LEFTOVERS: Fundraising pleas, NRCC lifts Fitzpatrick, Biden/Pelosi details

It was the last day of the FEC fundraising quarter on Wednesday, which meant the typical batch of last-minute pleas from candidates seeking cash.

The morning started with an e-mail from Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz (D-13) on behalf of Manan Trivedi, the Democratic candidate in the 6th District. Schwartz had backed Trivedi’s opponent Doug Pike in the May primary, but now she was going to bat for Trivedi. “This district has been a challenge over these…

Rendell: Onorato is the ‘underdog’

Gov. Ed Rendell still thinks that the race to succeed him is Tom Corbett’s to lose.

The term-limited Rendell had already once said that Corbett, the Republican Attorney General, is “probably the favorite” in the race against Democrat Dan Onorato. In

Wall Street reform bill means no more bailouts

In September of 2008, the American economy teetered on the brink of collapse because the foundation of our financial system began to crumble. The extraordinary actions taken by the Federal Reserve, the Bush administration and a bipartisan majority in Congress rescued our economy from being driven back to the Dark Ages.

After nearly two years of study, discussion, and intense legislative negotiations, a select group of House and Senate lawmakers have produced a final bill…

Barletta, observers see little downside in two defeats

Lou Barletta hopes the third time will be the charm. Paul Kanjorski hopes his longtime foe is getting to three strikes and you’re out.

Kanjorski, the Democratic incumbent in the 11th Congressional District, has already dispatched two challenges from Barletta in the last eight years. Whether and how having already lost twice will play out for Barletta remains to be seen. But at least a couple political observers say voters have yet to render their…

Defending Paul Kanjorski

Living almost literally on the opposite side of Pennsylvania from the 11th Congressional District, I’ll admit I have no idea what kind of lawmaker and representative Paul Kanjorski has been for his constituents.

But as a resident of a working-class area where I’ve watched many people over the course of my life thrown out of jobs, downsized, or otherwise become unemployed through no fault of their own, I can say with certainty that I saw…

Kanjorski warns of market dive if reform bill fails

Congressman Paul Kanjorski (D-11) says the stakes are high and the consequences grave if Congress can’t muster the votes to pass the financial reform legislation that’s in reopened conference committee negotiations.

“What happens in this country if this bill fails?” Kanjorski asked Wednesday on CNBC. “If you think 236 points down on the Dow is surprising? Check 1,000 or 2,000 points if we fail to change the ways that caused this problem.”

Kanjorski is on…

Toomey waves off the Wall Street strategy

PHILADELPHIA—Democrats have long since made clear that a central pillar of their attack against Republican Senate hopeful Pat Toomey is to note, over and over, that the former congressman was once a derivatives trader on Wall Street. Rival Joe Sestak and his party have repeatedly harped on that part of Toomey’s bio to paint him as an out-of-touch friend of the banks.

Toomey says he’s not sweating it.

“I think voters deserve a lot more…

Toomey Distorts His Record to Hide Wall Street Favoritism

By SESTAK FOR SENATE

MEDIA, PA – When confronted yesterday about his vote against a $1,500 bonus for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan [H.R. 3289, 10/17/03], Congressman Toomey “bristled.” He tried to explain his decision by saying he voted against certain military funding that he felt was included for purely political reasons in a larger piece of legislation:

“Now there are times when some of these measures are [used] as an excuse to undermine the…

LEFTOVERS: More energy talk, Carney on the spill, Holden’s hall of fame

Energy is the issue that just won’t go away in Pennsylvania’s contentious Senate race. Democrat Joe Sestak and Republican Pat Toomey have both been pretty stubbornly sticking to their guns on this one, with Sestak presenting himself as friend of the Average-Joe-With-A-Well-Near-His-House, and Toomey saying Sestak is a lefty radical. This continued Tuesday. Without using the word “moratorium,” Sestak used Full Story

Altmire calls Rothfus an ‘extremist candidate’

Congressman Jason Altmire (D-4) is ready to define his Republican opponent, and the message he’s decided on is a simple one: Keith Rothfus is a radical right-winger.

“The choice in this year’s election could not be more clear,” Altmire wrote in an e-mail to supporters this week. “Western Pennsylvanians can choose to support a congressman who has always put the district first, even when it means standing up to his party’s leadership, or an extremist…