Primary day approaches. Here are my picks and analysis

Wow — look at the calendar (providing you haven’t been blinded by the fakakta eclipse).

It’s almost Pennsylvania primary day, Tuesday, April 23, when we begin the process of choosing politicians we hope won’t disappoint us.

Starting with President, where our primary choice is between two elderly white men whom the majority of Americans want as much as scabbies.

“What a country!” as comedian Yakov Smirnoff used to say. (Did you know the Russian immigrant earned a master’s degree in psychology from Penn?) 

Since I am a (disloyal) Democrat, I get the Democratic ballot and  will only give my opinions on the Democrats. As always, I am not telling you who to vote for. I am only saying who I plan to vote for. 

(Someone named Dean Phillips is on the ballot running against Joe Biden, but Phillips dropped out and endorsed Biden.)

Since Biden’s nomination for President is assured, as a protest against his various ditherings, I will write in my own name. In November, I will vote for Biden, against Trump.

For U.S. Senate, Bob Casey is running unopposed. So he’s got my vote by default.

For Auditor General we have Philadelphia state rep Malcolm Kenyatta and Lehigh County Controller Mark Pinsley. Kenyatta has no experience in finance, so I go with Pinsley. 

For State Treasurer we get a choice of westerners — Erie’s Ryan Bizzarro, and Allegheny’s Erin McClelland. How can I not vote for someone named Bizzarro? Just think of the crap he’s had to put up with his whole life and the courage he has to not change his name.

There are five candidates for Attorney General, considered a stepping stone to the governor’s chair. Ask Josh Shapiro. Ask Tom Corbett.

I went to their campaign websites to learn about them and came away unsatisfied. 

If you have the time and interest, you can play reporter and check their websites yourself. As they are listed on the ballot: Delaware County D.A. Jack Stollsteimer. https://www.jackforag.com/ Allegheny County’s Eugene DePasquale. https://www.depasqualeforag.com/ Bucks County’s Joe Khan. https://www.joekhan.com/ Philadelphia’s Keir Bradford-Grey. https://www.keirforag.com/ Philadelphia’s Jared Solomon. https://www.jaredsolomon.com/ 

Most websites were brief, a few with very little detail. Most talked about protecting the little guy, being for voting rights and abortion reproduction freedom, protecting the environment and stopping gun crime. Not so much about stopping criminals.

No mention of sanctuary cities or illegal immigration, kind of strange in this election year when illegal immigration is a hot button.

Nor any mention of the still-controversial idea of “safe” injection sites, you know, where drug zombies go to shoot up. 

Those are two issues I care about and made a good faith effort to reach each candidate, to ask two questions, using email addresses on their website, or their place of employment:  Do you favor or oppose sanctuary cities, and do you favor or oppose so-called “safe” injection sites?

On “safe” injection sites, DePasquale replied the issue was personal to him because his father “was incarcerated as a result of addiction,” so his focus will be on getting treatment for addicts, as opposed to maintaining their addiction.

On immigration, he said his job as AG is to “enforce the law.” That sounds encouraging, if vague. 

He has no experience as a prosecutor, and neither does Jared Solomon, who sarcastically said he’d be for “safe” injection sites once they “try to open one in Rittenhouse Square.” 

As to sanctuary cities, he pointed out that the term means different things to different people. I made the question more pointed: Would you quickly turn over to ICE convicted foreign felons — which Philadelphia refused to do under Jim Kenney? He said he would. 

Stollsteimer, Khan, and Bradford-Grey did not respond to my emailed questions, but I know something about each.

Bradford-Grey is a public defender, and what we have learned from public-defender-turned-prosecutor Larry Krasner, is that we don’t want that again. She will garner some votes as the only woman and African-American candidate, but it won’t be enough.

Speaking of Krasner, when Khan — then living in Philadelphia — ran against Krasner for D.A. in 2017 he actually tried to get to Krasner’s left.

Khan stated his support for Philadelphia as a sanctuary city, and challenged his political rivals to do the same.

In that connection, Khan said his father was a Muslim immigrant, implying his father entered illegally. But he did not. His father, Zia, came here legally, obeyed the law, and had no need of a sanctuary city. 

Stollsteimer did not just blow me off, he failed to fill out a questionnaire from the reputable Ballotpedia website. Sorry, I can’t go for any public servant who thinks he doesn’t have to answer questions.

Political analysis

The Philadelphia Inquirer has endorsed DePasquale, but that’s not what clears his path to election. 

Here’s what does — the other four candidates are from the Philadelphia area, and Philadelphia is hated by voters across the state.

There are some exceptions, to be sure. Philadelphian Ed Rendell was twice elected governor.

The western part of the state has both a cultural identity and an inferiority complex (except for the Steelers). Philadelphia is the only Class 1 city in the state, and has the history, art, culture, dining, tourism, etc. 

The biggest city yonder is Pittsburgh, with a population of 302,898. Philly is five times as large. 

The combination of cultural identity and inferiority breeds a cohesion that Democrats in the eastern part of the state can’t match.

What makes DePasquale a likely winner is that the four other candidates come from the Delaware Valley and will split the potentially large Democratic vote total in the five-county area. Solomon was first up with TV ads, and he’s got deep pockets. “You don’t know Jack” Stollsteimer followed on TV. I haven’t seen any from Khan and Bradford-Grey.

What I see happening — as happened in the Philly mayoral race when Allan Domb and Jeff Brown canceled each other — is that Solomon and Stollsmeister will knock each other out, the eastern vote further diluted by Khan and Bradford-Grey, allowing DePasquale to win.

Pennsylvania is purple — sometimes blue, sometimes red — which is one reason it is a battleground state. It elects both Republicans and Democrats as governor, but whichever it is, he (so far) tends to be moderate.

Remember the great James Carville line —   Pennsylvania is anchored by two great cities with Alabama in the middle.

Not quite true, but close enough.

I think DePasquale is more moderate than the other four, but I’m going to take a chance with Solomon.

Those are my choices. Figure out who are yours, and comment if you like.