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Pennsylvania Tag

U.S. District Judge Paul Diamond was not impressed by Jill Stein's request for a statewide, presidential ballot recount. Monday morning, Judge Diamond denied failed Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein's recount request. From the wires:
A federal judge on Monday issued a stinging rejection of a Green Party-backed request to recount paper ballots in Pennsylvania's presidential election, won by Republican Donald Trump, and scan some counties' election systems for signs of hacking.

On Saturday night it was announced that the Green Party had dropped its recount efforts in Pennsylvania. CBS News in Pittsburgh reported:
Green Party Drops Statewide Pennsylvania Recount Green Party-backed voters dropped a court case Saturday night that had sought to force a statewide recount of Pennsylvania’s Nov. 8 presidential election, won by Republican Donald Trump, in what Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein had framed as an effort to explore whether voting machines and systems had been hacked and the election result manipulated.

The world has truly gone mad. A Philly city attorney was busted after surveillance footage was used to identify him as a vandal. His tag read "F*** Trump". Though it's impressive that he perpetrated the act of vandalism while sipping wine, adorned in khakis, a blazer, and what looks to be a very nice scarf. For now, the man still has his job:
A city attorney involved in an anti-Donald Trump vandalism incident, caught on camera, made a "dumb mistake," and remains in his job for now Mayor Kenney said Thursday.

Failed Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein is making more headlines now than during the election cycle. Earlier today, Stein requested a recount in over 100 Pennsylvania precincts. Politico reports:
Legal papers filed in Commonwealth Court by a lawyer for Stein’s campaign contend the Nov. 8 election was “illegal” and the results inaccurate based on research suggesting there might have been irregularities with electronic voting machines, among other evidence. ... "The Stein recount effort is mobilizing concerned voters across Pennsylvania to request recounts in their precincts," Stein campaign manager David Cobb said in a statement. "Additionally, the campaign filed a legal petition in state court today on behalf of 100 Pennsylvania voters to protect their right to substantively contest the election in Pennsylvania beyond the recounts being filed by voters at the precinct level. This petition will allow the campaign to pursue a full statewide recount in Pennsylvania if precinct-level recounts uncover any irregularities or tampering.”

Imagine that a Republican state attorney general had been forced to resign after being convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice. Now imagine how the story would have been played on MSNBC. Fair to assume that the word "Republican" would have featured in the story's first sentence? But in a stand-alone segment on today's Hardball on the forced resignation of Kathleen Kane, the Pennsylvania AG who was convicted on nine charges, host Chris Matthews failed to ever mention, and the screen graphics never revealed, that Kane is a Democrat. Kane had illegally leaked secret grand jury documents to harm a rival prosecutor, then lied about it under oath.

Nicolle Wallace nailed it: "voters are so smart! And whenever we scratch our heads here in New York City or anywhere along the Acela corridor, you really just have to get out for a day or an hour and talk to people. They see everything." Wallace was reacting to clips from a focus group of working-class Pennsylvania voters aired on today's Morning Joe. Trump boosters and critics alike offered fresh, authentic, insightful takes on the candidate. As something of a political junkie, I found myself feeling envious of the clear and uncluttered way they cut to the heart of things. Have a look: if your faith in your fellow Americans has at times been flagging, these folks will restore it.

The left is celebrating the passage of a new tax on soda and sugary drinks in Philadelphia. It's the second tax of its kind, the first was in Berkeley, California. This victory will only embolden proponents. CNN reports:
Philadelphia passes a soda tax In a final vote of 13-4, the Philadelphia City Council on Thursday passed a 1.5-cents-per-ounce tax on sugar-added and artificially sweetened soft drinks. That would add 18 cents to the cost of a can of soda, $1.08 for a six-pack or $1.02 for a two-liter bottle.

How do you know a politician's ground game sucks? He has to pay people to play the part of "supporter." Pennsylvania State Rep. Kevin Boyle (D) is looking for supporters for a day. Stand at a Philadelphia polling location, wave a sign (probably, the email doesn't enumerate specific duties), and you too could receive $120 plus free lunch and an invite to an open-bar at the end of the day. Gawker obtained a casting call invite: