The death of powerful Pennsylvania Congressman John Murtha brought all sorts of reaction from political figures in Pennsylvania and across the nation. Here's a sampling:

"Jack was a devoted husband, a loving father and a steadfast advocate for the people of Pennsylvania for nearly 40 years. His passion for service was born during his decorated career in the United States Marine Corps, and he went on to earn the distinction of being the first Vietnam War combat veteran elected to Congress. Jack's tough-as-nails reputation carried over to Congress, where he became a respected voice on issues of national security. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife of nearly 55 years, Joyce, their three children, and the entire Murtha family." — President Barack Obama.

"He was a public servant in every sense of the word and his passing is a great loss to all of Pennsylvania," said Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa.

"He was a good friend to me and my family for years. He was one of the first people to say to my father (the late Gov. Robert P. Casey) after he'd lost three times that he'd support him the fourth time for governor, and believed in him when a lot of folks didn't." — Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa.

"Jack Murtha didn't just worry about his district. He worried about all of Pennsylvania and in some ways he worried about the entire country. He was really the congressman for the entire state of Pennsylvania. Sort of a super, uber-congressman," said Gov. Ed Rendell, D-Pa.

"(Murtha) served his country as a Marine in Vietnam and in Congress for more than three decades. He worked hard for western Pennsylvania and he consistently guarded the interests of our men and women in uniform," — House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md.

"Today, our nation has lost a decorated veteran and the House of Representatives has lost one of its own. I was saddened to hear of John Murtha's passing, and my thoughts and prayers are with his friends and loved ones," — Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio.

"He's bigger than life in so many ways. ... He's a strong and powerful political titan, yet he's very human and very soft-spoken. He wasn't a table-banger in any sense of the word," — Pennsylvania Democratic Party Chairman T.J. Rooney.

"While the congressman and I often differed when it came to politics, he always had my deepest respect. The thoughts and prayers of the Republican Party of Pennsylvania go out to Jack’s family," — Republican Party of Pennsylvania Chairman Rob Gleason.

"Jack served his country in uniform and in Congress for many years, and his service will long be remembered and appreciated by the people of Pennsylvania." — U.S. Senate candidate Pat Toomey

"John Murtha may have represented Western Pennsylvania, but he was the voice of hard-working Democrats across the Commonwealth. Representative Murtha's service to his country and the strength of his convictions made him a powerful force to be reckoned with on Capitol Hill. His career took him from Parris Island to Vietnam, from Harrisburg to Washington, D.C. He was a leader until the end, fighting for American values and middle class ideals. He stood up for veterans and stood firm in his beliefs, not caring as much about political expediency as what he thought to be in the best interest of his constituents and his country. I am deeply saddened by the passing of Congressman Murtha and extend my deepest condolences to his family." — Pa. Sen. Democratic Leader Robert Mellow.

We may be witnessing the biggest political upset since Truman defeated Dewey.

With 60 percent of the vote in, Republican Scott Brown is ahead of his heavily-favored Democratic opponent, Martha Coakley, in a special election to fill the remainder of Sen. Ted Kenney's unexpired term

The Massachusetts Senate seat has been held by the Kennedys since the early 1950s.

With 60 percent of precincts reporting, Brown has 53 percent of the vote to 46 percent for Coakley.

The Associated Press calls the race "a referendum on President Barack Obama's sweeping health care overhaul and his first year in office."

From the wire service:

A loss — or even a narrow victory — by the once-favored Coakley for the seat that the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy held for nearly half a century in this Democratic stronghold could signal big political problems for the president's party this November when House, Senate and gubernatorial candidates are on the ballot nationwide.

More immediately at stake was a critical 60th vote for the Democrats' supermajority, which is needed to save their health care legislation and the rest of Obama's agenda. The Democrats can't afford to lose a seat because a 41st Republican in the 100-member Senate could allow the Republicans to use procedural maneuvers to block votes on legislation.

The election transformed reliably Democratic Massachusetts into a battleground state. One day shy of the first anniversary of Obama's swearing-in, it played out amid a backdrop of animosity and resentment from voters over persistently high unemployment, industry bailouts, exploding federal budget deficits and partisan wrangling over health care.

Two of Politico's top analysts break down the Massachusetts Senate election.

Five things to watch in Massachusetts - Alex Isenstadt and Josh Kraushaar - POLITICO.com

With so much at stake, election watchdog groups are worried that Tuesday's special Senate election in Massachusetts is ripe for political shenanigans.

Election Experts Issue 'Orange Alert' for Massachusetts Special Election

Charlie Cook, a highly respected and non-partisan political analyst, has moved two more Pennsylvania Congressional seats from the Democrats' "Safe Column" to "Likely D" -- an indication of how difficult 2010 will be for incumbent Democrats thanks to the missteps of Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid.

The latest incumbent Democrats on shaky ground are Patrick Murphy and Tim Holden. That brings the total number of Pennsylvania Congressional Democrats who are vulnerable in 2010 to 7, according to The Cook Political Report:

PA-3 Kathy Dahlkemper
PA-4 Jason Altmire
PA-8 Patrick Murphy
PA-10 Chris Carney
PA-11 Paul Kanjorski
PA-12 John Murtha
PA-17 Tim Holden

Republicans could retake a half-dozen Pennsylvania seats after poor showings in the 2006 and 2008 election cycles.

Key excerpts from The Cook Political Report:

PA-08 Patrick Murphy Solid D to Likely D

In bad years, parties find that tamping down problem districts is a lot like playing whack-a-mole. Democrats weren't counting on having to spend much time thinking about this seat in 2010, but former one-term GOP Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick's bid makes this district a new concern for Democrats. The 2006 race between Murphy and Fitzpatrick was one of the closest in the country: Iraq War veteran Murphy unseated Fitzpatrick by less than a percentage point in this suburban Bucks County district. Now, Republican leaders have succeeded in convincing Fitzpatrick, who is apparently healthy after a bout with cancer, to make a comeback…Murphy is a solid fundraiser with $624,000 in the bank, while Fitzpatrick must start from scratch. But the current state of affairs for Democrats in Pennsylvania means this rematch should only become more competitive.

PA-17 Tim Holden Solid D to Likely D

At the outset of the decade, Republican redistricting had caused some to leave Holden for dead. Instead, Holden has rather impressively made a happy home out of this GOP-leaning district…But now, GOP state Sen. Dave Argall, who shares Holden's Schuykill County base, is entering the race. Holden begins the race with a large reservoir of goodwill. In 2008, he took 64 percent of the vote while President Obama took just 48 percent here…But Holden has never had to run for reelection in this district in such a challenging environment.

The new blockbuster film "2012" depicts the end of the world in three years, but that scenario could come about in 2010 for the Democratic Party, which is poised to lose big in the midterm Congressional elections, crippling its far-left agenda and making Barack Obama a lame duck with two more years left in his term.

From Rasmussen Reports:

Republican candidates have extended their lead over Democrats to seven points, their biggest lead since early September, in the latest edition of the Generic Congressional Ballot.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 44% would vote for their district's Republican congressional candidate while 37% would opt for his or her Democratic opponent.

Support for the Republican party held steady from last week, while support for Democrats dropped slightly. Republicans have held the lead for over four months now. Democrats currently have majority control of both the House and Senate.

Voters not affiliated with either party continue to heavily favor Republicans, 44% to 20%.

Read more at Rasmussen Reports.

One year after the election of Barack Obama, voters could send a strong message they don't like the direction the country is headed by sweeping Republicans into office in the governor's races in Virginia and New Jersey and the special election in New York for a House seat.

Democrats fear triple blow on Election Day | csmonitor.com

Posted using ShareThis

The most anticipated political documentary of the year, "Media Malpractice: How Obama Got Elected and Palin Was Targeted," will make its debut Thursday at the National Press Club.

"This movie shows as clearly as possible that journalism is dead," says John Ziegler, the writer and producer of 'Media Malpractice.'

Snippets of the film have been available on YouTube for months and have received hundreds of thousands of views.

"The level of detail in this production is staggering and it will remind millions of Americans that they were not presented a fair and honest portrait of the 2008 election because the media wanted Obama to win and they did everything in their power to see that Obama got elected," Ziegler said in a statement.

Here's a prediction. The Obama Media (the very same folks who idolize Michael Moore and Al Gore) will ignore the film. It will not be nominated for any awards. It will not be coming to a theater near you. It will not be reviewed by most newspapers.

You're going to have to search for the the film, but the effort is worthwhile.

If you can handle the truth, learn more about the film at www.MediaMalpracticeMovie.com

For more information about the Feb. 26 debut, follow the link below:

Media Malpractice Documentary to Premiere at National Press Club February 26th

"Americans always say they don't like royalty and hereditary connections. On the other hand, they really like families like the Kennedys."

That statement by N.Y. state Rep. Peter King, a Republican would is considering a run for one of New York's U.S. Senate seats, sums up the disturbing trend of a handful of families holding political power in the United States.

While we have the Bush family on the Republican side, it's mostly a Democratic trend, with Clintons and Kennedys leading the way.

Politico, the online political Web site, examines what some find as a disturbing trend toward an aristocracy handing political power to offspring and relatives.

Hell, even Jesse Jackson managed to get his son elected to Congress.

From the article by Charles Mahtesian:

All told, it's entirely possible that the Senate will be comprised of nearly a dozen congressional offspring by the end of Obama's first term as president.

"It's a very interesting American phenomenon, even though there is a line in the Constitution that says no title of nobility may be granted by the United States," says Stephen Hess, a senior fellow emeritus at the Brookings Institution and the author of "America's Political Dynasties." "Given where we started, it's interesting that this has developed."

Almost everyone agrees that the high cost of elections is making the world's most exclusive club seem even more exclusive. According to some estimates, the cost of winning Clinton's New York Senate seat in the special election in 2010 and the general election in 2012 will be in the neighborhood of $70 million.

"There are three issues behind this trend," said Bob Edgar, the president of Common Cause and a former Pennsylvania congressman. "Money is issue number one, money is issue number two and money is issue number three."

"It's an enormously expensive process to run for the United States Senate," added Edgar, who ran unsuccessfully for the Senate in 1986. "And once someone runs for a Senate seat, there is a sense of ownership."

Read "Nepotism Nation: Dems embrace dynasty politics" at the Politico Web site.

President-elect Barack Obama has women to thank for his election.

A new survey finds that nationally, 56 percent of women (who were 53 percent of voters) voted for Barack Obama compared with 49 percent of men (who were 47 percent of voters, according to the Institute for Women's Policy Research

Follow the link below for more:

Women's Vote Clinches Election Victory: 8 Million More Women Than Men Voted for Obama

Democrats can start the celebration.

The Associated Press says Barack Obama has built a "near insurmountable" in the Electoral College on his way to becoming the first black president of the United States.

Obama had 202 of the 270 electoral votes needed to win the White House, the AP says. McCain had 80, according to the wire service.

The popular vote is almost even, but it's the electoral votes that win the presidency.

According to the AP, Obama has won Iowa, Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan, New York, Rhode Island, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland and New Jersey, as well as the District of Columbia.

The wire service says McCain has won Utah, Arkansas, Kansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Wyoming, Alabama, South Carolina, Louisiana, West Virginia and North Dakota.

Shortly before 9 p.m., The Associated Press projected Barack Obama as the winner in Pennsylvania based on exit polls and less than 8 percent of the state's precincts reporting.

The AP says Obama is winning Pennsylvania by a 65% to 34% margin over John McCain. Does that make any sense to anyone? The most generous polls had Obama ahead by 10% in Pennsylvania, which John Kerry won by just 2% over George W. Bush in 2004.

Something doesn't add up. How could Obama win the state by a nearly 2-1 margin? How could Obama win Pennsylvania by a wider margin that he won his home state?

... Unless the AP sampling comes from Philadelphia alone.

Here's something else that's strange. In Michigan, the most recent numbers have McCain ahead of Obama by a 51% to 48% margin, but the AP is calling Obama the winner there.

Based on exit polls, The Associated Press is calling the following states in the presidential race:

Obama won Vermont, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, and the District of Columbia, for 78 electoral votes.

McCain won Kentucky, Tennessee, Oklahoma and South Carolina, for 34 electoral votes.

The news service also says the nationwide popular vote also favored Obama, 53 percent to McCain’s 47 percent.

If you haven't had a chance to tune in to "Talking Politics with Tony Phyrillas and Mike Pincus," you've been missing out on some of the best political talk on radio.

The program airs every Thursday at 5 p.m. on WPAZ 1370 AM and can also be heard online at www.1370wpaz.com and www.pottsmerc.com

My co-host, Mike Pincus, is a political consultant and strategist with more than 30 years experience. He's helped get dozens of people elected to local, county, state and national offices.

On a recent show, Mike and I took a stab at predicting the outcome of some of the races on the Nov. 4 ballot in SE Pennsylvania. Below is a recap of our predictions.

Keep in mind that these predictions are not how we would vote, but how we expect the races to turn out. (There are some third-party candidates on the ballot, but we're ignoring them since they don't have a chance of winning).

PRESIDENTIAL RACE
John McCain (R) vs. Barack Obama (D)
Both Phyrillas and Pincus predict McCain will win.

PRESIDENTIAL RACE IN PENNSYLVANIA
John McCain (R) vs. Barack Obama (D)
Both Phyrillas and Pincus predict McCain will win.

CONGRESSIONAL RACES
Pennsylvania 6th District
Incumbent Jim Gerlach (R) vs. Bob Roggio (D)
Both Phyrillas and Pincus predict Gerlach will win.

Pennsylvania 7th District
Craig Williams (R) vs. Incumbent Joe Sestak (D)
Phyrillas predicts Williams will win. Pincus predicts Sestak will win.

Pennsylvania 8th District
Tom Manion (R) vs. Incumbent Patrick Murphy (D)
Both Phyrillas and Pincus predict Murphy will win.

Pennsylvania 13th District
Marina Kats (R) vs. Incumbent Allyson Schwartz (D)
Both Phyrillas and Pincus predict Schwartz will win.

Pennsylvania 15th District
Sam Bennet (D) vs. Incumbent Charlie Dent (R)
Both Phyrillas and Pincus predict Dent will win.

PENNSYLVANIA STATEWIDE ROW OFFICES
Attorney General
Incumbent Tom Corbett (R) vs. John Morganelli (D)
Both Phyrillas and Pincus predict Corbett will win.

Treasurer
Tom Ellis (R) vs. Rob McCord (D)
Both Phyrillas and Pincus predict McCord will win.

Auditor General
Incumbent Jack Wagner (D) vs. Chet Beiler (R)
Both Phyrillas and Pincus predict Wagner will win.

See More predictions for Nov. 4 for Legislative races.

If you haven't had a chance to tune in to "Talking Politics with Tony Phyrillas and Mike Pincus," you've been missing out on some of the best political talk on radio.

The program airs every Thursday at 5 p.m. on WPAZ 1370 AM and can also be heard online at www.1370wpaz.com and www.pottsmerc.com

My co-host, Mike Pincus, is a political consultant and strategist with more than 30 years experience. He's helped get dozens of people elected to local, county, state and national offices.

On a recent show, Mike and I took a stab at predicting the outcome of some of the races on the Nov. 4 ballot in SE Pennsylvania. Below is a recap of our predictions.

Keep in mind that these predictions are not how we would vote, but how we expect the races to turn out. (There are some third-party candidates on the ballot, but we're ignoring them since they don't have a chance of winning.)

PENNSYLVANIA SENATE

11th Senate District
Incumbent Mike O'Pake (D) vs. Stephen Fuhs (R)
Phyrillas predicts Fuhs will pull off an upset. Pincus predicts O'Pake will win.

17th Senate District
Daylin Leach (D) vs. Lance Rogers (R)
Phyrillas predicts Rogers will win. Pincus predicts Leach will win.

19th Senate District
Incumbent Andy Dinniman (D) vs. Steve Kantrowitz (R)
Both Phyrillas and Pincus predict Dinniman will win.

PENNSYLVANIA HOUSE

13th House District
John Lawrence (R) vs. Tom Houghton (D)
Phyrillas predicts Lawrence will win. Pincus predicts Houghton will win.

26th House District
Incumbent Tim Hennessey (R) vs. Fern Kaufman (D)
Both Phyrillas and Pincus predict Hennessey will win.

61st House District
Incumbent Kate Harper (R) vs. Frank Custer (D)
Both Phyrillas and Pincus predict Harper will win.

70th House District
Incumbent Jay Moyer (R) vs. Matt Bradford (D)
Both Phyrillas and Pincus predict Moyer will win.

128th House District
John Woodward (D) vs. Incumbent Sam Rohrer (R)
Both Phyrillas and Pincus predict Rohrer will win.

130th House District
Richard Gokey (R) vs. Incumbent David Kessler (D)
Both Phyrillas and Pincus predict Gokey will win.

146th House District
Incumbent Tom Quigley (R) vs. Jim Predergast (D)
Both Phyrillas and Pincus predict Quigley will win.

147th House District
Incumbent Bob Mensch (R) vs. Albert Van Atglen (D)
Both Phyrillas and Pincus predict Mensch will win.

149th House District
Lynn Lechter (R) vs. Tim Briggs
Both Phyrillas and Pincus predict Lechter will win.

150th House District
Incumbent Mike Vereb (R) vs. Korbin Carolina (D)
Both Phyrillas and Pincus predict Vereb will win.

151st House District
Todd Stephens (R) vs. Incumbent Rick Taylor (D)
Both Phyrillas and Pincus predict Stephens will win.

156th House District
Barbara McIlvaine Smith vs. Shannon Royer (R)
Phyrillas predicts Royer will win. Pincus predicts McIlvaine Smith will win.

157th House District
Guy Ciarrocchi (R) vs. Paul Drucker (D)
Phyrillas predicts Ciarrocchi will win. Pincus predicts Drucker will win.

For more predictions, check out pevious post, Predictions for Nov. 4

A new study says at least 1.8 million dead people are registered to vote in the 2008 presidential election.

How many of those dead people vote is unknown ... except maybe to the folks at ACORN.

From an Aristotle International press release:

The study, conducted by Aristotle since 2000, compares government lists of persons who have moved or died to the voter registration lists obtained from state or county elections agencies. This year's data indicates 5.9 percent of all registered voters are what elections experts call "Deadwood." This represents an estimated 1,833,539 dead voters and 8,690,492 who have moved from their registered voter address.

Follow the link below to read more about the study, including a state-by-state breakdown of dead voters.

Trick or Treat Just in Time for Halloween: U.S. Voter Rolls Contain 'Deadwood'

The pundits are predicting the largest turnout for any presidential election in U.S. history.

Everyone is pushing a "get out the vote" campaign.

Everyone that is except John Stossel, the libertarian columnist and host of ABC's "20/20" program.

Stossel is saying publicly what many seasoned political observers believe privately: Some people shouldn't be allowed to vote.

"I suggested that when people don't know anything, maybe it's their civic duty not to vote," Stossel writes in a new column posted at Townhall.com

Uninformed voters (and there will be lots of them this year with ACORN signing up anyone with a pulse) should not be casting ballots because they don't know anything about candidate or important issues, Stossel argues.

"Voting is serious business. It works best when people educate themselves," Stossel writes. "If uninformed people stay home on Election Day, good."

Read the full column, "A Duty Not To Vote?," at Townhall.com

The national commander of the nation's oldest veterans' group, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, has issued a call to America's 23.5 million veterans and 2.2 million uniformed personnel and their families to make sure they are registered to vote for the Nov. 4 election.

That's a potential of 50 million votes up for grabs, says Glen Gardner.

Veterans understand better than anyone what's at stake in making sure the best person is elected president. In 2004, 74 percent of U.S. veterans cast ballots, compared to 63 percent turnout among the general population.

I'm not sure if this has national implications, but I've spoke to two veterans in the past couple of weeks about the presidential race. Both are registered Democrats. Both told me they are planning to vote for Sen. John McCain on Nov. 4.

I have a feeling that the majority of veterans, regardless of party affiliation, will support one of their own over a 47-year-old Chicago community organizer with no military experience.

McCain understands veterans and their families and I believe he is more likely to look out for their best interests.

I haven't checked out the site yet, but I can't imagine it would be very favorable to the Obama-Biden Abortion-on-Demand Ticket.

Fidelis Debuts CatholicVote.com

The name of the group sounds innocuous enough: Working Families Win.

Who doesn't want working families to win?

The group Working Families Win bills itself as "a non-profit and non-partisan organization" working to "change the economy in favor of working families, provides education about economic decisions made in Washington and the impacts within our local communities, and engages individuals through neighbor to neighbor communication to hold our elected officials accountable."

The group is hosting a series of candidate forums across the country.

Locally, there's an event scheduled Tuesday at 7 p.m. at thhe Schmidt Training and Technology Center at Reading Area Community College in Reading. Another forum is scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 19, at 7 PM at the Ricketts Center, 640 Beech St., Pottstown. There's also one scheduled Thursday, Aug. 21, at 7 p.m. at the Coatesville Area Senior Center (22 N. 5th Avenue)in Coatesville, one of the few Democratic strongholds in Republican Chester County.

Just one little problem. Working Families Win is a front for Big Labor. It's pro-Democratic Party, anti-Republican Party.

Most of the people attending the forums will be union workers who are friendly to Democratic candidates and hostile to Republican candidates. The people organizing the forums are liberal activists.

Instead of being honest with voters that this is an effort to promote Democratic candidates, Working Families Win hides its true identity from the public.

Republican candidates are in tough spot. The group sends out blanket invitations to all candidates, but doesn't wait for a reply. It puts out press releases to local media saying candidates "are expected to attend" when many candidates never had any intention of taking part in the charade.

If Republican candidates don't attend the Working Families Win "candidate forums," the local newspapers will write that they skipped out on the event.

If GOP candidates attend, they will be greeted by hostile crowds and biased moderators. The questions focus on union issues. The questions will favor Democratic candidates.

Democratic voters who are on the fence about Barack Obama (start with the 18 million who voted for Hillary Clinton) aren't going to like the implication in the new song by rapper Ludacris promoting a Barack Obama presidency.

The two lines are are sure to get the most attention:

Paint the White House black and I'm sure that's got 'em terrified
McCain don't belong in any chair unless he's paralyzed

There are a lot of Americans who are on the fence about Obama, not necessarily for his skin color, but for his association with so many people who hate this country -- Rev. Wright, the Weather Underground terrorists, etc.) You can add the name of Ludacris to that list.

The Obama campaign has issued a condemnation for the song, but Obama himself earlier praised Ludacris as a talented artists and an example of a successful black businessman. This sounds like another of those "trying to have it both ways" attempts by Obama.

It all comes back to the company you keep. Make up your own mind.

Here are the lyrics of Ludacris' Obama Song:

I'm back on it like I just signed my record deal
Yeah the best is here, the Bentley Coup paint is dripping wet, it got sex appeal
Never should have hated
You never should've doubted him
With a slot in the president's iPod Obama shattered 'em

Said I handled his biz and I'm one of his favorite rappers
Well give Luda a special pardon if I'm ever in the slammer
Better yet put him in office, make me your vice president
Hillary hated on you, so that bitch is irrelevant

Jesse talking slick and apologizing for what?
If you said it then you meant it how you want it have a gut!
And all you other politicians trying to hate on my man,
watch us win a majority vote in every state on my man

You can't stop what's bout to happen, we bout to make history
The first black president is destined and it's meant to be
The threats ain't fazing us, the nooses or the jokes
So get off your ass, black people, it's time to get out and vote!

Paint the White House black and I'm sure that's got 'em terrified
McCain don't belong in any chair unless he's paralyzed
Yeah I said it cause Bush is mentally handicapped
Ball up all of his speeches and I throw 'em like candy wrap
'cause what you talking I hear nothing even relevant
and you the worst of all 43 presidents

Get out and vote or the end will be near
The world is ready for change because Obama is here!
'cause Obama is here
The world is ready for change because Obama is here!

The Democratic Party is worried about holding on to its 2006 Congressional gains -- at least in Pennsylvania.

Democrats won four Pennsylvania Congressional seats held by the GOP in 2006 by linking every incumbent Republican Congressman to George W. Bush.

But two years of broken promises, uncontrolled pork spending and inaction on many issues has left Congressional Democrats vulnerable.

Don't be surprised if Republicans take back at least three Pennsylvania Congressional seats in November.

One district that has been a battleground for six years is again in the spotlight.

The Dems have launched attack ads on U.S. Rep. Jim Gerlach, a moderate Republican who has been able to hold on to Pennsylvania's 6th Congressional District since 2002 despite millions of dollars spent by the Democratic Party to oust him.

Gerlach's 2008 opponent is a lightweight named Bob Roggio, who in some polls trails Gerlach badly. So enter the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, aka Smear Central.

The DCCC has been running misleading radio ads attempting to blame high gas prices on President Bush and Republicans in Congress, including Gerlach. The ads refer to the GOP as the "Grand Oil Party."

The reality is that it's the Democrats who control Congress who have prevented new drilling for oil, construction of new refineries and licensing of additional nuclear plants.

The roadblocks Democrats have put up have lead to skyrocketing gasoline prices.

Since they can't defend their non-existent energy policy, the Democrats have decided to go on the attack.

Nobody is talking about education reform in the 2008 p0residential race, but a new poll says Americans believe it is an important issue.

Follow the link below for more on the poll results.

New Poll: Americans Prioritize Education Reform

Fascinating report released today by the Pew Forum on how American's religious beliefs relate to their social and political attitudes.

In just skimming the report, I think the far left is in trouble if it's going to attempt to demonize religious conservatives again (just like it did in 2000 and 2004.)

Democrats should learn from their past mistakes and avoid religion during the campaign. If your candidate (Barack Obama) was raised by an athiest grandmother and had a Muslim for a father, you should avoid casting stones at the other candidate.

Some interesting findings from the study:

* Religion is closely linked to political ideology. The survey shows that Mormons are among the most politically conservative groups in the population. Jews, Buddhists and Hindus, by contrast, are among the mostlikely to describe their ideology as liberal.

* People who regularly attend worship services and say religion isimportant in their lives are much more likely to identify as conservative,and this pattern extends to many religious traditions. For example, withinthe evangelical, mainline Protestant, historically black protestant, Catholic, Mormon and Orthodox Christian traditions, those who attend church weekly are significantly more likely than those who attend less often todescribe themselves as political conservatives. And among Jews, those whosay religion is very important to them or pray every day are more likelythan others to be politically conservative.

* The connection between religious engagement and political attitudesappears to be especially strong when it comes to hot button social issues such as abortion or homosexuality. For instance, about six-in-10 Americans who attend religious services at least once a week say abortion should be illegal in most or all cases, while only three-in-10 who attend less often share this view. This pattern holds across several religious traditions.

Follow the link below to review the full study:

New Report from the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life Finds Religion in U.S. is Non-Dogmatic, Diverse and Politically Relevant

If you're near a radio or a computer Tuesday afternoon, be sure to listen to WPAZ 1370 AM from 4-5 p.m. for some of the best political insight around.

You know who I am. Mike Pincus is a Republican political strategist who has worked with many local, county, state and national campaigns.

Listeners can call with questions or comments during the live broadcast at 610-326-4000.

We'll talk about the presidential race and who might be the vice presidential picks for either party. We'll also talk about some of the Congressional races in Pennsylvania.

You can also listen to the program on your computer by going to www.1370WPAZ.com and clicking on the "live audio" button at the top of the page.

It's hard to imagine a scenario where John McCain gets enough Electoral College votes without winning Pennsylvania.

To that end, the McCain camp is gearing up its Pennsylvania campaign.

It's not going to be easy based on the state's history of voting for Democratic candidates in recent presidential elections.

From Dan Hirschhorn writing at PolitickerPA.com:

"Voters in the state, which has not gone Republican in 20 years, are increasingly leaning Democratic. His opponent, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), had to build an organization in the state for a fiercely competitive primary while McCain had already secured the Republican nomination.

Then again, let's not forget how poorly Obama did in the Keystone State outside of Philadelphia. A lot of "bitter" people didn't buy Obama's smooth-talking liberalism.

The state will be decided in the Southeastern Pennsylvania suburbs, where McCain could appeal to moderate Republicans, independents and some Democrats.

Read more analysis of the Pennsylvania campaign at PolitickerPA.com

Stateline.org, a Web site that features articles about state government issues, has an interesting post today about a growing trend among politicians who use blogs to help promote themselves and their policy concerns.

From the article by Stateline.org staff writer Pauline Vu:

Like many bloggers, state lawmakers give their opinions on the topics of the day and share their personal life with readers. But unlike other bloggers, they also sometimes give the public a unique view into the workings of the statehouse.

"It's the perfect way to talk directly to constituents without a media filter," said Arkansas House Majority Leader Steve Harrelson (D), the state's first legislator-blogger who created Under the Dome in January 2007 to replace the e-newsletter he had sent constituents.

Stateline.org found about 50 politicians who routinely blog, including three in Pennsylvania: Rep. Mark Cohen (D); Sen. John Eichelberger (R); Rep. Jesse White (D)

Vu also examines the pitfalls of lawmakers in cyberspace, citing the cast of state Rep. Daylin Leach:

But legislator-bloggers have to walk a fine line between welcoming readers into their personal lives and revealing too much — including questionable taste. Pennsylvania state Rep. Daylin Leach (D) crossed the line in 2005 with www.leachvent.com, in which Leach — a self-described comedian — joked about sex, pornography, and a Palestinian bachelor party in which the groom celebrates his upcoming nuptials by blowing up a bus. About a piece of legislation he was supporting, he wrote, "The age of consent would officially be lowered to 'When Poppa ain't around.'"

Leach took down most of his posts shortly after The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote about the Web site. But in September 2006, when he was running for re-election, a woman launched the now-defunct Web site, TruthAboutDaylin.com, to remind voters of Leach's previous postings. Leach won anyway and is now running for the state Senate.

For a list of politician/bloggers by state or to read the full Stateline.org article, click here.