The special U.S. house election in Pennsylvania just
held was, I believe, unique in the history of U.S. voting
suffrage.
No sooner were votes counted, the congressional district
disappeared!
To make this event even more ludicrous, the tally was a
virtual tie --- so that spinmeisters on both sides have
little that’s credible to spin the day after (although, of
course, they will try).
While this special election was taking place, the
Pennsylvania supreme court redrew the map of the
district. Neither of the Republican nor the Democratic
nominees lives in the district that will be on the ballot
next November, seven months from now.
There’s no point in having a recount, even if one is
merited, because by the time a recount takes place,
one or both candidates will be campaigning in another
district --- races they must file for with the filing
deadline looming in only one week.
To be competitive in this traditional Republican district,
Democrat Conor Lamb ran as a very conservative,
pro-life, pro-gun candidate who never criticized Donald
Trump (who had carried the district by 20 points in 2016).
This strategy might not sell successfully in the new
district Lamb is likely to run in. Reportedly, there are
more traditional liberals ready to run in the new
districts and who might defeat him in the upcoming
Democratic primary even before the November election.
The news story of this election will quickly be
overshadowed and replaced by some “real” news
orchestrated by the master media scene stealer --- and
you know who I mean!
There was a lot of hype, and a lot of money spent by both
sides, in this special election before it took place.
But now its story will be written in ink that almost instantly
disappears.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright (c) 2018 by Barry Casselman. All rights reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment