It’s not even particularly close, at this point. Politico has already called it for her opponent. Who will have to decide now if he should dare run on supporting Obamacare.
…Spoiler warning: NO.
Tag: Allyson Schwartz
So, basically, Allyson Schwartz isn’t going to be the Democratic nominee for PA-GOV.
Well, isn’t this interesting? “The first political ad warmly embracing ObamaCare, by a candidate not named Obama, hit state airwaves last week. It likely will be the last pro-ObamaCare ad ever made. Allyson Schwartz boldly went where no Democrat has gone before, trying to gain ground in a primary race that is slipping swiftly from her hands.” Not that Obamacare was a horrible thing to campaign on – I knew that already – but that Schwartz was doing so badly in the Democratic primary. But she is; the poor woman has been in free-fall for the last few months.
Which basically means that Obamacare is a Hail Mary play for Allyson Schwartz. Just one problem: if successful ones weren’t extremely low-probability, we’d call them something else.
Moe Lane
PS: How do you think that other Democrats are going to react if/when the most public politician embracing Obamacare doesn’t actually win?
RS Interview: Joe Rooney (R CAND, PA-13).
PA-13 is, of course, the district of Allyson Schwartz. It’s been considered safe in the past, largely because the district hasn’t changed hands since 1988 – despite being only about D+7. Speaking frankly: I like districts like that. They’re more fun to take away from the Other Side. Particularly when we’re talking about a cipher like Schwartz. And doubly particularly when Pennsylvania is going to be fought over to a degree not seen since… about 1988 or so.
The current candidate for PA-13 is former pilot and military veteran Joe Rooney, and he’s looking to upset this particular applecart. We talked for a bit about the race:
Joe’s site is here.
Moe Lane (crosspost)
The Tuesday Weinergate Democratic screaming match.
If you have ever wondered why the GOP leadership’s first instinct in time of scandal* is to immediately jettison the offenders (whether they like it or not)… well, there’s a reason for that: it rarely gets better if you let things fester. Case in point… Politico reports that a Democratic caucus Tuesday devolved into a bit of a screaming match; Rep. Bill Pascrell of New Jersey felt obligated to chastise Rep. Allyson Schwartz of Pennsylvania over the latter’s call for Weiner’s resignation. Pascrell has appointed himself as Weiner’s unofficial defender, which means that he apparently feels entitled to dictate to others (especially, well, female others) what is or is not an acceptable response to Weiner’s poor life choices.
Anyway, it got so bad that they had to send the aides out of the room, lest they gossip and leak – which didn’t help, of course. It never does. What does help in these cases is clear-headed pragmatism and the moral courage to accept a bit of pain now to avoid more pain later… which is why the Democrats are still in this mess (they haven’t even stripped this guy of his committees yet!), because their leadership is apparently incapable of either. It’s enough to make an outside observer want to give two for flinching. Continue reading The Tuesday Weinergate Democratic screaming match.
Hey, what do these twelve legislators have in common?
This is via That’s My Congress, which is about to become very confused about why it’s getting traffic from a VRWC site. Here’s the list:
Lois Capps
Michael Capuano
Ben Cardin
Diana DeGette
Eliot Engel
Barney Frank
Alan Grayson
Carolyn McCarthy
Bill Pascrell
Adam Schiff
Allyson Schwartz
Heath Shuler
…and they have two things in common. First, they’re all Democrats. Second, they all have email addresses with Erickson & Company. And what is Erickson & Company? As That’s My Congress puts it:
Erickson & Company is not a lobbying firm. Instead, it helps set up events like the Heath Shuler’s BBQ, at which lobbyists and other people seeking special favors can come, check in hand, to pay for access to elected officials and their aides.
In other words, it’s a legal [and Democratic-aligned] money-laundering facility for lobbyists. Need to toss Heath Shuler some cash, but you’re a dirty lobbyist? Well, go to Shuler’s little BBQ (run by a go-between), drop a grand for a plate of food, and say hi! No fuss, no muss, no need for disclosure. Shuler’s happy: he’s getting his cut of your entry fee. The go-between is happy: it’s getting its cut of your entry fee. And you’re happy: this is a lot cheaper than a maximum campaign contribution would be.
So remember this, the next time anybody on that list – or, honestly, any Democrat – talks about the evil of lobbying: the sound you hear isn’t scorn towards those who would try to pay for influence. Nope. It’s scorn towards the rubes who don’t know how to tell when a Democrat is gaming the system.
Moe Lane
Crossposted to RedState.