Political Campaigns

Few are more steeped in Pennsylvania party politics than Democratic power broker David L. Cohen. The Comcast executive vice president has long been known as the go-to fund-raiser for Democratic candidates. He is credited as the chief strategist behind former Gov. Ed Rendell's successful political career, and President Obama in 2011 described him as a "great friend. " Now, just as the 2014 governor's race is beginning to heat up, Cohen says he will likely back Republican Gov. Corbett's reelection campaign.

THEY'RE SOME OF the biggest players in Philly politics, yet you've probably never heard of them. They're behind the scenes, advising politicians, unions, public officials and CEOs on what to say, where to go and who to talk to. They strategize on political and issue campaigns, putting a spin on the facts to favor their clients, from charter schools to soda taxes. They are Philadelphia's top political media consultants, and what follows is a who's who of folks in the know.

The jury in Rep. Bill DeWeese's political corruption trial deliberated for six hours Thursday before breaking for the day without a verdict. The jurors asked for evidence to be brought back to the deliberation room, including copies of the transcript of DeWeese's grand jury testimony. Dauphin County Court President Judge Todd A. Hoover denied that request but allowed them to review several boxes containing leave slips that legislative employees submitted when they conducted political work during legislative hours.

In a move hailed by consumer groups and condemned by electric utilities, the state House overwhelmingly approved a measure yesterday setting new controls over what utilities can charge their customers. The bill, which also extends the life of the state Public Utility Commission, was approved on a 173-26 roll-call vote without a word of opposition. The vote came only a few hours after the compromise measure was approved by a six-member House-Senate conference committee.

Unfortunately, there appears to be little likelihood that the Supreme Court will reconsider its landmark ruling two years ago that has allowed corporations to dump obscene amounts of cash into political campaigns without revealing their activity. Hopes that the court might come to its senses were dashed two weeks ago when it overruled a Montana Supreme Court ruling upholding that state's 1912 law banning corporate political donations. Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer is calling for a federal constitutional amendment prohibiting corporate donations.

After voting regularly for 40 years, I feel that we need a better way of maintaining political checks, balances and affecting change. The traditional Republican and Democratic Parties are today less important than conservative, liberal and moderate approaches to national problems. The 1986 political campaigns, with their personal attacks against candidates, discouraged the faithful voters and reinforced the feelings of non-voting adult children that "all politicians are corrupt" and "what's the use of my voting?"

I was a reporter for 50 years before my retirement. I have always been a defender of press freedom, one of the great pillars of our free society. But such a privilege should be equated with responsibility. The Inquirer, in its Oct. 12 editorial endorsing Sen. Francis J. Lynch for re-election to the state Senate from the Second District, did not show much responsibility. Of course, it had the right to endorse Sen. Lynch, under the First Amendment, but it struck a low blow to Joe O'Donnell, Sen. Lynch's opponent, when, referring to Mr. O'Donnell's remarks about Mayor Goode, it said he had "injected a whiff of racism" into the political campaign.

THANKS TO columnist Phil Goldsmith for pointing out the absence of female candidates in the mayor's race. And why out of 15 at-large Council candidates is there only one woman running? Philadelphia NOW has spent some time trying to figure out why. We've come to the conclusion that we will have more women running for office when we have real campaign finance reform - public financing of elections. Some of our Philadelphia NOW members have considered running, but backed out or decided not to enter the fray.

In what could be a landmark case, the Supreme Court will decide whether low state limits on campaign contributions are valid or are unconstitutional restrictions on freedom of expression. A federal appeals court has invalidated Missouri's $1,075 limit on individual contributions to statewide political campaigns. The lower court reasoned that free speech was unconstitutionally impaired because the Missouri contribution limit, when adjusted for inflation, was much lower than the $1,000 federal ceiling Congress passed in 1974 and the Supreme Court upheld in 1976.

As important as it is to find out the truth about the Internal Revenue Service's targeting of conservative organizations to enforce tax laws, more emphasis should be placed on the broken political campaign-finance system that led to the IRS's unacceptable behavior. The nation's laws on who and what can contribute campaign money are so porous that almost any person, group, or company can spend any amount to influence voters - even if what they say is a lie. Inadequate disclosure invites foreign interests to get involved.

HARRISBURG - A group that aired a TV ad critical of Republican Gov. Corbett is the impetus for a planned hearing before the House State Government Committee, the panel's chairman said yesterday. Rep. Daryl Metcalfe said he believes the Pennsylvanians for Accountability group is required to register as a state political committee and disclose contributions and expenditures because it's trying to influence the outcome of an election. He said the committee plans an informational hearing June 5. "They appear to be a political committee more than anything else," the Butler County Republican said, also citing the group's ads last year that targeted four Republican candidates for the Legislature.

Few are more steeped in Pennsylvania party politics than Democratic power broker David L. Cohen. The Comcast executive vice president has long been known as the go-to fund-raiser for Democratic candidates. He is credited as the chief strategist behind former Gov. Ed Rendell's successful political career, and President Obama in 2011 described him as a "great friend. " Now, just as the 2014 governor's race is beginning to heat up, Cohen says he will likely back Republican Gov. Corbett's reelection campaign.

WE Philadelphians hold these truths to be self-evident, that Ed Rendell, our former mayor and governor, is an irrepressible flirt who loves to be spoken about in terms of future potential rather than accumulated legacy. Proof could be found in Tuesday's New York Times , which cited "high-powered advisers" to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg who are now searching for the city's next mayor. Among the big-league names floated: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer, New York Daily News owner Mort Zuckerman and . . . our own New York-born Rendell.

THEY'RE SOME OF the biggest players in Philly politics, yet you've probably never heard of them. They're behind the scenes, advising politicians, unions, public officials and CEOs on what to say, where to go and who to talk to. They strategize on political and issue campaigns, putting a spin on the facts to favor their clients, from charter schools to soda taxes. They are Philadelphia's top political media consultants, and what follows is a who's who of folks in the know.

PARIS - He faces the possibility of charges on allegations he took advantage of an aging heiress to get envelopes stuffed with illegal cash for his presidential campaign. His party is mired in an internal feud. And still France's conservatives see Nicolas Sarkozy as their best hope to return to power. It's a sign of how polarizing the former president is for the French: Many were suspicious of his close ties to the wealthy and threw him out of office; supporters see him as the only person able to save the country's economy and wish he'd return.

AS WE WATCHED last night's nail-biting voting results, the tight race reminded us what an Obama loss would mean: * The potential for a significant overhaul of health care - gone, and with it, coverage for millions. * A jobs-creation strategy based on investment rather than a more dubious strategy of tax cuts for the wealthy - gone, and with it, a strengthening economy that could turn back to instability. * A foreign policy based on rational and complex diplomacy instead of the bombastic approach we saw in the Bush administration - gone.

By Steve Hallock Last week, a group of foreign journalists and politicians visiting Pittsburgh to learn about the presidential election wondered why we Americans and our media allow blatant lies to enter the discussion. Beyond the obvious answer that they are protected by the First Amendment, this is an important question, especially given journalists' prominent role in disseminating political information. The first tenet of the Society of Professional Journalists' Code of Ethics admonishes, "Seek truth and report it; journalists should be honest, fair, and courageous in gathering and interpreting information.

Target wrote the book on targeting. The retail giant utilizes what's called "predictive analytics" to influence the purchasing habits of its customers. And now, that same level of sophistication is shaping our political campaigns as they seek to drive their vote to the polls Nov. 6. Two books tell the story when read in tandem. The first is Charles Duhigg's The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business , which reveals how Target assigns its clients a code, referred to internally as a Guest ID, which tracks what we buy. What data does Target collect?