Dent Kicks Off Re-Election; Is Bennett Still Around?

February 2nd, 2008, posted by Greg Palmer

Making a case that he remains more concerned with the needs of his district than the ‘‘mindless partisan bickering’‘ of Washington, D.C., U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent on Friday formally announced that he is seeking a third term.

‘‘All the time, people tell me Washington is broken,’‘ said Dent, R-15. ‘‘And you know what? They are absolutely right. This first session of the 110th Congress dramatically proved the point. In 2007, Congress accomplished less in more time than any Congress in recent history. It’s sad but true. We have to do better.’‘

In his first campaign speech of the year, Dent laid blame on the new Democratic congressional leadership that chose to vote on ‘‘legislation that isn’t designed to serve the American people, but rather to fuel the fires of political partisanship.’‘

Filed under:

Funny, funny man

On February 3rd, 2008 Anonymous said:

The Dem congress in 2007 passed more bills than the Republican congress the year before. They also accomplished this despite a record number of votes blocked by threat of filibuster by the Republicans.

Funny

On February 4th, 2008 Anonymous said:

“The Dem congress in 2007 passed more bills than the Republican congress the year before.”

Why is that a good thing?

“They also accomplished this despite a record number of votes blocked by threat of filibuster by the Republicans.”

The threat of a filibuster is different than an actual filibuster, which the Dems are expert at. Filibusters can be a good thing and probably were in the case of being done by the Repubs.

Democrat Siobhan ''Sam'' Bennett

On April 5th, 2008 Anonymous said:

By Darryl R. Isherwood | Of The Morning Call
April 4, 2008

Echoing the campaign playing out on the national stage, Democrat Siobhan ‘‘Sam’‘ Bennett urged her supporters to embrace change as she officially launched her campaign Thursday to represent the 15th District in the U.S. Congress.

Bennett is challenging incumbent Republican Rep. Charlie Dent, who is running for his third term. She is running unopposed in the primary.

In a speech that sought to highlight the differences between her and Dent and emphasize the incumbent’s support for President Bush, Bennett continually focused on the need for new ideas.

‘‘We all know that our nation and the Lehigh Valley have not been going in the right direction,’‘ Bennett told the gathered crowd of about 75, which included Lehigh County Executive Don Cunningham, Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski and other local elected leaders. ‘‘We are here because we absolutely believe we can do better and it’s time for change.’‘

Bennett, a longtime Allentown resident, said she will focus her campaign on gaining universal health care and cleaning up the environment and said she is a strong proponent of getting troops out of Iraq.

She was a co-sponsor of ‘‘A Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq,’‘ a proposal created by several congressional candidates to use diplomatic, economic and political solutions to end the war.

‘‘It’s not enough for me just to talk about, ‘We need to get out of the war in Iraq,’ I have to show how determined I am to make that happen,’‘ she said. ‘‘Coming from a military family, the best way that we can support our troops is end the war and bring them home.’‘

Cunningham introduced Bennett, also sounding the call for change, but urging unity in the party now divided between support for presidential candidates Illinois Sen. Barack Obama and New York Sen. Hillary Clinton.

‘‘As we look across this room here, we see Hillary buttons and we see Obama buttons,’‘ he said. ‘‘But you know what we see, we see a room full of Democrats ready for change.’‘

Bennett is the chief executive officer of Properties of Merit of PA Inc., a nonprofit she founded to help spur community revitalization. She is a 20-year resident of Allentown and has run for mayor of the city twice, losing in 2001 to former state Sen. Roy Afferbach and losing the 2005 primary to Pawlowski.

She is chairwoman of the Allentown Democratic Party and vice chairwoman of the county party.

The 15th District is made up of Lehigh and Northampton counties and parts of Montgomery and Berks counties.

The latest state voter registration numbers show Democrats in the district holding a substantial lead over Republicans. Democrats have made gains over the past weeks as thousands of voters have switched parties in advance of the April 22 primary.

Dent has held the 15th District since 2004, when he won an open seat race by 20 points, defeating Democrat Joe Driscoll.

In 2006, Dent defeated Democratic challenger Charles Dertinger, despite huge losses by incumbent Republicans nationwide.

WHY EXPRESS-TIMES SUPPORTS REPUBLICAN PARTY.

On April 28th, 2008 Anonymous said:

SON: Dad, Why does our local newspaper support the Republican Party so much?

DAD: So there will be more people available to deliver their newspapers after they lose their jobs.

ROTFL!

On April 28th, 2008 Anonymous said:

That’s hilarious. Dem candidates all over the country should modify it accordingly and use it on the stump. Humor is an effective, if little used, campaign tool.