(A version of this post was first published today in the Philly Clout DNC newsletter. It will be emailed around noon each day this week. Sign up here).
Monday, July 25, 2016
Sen. Elizabeth Warren landed in Philly Sunday and tweeted that her first stop “straight from the airport” was Pat's King of Steaks. (She also appeared to be wearing a sweater in the middle of a heat wave.)
We’d like to use this opportunity to weigh in on the whole yo-this-is-where-you-gotta-eat-while-in-Philly-for-the-DNC debate. Craig LaBan’s guide is excellent, but we asked the main Clout writers where they go when their stomachs start growling.
Political reporter and columnist Chris Brennan offered an immediate three-part response: Tacos al pastor at El Jarocho, Fried chicken sandwich at Federal Donuts and sweet Lebanon Bologna special at the Hatville Deli in the Reading Terminal Market. “I live a block from El Jarocho, where I also love the Super Torta. It looks like an edible football,” Brennan said. “The al pastor tacos are the perfect blend of salty pork and sweet pineapple. The Federal Donuts fried chicken is crispy and juicy. The Hatville Deli sandwiches are plentiful and served with a great view of the bustling market.”
Enterprise reporter William Bender chose relative newcomer Oregon Steaks at 10th and Oregon in South Philly. “Steak sandwich with onions, mushrooms and broccoli rabe. Ask for an extra shake of salt and pepper,” he said. “Cheese is optional on this particular sandwich, in my opinion. But if you go that route, make it provolone, not Cheez Whiz, like some kind of degenerate.” Bender later offered to buy Sen. Warren a proper cheese steak before she leaves.
And much respect to this guy, who had breakfast at Oregon Steaks at 6 this morning. You're making us proud.
Bob Brady throws 'nonpolitical' party ... for Philly politicians
Clout pop quiz: Which city pol is most likely to throw a party where a stage is shared by U.S. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who as House speaker was once second in line for the presidency, and local legend Jerry Blavat, "the Geator with the Heater" disc jockey?
The only plausible answer: U.S. Rep. Bob Brady, chairman of the city's Democratic Party.
rady told us he had 1,300 RSVPs for his swanky Sunday night soirée at the SugarHouse Casino (for a room that holds 900.). So some of the people who did the bump were not actually dancing. Among the many pols there were some city judges -- who by rule are typically forbidden from attending political events.
What to do? Brady decided to make it a nonpolitical event. A group of Brady loyalists in December registered a new nonprofit -- Phantastic Philadelphia. That group, which hosted the party, said in a filing with the state that it would work on “the preservation and promotion of Philadelphia’s unique cultural, historic, educational and recreational traditions to a national and global audience” but would steer clear of all political matters.
Casino parties are “recreational traditions,” right?
"I talked to our attorneys. They said this is a nonprofit. No politics,” Brady said at the casino. "I get to have my judges come. I never get to have them come to our events." In his written invitation to the judges, which went out July 19, Brady stressed: “This is not a political event.” From the stage Sunday, he advised: “No politics, no speeches, just good music.”
We know that some of the judges, typically a cautious lot, took the precaution of sending the invitation to the state’s Judicial Ethics Committee, to see if they could get their groove on without stepping over any lines. We also know that more than one judge during the party carried copies of that committee’s response, which said they were good to go but warned against discussing politics and offered this: “As a further caveat, if while attending the event it should morph from a nonpolitical event to a political event, you should leave.”
Kind of like when your parents told you to leave the birthday party if anyone starts smoking the reefer.
#DNCleak: The Russians did it?
We'd be remiss not to mention a minor development in national Democratic politics over the weekend. As you might've heard, Wikileaks unloaded a trove of hacked emails showing that "national party operatives were scheming to undermine Bernie Sanders during the presidential primary campaign," in the words of our reporters Thomas Fitzgerald and Jonathan Tamari.
The New York Times seems particularly troubled, saying that party officials had conspired to "sabotage" Sanders and worrying that the emails "threatened to undermine the delicate healing process" between Sanders and Hillary Clinton, raising the possibility that the convention "could be marred by dissension and disorder."
Meanwhile, the Clinton campaign blamed the Russians. Which apparently isn't as ridiculous as it sounds. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's son, Donald Jr., was not happy about the Clinton camp's attempt to draw a connection between Vladimir Putin and his dear old dad. "I can't think of bigger lies," he said on CNN.
We can.
The email leak – #DNCleak – outraged Bernie Bros from sea to shining sea and led to the pending resignation of Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the Democratic national chairwoman, who was greeted with boos this morning at a delegation breakfast. The FBI is now investigating the hack.
"When will this madness end?" pro-Sanders protester Ian O'Malley asked Sunday in Philadelphia. Good question, Ian. Oddly enough, despite these fairly regular reminders that key players in both the Republican and Democratic parties are ethically challenged, we keep sending their candidates to Washington. Go figure.
Brady: Pound sand ... or something like that
Sunday morning, Brady, Mayor Kenney and other convention speakers were at the Wells Fargo Center to try their DNC speeches on for size. They took turns practicing with the TelePrompTer in the locker room used by the Philadelphia Flyers. Then Brady took a walk around the arena and mounted the convention stage to see the view from the podium. “'Off the stage now,'” Brady told us a “little guy with a headset” ordered him.
Brady, who didn’t realize he was still wearing a live microphone, offered the guy some advice that included language Clout’s editors would probably not like to publish. “I told him to pound sand,” Brady said, trying to clean up the language for us. “We had Secret Service all over the place and a guy with a headset is going to tell me what to do? That's bulls---.”
Brady said Kenney had a good laugh about the tiff. An aide to Brady started getting texts from people who had heard the exchange around the arena. Brady said he left the stage... slowly. “He was a little fresh,” Brady said. “If he had been nicer, I would have walked right off.”
The backstory's backstory
As we've noted before, Brady started pushing for the DNC to be held in Philadelphia while the last DNC was still going on in Charlotte, N.C. In 2012. But did you know the whole thing apparently got rolling over a lunch at the Oyster House in Center City? That's the takeaway from this interesting read from Salena Zito in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review on Saturday.
GOP welcomes Hillary
RNC Chairman Reince Priebus and Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort hosted a gathering of journalists Sunday, at which they took turns discussing what a terrible, horrible, no-good person Clinton is, while noting that the Democratic Party appears ready to tear itself asunder in bitter, factional feuds. So, basically, the normal talking points. Not to be outdone by the mother ship, the Republican City Committee on Friday sent Clinton a "welcome to Philly" message. That message, complete with an unflattering photo, says Clinton "will fit right in" here in Philadelphia.
From left to right, that is Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane (who goes on trial next month for allegedly leaking grand jury secrets), former U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah, who was convicted last month on federal corruption charges, Clinton, state Sen. Larry Farnese (who is awaiting trial on federal corruption charges) and state Rep. Vanessa Lowery Brown (who is awaiting trial on state corruption charges.)
They are, like Clinton, Democrats. Clinton's mock mug shot has the caption "Clinton Crime Family, Hillary Clinton for President." Clout veteran Catherine Lucey, now with the Associated Press, compiled this handy collection of Pennsylvania Democrats with serious legal issues.
BTW, the Inquirer editorial board took city Dems to the woodshed over the weekend, calling them a "disgrace," among other things: "The city's chief flaw as a backdrop for the Democrats is, well, the Democrats. In just the past three years, Philadelphia Democrats have seen a congressman, a state senator, five state representatives, and eight city judges found guilty of corruption. A former city sheriff also faces charges, and our top elections official has come under scrutiny for frequently failing to show up to work or, ironically, vote."
Damn. When you put it like that …
Quotable:
"What we have is a kind of bromance going on between Putin and Trump, which is distinct from this leak. -- Clinton campaign chair John Podesta on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" this morning, discussing #DNCleak
