Yeah, this place has been stale for a time and maybe it's because I have been consumed in the process. the process of doing what is legal as an employee of the government to get the incumbency protection racket in full swing. Millions are being spent statewide to preserve the legislative careers of such gemstone quality personalities as Rep. Tom Gannon (who looks like the original Star Trek character who played the futuristic version of Jack the Ripper, who fed on fear)...Gene McGill, who has attempted to employ the sluttiest notalents in the secretary pool as window dressing at his Harrisburg office...now he's written a letter in support of a political ally who happens to be associated or is a pedophile or sex offender...at least he didn't defend him as part of his job as Gannon's opponent has been accused of in teevee commercials (since when have local House candidates been able to afford to go up on teevee - since the lobbyists and PACs gave all the money and since PerzelPAC is giving its money to its friends so he can cling one more two-year session to the speakership, as if he has wild aspirations that the Pennsylvania electorate would see fit to elevate him to governor.
Um, yeah, good luck with that. And good luck flipping eight seats...which is what the Ds have to do in the state House. Good Pete DeCoursey article Monday. gonna be tracking his picks, which were some of my picks and some of the concensus picks.
So the hot seats are in the southeast and Pittsburgh area...well, duh. Pick me the unobvious ones. Where's that long-term Dem or Rep seat that is now open that is gonna flip to the other party unexpectedly...haven't the Rs flipped all of those already?
and we are getting really close to that big old part reapportionment...ok, so we get through this election in a weekm results scrolling across the bottom of the screen from the entire country. The NEXT election...will feature the next president and the last holders of the old seats, with control of the legislature and the Legislative Reappotionment Commission at statke as well...it's unlikely the Senate will be D by then in all honesty, they might pick a seat or two off here from this high water mark of 30, now 29-21.
But the 2009-2010 elections will determine how the seats are drawn for the next decade. You've seen the Perzel salamander weaving through all the possible white Republican suburbs of Philly? How many of those things do we want?
Anyway, so we got the districts we got, and we have the candidatew we have at least for another 6 days...the next big thing then is the leasdership elections in November. Those should be interesting with so many new faces in leadership and all the behind the scenes jockeying that is going on, including the traditional pre-election palm exchanges, campaign funds and WAMs for the newbies if they come on board with the old regime instead of backing some new regime, a conservative faction, or some reform coalition...
We shall see who wins this effort, but my money (if I had any nickels to rub together) is on the money. The money always seems to win...but 2006 gives reformers hope, but they must realize that there are real issues out there: we still dont have tax reform...we're going to be getting gambling and all of the social ills that entails, we still have education issues to deal with to comply with no child left behind...not to mention autism and special education issues...
all for now, gotta go to work for these guys.
