Facing problems, next guv should look to the past

Pennsylvania’s current challenges aren’t new. There are lots of similarities between what the next governor of Pennsylvania faces and issues that were addressed by past governors. The tasks awaiting the next governor simply present themselves on a larger scale.

Consider state budget woes.

Pennsylvania faces an unprecedented gap between revenue and expenses in 2011 as additional federal stimulus funding allotments dry up, the bills mount for the state pension and health care funds, and the…

Lentz takes to the airwaves with first two ads

With 48 days until voters go to the poll, Democratic congressional candidate Bryan Lentz is taking his campaign to TV screens with two new commercials.

The 30-second spots were set to hit the airwaves in the 7th District Tuesday morning. Though the size and scope of the first ad buy was unclear, Lentz’s war chest and the expensive Philadelphia media market would indicate that the first buy will be relatively small. Though he is expected…

DCCC wants anti-Kanjo ad removed

Democrats are moving to have a third-party TV ad that attacks Congressman Paul Kanjorski (D-11) taken off the airwaves in northeast Pennsylvania.

Attorneys for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee wrote a letter to local TV stations late last week, saying the p“This advertisement is false, misleading and deceptive,” the DCCC lawyers wrote in a href="http://www.pa2010.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/DCCC-Legal-Letter-on-Ads.pdf" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://www.pa2010.com']);return TrackClick("http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pa2010.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2010%2F09%2FDCCC-Legal-Letter-on-Ads.pdf','the+letter')" target="_blank"the letter/a. “We ask that you refuse to continue to air this advertisement.”/p
pWhile empa2010.com/em has yet to independently fact-check the ad, the 60 Plus Association defended its accuracy./p
p“They could try to spin this any way they like,” group spokesman Tom Kise told emThe Times-Tribune/em, which a href="http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/dems-ask-stations-to-remove-anti-kanjorski-ad-1.1010644" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://thetimes-tribune.com']);return TrackClick("http%3A%2F%2Fthetimes-tribune.com%2Fnews%2Fdems-ask-stations-to-remove-anti-kanjorski-ad-1.1010644','first+reported+on+the+letter')" target="_blank">first reported on the letter. “But the fact remains Kanjorski voted for a health care bill that cost a trillion dollars, raises taxes and cuts Medicare.”

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Biden: GOP policy is a ‘Ponzi scheme’

Vice President Joe Biden had harsh words for Republicans Monday night, using a campaign stop in Philadelphia to predict that Democrats would retain control of Congress and that voters would not buy into a GOP economic policy that he called a “Ponzi scheme masquerading as a vision.”

Biden made the comments,

LEFTOVERS: Obama to Philly, ‘extremism’ in the Senate race, debates in the 6th

Those of us who live in Philadelphia could be forgiven for thinking that President Obama is starting to hold the City of Brotherly Love in particularly high esteem.

Obama has made more than a couple trips to Philly recently, and he’s coming again next month. In an announcement that slipped through the proverbial cracks at pa2010.com Central last week, it looks like Obama will headline a Democratic National Committee rally Oct. 10. That’s one of…

Clinton stumps for Onorato, Sestak

Former President Bill Clinton rolled through the Philadelphia area Monday to boost the electoral hopes of gubernatorial candidate Dan Onorato and Senate hopeful Joe Sestak.

The pair of morning stops came as Clinton increasingly plays the role of cheerleader-in-chief for the Democratic Party ahead of the midterm elections. At a rally for Onorato in West Philadelphia, Clinton hearkened back the support he received from the City of Brotherly Love.

“If Philadelphia shows up in this…

Dems claim seven-point edge for Critz

Democrats say that Congressman Mark Critz (D-12) is enjoying a seven-point lead over Republican Tim Burns ahead of their November rematch.

The claim, which the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee was set to make in a statement late Monday afternoon, was based on a new Grove Insight poll. It came as both parties have leaked polling data to paint their candidate as holding the edge almost four months after Critz topped Burns in the May special…

Toomey Highlights Sestak’s Ties to Extreme Group, Calls on Sestak to Return Contributions

By TOOMEY FOR SENATE

Allentown – Today, U.S. Senate candidate and former small business owner, Pat Toomey held a press conference to highlight the latest evidence of Congressman Joe Sestak’s extremism.

It is well-known that Congressman Sestak has staked out positions to the left of mainstream voters, and even to the left of many of his Democratic colleagues.  Sestak voted for a cap-and-trade energy tax and wanted it to go further; Sestak voted for a…

Manan Trivedi Calls on Congressman Jim Gerlach to Debate

By TRIVEDI FOR CONGRESS

ELVERSON, Pa. – With Election Day fast approaching and few weeks left for voters to chose who they plan to vote for, Manan Trivedi is calling on Congressman Jim Gerlach to join him in a series of debates. With an eight-year-long record of votes in Washington, Congressman Gerlach certainly has a lot to explain, and with so many important issues facing our nation, the people of the district are likely to…

An economy-based Power Rankings reshuffle

Less than 50 days before voters go to the polls, economic indicators increasingly point to a recover that is, at best, progressing much too slowly. The economic headlines of recent weeks mean that voters’ perceptions of the economy have likely been cemented, with little time left for Democrats to change the political narrative at a national level.

That means Democrats have steeper hills to climb in localizing races against the national political climate. And with…