U.S. Senate
In his 24-year Senate career, Arlen Specter has developed a reputation as a Republican who will side with his party on close votes, but is willing to oppose the party line on issues like abortion and stem cell research. More importantly, Specter has proven adept at directing federal money to Pennsylvania, Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania. While his support of the contentious flat tax troubles some, that idea is unlikely to receive serious treatment, even in this Congress.
This experience and seniority put Specter in line for a key Senate position upon his re-election, specifically chairman of the Judiciary Committee. If he is re-elected, and if Republicans keep the majority, he would therefore be in position to maintain his commitment to a woman's right to choose vis-a-vis potential Supreme Court nominees.
While Democratic challenger Joe Hoeffel has run a clean, focused campaign, based largely on a traditional party platform of expanding health care and cutting taxes for the middle class, he would simply not have the same clout as a senator. And in this day and age, it pays to be politically pragmatic.
Many have pointed out that Specter, as a moderate Republican, is an endangered species, and that to keep himself politically viable he often moves right and left depending on the political season (for example, Specter staved off a bitter primary challenge from Pat Toomey by moving to the right and with the help of many appearances from President George W. Bush). Given this fact, as well as his desire to cast himself as a political maverick in the mold of John McCain, it would behoove him to make sure that he maintains his independent nature and does not bow to the oppressive call of knee-jerk party loyalty.
The Daily Pennsylvanian endorses Arlen Specter for U.S. Senate.
U.S. Congress, 2nd District
Democratic Rep. Chaka Fattah generally gets among the highest percentage of votes in the House, so much so that in 2000 he ran unopposed. His challenger, Republican Stewart Bolno, is quite a character, but is largely out of touch with his targeted constituency. As the Second Congressional District extends from Broad Street to West Philadelphia, Bolno's consistent treatment of "liberal" as a dirty word is directly at odds with the views of the majority of voters in the area. Additionally, he has no public policy experience whatsoever, and his professional career as a management consultant is not the type of background that serves as an acceptable substitute.
Fattah has been a strong supporter of education funding and a protector of civil rights. He is opposed to increasing restrictions on student visas from foreign countries deemed threatening; however, this does not come at the cost of national defense, as he supports increasing federal funding to states for homeland security.
Still, Fattah's resistance to the idea of debating Bolno is unfortunate. While Bolno may not represent a serious threat to Fattah's seat, in the future he should prove his commitment to positive political discourse by debating his next opponent.
The Daily Pennsylvanian endorses Chaka Fattah for U.S. House of Representatives.
Pa. Attorney General
The attorney general is the top legal officer of the state, head of the Department of Justice and responsible for enforcing our laws and convening grand juries. This race is currently very tight, and the candidates are both competitive. However, Democratic candidate Jim Eisenhower outdoes his Republican opponent, Tom Corbett, in terms of qualifications and goals.
Eisenhower is an experienced federal prosecutor with plenty of public service experience. He was an aide to Clinton's national security team and has served under Gov. Ed Rendell. His focus on fighting corruption, specifically targeting insurance and pharmaceutical companies of ill repute, proves his stated support of consumers and especially the elderly. Eisenhower has proposed creating a "Consumer's Bill of Rights" to this end, with the related intention of lowering prescription drug costs.
Corbett, however, is also experienced, having served 15 months as Pennsylvania's attorney general between 1995 and 1997. Like Eisenhower, he also has a plan for protecting the elderly: Corbett intends to create a unit to "prosecute those who prey upon Pennsylvania's seniors." While both men show commitment in this area, we believe that Eisenhower's approach will have a more tangible and lasting impact, if it is carried out in full.
In general, Corbett would maintain the status quo, providing the kind of service that we've come to expect from the office of attorney general. Eisenhower, on the other hand, is more likely to be proactive in his pursuit of criminals, especially those of the more white-collar variety. In a state too often marred by corruption and cronyism, this just might be the change we've been looking for.
The Daily Pennsylvanian endorses Jim Eisenhower for Attorney General.
Auditor General
The auditor general's main responsibility is ensuring that public money is distributed efficiently, effectively and, most importantly, legally -- that is to say, distributed to those that the money was intended for. Of the five main candidates, we believe Democrat Jack Wagner to be the best for the job.
Wagner's Republican challenger, Joe Peters, is a former police officer and lawyer and current law enforcement consultant. While these are all noble professions, he lacks the requisite financial experience.
Wagner provides that experience. He's been a state senator for 10 years, sitting on the Appropriations, Banking and Insurance committees. His experience on those committees should serve him well.
The Daily Pennsylvanian endorses Jack Wagner for Auditor General.
