BY AMY Z. QUINN Supporters of Texas Congressman and longshot GOP presidential hopeful Ron Paul raised $4.2 million in 24 hours in a loosely-organized fund-raising push they’re calling a “money bomb.” Speculate, theorize, stereotype. Only one thing is clear: the Paulites, the loyal, organized, Web-savvy supporters of Rep. Ron Paul, know how to raise money online, and 37,000 Paulites set a record [Monday] by hauling in more than $4.2 million in 24 hours. That’s the most money raised online by a candidate in a single day. A Paulite came up with the fundraising idea, a few more Paulites joined in […]
THE NEXT MAYOR: A Prayer For The City
Late last night we got word that Mayor-elect Nutter had a special message for Phawker readers. But in order to get this message, we would have to show up with a film crew at 6 AM today outside the Government Services Building, across the street from City Hall. Which we did. Seems he wanted to talk about his top priorities in the coming weeks. Unfortunately, we seemed to have used an old tape…because it gets a little ‘funny’ about midway through. UPDATE: We have since determined that there was nothing wrong with our camera equipment and that the only reasonable […]
NEWS CLUES: It’s Like Adderall For Your Eyeballs
NO MORE MR. NICE GUY: Obama Henchmen Killed The Colbert Candidacy Two prominent supporters of Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign in South Carolina called state Democratic Party officials urging them to oppose putting comedian Stephen Colbert’s name on the primary ballot, according to party officials and Obama supporters with knowledge of the calls. Colbert, the host of Comedy Central’s “Colbert Report,” saw his hopes to be placed on the primary ballot ended last week when the South Carolina Democratic Party executive council voted 13-3 to block his bid, with the majority of voters saying he was not a viable enough […]
DUBIOUS ACHIEVEMENTS: Being Monica Lewinsky
From Philly Mag’s new blog-type thingee, The Daily Examiner… ‘Nutter Suck-Off’? C’mon guys, my mom reads this thing.
GAMBLOR: Street & Rendell Have Secret Pow-Wow With Sugarhouse, Curiously Nutter Not Invited
Mayor Street and Gov. Rendell met three weeks ago with the owners of SugarHouse, a proposed casino that can’t start construction because zoning approval is stalled in City Council. SugarHouse laid out a strategy to get its project moving. Missing from the meeting: the city’s next mayor. That concerns Michael Nutter, the former city councilman widely expected to be elected mayor today. Street and Rendell, a former two-term mayor, should hold off on decisions about city casinos until the next mayor takes office in January, Nutter said. “I would certainly hope that they would extend the same courtesy and respect […]
STOP THE PRESSES: And The Winner Is…
Artist’s rendering of the scene at Warwick Hotel last night. UPDATE: Late last night we got word that Mayor-elect Nutter had a special message for Phawker readers. But in order to get this message, we would have to show up with a film crew at 6 AM outside the Government Services Building, across the street from City Hall. Which we did. So please standby for an important message from the next mayor of Philadelphia. Film at 11. Or thereabouts.
OVERHEARD AT THE POLLS: ‘Look, Another Spic!’
Phawker reader Camille Escobedo wrote to tell us about an unpleasant experience she just had when she went to vote. About an hour ago, she says, she walked into her polling place in the All State Insurance office at 1716 East Passyunk Avenue [Ward 39/Div. 45] and gave her name to the poll worker when asked. Hearing this, one of the other poll workers sitting behind the counter blurted out “Look, another spic!” Ms. Escobedo says she tried to defuse the situation by making a joke about it. “I told him we prefer to be called ‘Beaners’,” she says. “And […]
TONITE: Live & Direct From The Nutter Victory Party
Tune in around 8 PM. It will probably look a lot like this…
MAILBAG: You Be The Judge
The following letters came in response to our publication of the Philadelphia Bar Association’s voters guide, which you can see by CLICKING HERE DEAR PHAWKER, No one every really knows where these come from, and have no idea if they can trust them, so let me at least tell you, as a Phawker reader and practicing trial attorney, that I’ve personally seen Bernstein, DiVito, Herron, Jones, and Erdos in action and I recommend all of them for retention. Just my $.02. Now you have another unsourced opinion to inform your choices. Max Kennerly, ESQ * DEAR PHAWKER So the Phila. […]
ENDORSEMENT: Why We Still Like Mike
Because he is The One to lead us out of the matrix of our own bullshit. Michael Nutter has got game: he speaks in complete paragraphs, with subsections A., B., and C. and attendant footnotes, which also have their own subsections A., B., and C. He has run a campaign of ideas — smart, principled, and aspirational — for solving just about every problem this city faces, while his opponents have offered the usual empty sloganeering, racial semaphore and coded entreaties to their respective bases. If that makes you a wonk or a nerd — well, you can call us […]
GAMBLOR: Anti-Casino Activists Sue Regulators For Gross Conflict Of Interest And Silencing Public Debate
ASSOCIATED PRESS: PHILADELPHIA – Several neighborhood civic groups sued state gambling regulators Monday over their approval of two Philadelphia casinos. The plaintiffs fear the casinos will bring traffic congestion, pollution, increased crime and other problems to their neighborhoods. They said the public had no chance to comment on the proposals after the Nov. 15 application deadline. The groups also allege that former commission Chairman Tad Decker should have excluded himself earlier in the process because of his close ties to a law firm, Cozen O’Connor, that represents SugarHouse’s developer. Decker left the firm to serve as the gaming board chairman […]