Thursday, March 09, 2006

One Last Snippy Comment

One last snark, and then I'll let it go.

Gov. Rendell asks Bryan Lentz, a candidate who is raising money and energizing grassroots supporters, to step aside in the 7th congressional district.

Gov. Rendell asks Joe Hoeffel, a candidate who has years of public service and a reputation for integrity and good character, to step aside in the lt. gov. race.

But in all his years as governor and all his years as mayor of Philly, Ed Rendell couldn't find State Rep. Bill Rieger's phone number to call him and ask him to, oh, I don't know, do his job or retire or something?

If, as has been said, and probably correctly so, that I am cynical about politics, things like this are a big reason why.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

and don't forget the PA Senate race. rendell, reid and schumer collectively wanted to quash a contested primary.

Anonymous said...

Jane,

In Pennsylvania, major party primaries have taken on diminished importance. Primaries are supposed to be for the voters -- not the party machinery -- to winnow down the list of acceptable candidates. However, the party machinery on both sides of the aisle are guilty in clearing the field before the primary takes places.

Ultimately, the only candidates that can challenge the party's endorsed candidate are outsiders, who are politically independent.

Gov. Rendell is not the one who deserves the blame. It's the candidates who drop out that deserve 100% of the blame. I'm not pointing fingers only a Lentz or Hoeffel, but at all the candidates who fold under party pressure.

When a candidate that you like drops out so easily, I encourage you not to support them again when they do run, even if you really like them. If they don't have the courage and self-respect to defend their own value in a race, then do you really believe they would represent your best interests once they make it into office?

John Featherman
Republican Candidate, US Senate-PA
www.featherman.com

Anonymous said...

I do see a difference though, between Lentz stepping aside from the US house race to go for the state house, and how the Senate primary was handled. I've got much less of a problem with that kind of resources-allocation move than with the annointing of the chosen candidate a la' Casey.

Rendell can use every dem he can get in Harrisburg!

ACM said...

yeah, it hasn't been a pretty year for The System....