Ed’s Big House Trick
Recount, schmecount, it seems.
While Linda Cummings, the Chester County Voting honcho, works surprisingly hard to turn herself into the second coming of Katharine Harris — and seemingly shoots down every Democratic voter challenge, while welcoming all Republican voter challenges like they were long, lost relatives, I have learned that the contested races in the 156th and 167th districts may not decide which party will control the Pennsylvania State House.
According to well-placed sources in the Democratic Party (which of course, means no one in Chester County…ooh, cheap and unfair, since that couldn’t count Sen. Andy Dinniman or his staff which are both well-placed and clearly Democrats), Gov. Ed Rendell has convinced an unidentified Republican house member to switch parties and become a Democrat. Early speculation, completely unconfirmed, centers around George Kenney, the Philly member, who comes off two tough races to hang onto his seat in an increasingly Democratic district.If it is not Kenney, others suggest one of the surviving members in Delaware County, all of whom are shaken by the loss of Tom Gannon and the end of the Curt Weldon era. Should, by some twisted fate, the member be Steve Barrar, I’d pretty much have to become a Republican on the spot, since he and I are completely politically incompatible. Of course, I’m pretty sure Hell will freeze over before Barrar switches parties, because he’d have to have that "I love Fox News Channel" tattoo removed from his butt.
Other theories have suggested Rep. Chris Ross, a moderate, pro-choice Republican, but I don’t buy them. As much as I’d love to have Ross in the Democratic Party, he’s too loyal to bolt on the Republicans at this point. I think he would only change parties as a matter of honor, if the party adopted a stance he could not, in good conscience, live with.
If this is true, and because of the source, I believe it to be, this suggests that we may be seeing a different Ed Rendell in the second four years. One can hope.