A young lady stopped by the house Wednesday stumping for Frank Burns and caught up with me sitting on the front porch.
I was taking a break from digging a grave for a neighbor’s dog and was in the mood to vent about the sad state of affairs locally. She listened and it turns out that despite an obvious monstrous gap in age, we tended to agree.
Such revelations are heartening, because too often I find that interactions with members of younger generations leave me wondering what planet they might call home.
Bottom line, I’m a registered Republican, but have voted for the Democrat Burns in the past for state representative and will continue to do so. I assured her as much.
I liken Burns to Donald Trump in that both his party and the opposing party seem aligned to defeat him for having had the temerity to challenge special interests. The biggest sin on Burns’ record is going against those vested interests to expose the behind-the-scenes machinations of the Myopia 2025 people to bring Afghan refugees to the area.
The fact that Myopia 2025 thought this sort of thing had to be done in secret reminded me of a favored maxim of my late mother, that being if you are afraid to do something openly, probably you shouldn’t be doing it.
Myopia 2025 is an arm of the elite swamp that runs our area, a band whose power base is the countless charities, foundations, non-profits, not-for-profits and general beggars that dominate the area scene. They seek donations, private or public, and redistribute them to maximum political benefit.
Extremely high salaries are paid to the lords of these organizations, rates of pay not in keeping with the charitable theme.
These well-heeled types subsidizing their lifestyles by shaking the begging bowl rubs me the wrong way.
Operating in secret, based on the belief that area common folk are just too stupid to know what’s good for them, similarly bothers me.
So does having the local news media running interference for it all. I’m sure it’s just a coincidence that the former publisher of the Johnstown newspaper left to work for Myopia 2025.
The Republican opposition for Burns is a former media member.
Hmmmmm.
Bless Burns for doing something about the attempted Afghan invasion. He’s done more, according to the handout door-hanger card the young lady left with me, and I know he has from the public record.
Yet I am bombarded with messages in the mail from Republican-supporting organizations painting Burns as a do-nothing layabout who doesn’t show up for work and gets nothing done. The ridiculous hyperbole is entertaining in a sad way.
Projection, perhaps?
While many Woke acquaintances of mine indulge in orgies of self-congratulation over studying elections and voting for the best candidate, I’ve yet to have one give me a concrete example of voting for a Republican for significant office.
On the other hand, I have voted for the late John Murtha multiple times for the U.S. House, for former Pa. Governor Ed Rendell on his first run, for Cambria County Commissioner Tom Chernisky, for Burns, etc., etc., etc.
I will not be voting for Burns’ Republican opponent based on blind party faith, nor should you.
The Republican Party organization, locally and nationally, has been a raging disappointment.
I’m hoping (praying) Ronna McDaniel being out as chairman of the Republican National Committee and Lara Trump in as a co-chair will be positive move.
There are enough Democrats worthy of demonization for the Republican operation to target. Wasting time trying to punish Burns for going against the elites is a bad look — for Republicans and Democrats alike.
Sam Ross Jr's site 