Posted on 08/19/2002 5:20:42 AM PDT by End Times Sentinel
Sounding a bit desperate and more than a little scared, Pennsylvania House Republicans are pleading for help to maintain their seats in November.
In a recent campaign letter soliciting contributions and voter turnout for GOP House candidates, Speaker Matt Ryan worries about what some are calling "the Ed effect."
Former Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell, who is running for governor at the top of the Democratic ticket, threatens House Republicans in the Southeastern counties and ultimately GOP control of the state House, Ryan writes. Democrats need to capture just five seats to become the majority party in the House, overcoming the GOP's current 105-98 advantage.
"If you have been reading the newspapers, you no doubt share my concern for House Republican candidates in Southeast Pennsylvania," Ryan wrote in the solicitation earlier this month for the House Republican Campaign Committee. "We must be prepared for Rendell to run stronger than any Democrat statewide candidate in Pennsylvania history... . We must persuade Republicans who vote Rendell to vote Republican for their state representative."
Democrats are relishing that kind of talk.
"They have very good reason to be scared," said Rep. Mike Veon (D., Beaver), the House minority whip and cochairman of Rendell's campaign. "At some point, the overwhelming margin taken by Rendell is going to result in more votes for Democratic House candidates. He has real coattails."
Rendell showed just how strong and how popular he is when he took 79 percent of the regional vote in the primary against state Auditor General Bob Casey Jr. in May.
Rep. Kate Harper (R., Montgomery), who is running for reelection, said the Rendell effect does have her a little nervous. "I am a little worried about his coattail effect... . If they just pull that big D lever, my boat gets swamped in his wake," she said.
The freshman representative has been campaigning as if Election Day were just a few weeks away. She started her door-to-door effort in early July, mere weeks after Rendell's primary win.
"I'm worried only because Ed Rendell is a charismatic guy - my constituents know him and they like him," Harper said.
"I have [Republican] voters telling me that they are voting for Rendell. They say they'll vote for me, too. I tell them, 'Don't forget about me.' And I think I'll be OK if they think about me."
Harper said she is hoping that the district's voting history will work in her favor. "These are discerning voters."
Al Gore, U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum (R., Pa.), U.S. Rep. Joseph Hoeffel (D., Pa.), and Harper all carried the vote in the 13th District in the 2000 election.
Veon said Democrats wanted to raise $4.5 million for targeted races around the state. Two-thirds of that pot will be spent in the Southeast, spreading the message that Rendell needs a Democratic-controlled House to help further his agenda for Pennsylvania.
Republicans have previously said they want to raise between $6 million and $8 million. The letter notes that the Southeast campaign will cost at least $1.7 million.
"Every race is a different challenge," said Rep. Brett Feese (R., Lycoming), the Republican caucus chairman. "Last cycle it was Al Gore, this cycle it's Ed Rendell, and next cycle it could be the Democrat running against Gov. Fisher. If Democrats are using this letter to say they're going to win, that's pie-in-the-sky on their part."
Rep. John Lawless (D., Montgomery), chuckled over the developments. "John Perzel is using Rendell to raise funds because he knows the governor's race is over," Lawless said. "He's put the white flag up, and trying to save House seats."
Rendell's name appears six times in the two-page letter. Fisher's is not mentioned at all.
"We're not raising money for Fisher, we're raising money for House Republicans," Feese said.
Kent Gates, Fisher campaign manager, said the GOP committee is doing what it must to fill its coffers.
"This is a letter to raise money for House campaigns, nothing more," Gates said. "We are sure that Matt Ryan is confident that Mike Fisher is going to beat Ed Rendell."
C’mon people! We were supposed to do that in the Primary election. We’re supposed to vote for the other guy in the General election. Foster, or Fischl, or whatever his name is, you know, the Republican guy? The shy one?
Have to admit I did see a Fisher billboard in the past couple of weeks, although I did have to do a double take to make sure it was from him running for Governor.
If Rendell does indeed take this election, the blame will fall squarely on the shoulders of The Invisible Man, Mike Fisher.
Owl_Eagle
”Guns Before Butter.”
The Republicans seem to be locked into the "classic" campaign mode of "the race doesn't start until after Labor Day", whereas the RATS are seemingly out there on the campaign trail, smearing their opponents the day after Election Day. Not that I am any fan of the perpetual campaign or smear campaigns, but the trouble is it gives the Rats at least a two-year (or four or six) head start on almost any race. They'll put their lies and smears out there and for a couple of years or longer they'll go unrefuted and left to fester in the minds of the sheeple, unless the 'Pubs grow a pair and learn to throw every lie and smear back into the Rats' ugly faces when the opportunity arises.
The following was excerpted from a Daily Times story on the same subject. It is a bit more optimistic.
However Thomas Judge Sr., chairman of the Delaware County Republican Party, sees this year's election as no different than any other election year. "Any time you have an area candidate like Rendell running against your party certainly there is added pressure," Judge said. "But we are concerned about our opposition in every election every year. This year is no different. Are we doing anything different than usual? No. "If we do our job, and stress voting for every Republican in Delaware County, then in the end we'll come out all right." Tom Bonier, director of targeting for the National Committee for an Effective Congress, a political action committee based in Washington, D.C., said that it's hard to gauge what kind of effect Rendell will have on races that are at the bottom of the ticket. "A lot of times when people walk into a voting booth, they know they want to vote for governor or mayor, but they don't have a clue about who they're voting for locally," Bonier said. "Sometimes that means they just vote with the same party as the top of the ticket, but sometimes that also means they don't even vote down there. "So having a name like Rendell at the top of a ticket doesn't always provide coattails." Although published polls show Rendell leading the Republican candidate, state Attorney General Mike Fisher, by as many as 13 percentage points, one source close to the Democratic Party said yesterday that the lead is not that big. Other polls are showing that although Rendell currently has a lead over Fisher, the margin is only a couple of points, the source said, suggesting the election will be far closer than many Philadelphia area residents anticipate. Nevertheless, county Democrats anticipate a bump in voter turnout just because Rendell is atop the ticket.
Maybe if Republicans ran as Republicans and not as Democrat-Lite, the people would have a real choice of candidates. These candidates either do not have any core values and convictions (no - not those kind of convictions) or they do not have the courage of those convictions. They need to stand up and boldly and proudly state the differences that make the GOP the better choice. Instead, they pander and try to show how much stuff they can take from taxpayers to give to non-taxpayers.
What I would suggest is that he's going to use suburban and non-Philly money to bail out Philly's school funding problems (and other funding problems). Make him deny it vociferously, if he can.
I just saw a Fisher commercial, Sunday. I kind of liked it. Not much on content but Fisher looked better that I figured he would.
The Republican mayor of Easton is supporting Rendell. (unbelievable but true)
This is the case right now and almost certainly will continue to be the case in the future under either Rendell or Fisher.
North and West Philadelphia are rife with people who’ve never considered supporting themselves and will continue to suckle at the teet of the government at the expense of PA tax payers. Just be glad they’re only able to get you for 2% of your wages and a 6% sales tax rather than the 2% state 4.5% local + 7% sales tax working Philadelphians pay.
Owl_Eagle
”Unleash the Hogs of Peace.”
P.J. O’Rourke Parliament of Whores
Okay. What I would suggest -- if I were Fisher -- is that Rendell is going to use even more suburban and non-Philly money to bail out Philly's school funding problems (and other funding problems).
It seems like it would be a slam dunk in Cumberland County (etc.) to sell them on the fact that money is being sucked out of their projects to fatten the lazy welfare recipients in Philadelphia.
Owl_Eagle
” WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
DIVERSITY IS STRENGTH"
And the lazy corrupt city workers.
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