News & Brews September 8, 2026
Get News & Brews in your inbox each day: Subscribe here!
Pa. Republicans head to RNC midterm convention
More than 50 Pennsylvania Republican delegates and alternate delegates are heading to Dallas this week for the Republican National Committee’s midterm convention—a first-of-its-kind event. Among the Pennsylvania politicians going is U.S. Rep. Scott Perry, while among those not going is state Treasurer and GOP gubernatorial nominee Stacy Garrity.
PennLive reports, “A POLITICO survey of more than 70 GOP candidates and members showed that most either do not plan on attending or are still considering whether to go.” Reportedly, “the RNC is charging lawmakers and candidates $25,000 to attend.” Exempt from this fee are “vulnerable House incumbents.”
Dems want Fetterman ‘on a pike’
The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board addresses the recent political hits on U.S. Senator John Fetterman, “as former aides and fellow Democrats feed stories intended to drive him from the Senate.” (Indeed, the Journal’s own newsroom published one of these stories last week.) But the ed board contends Fetterman’s real offense to his party is that he “vocally supports Israel in its war against Hamas and Hezbollah, backs President Trump’s war in Iran, and rejects such progressive-left follies as abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement and defunding the police.”
To Dems such as friend-of-Hamas Abdul El-Sayed—who is running for U.S. Senate in Michigan—such positions warrant being put “on a pike.” And now, “An anonymous group of former Fetterman staffers has started a social-media account promising to share their old boss’s supposed misdeeds….. They’ll feign indignation about poor office behavior, but what angers them is … especially, his unapologetic support for Israel. This is intolerable in today’s Democratic Party.” (You can read Fetterman’s response to the hit piece here.)
Abortion is ‘out’ as midterm message
Just a few years ago, Democrats centered their campaigns on pro-abortion messaging. But today? Not so much. Instead, abortion is ‘out’ as the primary message and affordability is ‘in’. The Inquirer points to the Bucks County congressional race between incumbent GOP Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick and Democrat challenger Bob Harvie as an example. Harvie doesn’t even mention abortion on his website.
The pro-abortion, left-wing League of Women Voters, meanwhile, is “hearing very little” about abortion this cycle. Instead, “they’re getting feedback on crucial cost-of-living issues and concerns about democracy.” This messaging change isn’t limited to Pennsylvania. “The shift reflects a national trend, with ads related to abortion drastically receding amid Democrats’ focus on bread-and-butter issues.”
Brooks’ first ad is full of it, & the Inky is a joke
Democrat Bob Brooks has dropped his first general election campaign ad in his attempt to unseat incumbent GOP U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie in the Lehigh Valley. And since the Inquirer story on the ad is a joke, I figured I’d do some of my own reporting for all you awesome News & Brews subscribers 🙂
The Inky says that Brooks has campaigned on “promising to ban corporations from giving to political action committees that help finance candidates.” But the story doesn’t even question this promise. Meanwhile, it doesn’t take a genius (or more than about 2 minutes) to look up Bob Brooks’ donors. And, oh look! Among his donors is the Democratic Majority Fund. And guess who gives to the Democratic Majority Fund? Oh, you know, big corporations like Amazon, Visa, Verizon, UPS, T-Mobile … shall I go on? Hey Inky: I’m available for ad hoc research jobs if your reporters can’t figure things out (or if your editors won’t let them).
Pennsylvania gets a ‘D’ on workers’ rights
According to the latest edition of The Battle for Worker Freedom: Grading State Public Sector Labor Laws, published by the Commonwealth Foundation, Pennsylvania earns a “D” in protecting workers’ rights.
Among the reasons for the low grade:
- Politicians negotiate state budget priorities with the same union leaders who donate to their campaigns. Can you say conflict of interest?
- Politicians let public unions trap members in their union membership.
- Politicians let teachers go on strike—throwing a wrench in union contract negotiations (not to mention harming kids).
