13 August 2008

Political Volunteers Fish for Voters at Pennsylvania Fair

More interest in state and local races in the wake of “Bonusgate” scandal

Nestled among the farmers and craftspeople at the county fair, political volunteers seek to register new voters.

By Stephen Kaufman
Staff Writer

New Castle, Pennsylvania -- The annual fair in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, north of Pittsburgh, marks the end of summer as the region’s farmers, townfolk and families gather to see champion livestock, ride the amusements and indulge in a plethora of snacks ranging from fresh steamed corn to deep-fried Oreo cookies.

But at booths inside the exhibition structures, local volunteers from both the Democratic and Republican parties sought to register new party members from among the estimated 50,000 to 60,000 fairgoers who will vote this November.

“This is an important election.  This election is going to define this country for a long time, I think,” said Democratic volunteer Dick Craig.  In terms of registered voters, Democrats have a 12,000- to 15,000-member majority in Lawrence County, and many of the local incumbent candidates are Democrats.

However, Republican volunteer William Schafer sees openings for his party’s candidates, especially in the local races.  Pennsylvania’s state legislature and its Democratic leadership in particular have been tainted by a scandal known as “Bonusgate,” in which many Democrats are alleged to have paid subordinates to block the participation of independent and third-party candidates in the 2004 and 2006 elections.

Bob Morabito is running for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives as a Republican in his first political race.  At his campaign booth, his cousin Cosmo Morabito said the scandal had caught the attention of many local voters.  “There’s probably a little more interest [in local races] than you would find normally in these elections,” he said.

The camps of political volunteers are trying to lure the undecided voters at the fair with pointedly different messages.

Democratic volunteer Rose Bayer said the top issue on people’s minds is the economy.  “This used to be an industrial county, and now there’s nothing.  We really have nothing here.” The Democratic platform includes building a racetrack and casino to provide jobs.

Schafer says national security is the predominant issue on the minds of voters, despite their economic concerns.  “They feel the economy will work its way out, up and down, but if you don’t have security, you have nothing.”

Pastor Robert Strobel listed moral and social issues as his top concerns, along with higher taxes and fuel prices that are affecting him and his neighbors.

As both a moral and economic issue, Strobel is concerned about jobs moving overseas, especially to countries that he said have abusive labor practices and don’t pay their workers properly.  “But yet, we have become a society in America that has pretty much priced itself out of the market,” he said.  “I think if people in America had to really buy everything American, they really couldn’t afford to do it, so there needs to be that balance there.”

Local farmer Luke Vogel hopes elected officials can work together to help U.S. farmers in their economic distress.

Luke Vogel, who has been showing his cattle at the fairgrounds since he was 4 years old, says he and other farmers are acutely feeling an economic pinch these days.

“We try to promote our end of agriculture as best as possible, and with the prices of the commodities that are out there today and the prices of ground and what it takes to operate and run a farm, there’s getting to be less and less actual working farms out there,” he said, adding that the weakened U.S. dollar and higher fuel prices have contributed to a “worrisome” situation.

As a farmer, Vogel said, he has different voting priorities than his neighbors living in town.  “For instance, public transportation isn’t something that really ranks high on my list of things.  Whereas if there are some more commodity-based subsidy programs or something like that, I could really appreciate that a lot more.”

He said the next president and the Congress need to work together as partners, rather than adversaries, in order to bring about solutions.

“I just keep hoping that in the long run they know what’s best for us and can find the right individuals to take us into the future,” he said.

Despite the large Democratic majority, presidential hopeful Barack Obama cannot expect residents to vote along party lines in his contest with Republican John McCain.

Republican volunteer Schafer said election results have shown that, year after year, many Democrats vote for the more conservative candidate, regardless of party affiliation.  “That’s why we have certain Republicans that are elected, because the conservative issues are important,” he said.

There are also hard feelings remaining from Obama’s primary battle with fellow Democrat Hillary Clinton, who won two-thirds of the local vote.  “This is big Clinton country,” Democratic volunteer Craig said. One woman he had spoken with plans to write in Clinton’s name on the ballot rather than vote for Obama.

“I just said, ‘You know what, that’s what’s great about America.  You have the right to do that,’ because I know better than to argue.  I would certainly hope she changes her mind by November 4, but I’m not going to argue with her on August 11 about that because that would make her more staunch,” he said.

Fellow volunteer Bayer said she had worked for months for the Clinton campaign, making as many as 220 calls per day ahead of primaries in Pennsylvania and other states.

“I will always back Hillary for everything,” she said.  But she decided to volunteer her time at the county fair on behalf of her party.  “I am still a Hillary person … [but] I feel that we need a Democratic president in there now.”

Photos and videos from America.gov’s coverage of the Lawrence County fair are available.