Dear Pennsylvania Voter

Dear Pennsylvania voter,

Pennsylvania will very likely be the battleground state that determines the winner of this election. This state has 21 electoral votes that John Kerry barely won by less than 1% in 2004. These electoral votes could change the race for McCain if he is able to win, throwing a huge wrench in the works for the Obama campaign and possibly losing them the election. While there may be many more Democrats registered than Republicans in the state this year, I think the media in general is overlooking some important reasons why a large number of those Democrats will vote for McCain.

First, Hillary Clinton, for some reason, is loved in this state. Her father was from Scranton and she has some roots there, but she never lived in PA. Still the city and surrounding areas are quicker to claim her as “one of us” over Joe Biden, who actually lived in the city until he was 10 years old. In the northeast part of the state we have WILK for talk radio and there is a very influential talk show host, Steve Corbett, who is a lefty and huge Hillary Clinton supporter. In the heat of the primary race he was railing for Hillary and taking all kinds of calls from people who said they would “vote for McCain if Hillary loses” or bring up the PUMA (Party Unity My A**) movement. (Remember, Obama lost huge to Clinton in the PA primary). Just this week Corbett announced his endorsement of John McCain, making it abundantly clear that it was both a result of how Hillary was treated and also a rejection of Obama. ( Reference: http://wilknetwork.com/Irish-For-McCain/3247942 )

Second, while the media will have us believe this is a “bad year for Republicans” nationwide, that is without doubt not the case in PA. In the 10th, 11th, and 12th districts we are expecting Republican challengers Chris Hackett, Lou Barletta, and William Russell to defeat Democrat incumbents Chris Carney, Paul Kanjorski, and Jack Murtha respectively. Carney won a fluke over disgraced Don Sherwood in a Republican district last election, and both Kanjorski and Murtha can’t stop ramming their feet into their mouths. As a resident of the 11th, I feel it is going to be a very good year for PA Republicans.

Third, The congressional election of Jack Murtha is most relevant to the Presidential election because some of his statements have stoked racial tensions in line with the overall racial tones of the Obama campaign. Portraying someone as racist is one of the most harmful things you can do to a person. It is also the greatest insult you could make if it happens to not be true. Barack Obama very gracefully did this and more by saying that because of economic conditions in parts of Pennsylvania, people are “bitter” reducing themselves to what they are most familiar with and treating others who do not look or act like them with “antipathy”. Jack Murtha was more straight forward saying that “there is no question that western Pennsylvania is a racist area”. I can tell you that we do not appreciate anyone calling us racist, especially not one of our own, and we don’t give a rat’s behind what people in San Francisco think about us.

Fourth, Pennsylvania is one of the largest coal suppliers in the U.S. We are currently selling much of the highest quality coal we produce to Canada which has been very helpful to the PA economy, though we are facing challenges from China under cutting prices unfairly. Barack Obama has openly stated his intentions to bankrupt the coal industry by making them buy carbon tax credits to make up for the so called “greenhouse gases” they omit. Joe Biden has stated that there will be no more coal plants built in this country. He said China should build new plants “over there” so that they could keep the pollution and, consequently, continue pressuring our domestic coal companies out of business. A government that is supportive of building new coal power plants that use technology to reduce carbon emissions while helping our domestic industry compete with China will not only help Pennsylvania, it will help the entire country’s economy while contributing to a goal of energy independence. (Reference: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hdi4onAQBWQ )

Finally, many Pennsylvanian towns across the state carry long standing reputations for having a strong work ethic as part of our culture. The people who live in these areas are generally happy to help those in need, but don’t think that hand outs from the government help anyone. (There is plenty of evidence that this perspective is correct consistently throughout the history of civilization). Recognition of the failures of Socialism and general disdain for Communism are the prevailing sentiments where I am from. People here are not interested in the kind of change that would even appear to move the country in that direction. And since the subject of Obama’s self revealing stance on redistribution of wealth has become publicly known, I am seeing many more “Another Democrat for McCain” signs planted in front yards. This same subject is what has ignited our grass roots campaigns in Pennsylvania which are growing due to people driving in from across the country or coming in on buses from New York and New Jersey to volunteer in our areas, knocking on doors and making phone calls. I believe this is why our Governor, Ed Rendell, called the Obama campaign back to the state and why Obama continues to spend money here.
Will the impact of northeastern, central, and western Pennsylvania be able to overcome Philadelphia and Pittsburgh? I believe it will. I think the majority of Pennsylvania’s population is not convinced about Obama’s experience or his ability to be President. Remember Joe Biden said that Obama will be tested with an international crisis in his first six months as President. And we don’t want Democrats in total control of Washington D.C. I also think that people in general don’t like foregone conclusions from an insolent media when they haven’t had the chance to be heard yet. We’ll see if I’m right on Tuesday. I am looking forward to the end of this election cycle and the media coverage that came with it, but I fully intend to continue fighting until we win Pennsylvania for John McCain on Tuesday.
If you have friends or family members that have been discouraged in recent weeks about the prospect of the PA election, please pass this message along. We won’t go down without fighting first. And make sure you get out to vote on Tuesday!
Sincerely,
D. the Plumber