By Keegan Gibson, Managing Editor
The SuperPAC craze has come to Pennsylvania, where a group favoring Bucks County businessman, veterans’ advocate and U.S. Senate hopeful David Christian has popped up and is giving grief to two of the front runners in the race.
“a SuperPAC” has been quite busy since its inception on January 4. Today, Republican committee members and activists opened their mailboxes to find one of three pieces attacking either Tom Smith or Steve Welch.
A copy also went to Larry Ceisler, a co-owner of PoliticsPA. That’s one way to get our attention.
The mailers are marked “Paid for by a SuperPAC and not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee. www.asuperpacforhire.com”.
The organization’s founder, Matthew Balazik, says the pieces went out to, “enough statewide to make our point.”
“More than state committee, fewer than all super voters, for now,” he said.
One mailer zings Smith, a former coal company owner and Tea Party leader from Armnstrong County, for the fact that he was a registered Democrat until just six months ago – indeed a Democratic committeeman. PoliticsPA looked at that attack in December, and found that Smith was kicked off the committee for supporting Republicans.
Two mailers zing Welch, an entrepreneur and former congressional candidate from Chester County, for his support of Barack Obama in the Democratic primary in 2008. Welch says he voted for McCain in the general election. Here is the first mailer and the second.
Anyone who watches news (or the Colbert Report) knows the story. Since the Citizens United case, “superPACs” are permitted to spend unlimited, almost untraceable amounts of money, so long as they do not coordinate with candidates or campaigns.
We say “almost” because of cases like this. Balazik is a veteran of the PAGOP, where he worked in the Lehigh Valley with Skip Salveson during the 2008 campaign. Salveson is Christian’s campaign manager.
“He’s a great guy that I worked with at PACAN and extraordinarily well-versed in campaign finance law,” said Salveson of Balazik.
“A SuperPAC is an independent operation not working with or at the behest of the David Christian For US Senate campaign. While the David Christian campaign and it’s team have nothing to do with this effort, I’m glad to see Matt is putting his wit to good use.”
Christian ran for Congress in the 1980s, but his Senate bid has thus fair failed to catch fire. That’s due in large part to the strong financial advantage enjoyed by Smith ($4.4 million cash on hand) and Welch ($1 million cash on hand).
Tim Burns, a businessman and former congressional candidate from Washington County, is also in the race to take on Sen. Bob Casey. As are Sam Rohrer, a former state Rep. and 2010 gubernatorial hopeful; Marc Scaringi, a Cumberland County attorney and former aide to Sen. Rick Santorum; and John Kensinger, a pharmacist from Bedford.
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10 Responses
Guzzardi does more to ostracize and fracture the Republican party than any politician or party member has. Perhaps that’s his goal all along. If he really cared about the cause, he’d try to do less criticizing and more party unification. It’s sad. He’s part of the problem, never the solution.
Yo Bob Guzzardi,
Why do you get to run around bashing people for being “RINOs” when you have given tens of thousands of dollars to Democrats like Casey, Rendell, Shapiro, etc?
Also, Dave Christian is a highly decorated Vietnam Veteran who has actually worked to pass legistlation. He is positioned, as is Scarangi, to take it to Casey on the issues. Unlike the Democrats Welch and Smith.
Guzzardi is a tool that is in bed with the bunch of losers that push Sam Rohrer to failure every other year. Steve Welch is to the left of Bob Casey and will prove to be a waste of a candidate. Only an imbecile would be supportive of Arlen Specter after he was excommunicated from the GOP, but here Guzzardi is supporting Welch.
The only reason Welch is in this race is because he has the money to self fund. He has no real platform that the party supports and to be frank and honest, he will lose worse than Santorum did.
When were my attacks off the mark? They are always supported by the evidence and I don’t recall anyone challenging my facts or even the analysis.
And you did not respond to the substance. $$$ are the most tangible symbol of support and Tom Smith backed up his principles with money. And Steve Welch, actively, worked to get Pat Toomey elected in addition to direct $$$$ to the campaign.
You attack me but don’t answer the point. So Steve Welch made a mistake. Everyone does. I, certainly, have. And you, courageously anonymous? And what difference what the registration is when some agrees with all your principles? Substance over name.
There are no RINOs for Senate except, perhaps, Dave Christian but we don’t know how much money he received from the government…yet.
How does one believe in limited government and free markets yet still reconcile a vote for Barack Obama or stay in today’s Democratic Party for that matter? Bob your argument is hogwash. Those two candidates don’t pass the smell test.
Bob:
You never engaged in petty, vicious or off the mark attacks, right? So these mailings are totally different from the attacks you made against Jim Cawley or Charlie Gerow? Hypocrite.
Guzzardi is a hypocrite. He only likes RINO’s when they are his RINO’s. Guzzardi, you’ve always been considered a principled nut, now you’re just a nut. Do Pennsylvania a favor, move far, far away.
When it comes to picking winners, no one, and I mean No One beats Guzzardi.
Doesn’t Skip Salveson have a less than stellar record?
And, exactly , what is the point. Both Tom Smith and Steve Welch clearly are committed to principles of Limited Government and Free Markets and Dave Christian has been funded by the government for 30 years.
These ads are petty, vicious and off the mark. Tom Smith has contributed more money to Pat Toomey and Sam Rohrer and other Republicans than Dave Christian and Steve Welch worked with Pat Toomey’s Senate campaign.