What’s changed, what hasn’t

September 2, 2010 at 7:19 am

Back from a little vacation, and now we’re just two months away from the big day.

Some things have changed, some things haven’t.

• It looks like the Democrats are in even more trouble than I imagined they’d be. Who would have thought both Tom Corbett and Pat Toomey would be flirting with double-digit leads, and that Democrats would have a real chance of losing up to half-a-dozen House seats in Pennsylvania alone? No one…

comments

comments [6] | post a comment

Catching up…

July 27, 2010 at 10:45 am

I’ve been taking a brief vacation from Pennsylvania politics, and am leaving for a real vacation next week. But I wanted  to get in a few comments before I left.

• Things looks even worse for the Democrats, in Pennsylvania and elsewhere, than I had thought. Instead of moving back to the center, Democrats have pretty much doubled down on their liberal agenda, like shoppers who know the store is closing and have to cram…

comments

comments [2] | post a comment

Over-the-top tactics unnecessary for GOP

June 21, 2010 at 12:13 pm

I read with some confusion of Republican Pat Meehan’s attempt to confront Democrat Bryan Lentz with evidence of the latter’s complicity in Bonusgate, and had a similar reaction to attempts to link Democrat Mark Critz to Nancy Pelosi in the 12th District. Neither attempt was notably successful.

It seems to me Republicans have a clear, simple argument to make in the 2010 elections. President Obama was elected…

comments

comments [7] | post a comment

National results: A kinder, gentler GOP?

June 11, 2010 at 2:35 pm

Democrats have been hoping, and Republicans fearing, that a hard-right, Tea Party-based GOP would squander its many advantages heading into this fall’s elections in Pennsylvania and elsewhere. This week’s primary results suggest that fear—if it remains real—may be somewhat exaggerated.

Victories by Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina in California, much like Tom Corbett’s relatively smooth ride to the GOP nomination in Pennsylvania, suggest a moderate, down-to-business attitude that may sell well…

comments

comments [12] | post a comment

The Sestak job offer: Just a distraction?

May 31, 2010 at 3:40 pm

I agree and disagree with Nathan Shrader’s fine op-ed last week, in which he argues that the tempest about the White House’s indirect job offer to Joe Sestak, in an effort to get him out of the race against Arlen Specter, is a “distraction” from the real issues in the race.

Yes and no. Obviously the story will boil over, and the race will ultimately be decided…

comments

comments [18] | post a comment

What we’ve learned

May 21, 2010 at 12:15 pm

Well time to put the soggy lawn signs away, console the losing candidates, and watch the TV crews pack off for warmer climates. A few lessons as another Pennsylvania primary passes into history/

1. The anti-incumbent mood—It’s almost a commonplace by now, but the elections confirmed that this an anti-incumbent year rather than a liberal or a conservative one. Arlen Specter lost to a candidate largely perceived as being to his left, while favored candidates…

comments

comments [5] | post a comment

Welcome to Pennsylvania: Don’t get carried away

May 16, 2010 at 5:08 pm

It’s a great time to write about Pennsylvania politics. National media focus on local congressional races. Joe Sestak vs. Arlen Specter is all over the networks. Even Gov. Ed Rendell’s comments on the Tea Party movement get coverage… and it isn’t even November.

With all that  happening, it’s hard to keep things in perspective. But here are a few things to keep in mind.

1. It’s very…

comments

comments [4] | post a comment

Specter sinks, Williams rises, Sestak endorses: Notes on a bizarre primary season

May 12, 2010 at 2:53 pm

1. I don’t know if Joe Sestak is going to beat Arlen Specter—it looks increasingly likely—but the Sestak ad showing George Bush endorsing Specter is just about the most devastating TV spot I’ve ever seen. By contrast, Specter has been talking about Sestak’s Navy record and how he (Specter) can keep bringing more pork home. If the ads tell the story, Arlen is in deep trouble, indeed.

2. I’ve been watching…

comments

comments [4] | post a comment

Dems can’t rescue Specter from his own cynicism

May 5, 2010 at 2:29 pm

It’s interesting to watch Arlen Specter’s supposedly invincible lead over Joe Sestak begin to disappear as the primary approaches, and no less entertaining to watch the Democratic Party’s increasingly frantic attempts to bail him out. What is especially fascinating is that none of this has much to do with any substantive change: Specter is the same cynic he always was, and Sestak is the same opportunist.

What…

comments

comments [9] | post a comment

Will the Jewish vote be secure for Dems in 2010?

April 29, 2010 at 3:34 pm

The Jewish vote in Pennsylvania is relatively small, but enough to make a difference in close races. In 2008, more than 70 percent of Jews voted for Barack Obama, motivated by Obama’s overall strength but also by resistance to the McCain-Palin ticket’s perceived coziness with the religious right. Will the result be the same in 2010—or, for that matter, in 2012?

Reports of tension between the United States and Israel, along with President Obama’s general…

comments

comments [3] | post a comment