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Tuesday, May 24, 2005

PA-08: Something's Fishy in Bucks Co.

Posted by Tim Tagaris

Last election cycle, Swing State Project went to bat for Ginny Schrader (Dem. PA-08). On one fateful day, the blogosphere took a candidate destined for anonymity and propelled her race into the national spotlight. So effective was the blogswarm that the DCCC was "forced" to stick with Schrader in an open-seat showdown against Mike Fitzpatrick. She became one of us, as Bob put it, it was Ginny Schrader (D-Blogosphere).

While Ginny got much love from the roots, on the ground among the Bucks County, Pennsylvania establishment, there was a different story playing out. There are a lot of questions about the level of commitment the county party had in electing Ginny. And trust me, living in Bucks County right now, I am exploring many of them.

But for now, some of my earliest suspiscions have been confirmed. Even during the 2004 election, despite the national support, despite the local enthusiasm in the grassroots, people were already looking towards 2006. Working towads 2006. And they had their candidate already picked out.

Well, he announced yesterday, Patrick Murphy is running for the House of Representatives in Pennsylvania's 8th Congressional District.

Posted at 01:13 PM in Pennsylvania | Technorati

Comments

I think it was actually Chris Bowers who first used the "(D-Blogosphere)" label, or maybe it was DavidNYC. I just liked the sound of it and kept repeating it.

This is a good seat, in a hella expensive market. And any Democrat running in Pennsylvania is hindered by the PA Democratic Party, which adds little value (especially compared to their counterparts in the GOP).

This will be a seat to watch, but it is tough to get excited about anything in Pennyslvania as long as the dead weight runs the local party.

Posted by: Bob Brigham at May 24, 2005 01:24 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment

Making no comments about the Ginny thing, because I have no knowledge of what the deal is with the Bucks Co party, I will just say that certain statements on his website sound pretty good. For example:

"Fighting for Working Families
Being able to live the American Dream is not just about good jobs, it’s also about affordable healthcare, a clean and safe environment, security for our older Americans, and a quality education that promotes values and learning for all our children. It should be a crime to pass on to our children the crippling debt we are leaving, which is currently at $276 billion with no end in sight. In fact, Congress just passed the repeal of the estate tax in April 2005, which adds a burden of another $290 billion over the next ten years. As far as our energy policy, if President Kennedy could inspire our nation to put a man on the moon in the 1960s, surely our leadership should care enough to inspire Detroit to make cars that go more than 13 miles-per-gallon, which is about the norm for the H2 Hummer. We need more fuel-efficient cars on the road and more alternate energy use in our homes and businesses."

Posted by: DanielUA at May 24, 2005 05:03 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment

Tim, I have no idea what you're so upset about. I, for one, am happy that Patrick Murphy is in the race. The fact that we have a young, charismatic candidate who has served his country abroad is one I'm happy about.

Posted by: LVDem at May 25, 2005 03:07 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment

Nothing against Patrick Murphy; I have seen the guy speak, met him once, and I am sure he would make a fine congressman, better than Fitzpatrick for sure.

This isn't about him. At all.

Posted by: Tim Tagaris at May 25, 2005 04:02 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment

It figures that Murphy will get the support of the DNC in PA. He never once mentioned being a Democrat in his press release. That marks him as a right winger not willing to be associated with the Democratic Party. He is a prosecutor which is about the only Democrats allowed to run with a possibility of party support. Only Democrats who have a proven track record of vigorously prosecuting the poverty oppressed will get the support of Rendell and the Democratic Leadership Council.

On the other hand, here is an educator in Bethlehem, PA whom I, as an Independent, would support in a run against Santorum. He is not a prosecutor and so has no chance of the Democrats even allowing him into the primaries.

Jose Rosado.

http://www.mcall.com/news/opinion/anotherview/all-rosado5-31may31,0,3711695.story

Congressional gangbuster bill will just bust budgets

Congress just doesn't get it — not when it comes to understanding the factors that lead to gang violence and what actions must be taken to effectively address this escalating crisis.

Congress recently passed an anti-gang bill, but it follows a trend that has yielded no significant impact on reducing gang violence. This model, the ''get tough, tougher, toughest on gangs'' model, will prove to be only a budget buster, rather than the gangbuster Congress believes it will be. The bill is HR 1239, whose chief sponsor is Rep. Randy Forbes, R-Va.

(snip)

Lock'em up younger and longer? Gangbuster legislation or budget buster rhetoric? I believe we can do better. Maybe I should run for Congress.

Jose Rosado of Bethlehem is an assistant principal at East Hills Middle School and is the founder and chairman of C.A.P.E.R.S. (Community Advocates Promoting Education Recreation Support).

Posted by: aahpat at June 1, 2005 06:41 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment