Life is a Campaign
As an update to my earlier post on Chris Matthews' plans to run for Senate in Pennsylvania, Playing Hardball?, FiveThirtyEight.com also published an update, noting that Matthews Denies Report. Then what to make of his visit to Pennsylvania last week, as reported by the Harrisburg Patriot-News, Chris Matthews ponders Senate run, but remains undecided:
Matthews met with state Democratic party officials this week to talk about challenging U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., in 2010. He met with Democratic State Committee Chairman T.J. Rooney and executive director Mary Isenhour in Washington, D.C., to discuss the logistics involved in a Senate run.Before you start shaking your head in confusion, remember that Matthews authored a book called "Life is a Campaign." With this in mind, Matthews' denial must be carefully considered. As TPM Election Central explains:* * * *For about a year, there have been numerous reports that Matthews wants to run. He spoke with The Patriot-News in July about the speculation. Matthews wouldn't confirm that he was interested in running, but he did not deny it. Family members told The Patriot-News he's considering it.
Chris Matthews is denying reports that he's recruiting staffers from the Obama campaign for a possible race for Senator from Pennsylvania in 2010.John Morgan of The Pennsylvania Progressive, The Tweety Factor, provides some background on the race and Philly native Matthews:
'It is absolutely not true,' Matthews said in a statement posted on FiveThirtyEight.com. Matthews appears to be denying that he's staffing up -- but not necessarily denying that he's in some way planning a campaign. (Emphasis added).
Mary Isenhour, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party says Chris Matthews is serious, though undecided, about running against Arlen Specter in 2010. According to sources Matthews would run on the Democratic ticket. His brother Jim is a long time Republican and Montgomery County Commissioners Chair. Jim Matthews also ran for Lt. Governor on the Lynn Swann ticket.See also, CQ Politics, Eye on the Senate: Chris Matthews Running in Pa.? Bad Omens for Reid? (with video clip of Matthews on The Colbert Report saying, "I want to be a Senator.")
Chris Matthews has been a resident of Washington, D.C. for some now where he hosts his popular MSNBC show 'Hardball.' Long considered to be partisanly Republican his presence on a Democratic ticket could lead to interesting Thanksgiving conversations at the Matthews clan. Pennsylvanians don't take kindly to carpetbagger candidates (look up what happened to Rick Santorum) and Democrats don't lack a list of strong candidates for this seat. In fact there might well be a primary if Matthews wants to run because many Dems don't like him, don't see a carpetbagger having a serious chance of winning, and already are backing a Schwartz, Murphy or Sestak candidacy.
My all time favorite Chris Matthews interview is of him being interviewed by Jon Stewart, on Matthews' book, Life is a Campaign. Stewart's comment, "I'm not trashing your book, I'm trashing your philosophy on life," is a classic. Of the interview, Matthews says "This is a book interview from hell. This is the worst interview I've had in my life."
And finally, reacting to Matthews' 5 word denial, 236.c0m created a longer, more detailed "I'm not running for Senate" o-tron. Help him choose his words! Chris Matthews interrupts Black Friday to announce that he won't be interrupting the Senate in 2010.
No comments:
Post a Comment