The Blame Game: Bob Brady Lashes Out at Kamala Harris Campaign
And the campaign disses him as well.
The Kamala Harris campaign is facing backlash from Philadelphia Democratic leader Bob Brady over the Philadelphia election results (Photos via Getty Images)
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The Blame Game: Bob Brady Lashes Out at Kamala Harris Campaign Over Philadelphia Election Results
Bob Brady may be just a whiff away from octogenarianism. And Bob Brady may have left U.S. Congress in 2019 amid a brewing scandal. But don’t count Bob Brady out just yet.
When it comes to the Democratic Party in Philadelphia, Bob Brady is the boss. Bob Brady is the man, as they say, at least in his own mind. (There are plenty in the local party that think he should step aside after his nearly four decades at the helm.) He is, according to the November issue of this very magazine, one of the 150 Most Influential People In Philly. But it seems that the Kamala Harris campaign didn’t kiss Bob Brady’s ring. And now, he is pissed.
Less than 24 hours after Pennsylvania was called for Donald Trump on Wednesday morning, Brady took to Fox News to eviscerate the Kamala Harris campaign, opining that the campaign did not do what it had to do to get the job done in Philadelphia, where Harris received fewer votes than did Joe Biden in 2020 and than did Hillary Clinton in 2016.
“They had no respect,” Brady told Fox News of the national campaign. “No coordination. They didn’t talk — I never even had a conversation with the lady! They didn’t even do the right thing as far as giving us the resources that they need and they want to blame us?”
Brady also mentioned that someone from the Harris camp has even suggested that this is all President Joe Biden’s fault. “Can you imagine blaming Joe Biden for her loss?” Brady said, incredulous. “She lost. He didn’t lose.”
He added that Biden has visited with Brady may times and that Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton met with him as well. But Harris? Radio silence, says Brady. The Harris campaign did release a photo of Brady with Harris and Tim Walz, though it’s unclear just how brief that interaction may have been.
A spokesperson for the Harris campaign released a statement about Brady. It reads, in part: “The Pennsylvania for Harris team knocked [on] more than two million doors in the weekend leading up to Election Day, which is two million more doors than Bob Brady’s organization can claim.”
Ouch!
A Quiet Night
There was lots of speculation that Philadelphia would erupt in unrest on Wednesday night in the wake of the election results. Major stores in Center City and South Philadelphia closed early and instituted special security measures. Social media posts went around claiming that there were calls for masses to show up in Center City and on 52nd Street in West Philadelphia. Police were on high alert. Steve Keeley was salivating. But then … a quiet night. Here’s hoping we can make that two quiet nights in a row.
Two Wildfires In Two Days
That’s the situation over the bridge in New Jersey. And thanks to the persisting drought situation in Pennsylvania and the danger for wildfires here, Pennsylvania State Parks have now instituted a ban on open fires. No s’mores for you!
Virtual School?! Say It Ain’t So!
Well, it may be so. SEPTA may go on strike starting on Friday. And if that happens, the head of the School District of Philadelphia says the district may have to go virtual for some schools.
By the Numbers
63.41 percent: Voter turnout in Philadelphia for Kamala Harris vs. Donald Trump.
79.85 percent: Voter turnout in Ward 9. Think Chestnut Hill and Mount Airy. That’s the highest turnout in the city.
45.47 percent: Voter turnout in Ward 7. Think Front and Erie. That’s the lowest turnout in the city. Might want to do some work up there, Bob.
30,021: Lead Dave McCormick currently (I wrote this at noon on Thursday) has over U.S. Senator Bob Casey, with 98 percent of the vote counted. FWIW, the Green Party candidate for the same office received more than double that number of votes.
