Are the nation's smaller industrial cities -- places like Youngstown, Ohio; Schenectady, NY; and Dwight's hometown of Scranton, PA -- poised for a comeback? A new PolicyLink report released today shows how smart, equitable investments are helping lead these cities toward a more just and fair renewal.
Driven by high gas prices and a "green awakening," many families and retiring Boomers are looking for a walkable, manageable place to call home.
Concentrated in swing states and already home to nearly 7.5 million people – more than Los Angeles and Chicago combined – these 150+ cities have many of the assets and amenities to capitalize on the national re-urbanization trend: walkable downtowns, historic architecture, unparalleled waterfronts and parks, colleges and universities, and grand cultural institutions.
Last night’s Obama rally held at Riverfront Sports Complex in Scranton, PA, has been neglected largely by the mainstream media as of noon today. Learn more at http://blog.washingtonpost.com/... (registration required) and http://www.time-blog.com/...
Scranton is Hillary's "third" home, outside of Arkansas and New York, it's where her Grandfather is Buried. The blue collar town of 72,000+ poured out Sunday night to see Caroline Kennedy, Bob Casey and Senator Barack Obama.
Swampland pegs the crowd at 4,800, really quite a showing for a city widely suspected of potentially going 75%+ for Hillary...
Robert Gibbs told me earlier they’re looking to “draw votes.” Obama called the crowd “feisty” when they kept booing Hillary and they interrupted him a couple of times with chants of "Yes we can!"
I'm in Northeaster PA canvassing and was just watching John Blake on CSPAN describe Governor Rendell's proposed health plan and while praising both Senator Clinton's and Senator Obama's plans, he said theirs did not include mandates "and more closely resembles Senator Obama's plan." Blake is the former director of Rendell's NE PA office and was praising the plan, and also stated how much praise the plan had received. This seems like a big deal to me, and also something which should be mentioned in the Obama health care ads running here - can someone look into this more? I've got to get back to knocking on doors.
It was a busy day for me today. Watching Manchester United beat Arsenal on FSC (see posts passim regarding the old country and being a dual national), the weekly shopping, taking the dog out for a walk or three, Yankees and Red Sox on ESPN, and posting this.
OK, not so hard a Sunday.
And flicking through the news I see that Hillary Clinton decided to go door to door in West Scranton to show how small town Pennsylvania really is.
Only thing is: someone forgot to tell Hillary this ain't no small town.
I got a call yesterday afternoon, and an e-mail follow-up, from Alexandria Rosetti, the Obama national campaign field organizer I worked with while serving as a precinct captain here in Dallas.
Sure, we caught up -- but, mostly, we talked about her need for support in the field in Scranton, where she's working now. Alexandria reports that Scranton, Hillary's birthplace, is tough sledding for the Obama team, and asked for any help we can provide by way of phone calls.
Hillary's Grandmother Hannah Jones Rodham of Scranton Could Help Obama Win Big in Pennsylvania, March 30, 2008
At a Barack Obama house party in Princeton a few weeks ago, I heard a great "Casey Democrats" and Hillary Rodham Clinton family story that I cannot forget!
The story teller hails from Scranton. He is a Democratic party activist, a life long friend of the Casey's, and a professor who lives in Princeton. "Maguire" told me in no uncertain terms and in so many words, Kathy Callahan, after all that you've been through with Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign...You must go back to Hillary's book, Living History and read about her grandmother Hannah Jones Rodham of Scranton.
But on the day that matters to those with even a little Irish heritage (hello, County Sligo), Barack Obama was the one that came to Scranton on Saint Patrick's Day.
His first appointment was at Whistle's Pub, where it was "by invite only". MTV Networks were filming something in there, a Q&A session with the junior Senator from Illinois and a selection of veterans.
I just had to pass on this link to a new NYT story about the Clinton campaign's plans to use the Rodham family's working-class background in Scranton to solidify her status there in favorable parts of Pennsylvania.
The comment I'd like to make on this: In 2000, Hillary ran for Senator, where it was thought (and rightly so) that Upstate New York would tough ground for her to take. It didn't turn out to be, so much; she was pretty successful at playing First Lady and keeping Bill highly visible on a leash. That worked... eight years ago.
However, if she'd ever used the "Scranton strategy" with Upstate voters, it probably would have worked very well for her. Although there are no coal mines here, a lot of Upstate New York is in the so-called "Dunder Mifflin Triangle" - same working-class history, hit by the same globalization forces, same determination to survive.
For those scratching their heads: Dwight Schrute is a character on NBC's "The Office", a fakeumentary of life in a paper company based in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Scranton, unlike other cities in Northeast Pennsylvania I could mention (cough, Hazleton, cough), is quite a progressive place to live. One of the top Universities in the North East. Thriving art community. And a progressive Democratic mayor by the name of Chris Doherty.
So let's see if I can't personally help turn this cool city into a CoolCity...
