Timothy Birdnow

As the media and their Democrat allies continue to crow about how they are going to absolutely STOMP the Republicans and that SOB Donald J. Trump in the next election because they won a Republican held seat in Congress, I would like to make a few more observations about this "historic" victory.

First, there are more registered Democrats in Pennsylvania 18 than Republicans. Although the GOP has been gaining ground there for a long time, the district is still more Democrat than republican, so base turnout is critical. Wikipedia states: "Although there are 35,000 more[4] Democrats in the district than Republicans, the district has trended increasingly Republican since the mid-1990s; most of the district's state legislators are Republicans. The district is home to many large coal mines and the energy industry is an important employer. The western part of the district contains some rural regions of Washington County, as well as the very wealthy suburbs in the northern part of that county, which tends to be more Republican than the part contained in the neighboring 9th District. The district also contains many of Allegheny County's southern suburbs of Pittsburgh, which range from traditionally wealthy areas such as Mount Lebanon and Upper St. Clair to middle-class communities such as Bethel Park and Scott Township and working-class labor towns such as Elizabeth.

The district skews older and has the second-oldest electorate in the state"

End excerpt.

Wealthy people are not natural Republicans, I might add; look at the rich in Massachussetts or New York. And while Saccone lost by a hairs-breath there was little reason to expect him to win as the Democrats had more people and were more highly motivated, being desperate for a victory to shore up their flagging base.

Older people tend to vote Democrat, too, because they fear social security being scaled back.

So this was a district the Dems should have won anyway.

But there's more; the district is being dissolved by court order. There was a lawsuit claiming it was gerrymandered, and the court duly ordered it kaput. Come November it won't exist and so the glorious Democrat victory means absollutely nothing, except as a fundraising event. Voters weren't going to turn out in large numbers for a vote that means nothing, and the Dems had all the pressure on their side.

Another point to ponder; Libertarian candidate Drew Miller took one percent of the vote, which was more than the margin of victory for the Democrats.

Lamb had to pretend to be a Republican to win, eschewing the hard-left line his party promotes in favor of a pro-life, pro-growth, cheap energy platform.

Meanwhile, Saccone, an unphotogenic and dull candidate, more or less touted the GOP party line, as opposed to Trumpism, which is what won in the district in the last election. If this says nothing, it says that the standard issue Republican is a wash, something that the voters reject. Oh, Saccone did support Trump on trade and whatnot (how could he not in such a district?) but he campaigned like the Seinfeld show - about nothing. And according to a fundraising letter:

"During my 30 years of service in the military, government, business, diplomacy and academia, I focused on intelligence, security, and international affairs. I have traveled to and worked in 75 countries. From South Korea to Iraq, being an American garnered respect and appreciation, because people recognize the United States as the protector of freedom."

[...]

"But our way of life is also threatened from within—by a bloated national debt, an increasingly intrusive federal government, and a Congress that is widely seen as dysfunctional, too often lacking integrity and transparency.."

End excerpts.

So, he's a guy who lived abroad much of his life, had little connection with the district he wanted to represent i.e. a carpetbagger. He spent time in Academia, the source of much of the idiocy that bedevils America and the disdained working class.

Also, bear in mind Saccone was running to replace Tim Murphy, a legislator who resigned in scandal. Murphy, a staunchly pro-life RINO Congressman, pressured his girlfriend into an abortion and that story came out, along with other #metoo type claims of sexual abuse and misconduct. It's hard to run for the same seat of a hypocrite and harasser of women and win if you are from the same party.

So, in the end, Saccone was little different from his disgraced predecessor, he was outspent by a margin of five to one, and he offered little more than a boiler plate GOP platform, lived outside the country for much of his life, was a blueblood college prof, and was running for a seat that would disappear in seven months.

No wonder he lost.

But it was imperative for the Donkeys to win this; they had to create the illusion that Trump is the cause of this (and even Newt Gingrich has fallen for that) and that the GOP has to return to their old ways, like a dog returning to it's vomit.

If they fall for that they may as well be.

Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at 09:19 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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