If I were to guess, I'd guess that John (Johnny Doc) Dougherty is the front-runner in the Democratic primary for the Pennsylvania Senate seat abandoned by ethically challenged and indicted Vince Fumo. Oh woe is me. I cannot possibly vote Republican this Fall for that seat, as the Republican in the race, Jack Morley, is a complete and utter nutcase. (Hey, Jack, how did that brandishing of a weapon in a bar thing come out, anyway?) We're all hoping Anne Dicker can pull off an upset.

But this isn't about Anne Dicker, a fine organizer and community advocate. This is about the bully and thug, Johnny Doc. Yeah, I'll admit that the third candidate in this race, Larry Farnese, has it right. Johnny Doc is a bully and a thug. But it's his lack of ethics that should make us all rally against sending him to Harrisburg. Here's the latest on Johnny Doc from the Philadelphia Daily News:

A mysterious flier that surfaced in last year's mayoral race comparing Michael Nutter's stop-and-frisk proposal to an infamous police raid on the Black Panthers was created by a consultant for the city electricians union, the city Board of Ethics disclosed yesterday.
The consultant, Tommie St. Hill, said yesterday he had prepared the flier on his own, without financial support from the electricians or anyone else.

But the Ethics Board, an independent agency responsible for enforcing the city's campaign finance laws, appears to be investigating the possibility that the electricians' political-action committee paid for the leaflet and filed misleading financial reports to conceal it.

The union is led by John J. Dougherty, now a candidate for the state Senate. During last year's mayoral race, Dougherty was a prominent backer of Tom Knox, the insurance tycoon who finished second to Nutter in the Democratic primary.

The Black Panther flier was one of two anonymous leaflets, both criticizing Nutter, to appear in the closing days of the campaign.

It shows six black males stripping off their clothes in front of two white police officers, with their guns drawn.

"Welcome to the Reality of Mike Nutter's 'Stop and Frisk' Philly," the flier says. "If he's elected mayor of Philadelphia, Mike Nutter will institute a controversial 'stop and frisk' program that will give police unlimited powers to stop and search any citizen, for any reason - or no reason - at all. A vote for Nutter is a vote for racial profiling. A vote for Nutter is a vote against our civil rights."

The leaflet itself contained no information on its origin. But the Ethics Board found the company that printed it and traced the leaflet to St. Hill, who now runs RCS Diversified Consultants, and was an aide to the late U.S. Rep. Lucien Blackwell .

In sworn testimony last summer, St. Hill told the Ethics Board he spent at least $8,800 of his own money to print 125,000 copies of the flier and pay 25 or 30 people to distribute it on Election Day, in North and West Philadelphia.

In a filing yesterday in Common Pleas Court, the Ethics Board identified $22,500 in payments from the electricians' political-action committee to St. Hill and RCS within two months of the flier's printing.

On the PAC's financial reports, the payments were described as "GOTV" - the term normally used to describe "get out the vote" activities on Election Day.

Also, the union paid $49,000 to RCS from the union's Job Recovery Account. And St. Hill received another $15,000 in October from Philadelphia Phuture, a PAC run by Dougherty's daughter, Erin.

There you have it. The guy who produced the ugly and unattributed campaign flier against Michael Nutter received tons of dollars from the Johnny Doc PAC, but he claims it had no influence on his actions. What a whiney excuse. Next St. Hill is going to be posing as a Republican and playing footsie in a men's room or something. I GUARANTEE Johnny Doc had his hands on that dirty trick in last year's mayoral campaign. I GUARANTEE. It may never come out in court, but only because Johnny Doc will stonewall the Ethics Board's attempts to figure it out. That's the big thing here. We do not need a man serving Philadelphia's interest in Harrisburg who holds such contempt for ethics that he will not answer inquiries from the Ethics Board. Simple as that. I also GUARANTEE, when it comes down to it, that Johnny Doc will claim he did not know anything about St. Hill's dirty trick fliers, but if anyone believes Johnny Doc didn't know, they are completely fooling themselves.

But isn't Johnny Doc incompetent, just like tons of Republicans out there? Yeah, I think he's a Republican in Democratic clothing. And here's a bit of his incompetence, guaged by who he's backed recently. From the Philadelphia Inquirer:

The former construction worker's rise to power broker has not been without setbacks.

One of his first candidates, Rick Mariano, a Local 98 member who was elected to City Council in 1995, was convicted of bribery in 2006 and is in prison.

After his ouster as party treasurer, Dougherty supported millionaire Tom Knox in the 2007 mayoral primary, which included Brady and which Michael Nutter won. He also backed Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum in his failed bid to win reelection against Bob Casey in 2006.

Yup, Johnny Doc has tried to be kingmaker in the past, and he's failed. First he backed indicted and convicted Rick Mariano. Then he endorsed Tom Knox, a man who was a good candidate, though not the right man for Philadelphia in this time. It was in service of Tom Knox that Johnny Doc ordered these ugly dirty trciks, no doubt. But Johnny Doc should be completely condemned for supporting Rick Santorum. First, Santorum is anathema to anything Democratic, with both a capital "D" and a small "d." Santorum lost so badly in 2006 because he is completely out of touch not just with the average Pennsylvanian, but also with the average Pennsylvania Republican. Maybe it was Santorum's own ethical lapses that attracted Johnny Doc to him.

I'm not sure how good endorsements are in this city anymore, but it is good to see the Daily News has backed Anne Dicker. I know Anne well, and will be at my polling place working for her on election day. She's a fine person, and there's not a soul out there who could accuse Anne Dicker of ethical lapses. Yeah, Johnny Doc is likely to be indicted in the next few months, if the scuttlebut is right. But we need a clean candidate for change in Philly, and that candidate is Anne Dicker.

Please, folks, even if you are from far from Philly, consider a gift to Anne Dicker's campaign.

Ed Rendell has long been known to play the same old same old political game of destruction. As such, I'm not a huge supporter. But he's a lame duck, so when he does it I don't get all that upset. But I am a huge supporter of Michael Nutter, even endorsing him for Mayor early in the campaign. Michael Nutter ran a good and honest campaign for mayor, standing above the usual ugliness of Philadelphia politics. I'm thinking he's going slightly off the rails with this stunt done in conjunction with Ed Rendell. Here's their silly whine in favor of Hillary Rodham Clinton from the Philadelphia Inquirer:

Gov. Rendell, Mayor Nutter and two of Hillary Rodham Clinton's top aides yesterday blasted Barack Obama's campaign for allegedly diminishing and disrespecting Pennsylvania's presidential primary.
In a national conference call with reporters, the foursome pointed to a memorandum written by Obama's campaign manager, David Plouffe, that referred to Pennsylvania as "only one of ten remaining contests."

Rendell predicted that the description would be "off-putting" to the state's Democratic voters. Nutter called it "one of the silliest things I've seen in recent times."

Mark Penn, Clinton's top strategist, went on to praise the state - the largest yet to vote - as "incredibly vibrant and important" both in the nomination fight and the general election.

Obama's Pennsylvania spokesman, Sean Smith, said the controversy was much ado about nothing, that Obama had every intention of competing for the state's 158 pledged delegates in the voting on April 22.

Guys, Pennsylvania is in fact one of ten primaries left in this country. Both candidates should be focusing on all of those states. You are whining about a fact here. And there isn't any evidence that Obama is treating Pennsylvania with anything but respect. Rendell and Nutter are signing onto some stupid, whiney Hillary Clinton BS, and with Michael Nutter, at least, I am disappointed.

I've talked to Michael Nutter about this race and his endorsement of Hillary Clinton. I had breakfast with him the day after he made that appearance with her to endorse her candidacy here in Philadelphia. I came away thinking Michael Nutter endorsed Mrs. Clinton because of his beliefs, and I respected him for it even though I was leaning heavily to Obama at the time. I imagined Mr. Nutter would campaign for Hillary Clinton, but I was confident he would do so by focusing on the issues. This silly whine that he's signed onto disappoints me a great deal, especially since Mr. Nutter himself campaigned on a unity theme not unlike Barack Obama.

I am saddened Michael Nutter. You can do better.

Vince Fumo, it hard to admit, is my Senator. Happily, I didn't vote for him. He is still running for the Democratic nomination for State Senator this year, and is widely seen as the most powerful politician in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He is also the subject of a 139 count indictment that ranges from fraud to conspiracy to obstruction of Justice to tax evasion. (You can read about the Vince Fumo indictment story here in a special section at the Philadelphia Inquirer, and there's even a copy of the indictment itself.) Now we find that the records concerning Mr. Fumo's tax assessments on his $6MM home here in Philadelphia have been. . . lost (that's the house there on the left). Gee, there's not a soul who is surprised. From the Inquirer's story today:

The mystery of how State Sen. Vincent J. Fumo came to have a remarkably low tax bill for his Spring Garden mansion may never be fully solved.
The reason: the city's real estate tax board says it lost its Fumo file.

"They moved heaven and earth to try to find it," said Kevin Feeley, a consultant for the Philadelphia Board of Revision of Taxes. He said it was probably lost in a recent move.

With the documents gone, Feeley says the board cannot provide complete answers to a lingering puzzle about Fumo's 27-room Victorian showplace: Why is it valued at $250,000, sparing Fumo a huge tax hit, when the senator is trying to sell it for $6 million?

"It's like the fourth grader saying the dog ate his homework," said Ed Goppelt of Hallwatch.org, who also sought the mansion's tax file.

"To lose 13 years of records from one of the most powerful elected officials in Pennsylvania? That's pretty weak."

Lost file notwithstanding, Feeley said the agency was confident that Fumo had been treated like any other taxpayer.

It should be noted that while the Board of Revision of Taxes claims confidence that Mr. Fumo was treated like every other taxpayer, there are a couple of his friends on the Board of Revisions of Taxes. Instead of a tax bill of $6,611, he should be paying around $165 per year for that property. This sounds very much like what Republicans do. And it's not hard to fgure that out. A Culture of Corruption" springs from the notion that one can't be beat. That was the situation that bred the Republican "Culture of Corruption" under Bush, Abramoff, etc. Well, Vince Fumo has felt that his position is secure for a long, long time. Perhaps this is because of the power he has amassed, but it is also because he's never been challenged on the Democratic side before, not seriously. And we all know a Republican can't win in South Philly. It is time to challenge the man, and it is also time for all Philadelphia politicians to wash their hands of Vince Fumo.

Anne Dicker is mounting a campaign to challenge Fumo. She's definitely a darkhorse, but with more stories like today's she just might have a chance. My wife and I hosted a fundraiser for Anne Dicker at our house Saturday. A lkittle wine, a few guests, and some money in Anne's coffers. I urge you all to host a fundraiser for Anne, and if you are not in Philly, I urge you to send her a contribution anyway. This is a case of getting rid of corruption within Democratic ranks, and to my mind that is just as important as getting rid of Republican corruption.

Some of you will remember that I endorsed Michael Nutter last fall in Philadelphia's Mayor's race. That's the first endorsement I'd ever done, being previously satisfied with being a gadfly of a blogger here at ASZ. My wife and I also won breakfast with the Mayor last Fall, and today we bent his ear at breakfast at the Ritz. It was a lot of fun, and I'm not sure we could have a more personable and down-to-earth Mayor. Let's hope this new Administration leads to good things.

Anne Dicker's web site is up, and she's challenging indicted Vince Fumo, a powerhouse in Pennsylvania politics, for the State Senate here. Yeah, I know this must be a surprise, me writing about a corrupt Democrat, but if we believe in good government, we've got to get rid of the corrupt people from both parties, and Vince Fumo is an embarrassment to Democratic ideals about good government. Fumo's's an indicted embarrassment, and the US Attorney's office's statement on the Fumo indictment is hard to ignore. I say we boot him out, and I just wrote a check for $100 to Anne Dicker's campaign.

Sure, I want to dwell on Fumo's indictments, but I think this post should be about Anne, as fine a candidate as you or I may see in state politics. She is young, honest and fervent in her ideals. While I may not be as strongly opinionated about the casino issues here in Philly, Anne has been steadfast in her advocacy for the neighborhoods in which those slots parlors are scheduled to be built. Hey, I've got a bit of an interest there, since I live in the city of Philadelphia, and am even thinking of moving nearer to the site of the Foxwoods casino, which is in a holding pattern so far, thanks in part to Anne's work. (No, I'm not sold on all the arguments against the casinos along the Delaware, but those issues are key to the possibility of my wife and I moving to that neighborhood, and so I'll be quizzing Anne next time I see her.)

Here's a little about Anne from her web site:

Anne Dicker first got involved in political organizing in April of 2003 after attending a Howard Dean for President meet-up at the Standard Tap in Northern Liberties. That night voters from around the Philadelphia region gathered to talk about the Iraq War, improving health care, and defeating George Bush in 2004.

Since then, Anne has dedicated herself to working for progressive political reform at the national, state and local levels. During the 2004 election, Anne coordinated thousands of volunteers and environmentalists from around the country with the League of Conservation Voters, and founded Philly for Change to give progressives a stronger voice in city politics.

Recognized for her highly successful and innovative organizing efforts, Anne was asked to join the National Advisory Board of Democracy for America (DFA) in 2005. Working with DFA members throughout the country, Anne was instrumental in stopping George Bush’s efforts to privatize Social Security. That same year, Anne joined Iraq War veteran Patrick Murphy’s antiwar congressional race as field director before leaving to run to represent the 175th district in the Pennsylvania House. She ran a groundbreaking grassroots campaign against candidates supported by the city’s two big political machines.

Anne was outraged by the way the General Assembly betrayed voters during the Pay Raise Scandal and the middle-of-the-night passage of the casino bill, authored by State Senator Vince Fumo. At the heart of her platform was a promise to reform the self-centered politics of Harrisburg and to put the concerns of citizens first. Her campaign was endorsed by PA Sierra Club, Philly NOW, PA Women’s Campaign Forum, and Philly for Change. Anne also received a 100% rating from Planned Parenthood, and was one of only six candidates running in local races to be endorsed by the national leadership of Democracy for America.

You can meet Anne Dicker at Philadelphia's Drinking Liberally, at least on some weeks when it is held. Sure, I've heard from Anne that she's not likely to be there this week, but I encourage you to come and ask her some questions in other Drinking Liberally events at Tangiers on Tuesdays (18th and Lombard in Philly during Happy Hour). Heck, email her and ask when she's showing up. But, most importantly, if you believe in good government, then consider donating to her campaign. In fact, we need a big campaign here to raise money for Anne's primary challenge to the ethically challenged Vince Fumo. Richard, I'll challenge you right now to make a donation. Yeah, somegirl, you, too. And I'm going to Drinking Liberally Philadelphia tonight and pestering a whole bunch of other folks for a donation. Further, my wife (a pro-choice Republican) and I will be hosting a "meet and greet" for Anne Dicker in January. $100 donation per head on that one, and if you want an invitation, drop me an email, OK? We'll be inviting Michael Nutter to that event. . . and he might even show up? Heck, who knows?

No, Vince Fumo has not, as far as we know, partaken of the illicit sexual highjinks that Republicans are becoming known for, but he's got all the other markings of a Republican, the corruption, the favors for friends, the sucking on the teat of the public dole. It's time we booted this guy out. I challenge everyone here to donate to her campaign and help Democrats live up to the high ideals of our party.

A Pennsylvania Senate Debate is being negotiated as I write this item. It will happen between Rick Santorum and John Featherman (pictured at the right). It seems inexplicable to me, as Santorum has little to gain from such a debate, but evidently he promised a long time back to debate a qualified primary opponent.

Regardless of Mr. Santorum's motives, this is good for John Featherman, a Republican candidate with very traditional Republican values. He is not the spendthrift Republican, as is Santorum, nor is he a Republican who seeks a government that intrudes into all areas of the lives of citizens. Featherman is more a Goldwater Republican (though he eschews labels and sees himself as his own entirely, both fiscally conservative and socially liberal), and the contrast he can draw is strong. I've mentioned to him that he can begin every answer in the debate as, "I am a Republican and I stand for Republican values, such as (fill in the blank)." The blank can include "fiscal responsibility," "small government," "less intrusive government," "ethical government," etc. That's contrast, as Rick Santorum believes in none of those things, and it's a contrast that can win a debate.

Would that Bob Casey could find the stones to debate Alan Sandals and Chuck Pennacchio, as John Featherman suggests here.

Here's the letter from the Santorum camp to Featherman:

No, that's not a stoner's lament as he scrapes up the last of his stash and wondering where his next hit will come from. It is an emblem of a cyber-phenomenon, where a community residing on the internet, in this case the Philadelphia Eagles Message Board (EMB) (registration required), is mourning for one of their own. Herb, a member of that community for many years, is dying (article by Dave Spadaro is here.) The outpouring of love is amazing, and while this cyber-community has many members who have met each other, it is not like these people are lifelong friends. They all met on a Message Board, yet their love, support, grief, it is very real and touching. It makes me dizzy in a sense, that so much connection can be felt by so many whose real world connection is mostly through a modem.

That's Herb there to the right. He's a member of the military, a husband of Jess, and the father of three little ones aged seven and below. Today he lies in a bed, and I imagine there are tubes connected. His cancer is in the very last stages, and he may not make it through the weekend. But he will be taking phone calls from his friends on the EMB, all day probably. They will call to cheer him up, and they will call so that Herb can cheer them up, just as if they are real friends. "Real" friends? Well, it seems we aren't in Kansas anymore, and those definitions we so comfortably hold do not hold any longer.

We've talked about the effects the blogzome can have on occasion here at ASZ. Heck, I think I coined the term "blogzome." The term refers to those often unpredictable connections between blogs on the internet, attempts to describe and theorize our (lack of) organization here on the Left Blogzome that nonetheless encourages and enables sometimes breatless coordinated action between blogs. The rise of many stories, like Gannon/Guckert, or our own instigation of the Latoyia Figueroa story, are examples of the blogzome in action, able to stir a story so that the MSM reacts to it and respond. Herb is an example of emotion and how it travels very well, if mysteriously, through the cyber world.

And we're very pleased.

Fans Helping Fans is a bunch of regular folks who have come together to start a chairty. I'm one of those regular die-hard Eagles Fans who helped start Fans Helping Fans, and we raise money to help our fellow Eagles fans in emergency need. It's tough to get the money raised so we can help folks, and it is especially tough to get the publicity that leads to donations. We set up a raffle of a Harley this year, which is our main fundraiser of the year and, thanks to a bit of controversy, Fans Helping Fans is getting some good publicity.

First, the story was picked up by Blinq, who highlighted that Howard Eskin of was crowing all day Friday about how this was his "brilliant original idea" to get a Harley autographed. He even got a call on his program from one of us, calling him on the facts -- it simply wasn't his "brilliant original idea." Still, we at Fans Helping Fans wish all the best of Eskin's Harley auction for Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. That's certainly a noble cause.

Sunday saw a recycling of this story in the Inquirer's "Inqlings," and Ronnie Polaneczky has now picked up the story for the Philadelphia Daily News where Fans Helping Fans is again accurately quoted. Alas, so is Howard Eskin, who is no longer promoting this as his "brilliant original idea." He now claims to have taken it from Jay Leno and the Red Sox. Good for him. Charity is a great thing, and we at Fans Helping Fans hope his auction does very well. We also hope he thinks charity is a good thing.

Want to see the Harley? Come down to Fox and Hound at 1501 Spruce Street in Philadelphia TONIGHT for the Monday Night Eagles game. Hope to see you there.

Brought to you by Fans Helping Fans.

You got it, we're raffling off a Harley. The tickets are going fast and they're $20 per ticket. Only 2,500 tickets available, so get them while they're hot.

40 members of the Philadelphia Eagles signed the bike today up at Training Camp. A picture of the bike is right here, and another is right here. Man, it's beautiful!

Fans Helping Fans is a grassroots 501c3 charity founded by Eagles fans to help Eagles fans in need. Go to our web site and you can learn all about us. Heck, you can even join the Fans Helping Fans Message Board and ask questions and we'll be glad to answer. (I go by "Stingo" in the forums of the Message Board.)

This is the souvenir of a lifetime. And the proceeds go to help your fellow Eagles fans.

I'm told by a friend that when Tucker Carlson got finished with me that he started the next segment with this bit of snottiness:

CARLSON: Welcome back to THE SITUATION. Sitting in for Jackson Pollack, I‘m Tucker Carlson. Time to welcome back G. Gordon Liddy and Rachel Maddow.

Gordon, you heard the contempt dripping from the lips of the blogger guy we just interviewed, mad at the press because he thinks there‘s disproportionate coverage of Natalee Holloway. Sort of hard to argue with that.

I suppose i should be honored that Tucker treats a convicted criminal like G. Gordon Liddy as an equal, while treating me this way?

More about how the guest appearance with Tucker Carlson over at Allspinzone.

Karl here at Philly Future recently caught a small story about Fans Helping Fans, and he blogged a bit about it. The story was about how we at Fans Helping Fans had helped the Mirolli family in the last few days, and there's more about that story over at my usual hangout, The All Spin Zone, usually more of a political place than one to hype good works. I'm not just SpinDentist on All Spin Zone. I also serve as Vice Chair for Advancement for Fans Helping Fans, and in that role I go by "Stingo," as I do also on the Philadelphia Eagles Message Boards.

Fans Helping Fans is a labor of love to me, and helping the Mirollis was a special time. That's me in the orange shirt in a picture with the Mirolli kids, Logan and Leah up front, Leo in back, and little Luke in the middle. Fans Helping Fans is far, far more than just me. It's a whole group of people, all Eagles fans, and it is a labor of love to all of us. The story of how we got together is interesting. We're pretty much prototypical Eagles fans, do or die and sometimes crass, singing the fight song at the top of our lungs, but we're also folks who reach out and help. Heck, Rocky had a weakness for animals and homely girls, and we have a weakness for helping our fellow Eagles fans.

How is the story interesting? Well, we all met on that Philadelphia Eagles Message Board mentioned above. That's right, this is a charity started by people who first met online. And we had weird nicknames. Among our Board members you could find a Drinkin' at the Lincoln, notplainJane, ilikepargo, MadasHell and California Eagle. We were internet message board jokesters, funny ones at times, but still with no real socially redeeming value to speak of for our internet actions, until we came up with Fans Helping Fans. We're not yet a full year old, but we're laying the groundwork for growth -- this is not going to be a temporary charity that peters out after a year or so.