Daily Times Endorses Bryan Lentz Over Tom Gannon

Good for the Times:

Pa. House, 161st District: In one of the most spirited — and nasty — legislative campaigns, longtime Republican Rep. Tom Gannon is being challenged by Democrat Bryan Lentz. This race offers residents two strong, attractive candidates in a race that has shown the best — and worst — of local politics.

…

But where this race really sizzles is in some of the personal attacks offered in ads and mailers. A Republican ad has denounced Lentz for his legal defense work for a man who was charged with taking an indecent picture of a boy at a Variety Camp. The ad suggests Lentz worked “to put a child predator back on the streets.” Gannon also once cited Lentz’s lack of community service, apparently oblivious to his military service.

Gannon, himself a lawyer, defends the ad, and says the voters had a right to know what kind of work his opponent was doing. He questioned whether someone with that type of work experience should be seeking public office.

Lentz believes the attacks to be dishonest. This newspaper tends to agree, and point out that such negative pieces are exactly why so many people are being turned off to politics. They are beneath the clear qualifications of both of these office seekers.

Voters in the 161st District in all reality will not go wrong with either Gannon or Lentz in Harrisburg. But the endorsement goes to the newcomer Bryan Lentz, in no small part because of the nasty, negative tenor Gannon’s brought to the campaign.

Gunman Shoots Six Dead In One-room Amish Schoolhouse

School shootings are one modern trend the Amish should’ve definitely stayed away from:

A gunman killed six people at a one-room Amish schoolhouse Monday morning in Pennsylvania’s bucolic Lancaster County, and several others were taken to hospitals with injuries, authorities said.

“So far, six confirmed dead, and the helicopters are pulling into (Lancaster General Hospital) like crazy,” Coroner G. Gary Kirchner said.

Rick Santorum Don't Come Around Here No More

Editorial in 2006 May 26 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette about Sen. Rick Santorum’s residency:

Before every election, the Post-Gazette routinely sends letters to the candidates seeking material for the Voters Guide. Back in March, as part of that process for the primary, the newspaper sent a letter to Rick Santorum at his home address, at least the one that he claims. Back from Penn Hills came the letter with a sticker from the U.S. Postal Service checked as “Not Deliverable As Addressed — Unable To Forward.”

That is all you need to know about the nasty dispute between the Republican Sen. Santorum and his Democratic opponent, Bob Casey Jr., in the November election. The whole thing is rooted in one inconvenient fact for Sen. Santorum: He doesn’t live here anymore.

I Disagree With Curt Weldon's Spokesman

From the 2006 May 24 edition of the Delaware County Daily Times:

Bush’s arrival comes as a poll— conducted earlier this month by the liberal-leaning Democracy Corps — shows 45 percent of 7th District voters supporting Sestak, a former Navy admiral, and 49 percent supporting Weldon, a 10-term incumbent and vice chairman of the House Armed Services and Homeland Security committees.

…

“This is the kind of stuff that is disgusting,” said Weldon spokesman John Tomaszewski. “I also find it hard to believe that those inflated numbers mean anything, considering the fact that good research shows that Mr. Sestak has very little name recognition in the district.”

Obviously any poll by an opaquely partisan organization should be taken with a grain of salt, but even so, Tomaszewski’s statement is dumb. A candidate with “little name recognition” trailing only by four-points (plus or minus the aforementioned grain of salt) before major campaigning begins indicates a big problem for a 10-term incumbent.

Pennsylvania Senators Love Lobbyist Money

Senators Santorum and Spector are currently ranked second and third (respectively) in total contributions from lobbyists, according to the Congress Watch of Public Citizen:

Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) - $1,163,560
Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) - $1,019,317

Number one is Ex-Senator (D-S.D.) Tom Daschle, so technically, Pennsylvania owns the top of list, making us finally good at something, even if it is political whorery.

Via Will Bunch.

Joe Sestak Supports Net Neutrality

Joe Sestak:

I’m not a career politician. I don’t need polls to tell me what to believe. I’ve looked at the facts, weighed the evidence, and I strongly believe that Net Neutrality is good for America.

Good for him. A position I agree with on an issue I care about from a politician I want to vote for. It’s like the trifecta of… something.

Well, this meets all the criteria for things I’m most terrified of: something I don’t understand at all and refuse to learn more about.