While 2014 was an overall disappointment for Team Blue, one of the notable pickups should serve as a reminder of just how much of a difference even one election can make.
Of course, I am referring to Pennsylvania's new governor, Tom Wolf.
Even though Wolf has only been on the job for roughly half a year, there have already been many changes in statewide policy for the better.
One of the first things he did was eliminate the asset test for food stamps imposed under Republican Governor Tom Corbett. This step alone ensured that more needy Pennsylvanians would be eligible for food stamps, while eliminating the wasted funds over processing this additional asset test.
Governor Wolf is the only one making plans for the scenario where the Supreme Court rules against the Obama administration in King v. Burwell. The decision has the potential to affect about 380,000 Pennsylvanians. While one could debate the technical aspects, the meat of it is that, where all the other states are just sitting on their hands on this issue, Wolf and Co. have chosen to be smart about it, and actually, you know, plan ahead.
Last month, Gov. Wolf came out in favor of decriminalizing marijuana. The support comes in the midst of the State House considering a bill on medical marijuana, and here in Philadelphia, the city has already seen a substantial reduction in marijuana-related arrests since decriminalizing marijuana last year. Still, the fact that Wolf has voiced his support brings the cause a much more prominent state-wide loudspeaker for the cause.
Gov. Wolf also signed an executive order reinstating a moratorium on new leases for oil and gas development in state parks and forests. Considering his budget proposal includes a severance tax on natural gas, Wolf has been standing up for one of his major campaign points, reversing some of the damage done by fracking and the oil companies in the state.
After announcing an initiative to expand pre-K education throughout the state, Gov. Wolf's administration has already received responses for 25,000 new slots for students to enroll in early childhood education. With so many Democrats making expanding Pre-K education a significant plank in their platforms, including Democratic Party's candidate for Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney, it is great to see Gov. Wolf taking the lead on investing in our children, even amongst Democrats.
All of these changes, remember, are in stark contrast to what would have been, or rather would not have been, had Corbett won re-election.
For anyone facing the cynical rhetoric of what difference one election makes, one need only point to Tom Wolf, although there are plenty of other fine examples around the country to choose from.
It is against this backdrop that I am hoping to organize as many Dailykos users here in Pennsylvania as possible to further mobilize and energize Democrats in this great adopted state of mine.
All I am really looking to do, for now, is follow the model of DocDawg in North Carolina, to compile a voluntary database of kossacks in Pennsylvania.
While I do not currently have any plans for this information, I hope that eventually, it will find a potential use to help the various Democratic causes throughout the state.
If any of you are like me, you are already stuck on a lot of Democratic Party-related e-mailing lists, and have very little desire to add to that pile. So I intend to do my best to keep such e-mailing as rare and un-solicity as possible, as well as your personal information as confidential as possible.
After my first diary requesting information from PA kossacks, I got about half a dozen responses, and you can see the areas represented so far below.
We could definitely use a few more markers on there.
So, after reading this, if you are interested in joining this growing group of PA kossacks, please kosmail me with the following:
1. Your first name
2. Your ZIP code
3. (Optional) Your email address
Of course this is completely voluntary, but if you want to see how many fellow kossacks you might have around you, you're certainly not alone.
While Tom Wolf most likely has even more accomplishments left in store, what he ultimately represents is potential. Considering the PA General Assembly is still controlled by Republicans, it is all the more telling how much Progressive change is actually possible in this state. To get the kind of change that actually lives up to the potential, Tom Wolf is going to need the help of many motivated, selfless people.
Just like the kind of people who often frequent a website like this.