DV Journal

Republican state Sen. Doug Mastriano unloaded both barrels on his Democratic opponent, Attorney General Josh Shapiro, over soaring crime in the Keystone State.

“On his watch as the senior law enforcement official in the state, crime has gone up 40 percent, that alone is disqualifying,” he told some 700 people at the Fuge in Warminster on Saturday afternoon. “He doesn’t want to talk about 1,000 or more carjackings in Philadelphia, a record number of homicides…and he is a complete, utter, and ridiculous failure.”

They can’t keep up  (with digging) the graves with the young people killed in the crossfire, mostly 15, 18-year-old kids,” Mastriano said.

Participants chanted “Doug for Guv.” Mastriano spoke without notes for about 45 minutes, making his case for why voters should elect him governor.

A 30-year Army veteran, he repeated the classic quote, “Old soldiers never die. They just fade away.”

“There’s no time for us to fade away,” he said. “Our country needs every one of us.”

Mastriano said he has offered to debate Shapiro and would allow him to “bring Donna Brazile,” but “he’s chicken.”

Shapiro has turned his back on “mostly women” who are being sex trafficked in the state, Mastriano charged. Instead, Shapiro sued the Little Sisters of the Poor, spending millions in taxpayers’ money to lose in the U.S. Supreme Court, and sued to keep kids in masks and businesses shut down. On his watch, nearly 10,000 criminals were released from jail.

Mastriano promised, “On day one, woke is broke.”

“Parents will have their powers back,” he continued. “There will be full school transparency…all the pornographic books will be pulled out. On day one and done, Critical Race Theory will be thrown out the window. And maybe bring back civics, the constitution, and Pennsylvania history.”

Mastriano said he was being attacked as not supporting women’s rights and called on his wife, Rebbie, to speak.

Sen. Doug Mastriano and his wife, Rebbie. (Courtesy Tom Sofield, editor/publisher Levittown/Now.com)

She said Republicans support a woman’s right to be born, to have baby formula, to have a say in her child’s education, raise a child in “a safe community where the government enforces the law, prosecutes crime, and doesn’t let criminals out early.”

“And we believe, as Pennsylvanians, that it’s a woman’s right to the Second Amendment,” she added, drawing loud cheers and applause.

“And we believe it’s a woman’s right to compete in sports that are not dominated by men,” said Rebbie, who also serves as Mastriano’s campaign manager. “They’re trying to cancel us. I know each and every one of you can define a woman and tell some of those in your neighborhood what a woman is. Ladies, we’re going to get out that vote like you’ve never seen before.”

Mastriano said boys in girls’ bathrooms threaten public safety. He backed a bill to ensure only girls and women play women’s sports. Gov. Tom Wolf (D) vetoed that bill, and Shapiro filed an amicus brief opposing Virginia’s efforts to keep boys out of girls’ restrooms and locker rooms.

While the Republican nominee trails in the polls, he told the crowd he is waging a grassroots campaign. Since the primary, he has been to all 67 counties, with Bucks, one of the original counties founded by William Penn, as the last.

Mastriano recalled Washington’s “daring raid” crossing the Delaware River from Bucks County to New Jersey, changing the course of the Revolutionary War. He told his supporters they would do the same and “beat back the Democrats and that far, extreme radial, dangerous policy vision they have for our state and nation. We just say no to Shapiro.”

“The Democrats haven’t changed much,” he said. “They don’t have an argument to stand on, so they call names.”

The Democrats are lying and “fearmongering,” he said. “It’s time to take the state back.”

The Democrats have a “laundry list” of things they do not want to talk about, like shutting down small businesses during COVID and the state deciding which could stay open.

“All the cabinet makers across Pennsylvania were shut down, except one. Wolf Industries,” he said. “You could go to strip clubs but not churches. Life under (Health Secretary Rachel) Levine and life under Shapiro.”

“I was in Germany behind the Iron Curtain in 1989 during the Cold War defending us from what the radical left is planning here,” he said. “The godlessness, the evil empire…The fight for freedom is still ongoing for our country, so our job is not done.”

“For our kids and grandkids, we have to win on the 8th of November,” he said. “Our motto is freedom.”

Conservative writer and commentator Jack Posobiec also spoke, saying he grew up in Norristown. He said when drugs flooded that small city, Shapiro was a Montgomery County commissioner and did nothing to help. Norristown has gotten so bad that Posobiec said he has never taken his two sons to see the street he grew up on.

“This (Democratic) cabal took from us, they took from our families, they want to destroy our families,” he said. “The only thing they care about is power.”

Mastriano’s message resonated with Eileen Storch of Newtown. She opposes boys in girls’ restrooms and biological boys competing in girls’ sports.

“That’s wrong,” she said.

David Fiori, Jr. of Yardley said Mastriano “makes a lot of good sense. He’s applying common sense to politics. He has great leadership skills. He relates to everybody. He understands what the stakes are, and he’s not afraid to face the issues of the day.”

A Montgomery Township woman who did not want to give her name said she supports Mastriano because of “schools, taxes, and the economy.”

Mastriano said he had spoken to 500 people in Chester County earlier in the day and had a second event with Gun Owners of America in Bucks County following the Fuge rally. Reports of the “early demise” of his campaign were utterly wrong, he said.

“You ain’t seen nothing yet.”

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Despite offers to debate from the Republican candidates running for governor and U.S. senator, their Democratic opponents have yet to accept the challenge.

State Sen. Doug Mastriano, the Republican gubernatorial candidate, offered to debate Attorney General Josh Shapiro twice in October, with the venues and dates to be determined by the candidates. Mastriano’s one mandate is that he wants the campaigns to run the debates, not the media.

“As expected, Josh Shapiro doesn’t have the guts to debate Sen. Mastriano without cover from his protectors in the mainstream media,” said a Mastriano campaign spokesperson. “Given the opportunity to meet Sen. Mastriano face to face in a neutral venue with each campaign receiving the exact same terms, Josh made clear that he only wants to debate Sen. Mastriano if the moderators, venue, and on-site media are carefully tailored to give him an artificial advantage.”

Shapiro’s campaign spokesman Will Simons dismissed Mastriano’s proposal. “Doug Mastriano’s unserious proposal is an obvious stunt to avoid any real questions about his extreme agenda and record of conduct by dictating his own rules for debates. Mastriano has spent his entire campaign refusing to answer questions from local outlets across Pennsylvania–refusing to leave his echo chamber of extremists on alt-right media.

“In Pennsylvania, there is a long history of media outlets and independent moderators asking candidates of both parties fair, direct questions about their track records and plans if elected–nobody gets to pick their own moderators or set their own terms.

“It’s unfortunate that Doug Mastriano has recklessly decided to blow up good faith debate negotiations with media outlets across the commonwealth. If he’s ever ready to step up and finally answer questions about his reckless agenda, we look forward to comparing Josh Shapiro’s long record of bringing people together and delivering results for Pennsylvanians with Mastriano’s record of dangerous extremism,” Simons said.

Similarly, Republican Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz is decrying Democrat Lt. Gov. John Fetterman’s failure to agree to debates. Oz has offered to debate Fetterman five times.

“Doctor Oz has agreed to five debates. John Fetterman has agreed to zero debates. If John is too sick to debate and is concerned he cannot stand in front of cameras for more than 10 minutes, then he should just say so. We’re sure voters would understand and so would we. Otherwise, he should pick some of the many debates Doctor Oz has agreed to or explain why he won’t agree to debate on KDKA on September 6,” said Oz campaign communications director Brittany Yanick.

Fetterman’s campaign did not respond when asked to comment about whether he plans to debate Oz.

Both Democrats are leading in recent polls and also have larger campaign coffers. A recent Trafalgar Group poll has Fetterman at 48.4 and Oz at 43.5 percent. It also puts Shapiro at 48.6 with Mastriano trailing at 44.7.

The Emerson College Poll showed Fetterman leading Oz by four points and Shapiro over Mastriano by three. But the Franklin & Marshall poll showed the Democrats winning by wide margins, with Shapiro at 44 percent to Mastriano’s 33 percent and Fetterman at 43 percent to Oz’s 30 percent.

But debates could be game changers.

Christopher P. Borick, professor of political science and director, Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion, said it is not unusual for a frontrunner to spurn debates.

“As for debates, it is a long-established strategy for frontrunners to try and minimize or even forego debates,” said Borick. “The status quo benefits those who are in front, so why give your opponent opportunities to score hits. Of course, those trailing will ask for more debates and use the reluctance of the frontrunner to engage to score a few points. In 2022 this dance is playing out with the GOP candidates looking for opportunities to gain ground and the Democrats not eager to provide those chances.”

The two Republican contenders may also get a boost from a rally with former President Donald Trump planned for Sept. 3 in Wilkes-Barre. Trump endorsed both candidates.

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Empty pantries. Unfilled medications. Depleted savings. I recently poured over hundreds of comments like these from my constituents regarding the issue concerning them most: the growing toll inflation takes on their survival.

Of the roughly 650 people who responded to my poll, 92 percent said they are worse off today than they were last year. Another 95 percent said they feel the pain of inflation at the gas pump and the grocery store. Many told me the cost to fill their tank has tripled, while electric bills and food purchases have risen by hundreds of dollars each month.

Others say they’ve dipped into savings and delayed retirement just to handle the worsening economic situation. Parents forgo new clothing and school supplies as their children embark on another academic year, elderly and disabled residents on fixed incomes fret over property tax hikes, small business owners watch sales plummet and income halved, while others consider fleeing Pennsylvania altogether.

This widespread suffering weighs on my mind every day and the responsibility I bear to fix it grows heavier by the minute. I wish I could say the same for my colleagues across the aisle, spurred on by a feckless gubernatorial administration only interested in throwing money at our problems in hopes they’ll just disappear.

Ordinary Pennsylvanians know this tactic only makes things worse. There’s no such thing as free money, especially when it’s our hard-earned dollars the state is using to appease Gov. Tom Wolf’s progressive allies. It’s the same pattern we see at the congressional level, where President Joe Biden just signed the Inflation Reduction Act – a misnomer, at best, to distract from the billions in handouts it awards to green energy.

Even the nonpartisan Congressional Office of the Budget admits the legislation will increase taxes on the middle class – those making under $400,000 annually – by $20 billion over the next decade. This, on top of the $410 million carbon tax the Wolf administration is fighting tooth and nail to impose on electricity ratepayers through the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI).

A bipartisan mix of lawmakers opposes RGGI because it could nearly quadruple energy costs by 2030 with virtually zero reduction in carbon emissions. It threatens tens of thousands of jobs and punishes millions of residents unable to afford greener options, like electric heat pumps and solar panels.

My constituents tell me their electricity bills have already inflated by hundreds of dollars each month, leaving them with difficult choices to make about which bills get paid. If the Senate Republicans’ legal challenge to stop RGGI once and for all fails, these costs will skyrocket even more.

But Wolf’s policies don’t exist in a vacuum. Rather, the Biden administration’s ruinous strategies amplify the struggle we all face just to drive to work and keep our lights on. From restrictive gas drilling regulations to the billions in aid we funnel to Ukraine to defeat a war against Russia, we swear we aren’t fighting, both Democratic leaders believe the middle class should fund their self-serving ambitions.

That’s why I sponsored Senate Bill 813 to temporarily institute a gas tax holiday that would shave 15 cents off the price per gallon for six months. The legislation also implements registration fees for electric and hybrid vehicles to offset the lost revenue from the tax cut to maintain funding for roads and bridges.

We know, however, that energy is just one facet of this spiraling economic crisis. Local governments often lean on property taxes to fill widening budget gaps, a strategy that hits residents surviving on fixed incomes the hardest. With more than 2.2 million seniors living in Pennsylvania, this hardship isn’t limited to my district alone.

Eliminating property taxes for residents 65 and older could benefit as many as 176,000 seniors currently living below the poverty line. Legislation I introduced last year would extend this relief to elderly residents who’ve lived in Pennsylvania for ten years or longer and make less than $40,000 annually.

Our seniors have spent decades working and contributing taxes to our state. They shouldn’t fear losing their homes because of the inflationary spiral that’s wreaking havoc on our lives.

I’m not the only one taking action to quell this disaster. My Republican colleagues and I have likewise championed legislation to lower taxes on businesses, which will translate into wage growth and economic prosperity.

We’ve dismissed the governor’s proposals to increase personal income taxes, collect higher fees from oil and gas operators and drain our state’s savings account. We’ve sued to block his onerous regulations meant to punish industry and raise prices for all. We’ve asked voters to step in and tell us where they stand on our most fundamental issues, rather than letting the administration dictate to us what they think is best.

In that vein, I’ll conclude with just a handful of the hundreds of comments I’ve received from my constituents about the hardships they face. Don’t just take my word for it:

“I have to watch every penny and try to budget even further in the event that inflation gets worse so my family will still be able to afford to pay bills, buy food, and gasoline so I can get to work. It’s scary and frustrating. ”

“HARD decisions have to be made. Pay health insurance or the utility bills? HAVE to go to work, HAVE to use gas, how is anyone coming out ahead? We were barely making even BEFORE inflation hit.”

“I don’t fill my tank up all the way. I put enough in to get me 2 to 3 days. I can’t afford my co-pays to go to [the] doctor. Even when I work 30 hours OT in 2 weeks.”

“We are on SS and it is almost impossible to make our money take us till the next month. With all the bills going higher, but our checks do not get any higher. We have to make choices if we should pay rent, or go to the doctor and pay the copays, or pay the bills, or get medication, or eat, or use the gas to do any of the above.”

“We have several kids [and] it’s very hard to even have all the essentials now. It is very hard to have food for all my kids all the time. And gas is so expensive to even go to work. Basically working to pay for gas and food. No money for anything else.”

“Inflation has caused me to put my business up for sale due to a drastic drop in sales. Only form of income so barely getting buy and hoping for the best.”

“All of our utilities are behind or in shut off status. We have been late on our house payment the last few months. We basically go to work and back home because we are trying to conserve what gas we have. Everything has gone up, but our wages.”

“Barely keeping our head above water. Depending on the outcome of the midterms, we may have to leave the country. Things are completely out of control.”

“We can’t save for a new house due to everything else increasing. My husband drives a truck and his fuel prices have almost tripled! We need your help!”

“The prices of everything are so high we have to sacrifice a lot of things just to eat and provide electric in my household. Whoever reads this please help!”

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The hiring of a state therapist with controversial views about adults who sexually abuse children is drawing the ire of a leading GOP candidate and official.

State Sen. Doug Mastriano, the Republican candidate for governor, sent a letter asking why the Department of Corrections hired a therapist who opposes using the word “pedophile” for convicted sex offenders who prey on children.

In a letter to acting Secretary of the Department of Corrections George Little, Mastriano demanded the department fire Miranda Galbreath.

Mastriano wrote, “To say I am disturbed would be an understatement. Galbreath makes some indefensible claims during the 10-plus minute video that attempts to destigmatize adults who sexually abuse children as misunderstood and vilified.

“She argues the term ‘pedophile’ is ‘a judgmental, hurtful insult’ meant to slander ‘minor-attracted persons,’ who – not unlike heterosexual and homosexual adults – don’t get to choose their sexual preferences. She has the nerve to suggest using the word ‘pedophile … causes harm’ to those convicted of sexual crimes against children. This revolting rhetoric prioritizes the humanity of child abusers over the protection and healing of their victims.”

“Galbreath’s reprehensible views have no place in our state prisons, let alone our society. I demand her professional relationship with our state end immediately and request a response regarding her involvement in counseling inmates at state correctional institutions and the extent to which this extremist ideology has infiltrated the department.”

Galbreath of Erie, who could not immediately be reached for comment, locked the videos from YouTube that Mastriano linked to in his Senate newsletter. However, his office provided a link.

Mike McDonnell, the spokesperson for the Pennsylvania chapter of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), opposes softening the language to protect the feelings of convicted pedophiles.

“The perpetrators who commit these crimes chose the attraction, and children were their target,” said McDonnell. “Any other term used is minimizing the crime and once again slaps the face of innocence. This appears to be an attempt to tidy up the word pedophile. It is not a natural sex preference, and there is no scientific tool known to predict or diagnose pedophilia or hebephilia. We have a large concern about what this therapist, working directly with offenders, is really coaching. Let the offenders discern who was truly harmed.”

Mastriano said, “Galbreath has the nerve to suggest using the word ‘pedophile … causes harm’ to those convicted of sexual crimes against children. This revolting rhetoric prioritizes the humanity of child abusers over the protection and healing of their victims. The department must address this now.”

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Veteran Republican state Sen. Bob Mensch has spent the past four years watching Lt. Gov. John Fetterman preside over the legislature’s upper chamber, and he can summarize his take in one word.

“Unimpressed.”

During a recent DVJournal podcast, the Delaware Valley Republican, who is retiring from office, offered his take on the races for governor and U.S. Senate, as well as the contest to fill his District 24 seat. And he concedes the Trump brand of GOP politics espoused by fellow state Sen. Doug Mastriano isn’t a good fit for the region.

“Some of the policies that have been espoused by the [Mastriano] campaign don’t line up as well in the southeast as in the rest of the state,” Mensch said of the GOP nominee for governor.

Mensch said candidates for statewide office need Democrat and independent voters as well as Republicans to win. Former Gov. Ed Rendell “used to say this all the time, (to win the governorship) you need to win seven counties. And five of those counties are right here in the southeast.”

“To be successful. I think Doug has to do a lot more campaigning, and I think he’s got to adapt his style to what the voters expect. It’s not always just what the candidate expects. I think he’s got to improve on his fundraising.”

The latest financial statements show that the Franklin County senator is far behind his Democratic opponent, Attorney General Josh Shapiro.

“With that said, some polls have Mastriano and Shapiro relatively close. And some have them 10 points apart. Polling has become less of an exact science through the evolution of communications,” said Mensch.

Mensch, who has represented parts of Montgomery, Bucks, and Berks counties since 2009, said that while his constituents have mixed views of Mastriano,  “there is a large presence here in my district supporting Mastriano.”

“There is quite a heartbeat here for Doug, and I like a lot of what Doug is talking about. I really do,” Mensch said.

Unlike some other Pennsylvania Republicans, Mensch is not jumping ship to back Shapiro.

“I can’t be favorable toward Josh Shapiro, not only because of party affiliation, but I disagreed so much with the policy initiatives of Gov. Tom Wolf. I believe that Shapiro will just be an extension of those policies. And I think it’s really wrong for the freedoms of our people in this state.”

And while Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz may be trailing in the polls, Mensch still finds him impressive.

“He is a very smart man, a very accomplished doctor in his field. He has a great many significant achievements,” Mensch said.  “But he’s got to get out his political platform, his political message,” said Mensch. “He’s campaigning against a man who has one or two policy issues.”

Mensch is definitely not impressed with Fetterman

“All he wants to do is legalize marijuana,” said Mensch. “You would expect that someone who’s running to be my U.S. senator would have more than one initiative.”

And Mensch mocked Fetterman for campaigning on his performance as mayor of Braddock, Pa. “Drive through Braddock. No one sees any improvement,” Mensch said.

“One ad says he has changed the job of the lieutenant governor,” said Mensch. “If that means he doesn’t know what he’s doing after four years, and he’s still incompetent at being the president of the Senate, then yes, he’s changed the job. He just doesn’t know what he’s doing. I’m relatively unimpressed with (Fetterman).”

As for who he would like to see serve his constituents in the Senate after he retires, Mensch said that would be state Rep. Tracy Pennycuick (R-Harleysville).

“She’s an incredible person,” said Mensch. “She really is. She’s so talented, so smart.”

Pennycuick “will be an incredible representative for the people in the 24th District in the Pennsylvania Senate…I don’t see a reason why she can’t get elected, and the mood in the district, as well as the polling in the district, would suggest that she’s an odds-on favorite for the seat.”

Democrat Jill Dennin, a community volunteer from Gilbertsville, is also running in the 24th.

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Parents in several Delaware Valley school districts have complained about their children being exposed to a “woke” gender agenda and explicitly sexual books and materials in their classrooms.

Now critics are pointing to materials from the state Department of Education under Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf that appear to make it look like a top-down effort.

For example, the DOE website lists genders as “ne, ve, ze/zie and xe,” as well as “he/him, she/her” that they label “traditional.”

State Sen. Doug Mastriano, the Republican candidate for governor, called out the Wolf administration and is touting bills he’s introduced to empower parents and end these programs.

“Once again, Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration skirts the legislative process to implement a far-left agenda behind the backs of the 13 million Pennsylvanians,” Mastriano said in a statement. “These guidelines encourage school districts to proselytize radical ideas about gender identity to children in all grades, all under the guise of school safety.

“The department touts the left’s twisted vernacular as objective fact, while the governor’s Democratic allies demonize parents as too bigoted to teach their own children about these sensitive topics,” Mastriano said. “We can teach kids to be tolerant, accepting, and kind to others – no matter what – without indoctrinating an entire generation.”

Mastriano said he stands behind several Senate-led bills to prioritize and empower parental involvement in our public education system, alert families about explicit material available in school libraries and limit formal conversations about gender identity and sexual orientation to middle and high school curriculum only.

He also introduced legislation earlier this year to establish a Parental Bill of Rights. It would give families statutory rights to “direct the upbringing of their children free from bureaucratic overreach,” the release said.

“Our schools need to focus on closing the learning gaps that worsened as a result of the governor’s ill-advised pandemic school closures, not forcing elementary-age children to engage in inappropriate conversations about gender identity,” Mastriano said. “It is up to parents, not the state, to engage with their children on these complex social issues and I will never stop fighting for their right to do so.”

Casey Smith, a spokesperson for the Department of Education, defended the gender policy. “The children who attend our schools represent the diverse backgrounds and cultures of our commonwealth, and that includes Pennsylvanians with various gender identities and expression. It is incumbent upon us to support all learners and make them all feel welcome in their schools and communities.

“The Wolf administration supports equity, inclusion, and belonging efforts in every school, and one way we can better serve our learners is by providing resources so that schools can support students who come from all walks of life.”

Fenicia Redman, a parent with a son in the Great Valley School District, told DVJournal she believes there is an intentional effort to influence children with an extreme ideology. “There are wolves among our children masquerading as Granny. I’ll see them soon in federal court.” Redman said she plans to sue the district over sexually explicit books found in school libraries.

Jim Jacobs, who took his son out of the West Chester Area School District because of a gay pride celebration at Stetson Middle School that encouraged boys to wear dresses, agrees this is not education.

“I know teachers who tell me personally – in private – they hate this garbage and agenda. But they want to retain their jobs,” Jacobs said. “Everyone I have spoken to, regardless of political party, has a huge issue with this being taught, but they’re afraid of standing up because of repercussions and being canceled. These are our youth coaches, shop owners, and just everyday working Americans who want to live their lives and educate their kids. Its indoctrination on top of indoctrination- how does this get passed to be taught to our children without parents being involved?

“Yes, it’s important to be tolerant and accepting of different religious beliefs and sexual preferences- but introducing this in school for kindergarten, middle school, and high school? Insanity,” said Jacobs.

The  Central Bucks School Board voted last week to keep graphic books out of elementary and middle school libraries.

A campaign spokesman for Attorney General Josh Shapiro, the Democrat running for governor, did not respond when asked whether Shapiro would keep the Wolf administration policies in place.

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When Fenicia Redman organized a group of Delaware Valley parents to travel to Harrisburg this week and argue that public schools are exposing children to inappropriate content, she didn’t know the state Capitol police would help make her case.

Redman, whose son attends Great Valley High School, supports two bills limiting sexual content in the curriculum and discussions of gender identity. Both advanced out of the state Senate Education Committee this week, She has been leading the charge against sexually explicit content in some school library books.

While at the Capitol, Redman talked with state Rep. Barbara Gleim (R-Carlisle) and state Sen. Doug Mastriano (R-Franklin), garnering support for her cause. She showed them posters of obscene illustrations in school library books available to children.

Books the parents object to include, “Gender Queer,” “All Boys Aren’t Blue,” and “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Tantric Sex.”

Mastriano, the Republican candidate for governor and member of the education committee, said in a statement the two bills will “empower parents to ensure their children are not exposed to sexually explicit materials and bizarre discussions about gender identity. Just this week, I had a visitor (Redman) to my office who showed me some of the explicit materials found in her child’s school library. It was shocking, to say the least. Schools need to be focused on educating–not indoctrinating–our students. The classroom needs to be a place for learning, not a place for gender theory lessons and grooming.”

SB 1277 requires districts to notify parents about sexually explicit content in the school curriculum and whether their child’s coursework includes that content. SB 1278 would prohibit classroom instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation for pre-kindergarten through 5th-grade students. Both passed the committee on Tuesday and will be taken up by the full Senate.

Redman and other parents who were with her, including a pastor who usually votes Democratic, wanted to show legislators that “this is real. We were out there peacefully…I am a parent, and I have a child who is being victimized by the mere presence of these books in the school library.”

And while Redman’s group was in the Capitol holding signs showing the explicit illustrations in books found in local school libraries, they were ordered by police to take them down. Too graphic.

“Capitol Police Lt. Devlin ordered me to remove the most graphic pictures because someone complained. ‘Children walk these halls,’ he told me.”

“I replied, ‘But these books are in school libraries and—‘”

“‘I don’t care. Get rid of them, or you’re OUT!” he told her. So, she packed up the posters of the obscene book illustrations. As she was walking down the hallway, Redman saw Mastriano’s office and went in and showed his staff the book illustrations and asked what “his position is on the criminal exploitation of our children, of minors in school is.”

The staff member went to a back office and ushered Redman in a minute later.

“And when I showed it to him, his jaw dropped,” she said.

Another senator’s office had an easel with a sign warning against banning books. Redman put one of her illustrations beneath it to juxtapose that message with the pornographic illustrations.

State Rep. Brian Sims (D-Philadelphia) posted on Instagram about banning books: “DYSTOPIAN: Banning books is antithetical to the pursuit of knowledge — especially when this draconian ban targets books that address race and racism. PA students deserve better.”

Gleim says she first saw the books with lurid illustrations that she called “pornography” at the Pennsylvania Leadership Conference in March and was surprised they were available in public school libraries. Since then she has been alerting her colleagues in the House, including Speaker Bryan Cutler, about the issue.

She has also heard from various parent groups and talked with the Pennsylvania State Education Association, and the Pennsylvania School Boards Association.

“The content is not appropriate,” Gleim said. “We’re working on ways where we can define what is age-appropriate for minors in school libraries.”

And she believes showing this content to minors may also violate federal laws.

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GOP gubernatorial candidate state Sen. Doug Mastriano abruptly ended a podcast interview with Delaware Valley Journal, angry over questions about his participation in a rally linked to QAnon conspiracy advocates. The Franklin, Pa. Republican also objected to questions about his participation in the infamous January 6 protest that preceded the riot at the U.S. Capitol. More than 750 people have been arrested for their role in the assault on the Capitol building.

“I resent the fact that you want to castigate anyone who went down to Washington D.C. on January 6th as some kind of enemy of the public. That is dangerous. You’re talking like an East German there,” Mastriano said to podcast host Michael Graham.

Mastriano touted his strong grassroots support during the interview, and political observers agree he has motivated hardcore Trump supporters in the race. The question is whether he can expand his appeal to more moderate voters in a general election against Attorney General Josh Shapiro, the likely Democratic nominee. How, for example, how does he plan to handle questions raised about his participation in the “Patriots Arise for God, Family and Country” rally last month, organized in part by believers in the bizarre QAnon conspiracy theory?

Rather than answer the question, Mastriano instead attacked the “left-wing media.”

“I want you to call out Josh Shapiro and scrutinize who’s in his audience or which groups he’s speaking with, or do you give him a free pass? That’s what I always see on the left. And I’m sick and tired of it,” Mastriano said. “If you’re gonna cast judgments and aspersions on people that I associate with, then by God, you better see what Josh Shapiro — I know [Lt. Governor John] Fetterman’s been in a room with some really radical people, especially with his bus tour around the state on recreational use of marijuana. They get a free pass every time. And so we’ve got to tighten this up.”

News Editor Linda Stein attempted to ask Mastriano about his pledge to do something about crime in Philadelphia, but he again brought the conversation back to questions about his participation in the controversial rally. After bemoaning the high crime in the city where the Constitution was crafted, Mastriano demanded, “How dare you castigate me for gathering with people?

“I don’t like the tone of this whole interview because it is so unfair. I hope you’ll do scrutiny on [Josh Shapiro], or are you just too lazy?

“‘Oh, you have conspiracy theorists there.’ Oh, Ok. Maybe,” Mastriano added. “So what does that matter? Do you try and discredit me?”

When the conversation turned to his general election plans for handling questions about his allegations the 2020 election was stolen from former President Donald Trump — a claim that has not been substantiated by the available evidence — Mastriano ended the interview.

Delaware Valley Journal has interviewed many of the gubernatorial and U.S. Senate candidates from both sides of the aisle and hosted a debate among Republicans in the Senate race. No other candidate has walked out on an interview or debate.

The podcast audio is below. Readers are invited to listen for themselves. Please send your comments/reaction to [email protected].

President Donald Trump really shook up the Pennsylvania Senate race with his endorsement of Dr. Oz, but he also started a temblor in the Pennsylvania governor’s race. By his attack on former U.S. Attorney Bill McSwain, Trump triggered the Montgomery County Republican State Committee delegation to move past its previous position of not endorsing candidates in the primary to endorse Delaware County businessman Dave White for governor.

Liz Preate Havey, the chairperson of the Montgomery County Republicans, joined me on my radio show and told me Bill McSwain was a prime candidate for endorsement, but Trump’s direct assault on him for what Trump deemed was a failure to pursue voter fraud in the 2020 election aggressively made him radioactive. Havey cited the fact that polling indicated vast numbers of Trump voters would follow Trump’s lead and not vote for him in the primary.

The response of my listeners to all this offers an alternative. In the wake of the Trump attack, my Twitter poll and on-air calls indicate stronger support for McSwain. Listeners seemed to realize that in the aftermath of the 2020 election, McSwain had to follow the directives of Attorney General Bill Barr, who was his boss and someone who chose not to pursue many of the charges of fraud that were raised after the election.

In addition to the difference of opinion between Trump over McSwain, an increasing number of listeners have expressed the fear that Trump might be relitigating the election of 2020 rather than focusing on the elections of 2022 and 2024. The approach I recommend is, rather than dwell on wild and bizarre theories around 2020, to focus on closing off huge sums of money from people like Mark Zuckerberg that were used to drive up Democrat voting using government elected officials and to get rid of mail-in balloting in Pennsylvania.

In addition to her insights as why the Montco Republicans chose to endorse White over McSwain, Havey told me her group did not think state Sen. Doug Mastriano could win the general election for governor. She agreed he often wins most polls and is a powerhouse in the state’s rural areas, but she believes he would be swamped by Josh Shapiro, the attorney general and Democratic candidate for governor.

In addition to Trump’s scrambling of the governor’s race here locally, his endorsement of Dr. Oz in the Senate race really disappointed my listeners overall. They seem to agree that Oz has a good case for winnability in the general election due to his name recognition and financial resources. However, they have deep doubts about his stance on gun rights, abortion, and several cultural issues. In addition, they are not that upset that he did not choose to endorse Dave McCormick but rather that he passed over candidate Kathy Barnette. They see Barnette as the most fervent by far MAGA person in the entire field. The poll I conducted on listener choices after Trump’s Oz endorsement had Kathy with a clear majority of the total votes.

I’d also like to remind readers of the candidacy of Jeff Bartos for the Senate seat. Bartos has been saluted by Tucker Carlson and a host of others for his successful efforts to keep tons of small businesses afloat during the disastrous lockdowns across Pennsylvania. He is a person of distinct accomplishment.

My last thought in all this is that I hope President Trump does not endorse anyone in the Republican primary for governor. This is the most important race in the country to me. I’m convinced that if a Republican wins, we will not see a repeat of the questionable election issues we saw in 2020 and Pennsylvania will fairly decide the election of 2024.

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With a little more than a month to go until Pennsylvania’s primary election, the only thing GOP voters have decided is that they haven’t decided anything.

In an EagleView poll released Wednesday, U.S. Attorney Bill McSwain has moved into second place in the race for the Republican nomination for governor, while state Sen. Doug Mastriano remains in first place.  The survey of 502 likely GOP voters showed Mastriano with 19 percent and McSwain with 12.7 percent. Former Congressman Lou Barletta dropped to third with 11 percent and Dave White, a former Delaware County councilman and small business owner, was fourth with 7 percent.

However, 44 percent remained undecided and the other five Republican candidates came in at less than 2 percent each.

McSwain’s surge happened before former President Donald Trump delivered his scathing anti-endorsement. “One person in Pennsylvania who I will not be endorsing is Bill McSwain for governor,” Trump said Tuesday. “He was the U.S. Attorney who did absolutely nothing on the massive election fraud that took place in Philadelphia and throughout the commonwealth.”

The question now is, how will Keystone State Republicans react?

“Our GOP poll can serve as a benchmark in the gubernatorial primary, coming as it did just prior to former Pres. Donald Trump’s unexpected smackdown of McSwain,” said Christopher Nicholas, veteran Republican political consultant and president of Eagle Consulting Group. “This poll shows the millions that McSwain and his backers have spent on TV ads is starting to boost his stock in the primary.”

White took advantage of Trump’s broadside against McSwain to release a new TV commercial titled “Never, Ever Vote for Bill McSwain.”

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A new Franklin & Marshall College Center for Opinion Research poll also found McSwain in second place with 12 percent, trailing first-place finisher Mastriano with 15 percent of the vote. Barletta is in third place at 10 percent.

The F&M poll also found a large number of Republicans –40 percent — still undecided.

“We have been blessed to be consistently ahead in most of the polls since last May, with the lead growing since this past November, when a Democrat Legislative Committee Poll (DLCC) confirmed my lead two months before my announcement of entering the gubernatorial race,” said Mastriano.  “We are thankful to have the support of the people from around the state.  Several of the other campaigns have spent literally millions of dollars to boost their names, only to remain in the single digits.  What we are seeing in this campaign cycle is breaking all the norms.  This is because of the suffering that we endured over the past year.”

“People are looking for demonstrated and proven leadership, not just more empty talk, and meaningless slogans.  The key difference is that of all the gubernatorial candidates, Doug Mastriano was the only one that stood and fought for people’s families, businesses, livelihoods, and freedoms.  When they hear the hollow promises of others, they walk away saying, where have you been and what have you done?  Our vision for Pennsylvania is to restore freedom, rebuild families and to revive the economy.  We are together looking forward to a new day for PA where we can once again walk as free people,” Mastriano said..

“We are proud to have the support of conservative patriots from across the commonwealth who share Bill’s vision for a safer, freer, more secure Pennsylvania,” said James Fitzpatrick, McSwain’s campaign manager. “Bill’s growing strength among primary voters confirms that Pennsylvanians are ready to nominate a conservative outsider who will fight for them as governor. A McSwain primary victory is just weeks away.”

Only one Democrat is running for governor, Attorney General Josh Shapiro.

The F&M poll also included the Democrats vying for the U.S. Senate nomination.

Lt. Gov. John Fetterman is in first place with 41 percent; Congressman Conor Lamb has 17 percent and state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta was at 4 percent. Nine percent of respondents said someone else, 2 percent said none, and 26 percent said they do not know.

F&M U.S. Senate primary poll

Conversely, 43 percent of the Republicans polled said they did not know who they will vote for Senate.

The poll put Dr. Mehmet Oz in the lead with 16 percent, and former hedge fund CEO Dave McCormick in second at 15 percent. Commentator Kathy Barnette came in third at 9 percent and former Ambassador Carla Sands was fourth at 5 percent, with Philadelphia lawyer George Bochetto at 2 percent.

The F&M poll lists a sample error rate of plus or minus 4.2 percentage points.

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