Midnight Blue Says

Last week I read an article posted on Time.com speculating on which GOP candidates would be the next Scott Brown. Realizing Time is not known for fair reporting on the GOP or the Teaparty movement, I laughed out loud (LOL) at Pat Meehan listed as a potential ‘Scott Brown’.

Pat Meehan is a longtime GOP hack who initiated charges against former Representative Curt Weldon. His efforts have paid off, Pat has been tapped by the GOP to run for Curt’s former seat in Pennsylvania’s 7th district. All fun aside, news items like this should make one pause and take a closer look at candidates vying for Congressional seats in Pennsylvania and across the nation.

Scott Brown’s stunning win in Massachusetts (not Massachusettes) sent tectonic ripples through both parties. In three consecutive elections, Americans voted for a change in leadership they thought they voted for in November 2008. After the MA special election, many GOP candidates have been quick to adopt the brand of ‘Independent Leadership’ into their campaign. As this political tsunami breaks across campaigns, it would be wise to take a close look at the candidates allowing themselves to be swept up in this tidal wave. Too often voters elect candidates who claimed to be concerned about the cost of government and when sent to DC, betrayed the voters trust. Pennsylvania has witnessed this closer to home at the state level with the ‘Clean Sweep’ movement a few years back. Today, the stakes are far greater and the impact of sending a political opportunist to DC would be devastating.

With this in mind, lets take a closer look at the Republican candidates vying for a chance to run for a seat in the 6th congressional district in Chester County, Pennsylvania. This is a contentious race, with a stunning turnaround by the man who occupies the seat, Jim Gerlach,who bowed out of the Governors race to campaign for his congressional seat. This action forced the best candidate for the 6th congressional district to leave the race. In the interest of disclosure, I supported Curt Schroder’s campaign and will do so again when he decides to run for the seat in the future. For me there is no better candidate in this race. That being said, lets get to the candidates.

Jim Gerlach can best be described as the devil we know. An establishment politician who has a voting record that you can review at Project VoteSmart.

Pat Sellers, a Ron Paul organizer who favors a narrowly defined foreign policy and suspects Bin Laden is dead. Many red flags around a candidate who favors fringe foreign policy.

Then there is Steve Welch, a business man running in Pennsylvania’s 6th district. Since he has not held elected office, my opinion is based on the evidence of his past registration and donation records. Let me lay out the facts regarding this candidate:

In 2006, while still registered as Republican, he donated to Democrat Joe Sestak’s campaign. He subsequently changed party affiliation to Democrat after the disastrous 2006 election cycle. In an article in Philly.com from July 2009, Welch explains his donation was born out of frustration with the GOP leadership. He remained a Democrat, voting for Obama in the 2008 Pennsylvania primary and perhaps the General election, until May of 2009. At that time, he changed his party affiliation back to Republican and commenced his campaign in Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional district. It is unclear if his decision to become a Republican again was based on his frustration with DNC leadership. A few months later,the GOP leadership directed him to run in the 6th district and he complied with their request. Yes, this is the same GOP leadership that he was so frustrated with a few years ago.

Some have stated that this is a competitive race and Welch is well financed. In an earlier post , I described the anemic public support for Welch’s campaign in the 6th district based upon donation receipts.

Despite such questionable actions, some groups have been swayed by his updated explanation for voting and financially supporting Democrats as being a ‘foolish vote’. I cannot help but wonder who’s fooling whom? It is irresponsible to ignore these action. His past actions reveal a candidate that is less of an independent leader and more of a political opportunist in the style of Arlen Specter.

With the best qualified candidate out of the race, Republican voters in the 6th district are challenged with an immensely difficult choice. Will they chose an establishment politician, a party jumping political opportunist or a Ron Paul candidate. This is one of the few times I’m glad I live in Philly.

Tags: Republican