Meehan's Meaning

Pat Meehan declares for Congress.

A few observations:

1. He gives the GOP a great shot to reclaim the seat they lost three years ago when an ambitious Joe Sestak knocked off a wounded Curt Weldon.

2. Sestak's giving up the seat to run for Senate shows how, bad judgement and personal ambition have hurt Democratic chances to hold Congress for long. Meehan might have ambitiously jumped into the governor's race, but was talked in to settling for a less difficult congressional run, thus increasing GOP's chances in both races. Democrats on the other hand are invovled in internecine fights throughout the party.
The party's liberal leadership is at war with its more moderate members.

3. Sestak challenging Specter is a great example of two men who put themselves before party. There is plenty of vanity to go around in politics but never was it more on display than in this race.

4. At 80 years old Specter jumped parties to stay politically viable. Sestak, Mr. Ants in his Pants, jumped in to challenge Specter against the wishes, advice, and demands of party leaders like Ed Rendell. It was Rendell who cleared the way for Sestak to run against Weldon when Swarthmore's Bryan Lentz was gearing up to run. Lentz took the second banana role of running for state rep instead.
Was there ever any chance the Sestak would listen Rendell and others to wait for his chance to run for Senate? Probably not.

5. Meehan, the former Specter chief of staff, county DA, and U.S. Attorney, has been more respectful, politcally cautious, disciplined and smart. He runs for Congress now, has a good shot at winning and can go anywhere from there. He is well known in the 7th, well-regarded, and despite the Democrats growing edge in voter registration, likely to beat either Greg Vitali or Lentz, both state reps.

6. Vitali, in particular, seems too liberal to beat Meehan, especially, given the growing public backlash against the statist policies promoted by this Democratic president and the very unpopular Democratic leadership in Congress. Lentz appears to be more of a moderate than Vitali, has the military background that mollifies right-leaning Independents, but isn't particularly well known.

7. All around, Meehan's run is a good example what the GOP needs to do nationally to rebuild itself. Get good, sensible, respectable candidates who know the values and interests of their districts. The GOP has been in disarray the last three years after the 2006 mid-terms, thanks to George Bush's mealy-mouthed compassionate conservatism and big spending. (The Iraq war didn't help either.) Republicans are lucky to have opponents who as arrogant and out of touch as this bunch of Democrats. They are spending the country into oblivion and grabbing more and more power for the state. The voters, especially a growing number of Independents, know it and don't like it.

Game on.