Free Press –
Terry Madonna AAA Federation June Meeting, Robins Law
Dear Friends,
Good morning. Many of you have met Terry Madonna, the famous pollster who directs the Center for Public Affairs at Franklin and Marshall College. Madonna came to town last fall and highlighted the Quakertown Education Foundation’s program. A few days ago, I heard him speak to the annual Pennsylvania Federation of AAA clubs.
I was particularly interested in chatting with him because he’d written an op-ed piece about the likelihood of Philadelphia suburban courthouses switching from Republican to Democrat control. Does Madonna believe that the Democrats will defeat Republican Bucks County Commissioners, Jim Cawley and Charley Martin, in the November election?
But first, kudos go to the Quakertown council, which is calling for
the
The legislation is named after the memory of Robin Shaffer who was killed by her estranged husband, Jeffrey Ogle, two years ago in her Quakertown apartment. Ogle had a history of domestic violence and killed himself after the murder.
It’s a good idea to let the public know about the identity and location of violent people. But like the problem of “Megan’s Law,” it’s too easy for a villain to pull up stakes, change his identity, location and remain under the radar screen. What’s needed is for the law to include implanting a computer chip in a felon’s skin…a global positioning device for the criminal justice system to instantly locate and track where these people are.
Second item.
The “round about” at
And now, let’s return to Terry Madonna.
A few weeks ago, he wrote an
interesting op-ed piece about the political climate in the
Madonna correctly states that voters in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery Counties abandoned Republican presidential candidates in 2000, 2004, and 2008. Further Madonna is accurate when he says that the Democrats have the Republicans on the run in statewide elections. Governor Rendell swept the four suburban counties twice in ’02 and ‘06. Plus, former Senator Rick Santorum received a pasting last year. Finally, where there were four Republican congressmen in the four '‘burbs just a few years ago, there is only one today.
Madonna says that those examples spell foul weather ahead for the GOP. Neither political party can win statewide without carrying Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery. Pennsylvania will no longer be seen as a competitive two-party state if the four suburban counties continue to drift into the Democratic column. And the loss of the 'burbs to the Democrats would halt Pennsylvania’s role as a swing state in presidential elections.
So, I asked Madonna if he was predicting that the four suburban counties would have Democratic majorities on the commissioner boards next January? The commissioner elections are only months away.
His answer was mixed.
Madonna believes that the Republicans will continue to hold the majority in Bucks and Delaware Counties. (Incidentally, Delaware County has five elected councilmen, not three commissioners as Bucks, Chester, and Montgomery have.) Madonna didn’t hazard a guess concerning Chester although Chester’s been in the GOP column for so long, it’s hard to imagine it otherwise. However, he thinks Montgomery could be a toss up.
Next week, I’ll continue with Madonna’s predictions for the presidential election. You’ll also enjoy his thoughts about Governor Rendell’s future. And I’ll have a comment to make about Bucks County’s plan to ease the threat of flooding along the Delaware River. Stay tuned.
Sincerely,
Charles Meredith