Senator Casey might not be on the ballot, but he is campaigning hard for the Democratic ticket. He stopped by Organizing for America’s headquarters to thank volunteers.

Casey dismissed polls that show Democrats Dan Onorato and Joe Sestak trailing their Republican counterparts. Casey said, “I have the privilege of seeing the private polls and they are much closer. The Democrats are down only 1 to 2 points with momentum on our side. It is the same in the Congressional races. The polls in August do not matter. People were not paying attention to the race then. The last three weeks are when they are making their decision.”

Casey also debunked an old wives tale of Pennsylvania political history – Two Democrats can’t win statewide in the same year. He proudly said, “Rendell and I did it in 2006. Before that, two Democrats  hadn’t won since 1934.

He acknowledged the frustration of the voters. “They may be angry at the Democrats,” stated Casey. “When they start researching the alternative, they will soon realize that they will not be getting what they need from the Republicans. I still can not believe that in one week, three weeks ago, the Republicans voted against a bill that would have helped small businesses and voted for another bill that would double the deficit by lowering taxes on the wealthiest Americans.”

Casey, who famously has broken with his own party on abortion, showed some glee at the disarray of the Republican Party since the advent of the Tea party. He noted, “Bob Bennett from Utah voted with the Republic Party 93% of the time, yet the Republicans threw him over in the caucuses for a Tea Party candidate.  The same thing happened to Mike Castle, a moderate, in Delaware. I can not wait for the Republican Presidential primaries.” His number one priority is “jobs, jobs. jobs. 14-15 million people are out of work across the nation and 590,000 here in Pennsylvania.”

After our interview, he stopped to talk to a homeless vet. When the Vet asked for money, Casey gave his last dollar and the turned to ask his aide for some more money.

—————————–

Laura Goldman, a graduate of the Wharton School and a veteran on Wall
Street was a volunteer for the Clinton White House Office of Women.

At issue is $350,000 requested for the Thomas Paine Foundation, money to develop a new prototype, offshore wind turbine. The money was never actually appropriated, but long story short, the head of the nonprofit head who requested the money also runs New Way Energy LLC, which is developing the same type of turbines. New House rules prohibit earmarks from going to for-profit companies. And after Sestak’s opponent got some favorable ink when it raised hay over Sestak’s earmarking policy earlier this summer, Republicans were once again quick to pounce Monday. GOP Senate nominee Pat Toomey’s campaign was on offense, and the state party held a conference call for reporters.

“It’s bad enough that Joe Sestak repeatedly wastes Pennsylvanians’ tax dollars on outrageous earmarks like a Mule and Packers Museum in California,” Toomey campaign spokeswoman Nachama Soloveichik said. “It got worse when Sestak trotted out a phony ethics pledge against taking campaign contributions from people he funneled earmarks to, only to flunk his own ethics test. Now, Sestak is violating House rules by using a non-profit as cover for doling out tax dollars to his pet project. Joe Sestak and the Washington wasteful earmark game are so out of control that you can’t make this stuff up.”

Sestak’s campaign said the two-term congressman’s office had done its due diligence in scrutinizing the earmark request, and argued that nonprofit organizations headed by executives of for-profit companies should not be exuded from receiving earmarks.

“The fact is Joe Sestak has led the way to transparency and earmark reform,” spokeswoman April Mellody told PoliticsPA. “If we’re going to talk about earmark reform, then quite frankly Congressman Toomey should stop hiding his own earmark requests.”

Meanwhile, Senator Bob Casey rolled through southeast Pennsylvania Monday to stump for two of his party’s congressional candidates. First, Casey joined Democrat Bryan Lentz at a small business roundtable in Brookhaven. Lentz is running against Republican Pat Meehan in the 7th Congressional District. “Small businesses are the engines of our economy and job growth,” Casey said in a statement later. “Representative Lentz understands the imperative to listen to and then advocate for small businesses.”

A few hours later, Casey was in Ardmore, headlining the Montgomery County office opening for Manan Trivedi, the party’s candidate against Congressman Jim Gerlach (R-6). “Manan Trivedi will bring unique qualities to Washington,” Casey said. “As a doctor and a veteran, his experience will be helpful to Pennsylvania and the nation as the health care law is implemented and as we work to protect our troops and keep our promises to our veterans.”

And it seems like the impolitic comments from Republican Tom Marino just keep on coming. After basically saying his generation has to skip cashing in on that whole Social Security thing, Marino, the GOP hopeful in the 10th District, apparently shouted down some voters and asked if they were on welfare. The video embedded below, apparently from a Democratic tracker, clearly could lack some important context. But at least at first glance, it doesn’t look good.

Check it out.

Senator Bob Casey will attend a fundraiser here Friday for Callahan, the Democratic nominee in the 15th Congressional District. Those looking for a chance gab with the Bethlehem mayor and Casey need to dole out at least $75 for admission to the event, which is being held at a private residence.

“The event will go a long way towards helping us meet our critical June 30th fundraising goal,” the Callahan campaign wrote in an e-mail to supporters.

Callahan faces Congressman Charlie Dent (R-15), in a race that is currently No. 5 on the pa2010.com Congressional Power Rankings.

Casey will appear at a campaign rally with Specter Sunday night in Pitcairn, in Allegheny County. He also cut a radio ad for the Republican-turned-Democrat, in one of Casey’s most direct assists to Specter. The 60-second spot is geared toward Cambria County. “I’m Senator Bob Casey,” he says in the ad, “and I’m proud to endorse Arlen Specter, because he doesn’t just work for Cambria County.”

On Monday, Casey will roll through Washington, Pa. with Critz the day before his special election showdown with Republican Tim Burns.

The Hill reports that the National Republican Congressional Committee has made its first ad buy in the district. On its Web site, the Capitol Hill newspaper cited an anonymous source but did not indicate the size of the ad buy or the nature of any actual advertisements.

The disclosure came with Republican Tim Burns reportedly in the midst of a large ad buy of his own, and with Senator Bob Casey campaigning in the district on behalf of Democrat Mark Critz.

“Against the advice of my wife,” Santorum said during his address to the conference Saturday, “I endorsed Arlen Specter.”

He responded to the boos with a folksy “My sentiments exactly!”

“How many times have I said this in my 20-plus years of marriage?” he said. “I should have listened to my wife.”

Santorum’s not the only one getting ready for the next cycle. Brooks Estadt, an insurance agent who lives near Scranton, appears to be the first Republican throwing his hat into the ring against Senator Bob Casey in 2012. Estadt was thinking about running this year. “But I kept being told I was starting too late,” he told pa2010.com.

He had a full-fledged campaign Web site online earlier this month, but it’s since been taken down and will go back online, he said, after some errors are corrected.

We bumped into a couple Specter aides who said the senator is already here or will be shortly, and we’re hearing the same thing about Casey a day after his missed his own event.

Both were in Washington with the Senate in sessions debating health care.

-—Lonely in D.C: Looks like the health care debate in Washington held up Senators Bob Casey and Arlen Specter. It may even make them miss whole weekend, but we hear they might show up later on Saturday. Specter certainly can’t afford to miss important moments for all the guff he’s given Joe Sestak about his attendance.

—Army-Navy smackdown? Bryan Lentz and Manan Trivedi might be getting together for an Army-Navy football game photo-op Saturday. Lentz is an Army vet, Trivedi a Navy man. Both were coy about whether it would actually happen—but wasted no words in friendly trash talking on the other one’s team. If they do watch the some football together, don’t take it as an endorsement.

—Wrong place? Speaking of Lentz, we’re hearing that 7th District candidate Gail Conner accidentally stumbled her opponent’s fundraiser Friday evening. She might have been looking for a fundraiser being held by Mike Gerber, chair of the state House Democrats’ campaign arm.

“He’s living through, as every governor is, a very difficult budget situation, but that is connected to our economy and revenues,” Casey said on MSNBC.

He also said that health care reform was still a way off.

“I think we still have a ways to go,” Casey said. “If this was a 10-chapter book, we’re probably in the first or second chapter.”

And that was before Lehigh County Executive Don Cunningham stepped aside. The candidates that remain are perceived front-runner Dan Onorato, the Allegheny County Executive, state Auditor General Jack Wagner and Philadelphia businessman Tom Knox. While those candidates would surely wave off such a perception, there’s no denying that people on both sides of the aisle consider the Democratic field, at the moment, to be relatively weak.

“There’s got to be someone else who’s going to come up, right?” one Democratic consultant not involved in the race asked pa2010.com recently.

With that in mind, we offer up a list of the five Democrats who could potentially turn next year’s primary upside down. An important caution: There’s little if any reason to believe that any of these folks would even consider making a run for the Governor’s Mansion.

But in the world where political blood sport equals priceless entertainment… we can hope.

5. Josh Shapiro

Probably the least likely on our list to even think of such a move right now, the Montgomery County state Representative is known to have ambitions for higher office and was stymied in his attempts to run for Senate when Arlen Specter switched parties. He’s being encouraged to run for Lieutenant Governor. But when you’re young, handsome and a tireless campaigner, why settle for second fiddle? Still, as he works to avoid alienating his fellow lawmakers during a contentious budget season, a run at the Governor’s Mansion is almost certainly the last thing on his mind.

4. Chris Doherty

The Scranton Mayor is emerging as a political powerhouse from a major population center that is increasingly important to winning statewide elections. He’s flying high after winning the Democratic nomination for reelection while, in a rare and fascinating quirk, also winning the Republican nomination as a write-in. Yes, that means his name will be on both sides of the ballot this November. He’s also thinking of a run for Lt. Gov. But like we said above, why settle?

3. Joe Sestak

That’s right, the same Delaware County Congressman who won’t stop talking about his all-but-definite “intention to run against” Senator Arlen Specter next year. In spite of all the noise he’s made, some people still just can’t seem to believe he’s going to run against Specter and the entire Democratic establishment. In the meantime, a statewide media blitz is likely to do wonders for his name recognition. Maybe he’d like to be Governor instead?

2. Allyson Schwartz

The Montgomery County Congresswoman might do more than anyone on this list to completely change the dynamic of the Governor’s race if she wanted to. Yes, she’d be the only woman running from either party. But she would also bring a different, lower-key, down-to-business style than some of the other candidates we’ve named. She’s holed up in Washington trying to help push health care reform through Congress, so until that happens, don’t expect any political movement from her. But hey, it could happen, right?

And the No. 1 Democrat who could shake up the Governor’s race is… Bob Casey

The first-term Senator, former gubernatorial candidate and son-of-a-governor is the big kahuna on this list, the man who could throw all our assumptions about the race out the window. Though he lost the primary to Ed Rendell in 2002, his credentials as a conservative Democrat remain ideal for a state still coming to terms with its increasingly liberal identity. As a close ally to President Obama, he could have more help from the White House than one might think. He’s sitting in a Senate seat that’s probably his for as long as he wants it. But the beautiful part? As a Senator not on the ballot in 2010, he wouldn’t even have to give that up to make another run at the Mansion.

So now it’s all out there. Any takers?