Comey’s bombshells, redistricting gutted and the GOP’s internal fighting
By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times
Gosh, another boring two weeks where nothing happened in politics.
Well, except for former FBI Director James Comey apparently referring to President Donald Trump as a “Mob Boss,” Speaker of the U.S. House Paul Ryan announcing that he won’t be running for reelection to the House, the head of the Republican Congressional Campaign ripping into a local Republican...
PA18 will tell a lot about this fall’s elections
By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times
The nation’s political junkies have their eyes focused on Western Pennsylvania and it may give us a hint about November, 2018 will look like.
Money, media and focus have centered on the 18th District race, up Tuesday in a special election, outside of Pittsburgh, where Democrat Conor Lamb is at least within striking distance of Republican Rick Saccone. This matters...
New Congressional map puts all of Chesco in 6th; GOP to file suit
By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times
The new Sixth Congressional District.
It seems like almost everyone has an opinion about the new Congressional map issued Monday by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court — predictably, Democrats generally lauded it as fair, while Republicans, including President Donald Trump blasted the new plan and pledged to fight it in Federal Court.
The state court issued the new map...
Happy New Year! Surf’s up, baby!
By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times
Happy 2018! Who’s got their surfboards ready?
Because, yeah, it is becoming increasingly likely that our friends in the Republican Party might not just be facing a wave, but rather a tsunami.
But before you rush out and scream “that dirty so-and-so Trump” (as apparently so many West Wing staffers seem to do daily, per Michael Wolff’s controversial new book),...
Letter: A troubled and troubling tax reform bill
To the Editor,
I don’t know how we have found ourselves in a situation where the President of the United States who is promoting the most quickly thrown together and noxious tax reform policy in U.S. history without our citizen input, can, himself, never have publicly revealed his own taxes so that we can judge just how partially or impartially this bill is geared to the Greater Good vs. his...
Costello, Smucker appear to buck Trump, back bipartisan healthcare plan
By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times
Two local congressman — Lloyd Smucker and Ryan Costello — say a moderate, bipartisan group of House members they belong to, the Problem Solvers Caucus, have reached an agreement on a package of fixes for the Affordable Care Act, a package that could provide a framework for a true bipartisan fix for the healthcare marketplace.
After the U.S. Senate rejected a series...
After 156 years, I’m no longer the worst
By James Buchanan, The 15th President of The United States
Whew. It’s been a really long 156 years, but I have to say, but finally it feels pretty darn good.
Although there have been so many enjoyable experiences in my post-life times — wherever you’d call where I am, I don’t know, but the Cosmopolitans are to die for, so to speak — I’m no longer stuck with the title “Worst President...
Costello, Meehan dodge bullet on health care bill failure
By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times
In the end — for at least two of Chester County’s members of Congress — the decision to withdraw the American Health Care Act, the Republican’s much touted replacement for the Affordable Care Act (known more commonly as Obamacare) may have ended up as the best of a lot of bad possible outcomes.
Both Ryan Costello (R-6) and Pat Meehan (R-7) said following the...
Chesco Congress members feeling heat on health care vote
At last count, Meehan, Costello and Smucker appear to be yes votes
By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times
The fate of a controversial health care reform bill may end up in the hands of local members of the U.S. Congress — as two of them were seen as being on the fence on the bill but now said to be leaning toward “yes” votes — as the Trump Administration and Congressional Republicans scramble to...
Congress members can’t hide from the voters
By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times
The phone rang the other night during dinner, it was a phone “town hall” for U.S. Rep. Pat Meehan (R-7) — I happen to live in the 7th — but the timing was lousy and as a practicing journalist, I kind of feel like it is inappropriate as a journalist to participate in such events.
And to be honest — Meehan and his colleagues need to put on their big boy pants...
