THE
PENNSYLVANIA CONNECTION
Jack Curtin
Call it
blatant chauvinism, but I suspect that the influence of my native state,
the lovely and talented Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, might turn out
to be as significant in the presidential election this year as that
of any state in the union, and not just because the Republican National
Convention will be held in Philadelphia in July, or even because of
our always hotly-contested 23 electoral votes.
The real
reason? Consider the roles in our national drama which are being played
by three prominent Pennsylvanians.
1. Edward
G. Rendell, former Mayor of Philadelphia, current Democratic National
Committee Chairman. Named to the top DNC post on September 29, 1999
as President Clinton's personal choice, Rendell is an aggressive fund
raiser and articulate spokesman for his party. Granted, how long he
will be able to maintain his affability ("Republicans are good people")
remains to be seen. In eight years as Mayor of the City of Brotherly
Love, he achieved such an impressive improvement in the city's fortunes
that the effort was dubbed "one of the most stunning turnarounds in
recent urban history" by the New York Times and he earned the sobriquet
"America's Mayor." Rendell has his eye on the Pennsylvania Governor's
mansion and is considered one of the rare candidates from Philadelphia
(most of the rural population which is spread across the rest of the
state considers the city a locale just this side of Sodom and Gomorra)
who might have a chance of winning it. It should be noted, however,
that rumors have it that some of the Gore folks are not entirely happy
with a Clinton selectee in the top job and may move to make a change.
Sounds like a dumb move (which probably makes it all the more likely,
given the Gore Campaign's record to date).
2. Governor
Tom Ridge. The man who holds the job that Rendell wants is considered
by many an ideal choice as running mate for Texas Governor George W.
Bush, topped in the ticket-enhancing department only by unlikely candidates
Colin Powell and John McCain. Ridge's second term will be up in 2002
and he can't succeed himself, so a nice new job in Washington would
suit him just fine. Indeed, his operatives have been hard at work positioning
him as the right choice ever since Bush announced his own candidacy.
The two men are friendly, which helps, but beyond that, Ridge would
bring major benefits to the ticket: as a popular incumbent, he could
help the GOP win a valuable swing state; as a Catholic (albeit a pro-choice
moderate one), he could help offset the Bob Jones factor; as a decorated
Vietnam War veteran, one who actually saw combat, he'd counter-balance
Bush' s National Guard past and more than match Gore's war experiences.
The downside? Certainly that there pro-choice thing, which still may
incite the rabid right (despite its current gritted-teeth, low-profile
demeanor). Worse yet, perhaps, Ridge is a big, solid 6-foot-3, towering
over the 5" 11" Texas Guv. No candidate wants to look puny next to his
running mate.
3. Senator
Arlen Specter. Darlin' Arlen, forever famous as the man who came up
with the Warren Commission's hard-to-swallow "single bullet" theory,
heads up a Senate Task Force which is charged with looking into a wide
range of purported Clinton Administration scandals, from campaign finance
violations in 1996 to Chinese espionage cases more recently to possible
gummint screwups in the Waco mess back in 1993. He's been a particularly
vocal critic of the Justice Department under Janet Reno and is already
making noises about the Elian Gonzales situation, joining a chorus of
fellow GOPers anxious for yet another crack at the current resident
of the White House and eager to sidetrack the man whose election would
validate the incumbent's record. He could be in position to release
some potentially harmful investigative reports come next November and
thus influence the election if the Gore-Bush race is as close as many
pundits predict. Specter is getting attacked by Democrats for partisanship
and even by some members of his own party for over-zealousness, but
the former Philadelphia DA is a stubborn cuss unlikely to be swayed
by the opinions of his peers. This is, after all, a liberal Jewish Senator
from the Northeast who had no qualms about running in the 1996 GOP primaries.
