Bucks County Herald – October 27, 2010

William Moffly, Republican Crack Pots

Dear Friends,

Good morning. Before I get to two funny stories about William Moffly, the former owner of "Ever-May" on River Road above New Hope, here are my observations about what’s happened to my Republican Party.

When I read about Christine O’Donnell questioning whether the U.S. Constitution requires separation of church and state at her debate in the Delaware U. S. Senate race, I cringed. And I was startled to read that Pennsylvania’s former U. S. Senator Rick Santorum will lead a bus tour to urge voters not to retain three Iowa Supreme Court justices who joined last year’s unanimous decision legalizing gay marriage in Iowa (Inquirer, Oct. 20).

But the last straw was reading about Virginia Thomas calling for Anita Hill to apologize to her husband, U. S. Supreme Court Clarence Thomas. “Nearly 20 years after Anita Hill accused Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment during his contentious Supreme Court confirmation hearings, Justice Thomas’s wife has called for an apology,” the New York Times’ front-page article exclaimed (Oct. 20).

“In a voice mail left on October 9, Virginia Thomas asked her husband’s former aide-turned-adversary to make amends,” the NYT continued. “I just wanted to reach across the air-waves and the years and ask you to consider something,” the voice mail began. “I would love you to consider an apology… So give it some thought. And pray that one day you will help us understand why you did what you did. OK, have a good day.”

Obviously, Virginia Thomas is more talkative than her husband. I wonder whether Justice Thomas has ever asked a single question while hearing a Supreme Court case? Mea Culpa…my bias is showing…and it’s not about his race.

Have crackpots captured my Republican Party? It sure looks like the Tea Party has done so. Space won’t allow me to address the influence of Sarah Palin, a national Phnom.

Former Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick must be hoping that voters won’t connect the likes of Christine O’Donnell, Rick Santorum, and Virginia Thomas to the Fitzpatrick campaign. On the other hand, Congressman Patrick Murphy probably hopes that these bizarre stories will turn voters away from the GOP. We’ll know November 3.

The big question is how will independents vote? In the Philadelphia suburban counties of Bucks, Montgomery, Chester and Delaware, voters tend to be fiscally conservative but socially liberal. That and the fury over former President George W. Bush’s performance produced a landslide for Barrack Obama in 2008. But the American public is fickle. We are quick to assess blame for economic woe upon any sitting President.

Are Bucks County voters as fickle?

If so, that would mean bad news for Murphy and other Democrats across America…unless voters make a sophisticated distinction between the previous administration and today’s. Here at home in Bucks County, will voters look at Republican crackpots on the national scene and make a connection to Mike Fitzpatrick?

Stay tuned. This election will probably be razor thin.

And now to business.

My friend William T. Moffly has left this world for the next. The former proprietor of Ever-May was a fraternity brother during my college days at Penn. Bill was an absolute impish delight. Always full of fun, these two stories that will be with me forever:

In the spring of my senior year, during a schoolboy riot at Penn, the Philadelphia police raided all the fraternity houses. Every male was arrested and hauled off to jail…for good reason. Because Bill was of small stature, he climbed into the dumbwaiter between the first floor and the basement and escaped capture. Hidden from sight, he could see out of the crack of the dumbwaiter’s floor that three policeman were helping themselves to glasses of milk.

Furious that the officers in blue had not signed the honor sheet, he hauled himself down to the basement floor, jumped out of the dumbwaiter and attempted to make a citizen’s arrest. “You’re coming with us,” a cop barked. Bill spent the night behind bars with his buddies at the 38^th Police Precinct.

The other Bill Moffly story involved a party at our house 20 years later. Because Bill had developed a stomach ulcer, he would add milk to his drinks. When Mighty Betsy and I cleaned the party scene before we went to bed, we neglected to find one of his half empty drinks on the floor.

But our cat did. The next day, we found our cat passed out on a living room chair. Sprawled on his back with his four feet in the air and his tongue sticking out…‘X’s in his eyes…the Cat remained in that position for two days.

Item.

Last, it was good to see Curt Yeske at the Herald’s eighth anniversary celebration. I first met Curt when he covered the Bucks County Commissioner meetings for the Allentown Morning Call. I always thought that Curt was very fair to the three of us.

Later, he ran public relations for the Bucks County Community College. Today, Curt is a reporter for the Herald and the Trenton Times. It seems like the Herald has been a vibrant part of Bucks County for years…but it’s only eight years old.

Bravo, Bucks County Herald!

And the Herald staffers met Tom Frank who gave a fascinating talk about his life in the McDonald’s fast food business. Tom Frank has just purchased “Never More,” just west of New Hope and hopes to restore it to its former glamour. All of us wish him well.

Next week, I’ll tell you about Quakertown Alive’s Properties of Merit. The old Quakertown Free Press building received a nice prize. We Meredith’s have been associated with that building for nearly 100 years.

Sincerely,

Charles Meredith