My Thoughts on the Congressional races (especially one concerning a woman)

It was a scorching weekend at the Shore, but we don't leave until tomorrow. This Morning I read the Sunday papers, and have some thoughts This is the Political Blog, so I'm going to vent today on my annoyance with the Congressional Races locally. I live in the one Lehigh County Precinct that gets to vote in the 6th Congressional District. My Choices are Incumbent Jim Gerlach or challenger Bob Roggio.
So far I've seen nothing from Bob Roggio that would make me want to vote for him. A few months ago Jim Gerlach's Mother Died, and Roggio criticized him for missing sessions to attend the Funeral. That is classless.

I voted for Lois Murphy three times, I think, but I'm glad she's not running again. I think her trying again would have insured Gerlach's re-election, even if Roggio as a candidate isn't much better.

I had the chance last weekend to discuss the election with a few other women who have daughters in a local sports program, and our consensus was that we are starving for good women candidates. We don't feel that our gender gets a fair shake, and one of my old High School friends pointed out that we (women) are much harder on women candidates than men are. In hindsight, we wondered out loud if Lois Murphy might have won if we hadn't been so critical of her in 2006. Many of us voted for her, I know every time I saw a campaign commercial for her, with her two daughters, I subconsciously believed that she could relate to me.

In Contrast, our assessment of Sam Bennett is particularly tough. I don't live in the Fifteenth CD, but many of my friends do, and despite all her negative press, they are coming around to her.
The reasoning given starts out puzzling, but the more I think about it, the more sense it makes. It probably wouldn't hurt her to run campaign commercials surrounded by her kids, that's my advice, but I don't know, given the dynamics of the race and voter preferences, if it would matter in the end.

Everything seems to be polling that the Democrats will pick up the Presidency, and many more House and Senate seats, giving President Obama a veto proof majority.
This means that Congressmen Dent and Gerlach will not have much power in the grand scheme of things.
So that leaves the people in these districts a choice between a Democratic Representative on the winning team, on the inside, or a Republican on the outside looking in.
That's one piece of logic, I understand how it was arrived at, but I still don't agree with it.

Democrats will not ignore the Republicans, are they so shortsighted that they would repeat the Republican House mistakes from the first six years of the Bush Presidency? I want to think they won't, but you never know. Everybody talks bipartisanship, but they never do seem to get around to practicing it, do they?

Last night I was cruising through local blogs, and saw the U-Tube video of Sam Bennett conceding the Mayor's race back in 2001. I've seen it before, I remember watching it live when it happened, and last year I saw it again when former contributor to the blog Chris Casey was looking to see what the Dent People might throw at Sam. He wrote at that time, on this very blog, that Sam shouldn't run. Since then he has changed his mind, supporting her. I respect that, he gave me and several others a honest explanation of why. Since then I learned he resigned as a Democratic Committee person, but I don't know why, and he hasn't revealed why, but that's not the topic.
I emailed him, asking why he never released the tape on his blog, and he responded this morning, or late last night, with the explanation that he didn't see what purpose it would serve.
His reasoning was that he knew the Dent People had it, and second, that Sam knew they would use it eventually, and he felt that anyone who sees it would look at dragging up a 7 year old videotape and playing it out of context would reflect badly on Charlie Dent.

Are the Dent People that concerned with Sam Bennett as a challenger that they are trying to land a knockout punch before Labor Day? Sam Bennett is starting to show some life in the Money raising race, and I wonder if the Dent people aren't worried that an Obama landslide in the Lehigh Valley could bury them.

See, that's where I disagree. I don't see an Obama landslide in our area. If Hillary Clinton were running, I could see it, but Obama? I don't think so. I am beginning to agree with my friends that if one candidate for President picks a qualified Woman for VP while the other doesn't, the one with the woman will win. I'm telling you right here that if John McCain picks Sarah Palin or Kay Hutchison for Veep, and Obama picks an old White guy, I'm voting for McCain.

We need a Mom in Government at the highest level. I really believe that, A Mom pays more attention to future needs, such as childcare, health care, and education. Men tend to Bull Shit us and talk about it, while we women end up getting the dirty work done.

In my analysis, for what it's worth, I don't see any great Obama tide here locally carrying either Roggio or Bennett over the present incumbent, and that argument that those two will be on the outside looking in doesn't work for me. Those two are going to have to win those Congressional seats on their own merits, and i don't see that happening, no way.

The girls are researching Pennsylvania State Senator Lisa (Elisabeth) Baker for a profile later this week. There are 10 women State Senators, 5 Democrats and 5 Republicans, and we are starting alphabetically. Thursday?