NRCC thinks big but takes big risks

March 10, 2010 at 2:00 pm

I recently received my “top secret” mailing from the National Republican Congressional Committee, indicating the 100 (!) seats the committee was targeting for the fall election, with a plan to  pour more than $1 million of national funds into the races. Operating on the assumption that anything I know about can’t be very secret, I feel free to divulge its  contents to my readers. Not that there are many surprises.

The most striking thing was…

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More on the White House staff

March 1, 2010 at 9:00 am

Interesting post by Sean Wilentz at The Daily Beast on how President Obama needs to sack all or most of his White House staff—and soon.

A distinguished and (I might add) left-leaning historian and author of “The Age of Reagan,” Wilentz notes that successful presidents almost always need to part with much of their pre-White House staff in order to be so. Those who hang on too long are typically less successful.…

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Murtha and the 12th District

February 23, 2010 at 11:11 am

The death of Congressman John Murtha (D-12) has drawn understandable statements of sympathy from across the Commonwealth, together with an equally understandable street-fight to succeed him. Each of these merits a brief comment.

First, Murtha himself. Certainly he deserves admiration for his military background and his defense of his district’s interests. Yet Murtha represented much of what was worst in the state’s political culture. Instead of generating new wealth, he and his policies basically moved…

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The ‘Matthews effect,’ the 13th District and the decline of the MontCo GOP

February 12, 2010 at 2:10 pm

The Montgomery County GOP has endorsed Dee Adcock of Abington for Congress in the 13th Congressional District over the somewhat better-funded Damion Dachowski and several other candidates. Dachowski, who led on the first ballot, conceded the race likely leaving Adcock to face incumbent Democrat Allyson Schwartz, a heavy favorite, in the fall.

Early comments on the vote have emphasized the so-called Matthews Effect, under which anyone…

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Specter, Sestak and the Dem endorsement

February 8, 2010 at 11:31 am

The news that Arlen Specter received the support of three quarters of the Democratic State Committee is being treated as a major victory for the opportunistic senior senator. But it probably shouldn’t be.

State committees, at least in Pennsylvania, function something like the Supreme Soviet in the former Soviet Union or the central committee in today’s China. Every other Republican that you meet at a local meeting is a member, and they tend…

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Citizens United ruling another nail in campaign-finance coffin

February 5, 2010 at 2:56 pm

The Supreme Court’s decision in the Citizens United case struck down the portion of the existing campaign finance laws prohibiting certain corporate and union expenditures. Many feel it is the beginning of the end for the McCain-Feingold system, altogether.   Some, many of them Republicans, are happy. Others, many or most Democrats, are angry. All seem to agree it’s a momentous decision.

I’m a little bit less convinced. For one thing, much of the money involved…

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Obama and Republicans both need to take a deep breath

February 1, 2010 at 9:15 am

Since his administration took a tumble in Massachusetts a couple of weeks ago, people have been full of advice for President Obama, much of it less than helpful. In Sunday’s New York Times, Frank Rich urged him to “turn up the heat” on congressional Republicans, make clear that George W. Bush is to blame for the current budget mess and move more aggressively to advance his “progressive” agenda.  Rich cited Obama’s criticism…

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Hoeffel tries to get attention, Schwartz to avoid it

January 28, 2010 at 11:41 am

As the Democrats race back to the center, it’s nice to see that Joe Hoeffel has found the issue he can distinguish himself on: abortion. Sure, 90 percent of Democrats are pro-choice, but they’re not, well, as enthusiastic about it as Hoeffel. And he’s got Kate Michelman—who may be the only person more pro-abortion than Allyson Schwartz—along with him to prove it. Certainly sounds like a good reason to be governor to me.…

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Capable challengers feed prospects for a GOP sweep

January 26, 2010 at 3:02 pm

News that Republican Mike Fitzpatrick will go for a rematch against Democrat Patrick Murphy in the 8th District, while former U.S. Attorney Tom Marino will enter the race against Democrat Chris Carney in the 10th District, continues the trend of capable GOP challengers lining up against incumbent Democrats who have had an entirely too easy time in previously Republican districts.

The Republicans’ enthusiasm is matched by Democratic angst, although as yet…

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Why Massachusetts matters here—and everywhere else

January 20, 2010 at 6:25 pm

The Republican victory in Massachusetts—coupled with similar if less dramatic victories in New Jersey and Virginia—is a clear warning shot, but could still be one of a cyclical rather than a deeply philosophical variety. Its long-term significance depends on how the Democrats react.

If President Obama and the congressional leadership take the warning to heart—if they tack forcefully to the middle as Bill Clinton did in similar circumstances 15 years ago—they have a very good…

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