If you are like any normal minded person who follows American politics, you would have responded “Dr. Oz” if someone had asked you “What’s the most problematic component of Pennsylvania politics these days?” And you would have been wrong. Mehmet Oz is a sign of the times and how messed up we are, with our devotion to electing celebrities to public office, but by no means is he the most troublesome apple in the barrel.
No, if you want to find those, you need to focus on the gubernatorial race. In a nutshell, the two leading candidates in the GOP’s gubernatorial primary, Doug Mastriano and Lou Barletta, were actual participants in the 2021 coup attempt. Mastriano drove one of the infamous buses that entered Washington and Barletta was one of Pennsylvania’s fake electors. Getting a migraine yet? We understand. Amanda Carpenter, the Bulwark:
The name “Mastriano” should sound familiar. He’s the bald military vet Pennsylvania state senator who bused people to the Capitol on January 6, where he was scheduled to speak at a “Stop the Steal” rally. He was subpoenaed by the January 6th Committee for his participation in Trump’s phony elector scheme. He tried to bring an Arizona-style “audit” to his state in hopes of decertifying the election. Both of these actions should have made him a pariah. Instead, they increased his profile with Trump voters.
Most early polls showed that former congressman and Hazelton Mayor Lou Barletta held an edge on Mastriano, but Mastriano seems to have momentum. A Fox News poll conducted March 2-6 showed Barletta’s lead shrinking to one point; an Emerson College poll conducted March 26-28 showed Mastriano leading the race by 4 points.
He sure does like to put on a show. He announced his bid for governor with a 4-hour event described as a “political rally, rock concert, and Christian religious revival” that drew 1,500 people. Trump’s former National Security Advisor-turned-Q enthusiast Michael Flynn, who has endorsed Mastriano, spoke and reassured the crowd that “Jesus was a domestic terrorist.”
That gives you the flavor. And the other contenders further down in the ranks are no less crazy. Bill McSwain, Dave White, and Jake Corman have all cosigned on Trump’s Big Lie as well.
McSwain, a former Trump-appointed U.S. Attorney, roiled the Justice Department last summer when he sent Trump a letter seeking his endorsement in the race. McSwain sucked up to Trump by blaming former Attorney General Bill Barr for stopping him from pursuing an election-fraud investigation in his state.
On Election Day and afterwards, our Office received various allegations of voter fraud and election irregularities. As part of my responsibilities as U.S. Attorney, I wanted to be transparent with the public and, of course, investigate fully any allegations. Attorney General Barr, however, instructed me not to make any public statements or put out any press releases regarding possible election irregularities. I was also given a directive to pass along serious allegations to the State Attorney General for investigation – the same State Attorney General who had already declared that you could not win.
I disagreed with that decision, but those were my orders. As a Marine infantry officer, I was trained to follow the chain of command and to respect the orders of my superiors, even when I disagree with them. Mr. President, public service is in my blood, and I would like to serve the people of Pennsylvania and restore conservative leadership to our state. I will be the Republican candidate for Governor with the best chance to win the general election in November 2022. Based on my background and experience, I am uniquely positioned to defeat Mr. Shapiro (the likely Democratic candidate) and would welcome the chance to discuss this with you in person. I would be honored to have your support.
Trump has since heralded McSwain’s letter at various rallies as evidence of fraud.
Meanwhile, Dave White kicked his campaign off with an ad asking, “If there wasn’t any fraud in the Pennsylvania election, why every time we call for an audit, do the Democrats cry like a little baby?”
Kellyanne Conway is working on Jake Corman’s campaign, which should tell you all you need to know.
It is fruitcake time in Pennsylvania and these are the resident nuts that are baking up one hell of a primary cake. But there is one ray of hope: these candidates are considered too extreme to win a general election. Not that that is the safeguard that it sounds like. If the 2016 presidential election taught us anything, it is not to depend upon the rational judgement of the electorate to save us from ourselves.
So, why hasn’t Trump endorsed one of these very fine people? All of the Republican candidates are willing—eager!—to spread Trump’s big election lie and promote the idea that something went wrong with Pennsylvania’s 2020 election. There’s just one big problem: None of them seems likely to win a general election.
Remember, Barletta got Trump’s endorsement in 2018 and lost, bigly. Corman, White, and McSwain are longshots in the primary, with none of them cracking double digits in polling. Which leaves Mastriano, the MAGA maniac who generates grassroots excitement—but is so outrageous that Corman banned him from attending private GOP meetings. Good luck with having Mastriano unite the party for the general election.
None of these people stand for anything even closely resembling unity. They are trolls and conspiracy theorists. They’re in politics to see what they can pillage and carry away. But the fact that there are so many of them and that there is a possibility one of them could be sitting in the governor’s mansion come 2024 should give you extreme pause.
