With the run-up to the April 22 Pennsylvania presidential primary reaching a fever pitch, Democratic Senators Hillary Clinton, the presumptive Pennsylvania favorite, and Barack Obama, the current nationwide delegate leader, know how vital Northeastern Pennsylvania is. And they’ve shown it not with mere rhetoric but with three visits between them to Scranton and Wilkes-Barre in an eight-day span.
Clinton spoke at Scranton High School last Monday then returned on Saturday to march in the city’s St. Patrick’s parade. Obama’s Wilkes-Barre campaign office at 41 S. Main St. opened with flair on Sunday, and on Monday he was in Scranton at Whistles bar to tape an MTV Rock The Vote spot and meet with veterans. He then spoke at a Society of Irish Women’s St. Patrick’s Day banquet at the Radisson hotel.
Former President Bill Clinton will be at the Coughlin High School gymnasium at 3:45 p.m. Wednesday, according to the Hillary Clinton for President campaign. The event is open to the public.
While St. Pat’s-themed “O’Bama” posters and stickers and “Hillary For President” signs won’t hurt either candidate’s chances in NEPA, there are a few factors both senators should keep in mind as they try to win over our area’s voters.
NEPA a microcosm
“I believe we represent a microcosm of the most significant issues in the nation,” said WILK AM talk show host Steve Corbett. “Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama represent this. Gender and race are two of the most significant issues that any president will face and have to lead the county through. They are still divisive issues in our culture.
“In Northeastern Pennsylvania, they are still significant issues in both Scranton and Wilkes-Barre, in Hazleton and all the little towns in between. … And contrary to what forward thinkers want me to say, I still believe this is the coalfields culture. We can improve bars, restaurants and nightlife, but we still represent our past.”
The race issue has heated up nationally. Former vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro resigned last week from the Clinton campaign after drawing criticism for saying, “If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position.” Some observers called her comments racist.
A hotter fire broke out when a clip emerged of Obama’s pastor railing against the “white value system” and saying “Hillary ain’t never been called a n----r!”
It’s unknown how race has impacted either candidate’s campaign in Northeastern Pennsylvania, but the enthusiasm exhibited recently for both candidates cannot be denied. There was an extra buzz — no pun intended — during Scranton’s Parade Day thanks to Clinton’s attendance. And during Sunday’s St. Patrick’s parade in Wilkes-Barre, Obama supporters chanted “Obama ’08, be a part of something great!”
Youthful energy
Obama, nationally and locally, appears to be the youth voters’ candidate of choice, thanks in part to endorsements from celebrities — especially musicians — and a vibrant, Internet-driven campaign. Wilkes-Barre for Obama — which officially opened its offices in donated space in the city’s Midtown Village— has more than 800 MySpace friends. Boyle said 100 Obama organizers arrived in the state recently, all paid national campaign staff. Four of them are based in Wilkes-Barre and five are in Scranton, she said.
“The local [Obama] volunteer base is primary multigenerational, but in the last month the younger people — I would say young adults — have come on in a major way,” said Rita Boyle, Wilkes-Barre for Obama regional coordinator. “We view that as only a positive. They’re creative in how they campaign, using new media.”
It’s generally assumed that Obama is the media’s, entertainment industry’s and youth’s anointed Democratic nominee — Clinton herself poked fun at perceived Obama bias on “Saturday Night Live” a few weeks ago — but Corbett feels that young voters might be swinging a bit more in Clinton’s direction.
“[Obama] is [the candidate of the youth], but what I guess struck me is [last] Monday when Hillary kicked off her speech, there were rousing, heavy-duty sounds of Bruce Springsteen singing ‘The Rising,’ which tells me she’s got some authorization there, and there were a lot of young faces in the audience, especially women and young girls. She’s also started to appeal to young white men and working-class women. She has wide-ranging appeal.”
Corbett sat down with Clinton for a talk at the Scranton High School event and left feeling that she has a solid understanding of NEPA — her father, Hugh Rodham, was born in Scranton — and its strong union and labor roots. Indeed, she marched with the Bricklayers Union in Saturday’s parade. “She gets it,” Corbett said.
Corbett’s advice for Obama’s NEPA efforts?
“He has to play his hand,” the former Times Leader columnist said. “He has to play whatever cards he has to ingratiate himself to any people on the fence. There’s a history here of turmoil and labor trouble, class problems, religious differences and ethnic bigotry and racism. He’s coming right into a hotbed.”
Rocking the vote
The local excitement extends beyond the campaign efforts and visits to NEPA by the candidates. College students seem more engaged in the electoral process than ever, whether it is at voter-registration drives or being part of a dialogue in their campus newspapers.
Drew McLaughlin, political editor at The Crown, King’s College’s student newspaper, said more students are becoming interested in the election.
“Generally, last semester, we had mixed reaction,” McLaughlin said. “Some people would say ‘I read your articles’ sporadically. As the primary season heats up, it seems more and more students are becoming politically aware.”
The Crown’s online presidential election poll is drawing more participation in recent weeks, McLaughlin said.
King’s has also hosted voter-registration drives.
Head Count, a national nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that uses rock musicians’ testimonials and drives at concerts to register voters, has cranked up its efforts, too. Getting younger people to vote is one of its major goals, and according to co-founder Andy Bernstein, it’s working.
“What you’re seeing is some really great trends, and there’s a lot of reasons behind it,” Bernstein said, calling from the South By Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas, where Head Count was endeavoring to get more voters on the rolls. “In some states, voter turnout has more than tripled. And the reason this is happening, I think, is threefold. One, demographics. There’s just more younger people now. Twenty-one percent of eligible voters are under 30. Second, and most importantly, the younger generation, called ‘the millenials,’ is a very connected, very community-oriented, very positive generation.
“The third thing: For the first time ever, candidates are addressing young people. People credit Obama, but it started with Howard Dean where young people got involved with Dean. Now [candidates] recognize that young people are the key swing block. So they’re targeting their message to young people.”
Head Count’s other cofounder is Marc Brownstein, the bass player with the Philadelphia-based jam band the Disco Biscuits. The involvement of Brownstein and other musicians like Dave Matthews, Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead and Trey Anastasio of Phish has been invaluable, Bernstein said. In early March, Head Count screened its new documentary, “A Call To Action,” to a captive audience of 15,000 during the intermission of a Phil Lesh and Friends show at the Langerado Music Festival in Florida. Included in the film are Weir, Anastasio and Matthews.
“People are paying attention because their musical idols are in it,” Bernstein said. “And at South by Southwest this is a cultural phenomenon. It’s not Hollywood, it’s not sports. It’s musicians that look and sound like their fans and have this very deep emotional connection with them.”
Bernstein stressed the nonpartisan nature of the organization, despite the fact that artists like a reconstituted Grateful Dead, billed as “Deadheads For Obama” at a one-off concert, obviously have their own views.
“I can tell you that Head Count, we really are very careful to make sure our message is participation, vote, not who to vote for,” Bernstein said. “Our artists and volunteers all have their own views. We just want to get the job done. At a Dave Matthews Band show the crowd is going to be different than a Bob Weir & Ratdog show. We don’t know who they’re going to vote for, and we don’t concern ourselves with that.”
Don’t forget the elephants
Arizona Sen. John McCain clinched the Republican nomination earlier this month. With the Clinton-Obama race gathering more and more momentum, McCain seems like an afterthought — for now.
“I do think the national news media is overplaying the Democratic rivalry,” said Lynette Villano, Luzerne County chair of the Pennsylvania Republican Party. “Let’s get down to the fundamental issues and vision for America and stop the focus on personality and public ‘charm’ of the candidates.”
Pat Rogan, executive director of the Lackawanna County Young Republicans, thinks the focus on the Democratic primary can only help McCain.
“I believe that the prolonged Democratic fight is a blessing to Sen. McCain,” Rogan said. “For the next few months, the Democrats will be attacking each other instead of attacking John McCain. And according to the realclearpolitics.com average of state polls, John McCain has pulled ahead of both Obama and Clinton in Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania. A month ago, McCain only led in Florida and trailed in Pennsylvania and Ohio.”
McLaughlin pointed out that there are McCain supporters at King’s. The same is true at Wilkes University.
“I have some students that are interested in McCain because McCain is for change as well, because he’s not Bush,” said Tom Baldino, a Wilkes political science professor.
Regardless of whom they support, Baldino’s students are more interested in this presidential election than any in recent memory.
“They are absolutely engaged,” Baldino said. “I think a lot of it is due to Obama, and a lot of it is due to the fact their political socialization has occurred under a president that has led them into a war that is not a popular war. Now the economy has gone sour, and a lot of these students are looking forward to their job prospects, which are not looking promising. They are now looking to politics as a solution to their problems.”
If McCain is a temporary afterthought, than U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, of Texas, a darkhorse candidate at best when the Republican campaigns began, is invisible. But not his supporters. While fellow Republican candidates Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee conceded to McCain, Paul and his backers are hanging on despite being mathematically eliminated from the race.
“It’s not necessarily over,” said local Paul supporter Josh Rosenblatt. “It’s about the message. This a bigger movement than this election, and Ron Paul’s campaign has galvanized people together under a limited government banner unlike anything we’ve seen since Barry Goldwater Sr.”
A fundraiser to benefit RonPaulmeetup.com will be held Sunday, March 30 at the River Street Jazz Caf� in Plains. The 21+ event will feature several bands and raffles. The cover is $8 at the door and more information will be available in next week’s Weekender.
Looking ahead
Corbett, who has endorsed Clinton, believes she will win Pennsylvania. But he has not counted out McCain in the general contest.
“I would never underestimate the Republicans and John McCain,” Corbett said. “He’s a seasoned professional and he’s weathered some storms.”
Baldino also believes Clinton will take the Keystone State, including Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
“She should win this area,” Baldino said. “The question is, how much will she win by in this area? Pennsylvania is an important state; it won’t necessarily lock up the nomination for either candidate. If she wins and she wins in a blowout, it will make her case for the super delegates that much stronger. If she wins and she wins marginally, and they basically split the delegates, [Obama is] not hurt by that necessarily.
“If he wins marginally — it doesn’t have to be a blowout — I think that puts her in a position where, maybe not publicly, but maybe she told it’s time to step down … But [the delegates] don’t really want to go against the public will.”
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Weekender Staff Writer Nikki M. Mascali contributed reporting to this story.