DV Journal

Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia, we thank you. On behalf of those of us who support the rule of law, and those of us who were trying to get Pennsylvanians—and even our fellow Americans—to pay attention to the games being played by Bob Casey and his activist lawyers, we sincerely thank you.

After the multi-year, multi-billion dollar campaign ended on Nov. 5, voters were exhausted. Most people wanted a break from politics—many activists, too. There was still vote counting to be done—lawyers’ never-ending ballot challenges; election board hearings; and, appeals over mail-in ballots’ signatures and dates (or, lack thereof), machine errors and, the now infamous “provisional ballots” issued on Election Day.

Who but the nerdiest of election nerds, lawyers, or activists pays attention to that dull, drawn-out process? No one. But, not any more. Thanks, Diane!

As Bob Casey’s lawyers—who parachuted in from D.C. and across America—were making illogical and illegal arguments across our state, especially before Democrat-run Boards of Election (aka County Commissioners) in Allegheny, Montgomery, Centre, Philadelphia, and in Bucks County, Dave McCormick’s supporters and attorneys were trying to get the legacy media, and their GOP colleagues across Pennsylvania to notice. They were trying to get the RNC and the Trump-Vance team to notice.

And, then…Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia, sitting high-atop her commissioner’s chair, atop her ruling dais, proclaimed to the audience, and everyone watching on social media, loudly, proudly and arrogantly: “We all know that precedent by a court doesn’t matter anymore in this country and people violate laws any time they want. So for me, if I violate a law, it’s because I want a court to pay attention…”

Again, thank you, Diane. You showed your arrogance, your elitism, and how out of touch many leftwing politicians have become. In her speech, she embodied the mindset that harkens back to the COVID-era: “I’m in charge and I get to make the rules.”

Now, Pennsylvanians, and most Americans know that Bob Casey is allowing leftwing activist-attorneys to make ridiculous, illogical and illegal arguments. To not only try to change the outcome of this election, but to tilt the scales for Democrats in 2026.

Ellis-Marseglia took the boring process of counting votes and arguing over the election code and brought it to light—better than any law professor and TV analyst.

Since election night, Casey attorneys have argued, with a straight face, for election boards and judges to ignore clearly-written Pennsylvania Election law. Casey’s lawyers argued for: ballots to be counted even when the “voter” isn’t registered to vote; for mail-in ballots with no voter signature; for mail-in ballots with no date or the wrong date; and, for ballots cast by voters in one county, yet they live in another.

Most county boards of election rejected these arguments—often unanimously. Some, voted to accept many of those ballots—often over the objection of the Republican Commissioner.

But, Diane must have heard what was happening in Pittsburgh and Norristown, in Philadelphia and State College—and, thought: “Hold my beer!”

She was going to accept these ballots—in violation of the statute and in clear violation of Supreme Court cases ruling that such ballots shall Not be counted. Plus, she had to give a speech to draw attention to her vote. She wanted to proclaim that she knew she was violating the law: She. Just. Didn’t. Care!

Then, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled, again—this time on her actions, and those of her colleagues. They left no doubt. The Court ruled—with its share of ALL CAPS— that the ballots shall Not be counted.

Democrat Justice David Wecht of Allegheny County issued a separate opinion to underscore his frustration, quoting the late US Justice Felix Frankfurter: “If one man can be allowed to determine for himself what the law is, every man can. That means first chaos, then tyranny. The greater the power that defies the law the less tolerant this Court be of defiance.”

As they say on Twitter/X: “Boom!”

Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia reminded the taxpayers of Bucks County who she is—and, what she thinks of the law, and them.

All too often, county commissioners—or township supervisors or school board members—act outside of the spotlight. We don’t notice what they do. Until…

The Chester County Democrat Commissioners and their colleagues serving as the Prison Board came to light when their lax security allowed the now infamous convicted murderer, Danilo Cavalcante, to escape. And, their arrogance kept them from notifying the public for hours. That offered us into a window into how un-seriously they take criminal justice—and, how unaccountable they feel to voters.

The same for the school board members who yelled at parents during COVID.

It’s amazing what local officials will do and say when they think no one is watching, or, when they think they’re untouchable.

Ellis-Marseglia pulled the veil back in Bucks County. Now, we all will watch how votes are counted. Very closely.

As for elections, I live by three principles: Easy to vote. Hard to cheat. Results we can trust. Casey’s lawyers and Ellis-Marseglia tried to take away points two and three.

Now, all of America knows that they don’t really respect the law—or the voters.

We’ll be watching from now on. Thank you, Diane.

County commissioners who violate a ruling from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court that undated and incorrectly dated ballots should not be counted might face criminal as well as civil liability, Republicans warned Monday.

Democrats on both the Montgomery and Bucks County commissions have voted to count those ballots. At least one, Bucks County Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia (D), has publicly acknowledged she understands the county is breaking the law by doing so.

“I think we all know that precedent by a court doesn’t matter anymore in this country. People violate laws anytime they want. So, for me, if I violate this law, it’s because I want a court to pay attention,” Ellis-Marseglia said.

Responding to questions from reporters about whether county officials could face jail, Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley said, “We certainly are exploring that option and we will pursue this to the fullest extent that we can.”

That echoes Trump campaign official Chris LaCivita who said on X, “They will go to jail. Count on it.”

Whatley’s remarks came during a press phone call Monday to discuss the Pennsylvania Senate race, where Republican Dave McCormick is running against Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.). While the AP and DecisionDeskHQ have called the race for McCormick, Casey refused to concede. Instead, he brought in partisan election lawyer Marc Elias to try to swing votes into his column.

The DV Journal asked whether GOP officials have asked the state Attorney General or county sheriffs to help enforce the Supreme Court’s ruling.

Lawrence Tabas, chair of the Pennsylvania Republican Committee, said the Supreme Court has ruled on this issue five times, as has the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.

State Supreme Court Justice Kevin Doughtery “said it best,” Tabas noted.

“‘We said what we meant and we meant what we said.’”

“I’m confident they will come out and clearly say to all of the counties in Pennsylvania, undated or misdated mail-in ballots shall not be counted.”

Whatley added it is important to “sequester” those votes so counties do not “inadvertently” count them “when the Supreme Court comes back and tells them again.”

Congressman Dan Meuser (R-Pa.) said the RNC had lawyers and volunteers throughout the country to secure the vote, but that there is no danger McCormick’s victory will be overturned if the ballots are counted properly.

“Things went well until this Casey campaign conduct,” said Meuser. As of Monday morning, McCormick was ahead by 17,000 votes. In the worst-case scenario, “this could be reduced to 14,000 votes.”

“The race was called for good reason,” Meuser said. He also called out prominent Democrats for their silence as state laws are being flagrantly violated.

It’s “disturbing that no one within their party, the Democrat Party, and the leadership right up to the Governor’s Office, is saying anything about this. There’s no comment from Gov. Shapiro. There’s no comment from the attorney general,” Meuser noted.

The RNC had filed lawsuits in several counties to stop those ballots from being counted as Democrats try to send Casey back to the Senate for a fourth term.

Attorney General Michelle Henry (D) pushed back.

“This matter is already being litigated by the parties and interested entities in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court,” said her spokesperson, Brett Hambright. “No state entity has been sued in that action, so our office does not have a client to represent. We will continue to monitor the situation and any developments that would prompt Office of Attorney General involvement.”

DVJournal asked for comments the Bucks and Montgomery County commissioners. They declined to respond.

Secretary of State Al Schmidt is on record telling counties to follow the law.

After the state Supreme Court ruled in McCormick’s favor nixing undated and misdated ballots late Monday afternoon, Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) said, “The Department of State had advised counties repeatedly of their duty to segregate challenged provisional ballots and undated ballots in anticipation of a ruling by the court. The court has now ruled on the counting of these ballots specific to the November 5, 2024 election and I expect all county election officials to adhere to this ruling and all the applicable laws governing our elections.”

A recount is taking place that will cost Pennsylvania taxpayers $1 million.

Casey could stop that recount by conceding, Tabas said.

However, that seems unlikely.

In an op-ed published Monday, Casey argued that legally-excluded ballots should be counted.

“Undated mail ballots have long been at issue in Pennsylvania’s elections. Gov. Wolf’s administration advocated to have these ballots count, as has Secretary of State Al Schmidt, and even my opponent himself. The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania has ruled twice in 2024 alone that throwing out these ballots violates Pennsylvania’s constitution.”

He did not mention that the state Supreme Court has twice stepped in to stop those ballots from being counted.

The eyes of the nation were on Bucks County Commissioners last week as they considered whether to count flawed ballots in the hotly-contested U.S. Senate race between incumbent Democrat Bob Casey and Republican Dave McCormick.

McCormick has been declared the victor by both the Associated Press and Decision Desk HQ, but Casey continues to insist the race isn’t over. Casey and his notoriously partisan attorney Marc Elias are pinning their hopes on outstanding ballots, many of them flawed and — based on previous court rulings — ineligible to be included in the final tally.

But that didn’t stop Bucks County Commissioners Chair Diane Ellis-Marseglia. Not only did she and her fellow Democrat Bob Harvie vote to count the flawed ballots, she publicly acknowledged their decision was contrary to the law.

“I think we all know that precedent by a court doesn’t matter anymore in this country,” she said after the fact. “People violate laws any time they want. So for me, if I violate this law, it’s because I want a court to pay attention to it.”

A video of her admission made a hit on social media, garnering millions of views. Republicans claimed it confirmed their belief that Democrats are willing to manipulate the law to win elections. The fact that Ellis-Marseglia donated $600 to Casey’s campaign in September, and Casey had backed two Bucks County Democrats in previous elections, didn’t help.

Bucks County isn’t alone. Philadelphia, Centre, and Montgomery County Democrats are also defying both the state Supreme Court and Pennsylvania law by including mail ballots that have no date, or have the wrong date, in their county’s final count.

The goal appears to be to help Casey close the gap with McCormick, who had a 17,000 vote lead as of late Sunday.

The public rejection of state law was so egregious that Secretary of State Al Schmidt felt the need to remind county commissioners to do their duty.

“@PAStateDept has reminded our county partners that ‘it is important to remember the history of litigation regarding undated and incorrectly dated [ballots]’ and to consult their solicitor ‘to ensure any decision rendered…is consistent with current law,’” Schmidt posted to X.

Pennsylvania state GOP chair Lawrence Tobias was more direct: “What’s taking place in these counties is absolute lawlessness.”

Not surprisingly, the Republican National Committee, the state GOP and the McCormick campaign are suing Bucks County. Legal experts agree that these ballots will be thrown out by the courts.

“Attorneys from the Bucks County Republican Committee (BCRC), Republican National Committee (RNC), PA GOP. and McCormick Team continue to fight to stop the Democrats from counting illegally cast ballots,” the Bucks County GOP said in a statement Sunday. “They filed a Petition to Review the 2-1 decision by the Democrat-led Board of Elections to count undated and misdated mail ballots in Bucks County Court of Common Pleas.

“Additionally, they filed challenges to the 2-1 decision by the Democrat-led Board of Elections to count undated and misdated provisional ballots. These decisions by the Board of Elections were against the advice of their own Solicitors and violative of the decisions by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and U.S. Third Circuit law.

“These decisions were an act of partisanship and defiance. We look forward to seeing these folks in Court for an explanation for this blatant attempt to count illegally cast ballots.”

Attorneys from the Bucks County Republican Committee (BCRC), Republican National Committee (RNC), PA GOP and McCormick Team continue to fight to stop the Democrats from counting illegally cast ballots. They filed a Petition to Review the 2-1 decision by the Democrat-led Board of Elections to count undated and misdated mail ballots in Bucks County Court of Common Pleas.

Additionally, they filed challenges to the 2-1 decision by the Democrat-led Board of Elections to count undated and misdated provisional ballots. These decisions by the Board of Elections were against the advice of their own Solicitors and violative of the decisions by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and U.S. Third Circuit law.

“These decisions were an act of partisanship and defiance. We look forward to seeing these folks in Court for an explanation for this blatant attempt to count illegally cast ballots.

Bucks County’s elected legislators also released a statement decrying how Democrats have handled the voting process overall. They pointed out that, during the early-voting period, Bucks County closed the three voting centers before people standing in line were able to cast their ballots.

“Over the last 3 weeks, both Bucks County as well as the Bucks County Commissioners have been thrown into national headlines regarding this year’s election:

• A Russian misinformation campaign, which led some to make politically charged accusations.
• A county judge ruling that the Bucks County Board of Elections violated the Pennsylvania Election Code.
• An elected County Commissioner openly defying a State Supreme court order.

“While all this has been ongoing, it has been unfortunate to see how quickly accusations have been lobbed against the legislature and not those actually in charge of conducting our elections. While we are disappointed in the actions of a few, we will continue to work to ensure the public’s faith in the election system,” the legislators wrote.

The statement was signed by state Sens. Frank Farry and Jarrett Coleman; and state Reps. Joe Hogan, Shelby Labs, Kristin Marcell, Craig Staats, and KC Tomlinson.

House Republican Leader Bryon Cutler (R-Lancaster) also weighed in, calling on Casey to concede and saying the recount is “costly” and “unnecessary.”

“Democrat-controlled counties are now openly defying the courts and the plain language of the election law to try and overturn a legal election result,” he noted.

Ellis-Marseglia did not respond to a request for comment.

Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt announced Wednesday the margin between U.S. Sen. Bob Casey and Dave McCormick is so narrow — within 0.5 percent — that a mandatory recount has been triggered under state law.

“This is the eighth time the automatic recount provision has been triggered since the passage of Act 97 of 2004,” Schmidt’s office reported, and the second to involve McCormick. He narrowly lost the GOP U.S. Senate primary to Mehmet Oz two years ago.

Meanwhile, the Casey campaign is accusing McCormick of trying to use a Pennsylvania court ruling to disenfranchise voters. But that ruling didn’t apply to the last Tuesday’s general election.

At issue is a 3-2 ruling made Oct. 30 by the Commonwealth Court that said 69 undated and incorrectly dated absentee and mail-in ballots in a Philadelphia special election should have been counted.

The Philadelphia County Board of Elections initially ruled the ballots were ineligible. When a trial court overruled the Elections Board, state and national Republicans appealed.

One day later, the state Supreme Court said the ruling was “stayed and shall not be applied” to this year’s General Election.

A furious Justice Kevin M. Dougherty heaped scorn on the lower court in a concurring opinion. He accused Commonwealth Court judges of changing the electoral game “on the very eve of the election.” Dougherty noted mail ballots had been shipped and returned and voters, boards of elections, and election workers were already advised on “the handling of undated and misdated ballots.”

Justice Christine Donohue wrote a more muted concurrence that Chief Justice Debra Todd joined. It criticized the lower court for “disturbing the status quo” because county boards of election could use it in surveying mail-in ballots.

All three judges are Democrats.

Despite not applying to ballots cast last Tuesday, the ruling became a flashpoint in the battle between Casey and McCormick as counties prepared to count provisional ballots. It could be due to a Pittsburgh Tribune story that seemed to tie the provisional ballot ruling with the Casey-McCormick race.

Casey campaign manager Tiernan Donohue accused McCormick of looking to block “large tranches of votes” while Casey wants them to be counted. She said the “democratic process must be allowed to play out to determine the result of this election.”

Republican election attorney Linda Kerns said Democrats are misinterpreting the Commonwealth Court ruling because it only applied to the September special election.

“The Trial court allowed the counting of undated mail ballots just from that election. The Commonwealth Court affirmed,” she told DVJournal.

McCormick leads Casey by less than half a percentage point. He’s declared victory but a recount is pending. The Associated Press also called the race for McCormick.

McCormick is currently in Washington for Senate orientation. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer was hesitant to invite McCormick to that orientation, but eventually relented after Republicans complained.

Casey has yet to concede. His campaign and national Democrats promise there’s still a chance he’ll win.

Notorious Democrat lawyer Marc E. Elias, one of the people behind the discredited “Steele Dossier,” is in the Keystone State canvassing ballots.

A Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee communications strategist suggested McCormick doesn’t believe he’ll win and cited the state Supreme Court case and a separate suit in Philadelphia over GOP representation during provisional ballot reviews. That suit was withdrawn.

A Casey strategist later posted on social media, “Campaigns don’t try to disenfranchise voters when they think a race is over.”

Fellow Democratic Sens. Michael Bennet of Colorado and Mark Kelly of Arizona also lent support to Casey. The two demanded all votes be counted before a winner is declared.

While ballots in Philadelphia have been counted, there are still pending ballots in the Delaware Valley. Montgomery County has 6,500 ballots to examine while Chester County has several dozen. Delaware Count has 4,560 provisional ballots. Bucks County did not respond to DVJournal’s request for provisional ballot totals.

The McCormick campaign and other Republicans remain confident.

“It’s over, as always. (I feel like a broken record),” wrote McCormick political strategist Mark Harris on X.

Kerns said there aren’t enough remaining ballots to change the outcome of the race.

“Casey has no path to victory.”

We should know by Thanksgiving who the next U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania will be, incumbent Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) or Republican Dave McCormick. Many thought was almost over—and AP called it for McCormick who is down in D.C. at new senator orientation—when Pennsylvania Secretary of State Al Schmidt announced a recount on Wednesday.

In a press release, Schmidt said the recount was triggered because under state law, there is aone-half of 1 precent margin between the two.

As of today, the unofficial returns from all 67 counties showed Robert P. Casey Jr. – 3,350,972 (48.50 percent) and David H. McCormick – 3,380,310 (48.93 percent).

Once counties finish counting their ballots, they must begin the recount no later than Wednesday, Nov. 20. They must complete the recount by noon on Nov. 26 and must report results to the Secretary by noon on Nov. 27. Results of the recount will not be published until Nov. 27.

The Department estimates that the recount cost will exceed $1 million of taxpayer funds.

Casey, who has served in the Senate for 18 years is seeking a fourth term.  McCormick, a West Point graduate who served in combat in Iraq and then became a successful businessman, ran for the Senate before but narrowly lost to Dr. Mehmet Oz in the Republican primary in 2022. That race also triggered a recount.

This is the eight recount triggered by the 2004 law.

As of Wednesday afternoon, As of this afternoon, county election officials reported there are 60,366 uncounted provisional ballots and 20,155 uncounted mail-in and absentee ballots. That 80,521 total includes all ballots for which county boards of elections have not yet made a final resolution regarding their validity or eligibility to be counted, the Department of State said in a news release.

RNC election lawyer Linda Kerns noted that all counties must recount all their ballots, which involves rescanning them.

McCormick spokeswoman Elizabeth Gregory said, “”Senator-Elect McCormick’s lead is insurmountable, which the AP made clear in calling the race. A recount will be a waste of time and taxpayer money, but it is Senator Casey’s prerogative. Senator-Elect McCormick knows what it’s like to lose an election and is sure Senator Casey will eventually reach the right conclusion.”

Casey’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Dave McCormick arrived at Har Zion Temple on Sunday afternoon, almost without anyone noticing. He was there to attend the Jewish Federation of Philadelphia’s commemoration of the October 7th attacks in Israel. He had attended the commemoration event in Old City on October 7th, 2024 but he made it a point to attend this event on the Hebrew anniversary as well.

I, and several others in the synagogue’s sanctuary, were surprised to see him there since it was assumed that he “did his duty” by showing up to the ceremony on October 7th. Sunday also marked the anniversary of the Tree of Life Synagogue shooting and since he is from that area, it was thought that he would spend the day in western Pennsylvania. He did spend the evening there, but made the trip to Penn Valley, just for this occasion first.

He walked in quietly, sat off to the side, seemingly trying to blend in and not attract any attention. I only noticed his arrival because I sat in the back and saw all the people who walked in after me. He listened to each speaker intently, bowed his head during the prayers and seemed to show true heartache at the stories of survivors of October 7th and family members of hostages taken that day.

He also grinned from ear to ear and my children and some of their classmates closed the ceremony with HaTikvah, Israel’s national anthem. Dave McCormick was immersed in the gravity of the day and showed his true connection to the Jewish community in Pennsylvania and around the world through his genuine response to the day’s meaning.

After the ceremony was over, he started to leave quietly when my husband insisted we shake his hand and thank him for coming. I’m sure he was in a hurry to trek to the other end of the state to attend the Tree of Life ceremony to mourn the loss of life in his hometown 6 years ago, but he obliged without making us feel rushed. He even took the time to ask each of my kids their names and tell them what a wonderful job they did while singing. We thanked him for his unwavering support of Israel and the Jewish community and instead of trying to take credit or boast, he reached out to hold our hands and said he admires the strength and resolve of our community and will continue to do what he can to help. As we wrapped up our conversation, he seemed to have a small crowd waiting to speak with him and instead of telling them he had to leave, he spoke to each person with grace and patience.

I always knew Dave McCormick was pro-Israel but this experience was in stark contrast to his opponent, Sen. Bob Casey Jr. When reviewing Casey’s record, he was the deciding vote on the Iran deal and has also voted not to put sanctions on Hamas and Iran that would have stopped money from flowing to the two to fund their terrorism. He has also publicly endorsed Squad member Rep. Summer Lee, who is open about her antisemitism. So why would Pennsylvania Jews vote for him? It seems as though the answer to that question is simply because he wears the blue team’s jersey.

I sincerely hope that Jews across Pennsylvania vote wisely on November 5th in the interest of Jews across America and all citizens of Israel, both Jewish and non Jewish.

Abortion is supposed to be a tough issue for Republican Dave McCormick, but he had the best of it in Tuesday night’s debate with U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (D).

Casey was asked by a moderator about the years he spent describing himself as a pro-life Democrat and why he changed. Casey said the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, which returned the right to regulate abortion to the states, was too much for him. He also attacked McCormick for saying he supported the repeal of Roe v. Wade.

McCormick hit back.

“There is no senator who has flip-flopped more on this issue than Sen. Casey. He previously said as a senator, he wanted to overturn Roe v. Wade. Sen. Casey said there should be one exception, the life of the mother. He was one of the most pro-life senators in the Senate and has flip-flopped his position. I don’t know how someone flip flops on this position when they held it so strongly then. and don’t hold it now.

“There is no one who has less credibility on this issue than Sen. Casey,” McCormick said.

Both candidates restated their well-worn criticisms of each other. Casey repeatedly attacked McCormick for his career as a hedge fund manager whose firm invested in China. McCormick dinged the three-term Democrat as a “career politician” with little to show for his time in Washington. They did have a couple of new insults in their repertoire: McCormick called Casey “Punxsutawney Bob,” and Casey returned the favor by accusing McCormick of “lap dog licking the shoes of the Republican nominee.”

The issue of eliminating the Senate filibuster came up when McCormick was asked about admitting Puerto Rico as a state. He laid out what he believed Democrats would do if they won both the presidency and a Senate majority and followed Casey’s recommendation to kill the filibuster.

“We will have two places that get statehood, Puerto Rico as well as Washington, D. C. There will be additional members brought onto the Supreme Court, and we’ll have a ‘Green New Deal’ beyond anything that was ever imagined,” McCormick warned. He said he supported keeping the filibuster as a “check and balance,” and killing it would be “inconsistent with America’s best interest, regardless of which party is in the majority.”

Casey said it is time to get rid of “the 60-vote rule, the so-called ‘filibuster.’

“Requiring 60 votes for substantive matters, is the reason we have not passed a background check bill for common sense gun measures to reduce the likelihood of gun violence,” Casey said. He also said getting rid of the filibuster would allow the Senate to need just 51 votes to pass legislation overriding every state’s law on abortion and the Democrats’ election legislation that would end voter ID mandates.

“We could do so much to move the country forward, but he wants to hide behind that [filibuster] rule to block progress on substantive matters the American people want to take action on,” Casey said.

But it was after Casey tried to link McCormick’s hedge fund investments to weapons that reached Hamas that the Republican unloaded.

“As a guy who went to West Point, went to Ranger School, went to the 82nd Airborne, went into Iraq in the first wave, when it looked like there would be thousands of casualties — I will not take any preaching from a guy who spent 30 years in public office and hasn’t gotten much done,” McCormick said. “I will not take preaching from you on that, or your lies, which are unworthy of you and your family and your service.”

Casey claimed that investments Bridgewater Associates made in China while McCormick was CEO benefitted Iran and, through them, Hamas. McCormick responded that all his firm’s investments were approved by the U.S. government, and that, when Casey was state treasurer, he approved investments in Bridgewater Associates.

“Sen. Casey, in 18 years in the U.S. Senate, 30 years in elective office, doesn’t have a record to run on, which is why he’s devoted himself to attacking me,” McCormick said.

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Sen. Bob Casey Jr. (D-Pa.) refuses to rescind his endorsement of Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pittsburgh). While many people would shrug, some members of the Jewish community are incensed.

Lee, a member of the far-left “Squad,” posted a statement to X with Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato and Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey, a missive implying that Israel was to blame for the Oct. 7, 2023 terror attack rather than Hamas.

Hamas attackers killed some 1,200 innocent Israelis, including some 50 Americans, and took 250 hostages, also including Americans, to Gaza, sparking a war that continues a year later.

“I could not disagree more with this statement,” Casey posted on X. “Hamas is a terrorist organization and its horrific attack, which resulted in the murder of 1,200 innocent Israeli civilians, must be categorically condemned. Hamas remains a threat to the people of Israel.”

Challenger Dave McCormick, a Republican, called on Casey to revoke his endorsement of Lee.

“All talk and no action. If you were strong, you would revoke your endorsement of antisemitic Summer Lee. But you’re not. So you won’t,” McCormick posted to X.

Lee was notably absent at a high-profile Kamala Harris campaign event in Pittsburgh on Thursday, where former President Barack Obama spoke.

Earlier this year, Lee was slated to speak at a CAIR gathering with antisemitic speakers but she canceled after a public outcry.

McCormick wrote before Lee canceled, “I’m calling for the resignation of Summer Lee,” McCormick said in a social media post. “Summer Lee is the headline speaker for CAIR, an organization whose leadership has spewed antisemitic hatred, an organization where the leadership has celebrated the terrible barbarism, the hatred from Oct. 7.”

McCormick criticized Casey for his vote to approve the Iran nuclear deal that allowed the theocratic state to garner billions. At the time Casey said it would enhance Israel’s safety.  And Casey did not object to the Biden-Harris administration’s withholding military support from Israel during its war with Hamas.

Jeff Bartos, a Lower Merion resident and Republican consultant who ran for the U.S. Senate in 2022, said, “In 2015, Senator Casey voted for the Iran deal because he feared a primary challenge. He endorsed Summer Lee and now refuses to retract it because he fears losing votes. Why is it so hard for Senator Casey simply to do the right thing – because he is weak and ineffective, and his moral ambiguity is unbefitting a United States Senator from Pennsylvania.”

Casey also refused to state his position on whether he’d vote to confirm a Biden federal judicial appointment with ties to an antisemitic center.

And he failed to strongly condemn antisemitic protests and encampments at universities around the state or call for the resignation of former University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill after her problematic Congressional testimony. And a bill to fight antisemitism that Casey sponsored has gone nowhere, although earlier this year it passed the house with bipartisan support.

McCormick hopes to garner support from Pennsylvania’s Jewish community, which is traditionally a Democratic base. Jewish people comprise about 3.3 percent of the state’s population, according to the Jewish Virtual Library.

In January, McCormick and his wife visited Israel and spoke to survivors of the Hamas attack, families of the hostages, and government officials.

He has repeatedly cried antisemitism in Pennsylvania and called for the safe return of the hostages. McCormick was one of the first people to call for Magill’s resignation when she equivocated on whether it was wrong for students to call for Jewish genocide.

He also visited the Penn encampment and spoke out against efforts to intimidate and harass Jewish students. He also condemned The Philadelphia Inquirer for publishing an antisemitic cartoon.

Recently, McCormick answered questions from with Matthew Brooks, CEO of the Republican Jewish Coalition. at a town hall in Philadelphia.

Neither Casey nor Lee’s campaigns responded to requests for comment.

Casey and McCormick will have a second debate at 7 p.m. on Oct. 15 on 6ABC in Philadelphia.

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(This article first appeared in Broad + Liberty)

U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D) recently aimed his inflation anger at video streaming services, saying major television and movie streamers have been raising prices while paring back their content offerings — something that fits in to Casey’s “greedflation” campaign platform in which he blames corporations rather than government spending for the inflation that has eroded the purchasing power of average Americans for the last three years.

In making the attacks, however, Casey goes head-to-head with corporations like Disney, Hulu, Paramount, and Netflix, but he gives only light mention to Amazon Prime, the second-largest video-streaming service in America.

Amazon, meanwhile, has been the greatest corporate donor out of all the streaming services to Casey’s campaign committee as well as his leadership PAC, donating more than three times more than all other entertainment streaming services combined.

Publicly available records at the Federal Election Commission show Amazon has given $38,000 to the two Casey committees. Disney and Paramount, meanwhile, have donated $9,000 and $4,000 respectively to Casey’s committees.

In a press release hosted on Casey’s official U.S. Senate website, he tries to publicly shame “Netflix, Spotify, Disney Plus, Paramount Plus, Hulu, and Max” but makes no mention of Amazon at all.

The online press release also links to a longer paper that goes in-depth on how streamers have worked to increase profits in recent years.

According to a Broad + Liberty analysis, the paper makes mention of these companies the following number of times (omitting the citations pages and graphics):

Netflix — 27

Disney or Disney Plus — 9

Max (previously HBO) — 7

Paramount — 5

Amazon or Prime — 1

Yet when it comes to monetizing video streaming, Amazon has been at least as controversial as any of its other top competitors.

When Amazon first introduced Prime TV as a companion streaming service to its Prime membership services, the streaming service had no advertisements — a major selling point to induce customers to buy a membership.

But in January this year, Amazon introduced advertising into much of its natively produced content, allowing people to opt out of ads by purchasing more expensive “tiers” of Amazon Prime.

“The company promises to have ‘meaningfully fewer ads than linear TV and other streaming TV providers,’ without being specific. But some ads are more than no ads. Viewers are angry, creators are angry and there isn’t even much demand from advertisers themselves, but the change is here nonetheless,” a report from USA Today said about the changes.

It didn’t take long for someone to launch a class-action lawsuit against the tech behemoth, which as of this publication was one of only six American companies with a market capitalization of over one trillion dollars.

Keeping with his campaign theme of “greedflation,” Casey calls these tactics “streamflation” as he tries to pin inflation on corporate tactics and not government spending, knowing that the inflation that has occurred since 2021 will certainly be one of the top issues in a year in which he seeks re-election to his fourth term in the U.S. Senate.

An inflation calculator provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics shows a person in July, 2024 would need $120 in order to purchase the same amount of goods as $100 could buy in January of 2021.

While hundreds or thousands of factors can influence inflation, a study by several Massachusetts economists, including a professor from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, found that “federal spending was two to three times more important than any other factor causing inflation during 2022.”

Business interests have not taken Casey’s attacks lying down.

In April, the Pennsylvania Chamber of Commerce pushed back on Casey’s “greedflation” narrative, saying the attacks “inappropriately scapegoats the business community and the constituents you represent.”

Requests for comment sent to Casey’s Senate office and campaign office were not returned.

Disclosure: The author of this article holds individual shares of Amazon, Inc.

According to a chilling report from the House Judiciary Committee released Monday, at least 99 illegal aliens on the FBI terror watchlist were released into the United States after being arrested by Border Patrol at the southern border, and another 34 aliens on the list are currently in Department of Homeland Security (DHS) custody.

This information was reported to the committee by DHS.

Those actions were taken under policies administered by the Biden-Harris administration and are likely to add heat to the debate over border security in November’s elections. GOP U.S. Senate candidate Dave McCormick has already called out his opponent, three-term incumbent Sen. Bob Casey.

“Bob Casey and Kamala Harris should be putting terrorists behind bars, not releasing them into our communities,” McCormick posted on X in response to the findings.

According to the Judiciary Committee report, the Biden administration “allowed millions of illegal aliens to enter the United States, including [from] terrorist organizations and other bad actors looking to harm Americans. In three and a half years, the Biden-Harris administration has released more than 5.4 million illegal aliens into the United States, with an additional at least 1.9 million known ‘gotaways’ escaping into the country.”

Among those are 250 people on the terrorist watchlist who Border Patrol encountered on the southern border between 2021 and 2023. The report said the Department of Homeland Security released at least 99 of them, with some 34 others in DHS custody.

The illegal aliens in question came from at least 36 different countries, including Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Kyrgyzstan, Mauritania, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkey, Uzbekistan, and Yemen.

During the fiscal year 2024, Border Patrol encountered thousands of illegal immigrants from countries that “could present national security risks,” including 2,134 Afghan nationals, 33,347 Chinese citizens, 541 Iranians, 530 Syrians, and 3,104 Uzbek nationals, the report said.

Of eight Tajik nationals released despite potential ISIS ties that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested in June 2024, three had been released into the country using the Biden-Harris administration’s CBP One phone application to schedule an appointment at a port of entry. Four were encountered by Border Patrol while crossing the border without scheduling an appointment.

One of the eight Tajiki men was arrested in Philadelphia.

Polls show Americans are very concerned about the impact of illegal immigration, which set multiple records during the time Vice President Harris was tasked by Biden to address “root causes” of migration from Mexico and the Northern Triangle countries of Central America (El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras).

While Harris allies reject the label “border czar,” illegal crossings from these four countries were 140 percent higher than during the Trump presidency.

Critics of the Biden administration hold the president and his team responsible for the violent crimes committed against lawful American residents by those who cross the border illegally. They point to cases like Rachel Morin, the Maryland mother of five who was beaten, raped, and strangled to death, allegedly by an illegal alien from El Salvador earlier this year.

Todd Bensman of the Center for Immigration Studies argues that “all crimes committed by illegal aliens represent an unnecessary and preventable burden on American society and its criminal justice system.

“To state what should be obvious: Illegal aliens blocked at the border or who are quickly removed from the country cannot inflict harm on Americans because they are not present. That means every single crime committed by an illegally present immigrant was preventable and should never have happened.

The committee report, presented by the GOP majority, claims the Biden administration downplays the possibility of terrorist threats. It also calls out Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for his management of the illegal immigrant issue.

“There is a more than 3,000 percent increase of watchlisted alien encounters compared to all four years of the Trump administration,” the report said. “With the border in chaos under the Biden-Harris administration, the terrorist threat to the homeland has skyrocketed.”

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