Voting in PA

So primaries yesterday.  Dem PA guv was kind of a wash.  I wasn't particularly fond of any of the candidates and I agree with Atrios that Allyson Schwartz's campaign of inevitability was odd.  I am in her district and she's been kind of a meh rep.  PA's 13th is very blue and there isn't really a good excuse for a mushy Dem but she played that part well...likely in part because of aspirations to statewide office.  Still, I did vote for her, if only because in a field of meh, I'll take the meh I know--and that she is based close to home helped my decision a bit.

More interestingly, because Allyson was running for governor, there was a rather interesting race in my congressional district.  Unfortunately we seem to have selected yet another too-conservative-for-the-district Democrat.  He may work out fine, but he was 3rd on my preference list.  Also my very corrupt state Senator lost her reelection bid, which was a bit of a worry since 2 people were taking her on.  There was some concern that they would split the rather large anti- vote and she would manage to get through.  Glad she didn't, though, in that race too my preferred candidate lost.

So a fair amount to vote on but not a whole lot of excitement for me.  On the other hand, our current polling location is ~1.6 mi from home, so the round-trip run comes in just over 5k.

Starting to Dread the Race for Guv

I'm at the point that I really hope Allyson Schwartz looses in the primary.  No Democrat should be able to vote to cut Social Security and ever again hope to win a primary election.

Congresswoman Schwartz

She used to be a pretty decent Democrat but now she's got her eyes on the PA governor's mansion and has moved into decidedly more "centrist" (i.e. pro-wall street and pro-military industrial complex) positioning.  I wrote saying that SS cuts should not be considered with respect to the current fiasco and her [form] response included:

...I believe that Congress has an obligation to ensure the long-term viability of the Social Security and Medicare programs so that future generations can enjoy the same stability that they have provided older Americans for generations. As a member of the Ways and Means Committee's Subcommittee on Social Security and as a member of the Seniors Task Force, I have always been a champion for preserving Social Security and have fought tirelessly to strengthen and protect it. Social Security is the bedrock of retirement security for millions of Americans.  Congress has an obligation to ensure the long-term viability of Social Security so that future generations...[emphasis mine]

Making Social Security "long-term viable" and "strengthening and protecting" it are standard code phrases for cutting benefits.  No Democrat should ever use those lines, unless she immediately clarifies by stating: more revenues and no benefit cuts.  A good Democrat would state that benefits should be increased.