Wednesday, August 30, 2017
Justin Simmons is Gonna' Need a Bigger Boat
LV Congressman Charlie Dent was listed as one of Justin Simmons' top contributors in his always contentious races for the state house.But that was then. Simmons is now planning to take on Dent. If he's serious, he's just signed a death warrant for his political future.
"I for one can no longer stand by as Congressman Dent continues to be a representative to K Street in Washington D.C.," says Simmons on his Facebook page. "I want to be a representative for all the citizens in the 15th congressional district."
Simmons is hoping to surf his way into Congress on a wave of resentment from Trump backers and the tea party.
What he fails to realize is that there are sharks in 'dem 'dar waters.
One of the biggest and nastiest of these great whites is none other than Charlie Dent.
Nice guy. Hardest campaigner I've ever seen, and one who goes for the jugular.
I once asked him why he runs such tough campaigns, and the usually loquacious Congressman answered me pretty completely in one sentence. "There are only two ways to run - hard or unopposed."
Let's look at some of his victims.
Charles "Don't call me" Charlie Dertinger. - Never heard of him? He was a Northampton County Councilman who made the mistake of taking on Dent. When that race was over, so was Dertinger's political career. Ron Angle easily defeated him. Twice.
Sam Bennett. - Dent raised questions about Bennett's excessive salary at Properties of Merit, putting her on the defensive. Every mistake she made, and she made plenty, was highlighted. When she tried to run for Mayor, she was already defined as a nut and there was nothing she could do to shed that image.
John Callahan.- John was a fairly popular Mayor in Bethlehem, but Dent portrayed him as a spendthrift. Dent portrayed a Callahan push for a 1% hike in sales tax as a sleazy move. Callahan was so badly damaged after that race that he was unable to win an Exec race against a political unknown from Bangor.
The only reason Rick Daugherty was never destroyed like the others is that Rick waved the white flag early. He never ran a serious race.
Simmons has run against weak candidates, but the elections have always been far closer than they should be. Now he is reportedly challenging one of the few grown-ups left in Congress.
Charlie probably could be beaten in a GOP primary with the right candidate. That candidate would have to be from the western part of the district.
Justin, you're gonna' need a bigger boat.
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5 comments:
I wouldn't consider incumbent Karen Beyer an easy opponent. I think it's time people have a choice. It's time to start looking at the future of Lehigh Valley politics and move on from the same politicians that hang around forever.
She was a weak candidate bc she failed to campaign while Simmons went door-to-door. He has no idea what he has just done to himself.
...and you plan on eating your words next spring, I presume! Charlie is the turncoat and the one who has committed political suicide every time he goes on national TV and bashes the President from his own party. Charlie is only interested in making sure he gets his big congressional salary and enormous benefits that come with it. He takes care of his big donors leaving the little guys in the dust. TIME TO STEP ASIDE AND LET THE NEW BLOOD TAKE OVER! #TEAMSIMMONS
Nice knowing you. Hubris is a terrible shortcoming, as you will soon discover.
It never fails. Whenever I write a post about Simons, it deteriorates into vulgarities and name-calling. I have deleted one comment already and have decided to act pre-emptively and ban additional comments here. I have been forced to do this numerous times with Simmons.
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