When Pigs Drive

PACleanSweep is back with a bus.

by Mary F. Patel

Pennsylvania voters may see a pink bus that looks like a pig traveling around the state in the next couple of weeks. Dubbed the "Flying Pink Pig Bus Tour" by PACleanSweep, the vehicle is stopping at various rallies to persuade the public to vote "no" to all the retention judges in the upcoming general election.

CleanSweep Chairman Russell Diamond, along with other activists, is on a mission to get back at all the judges who accepted a pay raise in 2005. The converted 40-foot 1993 Bluebird Bus complete with 14-inch wings is making several stops to rally support for their cause. Tour stops included a launch event at the Capitol last Tuesday; they also had plans to interrupt a Supreme Court Candidates Forum sponsored by the Philadelphia Bar Association on Wednesday, followed by gatherings at the Bucks County Courthouse and the York County Court House.

In Philadelphia, there are 17 judges up for retention — 10 in Common Pleas Court, six in Municipal Court and one in Traffic Court. Diamond wants all the judges voted out, except for Superior Court Judge Joan Orie Melvin, who gave back her portion of the pay raise.

It is not clear if PACleanSweep is targeting the judicial candidates for appellate court seats. Republican Supreme Court candidates are Maureen Lally-Green and Michael Krancer, Superior Court candidates are Cheryl Allen, Bruce Bratton and Jacqueline Shogan. Democrats are Debra Todd and Seamus McCaffery for Supreme Court and John Milton Younge, Christine Donohue and Ron Folino for Superior Court.

Younge is currently a Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Judge, first elected in 1995 and retained in 2005. He said while he respects PACleanSweep, what they're doing is not fair.

"When we first ran for judge, we ran on the premise that we would uphold justice," he said. "After 10 years, evaluations should be made based on a judge's record."

Younge added that the judiciary had been negotiating a pay raise with the state legislature for the past decade and it was the fault of the legislature sneaking in their pay raise along with the judge's raise that was wrong.

"I think the retention judges are more concerned about PACleanSweep than the voters," Younge said. "Imagine what would happen if Gov. Ed Rendell had to appoint all new judges, if in fact none were retained. Then the Senate would have to confirm them all, and that would only happen if the judges promised not to run again, so elections would have to happen all over again."

The Money Grab

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama finds himself lagging slightly behind contender Hillary Clinton in fundraising despite all the hype over support from TV personality Oprah Winfrey.

Presidential campaigns' third-quarter reporting released earlier this month revealed Clinton had raised $22 million from July through September, giving her a total of almost $80 million. Obama has raised $19 million, giving him $79 million total. Most of that money will be spent in next year's Democratic primaries; more money will have to be raised for the 2008 general election.

Last week, Obama sent out a massive e-mail to his grassroots base, the bulk of his support, asking for more donations through his online form. In his message, Obama writes he is $2.1 million behind Clinton and accuses her of accepting money from special interests. "Hillary Clinton aggressively seeks money from Washington lobbyists and special-interest PACs," he wrote. "I think it's time to turn the page on that kind of politics, and that's why I have not accepted a dime from Washington lobbyists and special-interest PACs in this race."

Putting money aside, however, a recent John Zogby poll was released and if the poll is a true indication of what voters are thinking, neither Clinton nor Obama would become president. In the poll, 50 percent of voters said no matter how much money Clinton had, they would never vote for her. (Senior voters made up the bulk of that number, with 59 percent saying they would never vote for her.) Obama's rating? Forty-nine percent of Americans who would never vote for him.

(rcpatel@aol.com)