PA State Legislature Update

Big story in the Post-Gazette this morning about Dem chances to retake the PA House. As I've written before, there are several factors at work here, the primary one being the notorious middle-of-the-night payraise that spurred more voter outrage than anyone ever imagined. Add to that 10 years of not especially glorious Republican rule in the Statehouse, and the times may be a-changin'.

Tom Barnes' article is a bit thin - maybe the first third is just useless he-said, she-said between Dems and Reps (although it's worth noting that the Rep response to Dem confidence is tired old "Dems will raise your taxes!" talk - not a hint of substance in strategy or actual policy). But later on Barnes gets into specifics, and raises some other factors that could turn this into a perfect storm: Rendell is running for reelection, and he remains popular - Lynn Swann (yes, ol' 88) hasn't laid a hand on him yet; Bush is, of course, bringing down the Republicans across the country; and, although the article barely mentions him, Santorum is also not exactly bringing glory on the GOP here in PA.

I would say that Casey-Santorum is the bellwether for Dems in PA this fall - if Casey can really spank Santorum, pulling away as we approach Election Day rather than seeing his big lead whittled down, then I predict a huge November for us.