Confusion Reigns

Locally, the picture is not any clearer regarding a challenger for our beloved 6th District U.S. House of Representatives. We have at least two potential candidates talking with local party leadership: Michael Leibowitz and Richard Phillips. And reportedly, some folks have not given up on Chris Casey, an attorney Bob Casey's brother. And Bob Rovner? Despite some communications from local supporters, Ideal Candidate's sources don't find any sign that Bob is actually running. All this is extremely confusing. Where is the debate among partisans? What do the Party activists, the ones who will do the work, think? Are they merely waiting for the white smoke to appear outside of the walls of Chairman Groen's Norristown vatican?


Nationally, politics is creeping into the debate over a stimulus package. The Senate Democrats added elements to the Pelosi/Bush compromise that are very much within the "targeted, temporary and timely" framework charted by Rubin & Co. Enhanced food stamp and unemployment benefits will be spent as soon as they are received by people who very much need them. If we had an ideal candidate, he or she would be challenging Gerlach to tell us where he stood on using temporary enhancements to these programs as ways of getting money in the hands of people quickly. But we don't... yet.