The Scheller-Wild Debate on Public Television

Incumbent Democrat Susan Wild and Republican challenger Lisa Scheller have faced each other twice in their battle for control of the Pa.-7 Congressional District. But there was really only one debate. Their first meeting at WFMZ's Business Matters was a shit show in which the audience, most of them Wild supporters, disrupted Scheller every time she opened her mouth. At their second encounter, conducted by LehighValleyNews.com, the candidates were able to actually speak without being interrupted by a mob. I was very impressed by Scheller. Don't get me wrong. I disagree with much of what she says, but she was well-prepared and well-spoken. and she appeared to be nearly as good on her feet as Wild, an accomplished trial lawyer. My biggest problem with Scheller is that I'm unable to get past her factories in China and her business deals with the Chinese Communist Party. My biggest problem with Wild is that I've never seen her run a positive campaign. You can find the video steam of this debate at C-SPAN.  

I've already voted for Wild, but I like Lisa Scheller. There's a lot to like. I rarely agreed with her positions as a Lehigh County Comm'r, but believe she was motivated by what she thought was best for her community. She is one of very few people I've met who actually overcame a heroin addiction. In addition to her own recovery, she established Hope & Coffee in Tamaqua for others who are in recovery. If you visit Lehigh County Community College, you'll soon see that she and her family have been major benefactors.  She herself recently established a scholarship program enabling high school juniors and seniors to take college courses. And of course, she is the only female CEO in her industry.  

Wild can be very likable as well. She is far more down-to-earth than most politicos and is very approachable, as most Facebook users can attest. She's a "military brat" who grew  up in numerous places, both here and abroad. This probably gave her a far keener insight of foreign countries than most of us possess. She practiced law for over 30 years before entering the political fray.  She served briefly as Allentown's Solicitor during the demise of "Fed Ed", and was praised by federal authorities for making sure that there was complete cooperation from the City.  As Scheller has a deep understanding of addiction, Wild recognizes the importance of mental health after going through the tragedy of losing a loved one to suicide. 

My knock on Wild is that she is a dirty campaigner. Even in the erudite atmosphere of public television, she was unable to refrain from referring to Scheller as "Lying Lisa." Then during the same debate, she claimed to "hate" negative campaigning. If Scheller is "Lying Lisa," Wild is "Shifty Susan."  

The sad part is that much of the negative campaigning from both of these candidates has been misleading. 

During two terms in Congress, Wild by her own admission has had only one bill adopted. She did claim to be responsible for numerous amendments that receive little attention.  She refers to herself as a "proud moderate," which is hard to reconcile with voting 100% for whatever Speaker Nancy Pelosi wants. Wild has always been a partisan Democrat. It's what landed her the job as Allentown's Solicitor. 

Scheller claims to be an "outsider," but journalist Tom Shortell challenged that assertion during the debate.  She was a Lehigh County Commissioner, was endorsed by Trump two years ago and has contributed $250,000 to Republicans seeking office. That's no outsider. That's a walking ATM machine. 

So both Wild and Scheller, like all of us, have their good and bad points. 

Scheller's embrace of extremists like Steve Lynch and her willingness to latch onto Team Trump two years ago would likely be enough to cause ne to vote for Wild. But what really did her in with me is not her embrace of Lynch or Trump, but the Chinese Communist Party. Her company has two factories in China with a third in its way. It's even reportedly building a road.  So in addition to being a walking ATM machine for Republicans, she's a walking conflict of interest. There would always be a question whether she is representing her district or her business interests in a country we consider our greatest adversary. 

When Shortell questioned Scheller on this point, she responded, "I know China and I will be able to stand up to China because my grandparents came here from Europe seeking that American dream. I will put American people and jobs first."

As an engineer who presumably deals in logic, Scheller should know her answer is a non sequitur. The fact that her grandparents fled Europe is no indication that she either knows China or is able to stand up to that country. If she considers American people and jobs so important, why on earth would she build two factories in our greatest adversary?

At one point, Scheller told Shortell that his facts were wrong. If that's so, I'd like to know what's wrong to set the record straight. 

Scheller then went on to accuse Wild of giving foreign aid to China. I've seen nothing that backs that up. I have seen that Wild supports legislation to strengthen our technology and improve our supply chain so we can compete with China. 

They are both good people, nothing like the ugly ads you've seen. But they are both flawed, which explains the ugly ads.