Pittsburgh and Allegheny County have been in the vice grip of DemonRATS since 1934 and the days of the McNair/Scully/Lawrence machine. Moreover, a large portion (admittedly not all) of that "blue collar" crowd are not patriots, they are union members.
I was born there and spent many years in western Pennsylvania before getting fatigued (I'm old and I admit it) from beating my head against the recalcitrant duo of DemonRATS and unionism. Before I fled forever to Texas, I am proud to say that I led a successful campaign to decertify a labor union there, an all too rare accomplishment in that part of America that needs to be repeated many times over.
What I find most tragic about my onetime home is just how many of the unionists still blame President Reagan to this very day for the collapse of the steel industry. They are so bull-headed to acknowledge that it was I.W. Abel and his bunch with the USWA that imposed absurd workrules and unrealistic wages and benefits. That's why J&L, USS and a host of others were doomed. The Kroger grocery store chain left because of union thuggery. I crossed many a picket line of union goons when I lived there.
And, as you stated, it was none other than the Steelers very own Dan Rooney who gave that utterly classless thanks to Obama after the Super Bowl victory over the Cardinals.
It's my fervent hope that the region changes its long entrenched ways, repudiates the DemonRAT party and leads the Keystone State into freedom and liberty by enacting right-to-work laws.
I too was born and raised in the ‘Burgh area. I left when my job got shipped to Alabama in the late eighties. Most of the folks I knew were indeed conservative, but voted straight rat every time.
I remember my first time voting - I had registered independent, and went to the polling place (my old junior high school gym). When I walked in the little old lady smiled at me and led me to the rat table, just as nice as she could be. When I told her I was not a rat, she changed like Jekyll to Hyde instantly - “you go OVER THERE!” she snarled, pointing to the dark back corner where the lonely Republican table was set up.