Sam Bennett Interview: Nuts 'n Bolts Political Questions

The following are eight nuts 'n bolts questions concerning Bennett's congressional campaign.

Question: How does you explain the huge undervote by Democrats in the primary election? In Northampton County, nearly one out of every two Democrats refused to vote for you. Overall, the undervote is 36%. You received only 72% of the vote total drawn by state reps. Bob Freeman (Freeman-7385, Bennett-5323) and Rich Grucela (Grucela-8512, Bennett- 6086).

"A lot of people voted for President and then walked out. We actually did better statewide than other Dems. My numbers are actually high. In Northampton County, the new machines might have caused the bad turn out there. We're looking into that. In Allentown, Charlie got 93% of the Republican vote, and that's to be expected. But I actually got 87% of the Dem vote. That should not have happened."

Question: Why are most of your contributors outside the congressional district? Of $177,823 in itemized contributions, about 78% is from outside the Lehigh Valley. Nearly 30% comes from people who live in other states. Reformer Russ Shade has advocated that campaign money should come mostly from people who actually live here, not PACs located in Toodeloo. In his race against state rep. Julie Harhart, Shade noted all but 5% of Harhart's campaign was funded by special interests located outside the district. How can you justify the same practice?

"The national blogosphere has embraced my candidacy. I have raised money through some nationally known blogs like Slobber And Spittle, Daily Kos and Crooks and Liars. [Those blogs often raise money through Act Blue.] They choose to invest in me because they see how viable my race is. I expect to see more local money as the race continues. The average person does not even pay attention to these races until it is closer to election time."

Question: Why does a Bennett press release claim, as Pam Varkony notes, that the Democratic voter registration edge has increased from 13,000 to 53,000? There's no dispute that Dems have a huge registration edge over Rs, from 195,800 to 137,526 in Lehigh and Northampton Counties alone. But according to figures supplied from both counties, the total Democratic surge since last November is only about 13,500.

"All I can tell you is we computed numbers from four different offices, and I'll send their research to you."

Blogger's Note: Bennett did send her data late yesterday, and it shows that the Dem edge is somewhere around 45,000.

Question: Why does a Bennett press release also brag that you are the top fundraiser among all congressional challengers in the state? Pam Varkony disputes those assertions, and so do I. According to FEC records, congressional challengers Melissa Hart (R) ($529,081) and Tom Manion (R) ($422,519) both raised more than the $313,108 claimed by Bennett. Even Lou Barletta (R) ($184,664) raised more than Bennett raised ($117,830.64) over the first quarter.

Although Bennett's press release clearly states "Sam is still the top fundraiser among all Congressional challengers in the state," Bennett clarified that she was referring only to Democratic challengers.

Question: Why were you known as Siobhan Loizeaux-Bennett in your first race for Allentown Mayor and then as Sam Bennett after you lost and wanted to run again? Is it because Siobhan is so hard to pronounce? Should Barak Obama call himself Oscar Barry?

"(Laughter at Oscar Barry crack). When I first ran for Mayor, most people thought I was a Syrian guy. Sam has been my nickname since college. People couldn't even pronounce Siobhan at my first job, and I was Sam from then on."

Question: How are you qualified to represent us in the U.S. House of Reps., having never served as an elected official before? (Bennett has never won a primary in which she ran opposed by another Democrat.)

"This makes me uniquely qualified to represent us. The folks in Washington, including Charlie Dent, have shown a unique inability to collaborate and come up with curative solutions to solve our nation's problems. I have that ability through my status as a community leader. After an election is over, we need to lay down our partisan weapons."

Question: Does that mean you would support a Republican?

"I will never work to elect a Republican but will work with Republicans to create meaningful legislation. I subscribe to the Ronald Reagan philosophy that after 5 PM, there are no Democrats or Republicans."

Question: Who do you support in the presidential campaign - Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama?

"Because of my status in the local party, I am unable to endorse anyone. But I voted for Hillary. There is her position, which is Hillary's position. There is his position, which is Obama's position. Then there is a third position, the opposition, and that is McCain, or is it McBush?"

Tomorrow I will continue this series with Bennett's take on her controversial $110,000 salary at nonprofit Properties of Merit. Also, was a newspaper carrier really mugged outside her home? Did she call 911?

Stay tuned.