Scotty, can you hear them? Indivisible group says U.S. Rep. Perry isn’t answering town hall invite | Thursday Morning Coffee

Good Thursday Morning, Fellow Seekers.

If there’s one tactic that’s been employed with some success by the various Resistance and Indivisible movements over the last two years, it’s the guerilla efforts to force town hall meetings with members of the U.S. House and Senate, who have often been entirely less than willing to play along.

But not always. Though it’s taken some doing.

In Pennsylvania, the ‘Tuesdays with Toomey‘ movement actually scored some small group sit-downs with U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa. And the Lehigh Valley legislator did hold some televised sessions with voters, even amid some choppy waters.

Ditto for U.S. Rep. Scott Perry, R-10th District, who faced some seriously angry voters in the weeks after President Donald Trump’s election – and who continues to regularly hold telephone town halls with constituents (we’ve sat in on a few of them).

Buoyed by these admittedly successful tactics, Indivisible groups from Hershey and the Capital Region are holding a town hall of their own on Feb. 23 at the Hershey Public Library and they’ve invited Perry to attend.

The 10 a.m. session falls on a Saturday, so perhaps they’re hoping the York County Republican has a hole in his schedule that day. So far, it’s no dice. Organizers say Perry has yet to respond to the invite. And we’re willing to bet they’re not surprised by the reticence.

Organizers have asked Perry to address a raft of topics, including healthcare and veterans issues, as well as the agenda of the conservative Freedom Caucus in the U.S. House (Perry is a member). If he doesn’t show, organizers say they’ll just review his voting record and public statements on those issues.

Invited panelists include Perry’s vanquished 2018 Democratic opponent, George Scott, which, we suspect may contribute to his reluctance to attend. But you have to hand it to the Indivisible folks, they’re wringing maximum public relations benefit out of these events.

We’ve reached out to Perry’s office for comment. We’ll add it when we get it.

Our Stuff:
Associate Editor Sarah Anne Hughes has a fun read about the relationship between state officials and online-ordained ministers who perform weddings.
Staff Reporter Elizabeth Hardison on one Lehigh Valley lawmaker’s crusade to ban snow-topped cars from Pennsylvania’s highways.
Staff Reporter Stephen Caruso has one on dueling economists and the minimum wage debate – which sounds like it should be a Monty Python sketch, but was actually a thing that happened in the real world.
We take look at the ongoing problems with Pennsylvania’s death penalty statute. 

On the Opinion side of the house, there’s a long take-out from a University of Daytonpolitical science prof on why single-party control of Legislatures (regardless of the party) is a problem for democracy.

Elsewhere:
Staring down another year of flat state funding, some Pa. nursing homes are threatening to shut down, PennLive reports.
The Pa. Lottery is doing just fine, yet its support for senior programs may be threatened, PennLive also reports.
The powerful synthetic drug, K2, is on the rise in Philadelphia, The Inquirer reports.
A grocery store in PIttsburgh’s HIll District will shut down next month, The Post-Gazette reports.
Officials have rolled out the design for a new, $1.1 billion terminal at Pittsburgh Airport, The Tribune-Review reports.
The Morning Call’s readers have weighed in on whether the PIAA should hold separate playoffs for public and private schools.
BillyPenn reports that Philly leads the way in 24-hour homeless shelters.
Pittsburgh’s lawn-mowing goats need your help, The Incline reports.

Here’s your #Philadelphia Instagram of the Day:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BuHV7AWBGsr/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

There’s a new ad in the race for NePa’s 114th House District, PoliticsPA reports.
Stateline.org hones in on the work of professional foster parents.
Miami is making a last-ditch pitch to host the DNC in 2020, Politico reports.
Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh could be a key vote in the fight over gerrymandering reform, Roll Call reports.

What Goes On.
The House gavels in at 11 a.m. The Appropriations and Judiciary committees meet at the call of the chair, so keep your ears open. The Senate Appropriations Committeemeets at 10 a.m. to hear from the Pa. State System of Higher Education.

WolfWatch.
Gov. Tom Wolf has no public schedule today.

What Goes On (Nakedly Political Edition).
Dauphin County DA Fran Chardo kicks off his election campaign with a 5:30 p.m. event at the Dauphin County Bar Association. Admission is a flat $250.

Heavy Rotation.
Given that headline, you had to know that we were gonna pick this song by The Who.

Thursday’s Gratuitous Hockey Link.
Chicago beat Detroit 5-4 in an Original Six match on Wednesday night.

And now you’re up to date.