Battle of the Carboard Cut Outs

I did catch some of re-running of the so-called debate between the four Democrat candidates for the Third Congressional district of Pennsylvania, aka Phil English's seat, on WICU. It's a good thing I tuned in late, because I don't think I could have taken to much of this drivel.

Mrs. Dahlkemper, Mr. Foust, Mr. Waltner, and Attorney Myers are just about interchangeable and really add up to a sum total of about nothing. You could have put a cardboard cutout on the stage with a speaker mounted where the mouth should be and play a tape loop of Democrat talking points.

"We need universal healthcare, we need to get rid of the Bush Agenda, the war in Iraq is wrong, insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies and BIG oil are all bad bad bad." You get the idea?

When I hear nitwits like this flapping their gums about insurance companies and drug companies, I wonder if they've bothered to even look around the district they hope to represent and the state that it sits in? Have they bothered to check out the list of top employers locally and in the state? Erie Insurance, Highmark, UPMC, do any of these ring a bell? Research and development of pharmaceuticals is a huge business statewide, but this bunch would have you believe it is the devil's spawn.

The staff of WICU did a decent job, but just once I'd love to see someone take off the kid gloves and go after these people. Universal health care sounds like a wonderful idea, who could possibly be against it? Now how do we pay for it? When the costs start to spike who gets rationed out of the health care system? Where has universal health care ever really worked, aside from in Michael Moore's mind?

I have no doubt that this will be the toughest reelection battle Phil English has faced, but it won't be based on the challengers in the race, but based on the interest in the Presidential election. "I'm not Phil English" didn't work the last two times and it won't be enough this time.

Dahlkemper has run the best campaign of the bunch hands down and her comment on the tolling of I80 was the most eye-opening of the night, but she's hardly going to inspire a legion of followers to the polls based on one comment and some big signs.