Charlie Dent's Official Kickoff For Third Term: It's Hammer Time!

Seriously, what's the deal with all that facial hair at The Morning Call? It's bad enough that every editor and columnist is trying to look like a college professor, but now their reporters are getting in on the act, too. I met one of their star journalists, Daryl Nerl, last night at The Four Points Sheraton on Airport Road. Maybe it's me, but I think he's taking things too far.

Before you get the wrong idea about my little rendezvous with Daryl at a local watering hole on a Friday night, I better explain we were both there on business. In fact, I finally got to meet blogger and Morning Call op-ed columnist Pam Varkony last night, too. I was stunned and, for once, speechless. In addition to being such an excellent writer, she's one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen. Unfortunately, she brought her husband. I tried slipping a few of my extra valiums into one of his drinks, but Shawn Millan drank it instead and passed out immediately, falling right into the indoor pool.

We were just a few of about three hundred enthusiastic fans who braved the cold rain last night to watch Charlie Dent announce his candidacy for a third term as the Lehigh Valley's representative to Congress.

I have never been to one of these things before, and arrived at the Sheraton early. Then I decided I should be fashionably late, so I sat in my jeep, popped a few Valiums (I have a prescription, damn it!), and waited for the parking lot to fill up. These Dent fans were all pretty young. College age. That surprised me. I finally followed a large group and walked behind them into this room with a big strobe light and loud music. Everyone was boozing and kicking it up, dancing to "Hammer Time."

Man, these Republicans know how to party! After about an hour, it finally dawned on me that I was in the wrong frickin' room. I did get a few phone numbers, but they all go to a VD hotline for some reason.

When I finally got to the right room, I slipped on my "At Issue Ron Angle" polo shirt and tried to look rich. Little did I know that Republicans hate Ron as much as Democrats. Several looked at me menacingly, but Shawn Millan squared me away. He slapped a nametag over the "At Issue Ron Angle" and I scribbled "Meg Holland, Jr.," on it. After that, people were pretty nice.

"So you're Meg Holland, Jr."

"That's right."

"So what do you do?"

"I'm an architect."

I fit right in.

All kidding aside, the crowd was very cordial and affectionate. I got more kisses last night than in my fifty-six years on earth. Nancy Dienel, Dawn Berrigan, Dottie Niklos, Pam Varkony and Scott Armstrong all planted one on me. No phone numbers.

Charlie was introduced by Lehigh County Republican Chair Bill Platt, who scares the shit out of me because he looks exactly like his dad. Bill reminded the crowd of words once uttered by our poet president, Abraham Lincoln. “I like to see a man proud of the place in which he lives. I like to see a man live so that his place will be proud of him.”

If anything sums up Charlie Dent, it's those two simple sentences. Charlie Dent is a man proud of the place in which he lives. In his eight minute speech, he made that clear. "I will be your representative to Washington, not Washington's representative to you. I live here and will not take for granted this community that has been so good to me. I have a lot more to get done."
And what I like most about his style of leadership is his reliance on the people in his district. "Original ideas don't come from Washington and Harrisburg. They come from you." Charlie also lives so that this place will be proud of him. The very first thing he did was ask his wife and very active kids to come up and join him.

Pam Varkony has a terrific and accurate summary of the points Dent made in his brief address. I'd say that, of all these points, there are three things he stressed the most.

First, he insists we must end our oil dependence, especially from unstable parts of the world, and look for alternative forms of energy. "Americans landed a man on the moon. We ushered in the information age. American ingenuity can find an answer." No one disputes our global gas gauge is flickering on E. Dent is a co-founder of the House Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Caucus, and wants to convert Route 78 into a hydrogen highway, but has told me before that he supports any environmentally friendly alternative that works.

Second, he mentioned our security, and I'm not talking about battles in far flung corners of the world, but our safety here at home, in places like Allentown or Easton. He warned that a "growing menace" of "violent gangs" are "preying" on our communities and even our schools. He has already provided funds for 300 digital video camera systems for police in Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton. These both protect officers and provide oversight. Thanks to Dent, Allentown police will have better radio gateways, so they can talk to law enforcement in surrounding departments. The federal government can't supply police officers, but can supply funds for equipment that should enable cities to beef up their forces. In addition, Dent has introduced the Anti-Gang Task Force Act, which authorizes $20 million per year to establish new multi-jurisdictional anti-gang task forces consisting of appropriate local, state and federal officials.

Finally, he noted our health care crisis, noting that individuals should be able to take advantage of the same discounts for health insurance that are offered to businesses. And he stressed that individuals should be allowed to choose their own health care providers.

After his speech, Pam took my picture with Dent. What poor Charlie doesn't know is that I stole his wallet. Hey, I'm a Democrat, and that's what we do. Unfortunately, he only had $3. The Morning Call's Daryl Nerl was kind enough to allow Pam and I watch as he peppered Dent with question after question. No softballs. Pam had some good questions, too. I'll tell you about that next week. Right now, I have a few more calls to make. It's Hammer Time!

Update: Daryl Nerl's more accurate account of last night's event is here. Dent did tell Nerl he disagrees with McCain's immigration views and hasn't decided on a presidential favorite, but is "leaning towards McCain" at the moment.