Freedom Line Blog

The May special election for the seat Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) vacated when he died in February is nearing its conclusion, setting itself up as a potential bellwether for the November 2010 midterm elections.  The main issue is spending.  Loyal readers will recall CFIF’s earlier commentary on the race; specifically the focus on Murtha’s legacy for creating jobs with pork barrel spending.

His former aide and Democratic hopeful Mark Critz continues to promise more of the same.  If elected, he’s promising to “keep important economic development initiatives moving forward.”  At some point, the district’s voters must realize that jobs funded by other peoples’ tax money aren’t free, or unlimited.  If Republican challenger Tim Burns can convince the people of Johnstown, PA, to vote for fiscal sanity, then Democrats nationwide are in for a world of hurt in November.

On May 18^th, voters in Pennsylvania’s 12^th congressional district will select someone other than the late John Murtha to represent them in Washington, D.C.  According to Newt Gingrich, it should be Republican businessman Tim Burns.  Burns and his Democratic opponent Mark Critz are subjects in a profile I wrote for CFIF here.  Though I discuss a different aspect of the campaign than Gingrich, I agree with his analysis that a center-left Democrat like Critz will find it nearly impossible to balance the need for far Left campaign cash with his district’s moderate-to-conservative leanings.  This will be a very bad year for Blue Dog Democrats.