I like Hoeffel pretty well, and agree that on paper he’s the ideal liberal candidate, but by aligning himself with the left (among whom I would count myself, mind you) I think he leaves too much political space in the center for someone less defined, like Tom Corbett, to run on a centrist non-ideological message like Bob McDonnell did in VA. Especially when Corbett has absolutely no economic record to run on, and the election will come down to jobs. Much as I might agree with Hoeffel on social issues, exactly no one is going to be giving a shit about social issues in the 2010 election, or at least they will be far down the list of concerns on the minds of the electorate. Liberals may not agree with everything he’s done on this front, but Dan Onorato is specifically identified with the successful economic development stories coming out of Pittsburgh. If voters know nothing else about him, they know that he is competent in this area, and that he knows how to create jobs in Rust Belt regions (i.e. the condition of most of the state.) He has a much better story to tell on the economy than Hoeffel, and about a thousand times better than Corbett, who has no record and can be portrayed as a risky choice on jobs who can’t be counted on to deliver in the middle of a recession. To my mind, I don’t see how Dems turn down the chance to be running on such a strong message.

Jon, the Democrats want the election to be about jobs.

On our side, we want the election to be about taxes (Dan the Taxman) and corruption (grand jury in Pittsburgh looking at transportation monies … 1 mile tunnel costing $525 million ?connection?).

The assorted taxes == beer, parking, etc. == that Dan the Taxman imposed on the residents of Allegheny County was the largest tax increase in the history of Allegheny County. His refusal to keep his campaign promise in 2003 to fix the reassessment mess means that up to 60% of homeowners have been paying higher property taxes than they should for the last seven years and will continue to do so for the next four years. He even floated the idea of taxing hospital beds. Believe me, we are happy to talk about taxes and we have a lot to talk about.

On corruption, our prosecutor has the existing lawmaker probes plus there are a number of FBI, state grand jury and federal investigations of judges (Luzerne County), Turnpike Commissioners and others. Those wil make news all year.

And what is the record on jobs? There has been no net gain in private sector jobs in Allegheny County in the last decade. The biggest single public investment in the county under Onorato’s tenure is that one mile tunnel under the river which is overbudget and late and despite the higher spending reduced in size by half. When it is complete, that public investment will serve approximately the same number of light rail riders that were served by the Alaskan bridge to nowhere. The only people who got any benefit from that project were the donors to his campaign and the public was screwed. Even Ed Spendell said it was the worst waste of money in the history of mankind and he wished it had never been funded. That is Dan the Taxman’s largest single and most signature public investment project which will have absolutely no impact on private sector job creation once it is complete.

Jon-
There are two battles here: winning the primary and winning the general election.

While Hoeffel may have some trouble grabbing the center for the General, there has been a longstanding debate by both parties of whether you run a real (liberal/conservative) or someone who is a “fake” ideologue or pretending to be closer to the center.

My personal take on this is for candidates to state their beliefs in a straight forward manner, rather than weasel around the issues to satisfy a particular audience. Such a candidate is inoculated against charges of pandering and flip-flopping and (I think) in the long run can connect with voters as honest, even if they disagree with his positions.

As I’ve said before, Specter is one of the few politicians that is not only in the center, but owns the center, the patent, and gets royalties on it. That’s worked for him for the past 30 years.

Hoeffel has made his progressive positions EXTREMELY clear. Voters looking for (hungry for) a real progressive will be very pleased with Hoeffel. Whether that will “carry the day” (Primary or General) is a completely different issue.

But, Wagner and Onorato (as conservative Dems) will need to distinguish themselves from each other. At this stage, they are still somewhat interchangeable.

The progressives gritted their teeth when they pulled the lever for Bob Casey in 2006 (though he has turned out better than we hoped). There is pent-up demand for a real progressive candidate among the Dems. That makes Hoeffel a very viable Primary candidate, especially in the Southeast.

GOPHawk-
You are just full of colorful names for everybody aren’t you? How cute.
It’s funny that you are so completely clueless about most issues, and then take that extra leapp off the cliff and you profess to know how Dems think and what we want.

This is the same “thinking” (and I use the term loosely) that made the GOP believe that running Sarah Palin would get them the disgruntled Hillary voters. Of course, it had the opposite effect, and got the Hillary voters to get behind Obama.

If you want to pontificate about how right-wingers “think”, go right ahead. But, you attempting to discern the inner workings of the Dems, is like a blind man commenting on Picasso’s use of color in his paintings.

You are right about me and Picasso’s painting. Most voters like Norman Rockwell and simple, clear messages.

While I would like to take credit, Dan the Taxman is not a nickname that I came up with. It is what you see in bars all across Allegheny County and what is printed on a lot of receipts in those bars. “The working people” developed that nickname, not a consultant or a reporter or an intellectual or an artiste. And, let me tell you, working people across Pennsylvania – the independents who are tilting away from Obama and the Democrats on taxes and spending right now – are going to have a very easy time to connect with the working people of Allegheny County who know Dan the Taxman.

Hoeffel, by the way, liberal as he is on social issues, does have a fiscal record that is harder to attack. He did not impose the biggest tax increase in Montgomery County history and he did not squander half a billion dollars on a one mile hole in the ground.

Fighting on social issues is not where our prosecutor wants to be and so Hoeffel as an opponent diminishes the clear Rockwell message of taxes and corruption that have served us well in Virginia and New Jersey.

That said, I do not think that the Spendell insiders (the Fumo crowd that is looking for its continued feast at the public trough) will end up backing Hoeffel because Onorato has proven that he is the one willing to play ball with the insiders and preserve the status quo Spendello.

“Most voters like Norman Rockwell and simple, clear messages.”
Again, thanks for making my point that you are with the simple-minded crowd that views issues through the prism of an imaginary Normal Rockwell painting.
Truly, arguing with you is easier than shooting fish in a barrel.

You are the one using the nickname, so it really doesn’t matter the origin. And, it’s not like you live in Allegheny and visiting all those bars. I’d give you a derogatory nickname, but I can’t think of anything worse to call someone than GOPHawk.

Hoeffel’s got a pretty good resume with experience at the federal level in congress, and as an executive in Montco, which seems to be running fairly well. I don’t see your “prosecutor” matching Hoeffel’s legislative and executive credentials. How many budgets has your guy worked on?

David, we have fundamental disagreements but I do appreciate your reports from the left field and your point of view is respected even if not shared.

What I absolutely detest is the criminal waste of my tax dollars in order to help some bogus pol get campaign donations or no-pay jobs or help for his rich “player” friends. That is what Onorato represents to me … and, I acknowledge … you can find this “type” in both parties.

On the other hand, what I strongly disagree with is the spending of my tax dollars on goofy liberal programs that do not deliver on their promises. That is what Hoeffel represents to me. Disagreement is not detestation.

I like Joe Hoeffel. That having been said, I have a great concern that Commissioner Hoeffel would lead the Democrats off an electoral cliff if he is the nominee.

On the other hand, gophawk does make a good point, in that Mr. Hoeffel actually has a pretty strong record on fiscal issues — one that could garner support from the fiscally-conservative Philadelphia suburbs.

My concern is that he’s playing up social issues SO MUCH during the primary that he won’t be able to shake that if he wins the nomination.

The GOP did make two simple arguments in New Jersey and in Virginia. They said that the Democrat was part of a corrupt machine (which cost jobs) and they said that they opposed taxes (which cost jobs) and they said that our guy supported both. It was a simple one-two punch. It was repeated endlessly. It worked.

In Va, it is more Republican than Pa but in NJ it is more Democrat than Pa. Corbett is the perfect messenger and our Governor candidate has to stand up to him on those two issues otherwise we lose.

Onorato has never been able to figure out how to walk through liberal minefields. He has no relationship with Allegheny County liberals whatsoever, and is very uncomfortable with liberals.

He was the most conservative member of Pittsburgh City Council when he served there (more conservative than Wagner), and has only gotten worse.

We do call him Dan the Taxman and you do have bars where people get a receipt noting that the drink tax is thanks to Dan the Taxman.

Onorato would be a disaster running statewide against Corbett who has already beaten two guys from the East with plenty of money.

I myself did not know that there was no net increase in private sector employment in Pittsburgh in the last eight years. Kind of hard to make the claim that you are good for jobs if none were created. I also googled Mongomery County employment stats and Hoeffel can at least show decent job growth in the private sector.

GOPHawk-
I don’t like nepotism and cronyism wasting money. We agree there. (Shocking, but true!)

I don’t know enough of Onorato’s history (beyond some rumor’s here) in that regard, but his positions on key social issues will not earn him my primary vote.

Hoeffel want’s to spend money fixing our roads, bridges and infrastructure. If that’s a “goofy liberal program”, then sign me up.

Flynn-
I think the social issues are an immediate way for Hoeffel to capture key Dem primary voters. But, I think that’s just his opening salvo. He’s got ideas for green jobs and other economic issues too.

wpadem-
I am looking forward to meeting Wagner if he’s in the Philly suburbs at an event. (What are the odds of the Great American Pub again?)

steelersfan-
The no-net-increase of jobs seems to be a symptom of the problem the whole country is in due to Bush’s mismanagement. If Pittsburgh is consistent with the rest of the state and the country, then you can’t blame local officials. However, if the numbers are MUCH better or MUCH worse than average, then you can make a case.

The receipts at the bar actually say “Dan the Taxman”? Wow. That’s not going to help him.

Wow
David gets a little upset,when some one questions his beliefs.I will be sure to stay away from who ever he supports!How rude!