Palin’s visit and GOP candidates

August 27, 2010 at 8:45 am

Do you remember where you were the day U.S. politics hung a wild, tire-screeching turn, spinning conservatives to a euphoric frenzy and sending liberals into a tailspin of self-immolating doubt?

It’s been almost exactly two years since John McCain announced on Aug. 29, 2008, that mid-term Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was his pick for vice president.

“Brilliant!” cried Republicans, who feared McCain’s campaign had no juice left.

“Insane!” cried Democrats, who flew off the hinges…

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Toomey changes verb, not intent for Social Security

August 26, 2010 at 8:00 am

Republican Senate hopeful Pat Toomey appeared to be trying a little revisionist history this week when he claimed he never called for privatizing Social Security.

Toomey made the statement at the end of his appearance at the Pennsylvania Press Club Monday, only to see a wave of critics calling him out. That included the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which dug up a 2003 headline from Toomey’s hometown newspaper, The Morning Call, which read: “Toomey: Privatize…

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Dem chair to Toomey: Stop ‘tap-dancing’ about your Wall Street values

August 20, 2010 at 8:00 am

The metaphors were mixed but the message was clear: Pennsylvania Democratic Party chairman Jim Burn wants to tear down the image of Pat Toomey as a candidate for all Pennsylvanians.

In a conference call with reporters Thursday, Burn emerged from a post-primary reorganization of the state party leadership to take aim at Toomey, the former Lehigh Valley congressman and former Wall Street derivatives trader. Burn accused Toomey of channeling citizen anxiety about the economy onto…

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Libertarian guv hopeful says she can beat back GOP challenge

August 17, 2010 at 7:00 am

After the Tea Party Patriots of Pennsylvania called John Krupa a faker a challenge spearheaded by the state GOP sent him packing, that still leaves three in the gubernatorial race.

Maybe.

Libertarian candidate Marakay Rogers says she’s prepared for the ballot challenge brought by Republicans. The York lawyer said she has more than 24,000 signatures, about 5,000 more than necessary to secure a place on the Nov. 2 ballot.

“The thing that’s disappointing is that…

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Clinton joins Michelle on Sestak’s A-list

August 5, 2010 at 8:05 am

There was an interesting confluence of events Wednesday for Democrat Joe Sestak: He marked the one-year anniversary of his (finally official) announcement that he’d run for U.S. Senate, while at the same time his campaign announced that his former White House boss Bill Clinton would stump at a rally for Sestak.

Is Sestak concerned that when the two appear together in Scranton, it will re-open the sideshow debate about how Clinton, acting on behalf of…

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Those GOPers who passed on a run vs. Toomey

August 4, 2010 at 9:37 am

It’s interesting to look at what’s happened to two of the people people Pennsylvania Republicans were eyeballing last year to run against Pat Toomey in the Senate primary.

Last spring, state GOP chairman Rob Gleason accompanied state Senator & Majority Whip Jane Orie to Washington to discuss a potential run. She is said to have done a 180 after Toomey supporters threatened to yank support for her sister and Supreme Court candidate,…

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Sestak’s rough sailing at Pa. Press Club

July 27, 2010 at 9:40 am

Joe Sestak tried to break bread Monday with a few captains of industry, or at least their policy watchdogs. With such a dynamic at work, one can only imagine how the Pennsylvania Press Club luncheon turned out: a little too dyspeptic.

Pan to the Hilton Harrisburg ballroom, where in front of the Democratic Senate candidate there sat entire tables filled with business leaders whose faces were set like stone, their arms clenched across their chests.…

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The Specter camp’s messaging failure

May 18, 2010 at 1:45 pm

Facing the ballot Tuesday and the choice between Arlen Specter or Joe Sestak for Senate, I found myself walking back events of the past year in order to see if there was a single, critical and deciding issue upon which to make a decision.

This question presumes that both candidates were equally acceptable or annoying and a tie-breaker was necessary.

But it struck me that the critical mistake made by the Specter campaign was the…

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Wagner’s Inky endorsement only makes cash a bigger issue

May 3, 2010 at 4:05 pm

Oh, to be the money underdog. What a conundrum for Auditor General Jack Wagner and Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Hoeffel.

At a gubernatorial candidates’ forum Sunday night in Harrisburg, Wagner and Hoeffel were forced to take a back seat in war of words between state Senator Anthony Williams (D-Philadelphia) and Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato.

Williams, who got $1.5 million alone from school-choice advocates and has continued to rake in cash, was passionate and pointed…

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Toomey aims to bank on Specter’s party switch

April 8, 2010 at 5:13 pm

Pat Toomey’s decision to run for Senate helped prompt five-term incumbent Senator Arlen Specter’s party switch.

A year later, Toomey wants to bolster his coffers courtesy of Specter’s decision to not let Pennsylvania Republican primary voters have the final say on his 30-year Senate career. The former Wall Street banker, restaurant owner, congressman and conservative think tank leader unveiled a new Web site fundraising gimmick that seeks to cash in for $280,000—a…

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