Yeah, Jaz, good 'ole Choo Choo Willie! If he wasn't real, we'd have to make him up to get a laugh! LOL!
Mark Critz wipes the floor with Tim Burns, and delusional Willie is still griping about Bill Russell. That's just plain wacky.
Posted on 08/05/2010 4:22:42 AM PDT by randita
CQ POLITICS NEWS
Aug. 4, 2010 – 11:18 p.m.
Pa. Will Be Key Steppingstone for GOP Majority
By Stuart Rothenberg, Roll Call Contributing Writer
There are many states that will have ballots chock-filled with exciting and competitive races, but if you are looking for a place where a big GOP political wave might show up early in the evening of Nov. 2 — or for evidence that it won’t be as big as some Republicans hope — you could do worse than focusing on Pennsylvania.
Voters in the commonwealth will be choosing a new governor and a new Senator in the fall, but in addition, 10 of the state’s 19 Congressional districts have races worth watching.
Going back at least to the end of World War II, the two major parties have alternated eight-year control of the governorship, so Republicans have reason to be optimistic about their chances of winning that office.
State Attorney General Tom Corbett (R) has been holding a 7- to 10-point lead over Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato (D), no doubt partially a reflection of Democratic Gov. Edward G. Rendell ’s problems with the state economy and budget.
Both Corbett and Onorato come from Western Pennsylvania — the Republican is a former assistant district attorney in Allegheny County and a former U.S. attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania — so the geographic voting that often takes place in Pennsylvania won’t be a factor this year.
Corbett, 60, has won two statewide races for attorney general, in 2004 and 2008, and served an additional 15 months in the office in the mid-1990s when then-Gov. Tom Ridge (R) tapped him to fill a vacancy. Onorato, 49, who served on the Pittsburgh City Council before moving into county government, has never run statewide or held statewide office.
Corbett’s victory wouldn’t be a surprise or even an indication of a broader wave, but a strong win by Republican Senate nominee Pat Toomey over Democratic Rep. Joe Sestak could well be a sign of a more significant statewide wave.
Both Toomey and Sestak hail from Southeastern Pennsylvania, and each ran in a Senate primary against Sen. Arlen Specter (D), but their differences are obvious.
Toomey, 48, is a former three-term Congressman and former president of the Club for Growth. A one-time Wall Street trader, he and his brothers opened a restaurant/bar in Allentown. From there, he went into politics, including an unsuccessful 2006 GOP primary challenge to Specter.
Sestak, 58, served in the Navy for more than three decades, achieving the rank of vice admiral. He knocked off a GOP incumbent in 2006 and was easily re-elected two years later. He has been a solid supporter of the Democratic agenda while in Congress.
While polls conflict, Toomey and Sestak generally have been running about even. Toomey usually appears the more poised of the two candidates, and Sestak is likely to be on the defensive over the economy and his voting record. While the race is a tossup, it’s a bit easier to imagine Sestak, who has earned the reputation of being a difficult person to work for, imploding.
A solid Toomey win would be a bad sign for Democrats down the ballot.
Eight of the 10 House seats worth watching are held by Democrats: Reps. Kathy Dahlkemper (3rd district), Jason Altmire (4th district), Patrick J. Murphy (8th district), Christopher Carney (10th district), Paul E. Kanjorski (11th district), Mark Critz (12th district), Tim Holden (17th district) and Sestak’s open 7th district. The two seats held by Republicans are Rep. Jim Gerlach ’s 6th district and Rep. Charlie Dent ’s 15th district.
Of the eight Democratic seats, Sestak’s open seat and Kanjorski’s now appear to be the best opportunities for Republicans. Former U.S. Attorney Pat Meehan (R), who is running against Democrat Bryan Lentz in the open seat, and Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta (R) are experienced in the limelight and now benefit from strong poll numbers.
But the other GOP hopefuls probably will need to ride a wave to victory.
Former U.S. Attorney Tom Marino, running against Carney, and state Sen. Dave Argall, who is challenging Holden, didn’t show enough cash in the bank on June 30 to be taken all that seriously — Marino had $11,000, while Argall showed just $29,000.
Both districts went for Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in the 2008 presidential race, however, and both GOP candidates have a base and some reputation. A big wave — a really big wave — could sweep them in.
In Western Pennsylvania, GOP primary upset winner Keith Rothfus starts out as an underdog against Altmire, while Mike Kelly is unproven against Dahlkemper. Both incumbents have considerable financial advantages in areas where fundraising is not always easy, particularly in tough economic times.
In the 12th district, where Critz won a special election, Republicans hope for a reversal of that outcome in November. It certainly isn’t likely, but in a large Republican state wave, the district can’t be ignored.
Finally, Murphy faces a rematch against former Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick. Murphy nipped the Republican in a horrible year for the GOP, 2006, so the changed political environment certainly makes this a race to watch, especially in a wave.
Democrats are mounting stiff challenges to Republicans Gerlach and Dent. The Democratic nominees, Manan Trivedi against Gerlach and John Callahan against Dent, are quality candidates, but a political wave can drown even strong challengers.
Republicans have a slew of challengers in the state — more than in any other state — but many of them haven’t yet put together the kinds of campaigns they’d need to win. If Republicans win four more House seats in Pennsylvania, they are likely to take back the House. With a gain of five, it would be a done deal.
Stuart Rothenberg is editor of the Rothenberg Political Report (rothenbergpoliticalreport.com).
If you still have a job and can throw some money toward helping these GOP candidates, please do. There are some excellent GOP candidates, but so far, they are badly outgunned by the DEM incumbents.
PA related.
PA-10 has long been Republican stronghold. However, Carney seems to be popular. Like article says, a STRONG wave is needed.
So the liberals in Philly and Pittsburgh and the hillbillies everywhere else in Pennsyltucky are going to vote republican? They could exhume Murtha’s body and run it and he would win...post-mortem!
Most of the Republican challengers to ‘Rat incumbents are badly underfnnded.
There are also a lot of frustrated Republicans in this state who would dearly love to hogtie some of our liberal neighbors for the duration of election day. Since we can’t do that, we send money, protest, help with campaigns, and join Republican committees and Tea Party groups to make a difference where we can. Never, never, never, never give up.
So whatever happened to that carpetbagger yinz guys was shilling?
What I don’t get is why PA didn’t figure out that the 0bama agenda of bankrupting the coal industry wasn’t in their best interest...
any Freeper out there who knows any Pennsylvania tavern owners...Dan Onorato is despised out here in Western PA because he slapped an incredibly unpopular 10% tax on alcoholic drinks poured in Allegheny County. The money was supposed to go to mass transit, but as that is just a black hole of Union pension obligations, they are still cutting service and looking for more taxes to raise. Tavern owners in PA need to put together the biggest friggin’ PAC humanly possible to defeat this guy. And Pennsylvanians need to voluntarily contribute 10% of every bar tab to Corbett.
ping
ROFL!
I see Choo Choo Willie, the local village idiot at FR stopped by for just one more sophmoric insult.
BTW, I'm not the one who tagged him with village idiot, a class of '98 FReeper did and I fully agree.
BTW, I'm not the one who tagged him with village idiot, a class of '98 FReeper did and I fully agree.
It just proves that it didn't take a genius to accurately predict that your carpetbagger buddy was gonna be a LOSER...
AGAIN!!!
LOL!
Yeah, Jaz, good 'ole Choo Choo Willie! If he wasn't real, we'd have to make him up to get a laugh! LOL!
Mark Critz wipes the floor with Tim Burns, and delusional Willie is still griping about Bill Russell. That's just plain wacky.
That sums it up well, from the way Willie talks you'd think it was just the opposite.
Russell wasn't picked by RINO/DEM Gleason to run against Critz, Burns was and he lost badly.
I hope Burns beats Critz in the general but it's an steep climb. I believe Russell would have beaten Critz but we'll never know now.
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