William T. Russell: Thinking "Outside of the Box"

The 12th Congressional District's Favorite Sourpuss, John Murtha

William T. Russell is running for Congress in the 12th District, which is south and west of Pittsburgh. So why should William look to the 14th District -- centered in the city of Pittsburgh and represented by Democrat Mike Doyle, who always runs unopposed for support?

A little background: The 14th congressional District is a classically Democrat area. It includes all of Pittsburgh and several mostly working class suburbs to the east, south, and west. There's some green-lawn suburbia here, but much of the district is in the Monongahela Valley, where the steel industry once (but no longer) belched flames and provided jobs.

There aren't many Republicans or moderate Independents in such a place, right? Wrong!

Consider the 2004 presidential election, in which John Kerry won the 14th by 69% to 30% over George W. Bush. Perhaps Kerry's win constitutes a real skunking, but it hides an important truth.

In 2004, GWB's vote total in the 14th was 88,0000-plus votes. In other words, there are a lot of voters mostly unrepresented by Mike Doyle, a predictable tax-and-grab Democrat.

So, where does William Russell fit into this equation? Frankly, he needs to go into what many regard as enemy territory -- the 14th -- and seek contributions and campaign support from those 88,000 people.

If he spent a few days in the 14th in targeted meetings with Republicans, he could raise funds and find people willing to help in the 12th District race against Murtha. The 88,000 voters who cast ballots are not going to be friendly to Murtha. They can't vote for William, but they can help him in many other ways.

Of course, one of the important groups supporting Russell consists of veterans. In the 14th, there are more than 85,000 veterans, most of whom will not be fans of anti-military John Murtha.

I'm suggesting something almost unheard of in congressional races. Candidates just don't do that kind of thing -- going into "someone else's" district. Well, in this case, it's time to break with precedent.

Yes, Mike Doyle will take decent care of the Democrats in the 14th. However, William Russell should assure his supporters there that he'll take care of their interests -- especially keeping their taxes down -- when he's elected to Congress.

In the recent Pittsburgh mayoral election, Republican candidate Mark DeSantis received 35% of the vote. He also raised more than $300,000. Based on DeSantis' success, it should be possible for William to raise over time more than $100,000 in Pittsburgh.

Of course, William will need a significant amount of money to conduct a winning campaign, but his main emphasis will be on using volunteers wisely and generally conducting an effort relying on "outside-of-the-box" thinking.

Because of so many years of Democrat misrule, the 14th District is losing population at a rapid rate. A lot of people have given up hope on living there. William Russell can "keep hope alive" in Pittsburgh, while also benefitting his campaign for Congress.

(See the column below this one regarding declining population in Democratic districts, including Doyle's.)

Go for it, William!


Note: I'll cross-post this at some point on my main blog. If you'd like to contribute to Russell's campaign, you can do so by clicking on the link at the start of this column.

People Fleeing Democratic Congressional Districts

The following piece is a fine one from the Republican Party of Pennsylvania Blog, which you can find here.

People in Pittsburgh, Philly Fleeing Pennsylvania Democratic Districts in Droves

-- Michael Barley

The new Almanac of American Politics has been released, and statistics show a rapidly changing Pennsylvania political landscape. Pennsylvanians, statistics show, are leaving Democratic Congressmen Chaka Fattah and Mike Doyle’s districts at a drastic rate.

Both districts are based around urban areas [Philadelphia for Fattah, Pittsburgh for Doyle], and according to the Almanac, they are suffering from declining populations as more people move into the suburbs. The main reason these two districts are collapsing is because both Congressmen have failed to bring new industry or jobs into their districts.

Pennsylvanians from both Fattah and Doyle’s Congressional Districts’ have suffered under Democrat-control for decades. Democrats have represented their constituents so poorly that Pennsylvanians are moving out of their districts an alarming rate. . . . Fattah and Doyle have relied on delivering government handouts rather than stable jobs to secure re-election.

Handouts don’t provide better lives; they just allow people to stay dependent on the government and their elected officials. Republicans understand the importance of ensuring that businesses move into their districts and provide good jobs. That is what hardworking Pennsylvanians want and that’s why more of them are moving into the suburbs our Republican congressmen represent.

. . . [A]ll ten of the fastest-shrinking districts, with percentage of population lost between 2000 and 2005, are held by Democrats.

One thing is for sure, with the population in these two districts shrinking so fast, one can be sure that Democratic seats will have to be cut during the 2010 redistricting.

To learn more about these results, please click here to read an article from Real Clear Politics.

The new Almanac of American Politics has been released, and statistics show a rapidly changing Pennsylvania political landscape. Pennsylvanians, statistics show, are leaving Democratic Congressmen Chaka Fattah and Mike Doyle’s districts at a drastic rate.

Both districts are based around urban areas, and according to the Almanac, they are suffering from declining populations as more people move into the suburbs. The main reason these two districts are collapsing is because both Congressmen have failed to bring new industry or jobs into their districts.

Pennsylvanians from both Fattah and Doyle’s Congressional Districts’ have suffered under Democrat-control for decades. Democrats have represented their constituents so poorly that Pennsylvanians are moving out of their districts an alarming rate. For too long, Fattah and Doyle have relied on delivering government handouts rather than stable jobs to secure re-election. Handouts don’t provide better lives; they just allow people to stay dependent on the government and their elected officials. Republicans understand the importance of ensuring that businesses move into their districts and provide good jobs. That is what hardworking Pennsylvaninas want and that’s why more of them are moving into the suburbs our Republican congressmen represent.

It is important to note that all ten of the fastest-shrinking districts, with percentage of population lost between 2000 and 2005, are held by Democrats.

One thing is for sure, with the population in these two districts shrinking so fast, one can be sure that Democratic seats will have to be cut during the 2010 redistricting.

To learn more about these results, please click here to read an article from Real Clear Politics.


Steve's comments: As the piece above suggests, Fattah and Doyle are absolutely dreadful congressmen -- predictable Democrats with the creative imaginations of cinch bugs. They both pride themselves on the "earmarks" (handouts) they bring to their districts, but that federal money isn't enough to sustain people seeking a better life in the suburbs.

As urban congressmen, Fattah and Doyle never receive any serious opposition. Doyle's opponent in the last election was a strange character named Titus North -- a member of the "Green Party." He spent no money and, in terms of votes, got his money's worth -- very few. votes. In Doyles district, they don't hold real elections. Instead, they have something resembling a coronation.

Tomorrow, I'm going to suggest ways that Republican congressmen from outside Fattah's and Doyle's districts can gather support from thoroughly frustrated Republicans and Independents. There are tens of thousands of such people in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

Republicans like Melissa Hart of the 4th District, Tim Murphy from suburban Pittsburgh, and William Russell of the 12th District should be "cannibalizing" these Democrat-held bastions. They should be getting contributions and volunteers from from uncontested or poorly contested districts held by Democrats.

In Doyles and Fattah's districts, there may be 500 Republicans, or more, who would make at least a small contribution to a Republican from another area. There may be at least that many who would volunteer to assist in real campaigns. Republican congressmen who want to win should be soliciting support in what may appear to be "enemy territory."

Statewide in Pennsylvania, Democrats have a 600,000 voter registration edge. So, we who wave the Elephant's banner should be seeking Republicans wherever we can find them.