In debate flap, Dent shifts focus to rock band playing for Towne

A rock band set to perform at a campaign event for Jake Towne have given Congressman Charlie Dent (R-15) an opening to make a less overtly political argument for excluding the independent candidate from campaign debates.

Dent has taken some flak on the blogosphere ever since pa2010.com reported last week that

Fact Check: Sestak’s Press Club Interview Riddled with Errors

By TOOMEY FOR SENATE

Allentown – Congressman Sestak, when will the dissembling end?

Yesterday, at a speech before the Pennsylvania Press Club, Congressman Joe Sestak persisted in his dissembling and evasions on earmarks and bailouts.

First, Congressman Sestak was asked why he refuses to live up to a pledge on his campaign website to return campaign contributions from people who received earmarks through his congressional office.  The Philadelphia Inquirer found that Sestak violated his pledge…

Can Tom Corbett keep his ‘no tax’ pledge?

Attorney General Tom Corbett has taken significant criticism for his pledge to not raise taxes if elected governor. That was to be expected from Democratic rival Dan Onorato, who hasn’t ruled out raising taxes to fill a budget gap expected to be as high as $5 billion next year. But it’s the friendly fire from state Senate Republican Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi that has wounded the AG (aspiring governor).

Speaking just days before he helped…

Catching up…

I’ve been taking a brief vacation from Pennsylvania politics, and am leaving for a real vacation next week. But I wanted  to get in a few comments before I left.

• Things looks even worse for the Democrats, in Pennsylvania and elsewhere, than I had thought. Instead of moving back to the center, Democrats have pretty much doubled down on their liberal agenda, like shoppers who know the store is closing and have to cram…

Stray thoughts on religion, ‘Young Guns’

I had a few thoughts I figured I’d share after reading

Toomey Sides with Glenn Beck, Far Right

By SESTAK FOR SENATE

MEDIA, Pa. – Yesterday, in an op-ed that appeared in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Congressman Pat Toomey echoed controversial Fox News commentator Glenn Beck and other figures on the far right in announcing his opposition to Solicitor General Elena Kagan’s  nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court.

“It’s disappointing to see Congressman Toomey parroting the likes of Glenn Beck as he even turns his negative, deceptive campaign to attacking Solicitor General Elena Kagan’s…

Schneller says he’ll be on the ballot in the 7th

The competitive 7th District House race could very well end up being a three-man contest.

Jim Schneller, the self-identified Tea Party candidate who is running as an independent, said this week that he has collected enough signatures to get on the ballot. Pennsylvania election law makes it very difficult to gain ballot access as an independent or third-party candidate. Schneller needs about 4,200 signatures, equal to two percent of the total votes that incumbent Congressman…

Sestak’s rough sailing at Pa. Press Club

Joe Sestak tried to break bread Monday with a few captains of industry, or at least their policy watchdogs. With such a dynamic at work, one can only imagine how the Pennsylvania Press Club luncheon turned out: a little too dyspeptic.

Pan to the Hilton Harrisburg ballroom, where in front of the Democratic Senate candidate there sat entire tables filled with business leaders whose faces were set like stone, their arms clenched across their chests.…

Carney says Afghan leaks amount to ‘treason’

Congressman Chris Carney (D-10) isn’t happy about the recently-leaked trove of Afghan war documents.

Carney, a Navy Reserve commander, said this week that whoever leaked the documents “committed treason in my eyes.” The documents were released to news organizations by the Web site p“You never want that [information] to fall in the hands of…

Boehner set to pitch in for Dent

House Minority Leader John Boehner will be helping Congressman Charlie Dent (R-15) raise some campaign cash next month.

Boehner is scheduled to appear at a fundraiser for Dent on Aug. 13. That’s just three days after pThe Lehigh Valley race is currently No. 5 on the empa2010.com/em a href="http://www.pa2010.com/congressional-power-rankings/" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.pa2010.com']);return TrackClick("http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pa2010.com%2Fcongressional-power-rankings%2F','Congressional+Power+Rankings')" target="_blank"Congressional Power Rankings/a./p
pNews of the fundraiser was first a href="http://blogs.mcall.com/penn_ave/2010/07/boehner-to-stump-for-dent-next-month.html" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://blogs.mcall.com']);return TrackClick("http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.mcall.com%2Fpenn_ave%2F2010%2F07%2Fboehner-to-stump-for-dent-next-month.html','reported+by+Pennsylvania+Ave.')" target="_blank">reported by Pennsylvania Ave.