets for Clinton?

Progressive Democrats in Western Pennsylvania are used to depending on our population-rich neighbor to the east in statewide elections, but this should be a reminder to everyone in the State that when you are starting from behind, votes don’t come automatically.

I was canvassing knocking on doors in Central Lawrenceville for most of today, and I couldn’t help but notice that, with the election only one day away, many of the households had been targeted by both campaigns.  I’d be hard pressed to come up with a prediction that I felt very comfortable with, but I’d guess that Obama might win the 9th ward by a few points.  Lawrenceville’s voting history does not really give too many clues.  There are probably a few more Obama signs around, but of course, if signs voted then we would not even need to bother going to polls.  That can be a signn of a little more enthusiasm, however.  I think the difference will be made by the new voters:  both new residents and residents who have lived in Lawrenceville their whole lives, but will be voting for the first time.

THE PA Presidential Debate Watch Party

On Wednesday, April 16^th, ABC News, the National Constitution Center and WPVI-TV will host a Democratic Presidential Candidate debate, moderated by ABC News anchors Charles Gibson and George Stephanopoulos. The debate will air from 8-10 PM ET/PT on the ABC Television Network. This debate between Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama will be held at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. Black Youth Vote! a national project based in Washington, DC, will host a debate watch party in Pittsburgh as part of their tour through Pennsylvania. This event will be produced in partnership with a number of local, statewide and national organizations to promote civic involvement among young African-American voters and to encourage their participation in the April 22nd primary election.

• Wednesday April 16th, 2008 – 6:30pm to 10:00pm (Debate begins at 8:00pm)
• Ava Lounge – 126 South Highland Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15206
• Featuring: DJ, Free Food, Giveaways & Lively Discussion
• TO RSVP: roxanne@youngvoter.net
  
• *This is an 18 and over event

I have recieved a few emails about door-knocking for Obama and Clinton this weekend.

Thus far:

• Obama -  Harmar/Springdal
• Obama – Forrest Hills
  • Meet at Forrest Hills Coffee Shop, Sat. 4/12/08 at Noo
  • More Info: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/48td

Know of others?  See a door-knocker in your neighborhood? Leave a comment.  Maybe we can try to get a map going of which campaigns are in which neighborhood.

The Clinton campaign has just announced that this ad will begin airing in PA. What is up with the use of the “its 3am line” – is it really effective? What do you think – will this ad influence votes?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XpaK-cGO9U[/youtube] More »

Rumor has it that both Clinton and Obama now have offices and staff here in Pittsburgh.

Here is the contact info we have:

Clinton: Stephanie Rex – 814.873.1203 or westernpa.4hillary@gmail.com

Obama: westernpaforobama.com

If you have additional information about the campaigns please share by leaving a comment

Here is an event for anyone is undecided about the presidential primary.  I think this should be a very interesting conversation.

Are you a Democrat? Are you still undecided who to vote for in the upcoming Pennsylvania primary? Would you like a chance to talk to someone who has worked closely with Hillary Clinton to learn more about her as a person and as a Presidential candidate?

If you answered YES please join Sally Katzen, former deputy assistant to the President for Economic Policy in the Clinton Administration, for a discussion about Senator Clinton. In Sally’s own words: “I want to talk about the choices the people of Pennsylvania have — the first time in many years where they have a real voice in the selection of the Democratic nominee for President. I can talk about Senator Clinton’s position on the issues, her real solutions to the problems facing the country, her character and values, her electability and anything else anyone wants to talk about.”

RSVP: Please let us know if you plan to attend by emailing: hhnorman@verizon.net
What: A conversation about Hillary Clinton with Sally Katzen
Where: The Juring Home at 2223 Beechwood Blvd, Pittsburgh PA 15217
When: Sunday March 2 at 11am