National Republican Groups Giving Rick the Bird?

National Republican leaders remain hopeful that U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum can turn around his struggling campaign, but they might have already written off the Pennsylvania race to Democrat Robert P. Casey Jr., if their checkbooks are any indication.

Neither the National Republican Committee nor the National Republican Senatorial Committee has reserved time at Pennsylvania television stations for "independent expenditure" ads supporting Santorum, R-Pa. Neither committee has spent any money on such ads for Santorum, the GOP's No. 3 leader in the Senate.

Independent expenditures are advertisements done without the knowledge or approval of a candidate's campaign.

And the Republican Governors Association seems to be in the process of throwing Swann under the train:

The Republican Governors Association is targeting gubernatorial campaigns in six states for a get-out-the-vote effort on Nov. 7.

But Pennsylvania isn't one of them. The GOP group is focusing on races for governor in Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Michigan and Oregon.

Republicans will pay for airfare and hotel lodging for volunteers willing to travel to one of those states to work on Election Day, turning out voters for the Republican candidate for governor.

Does this mean that national Republicans have given up on Pennsylvania gubernatorial hopeful Lynn Swann, who has consistently trailed by double digits in his race against incumbent Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell?

Harrisburg-based pollster and political analyst Michael Young thinks it does.

"It's an indication they have pulled the plug, that the air is coming out of the balloon for Swann and Republicans in Pennsylvania," he said.

On a personal level, I feel a bit sorry for Lynn Swann, who seems a nice-enough and very sincere fellow. But my sense of this race has always been that Swann is the proverbial "tomato can" you send in to fight the Champ. Hey, call me cynical, but it strikes me the Republicans wanted to get credit for backing an African-American candidate, but so far, it's in a state where there is no shot at winning. The Swann campaign seems half-hearted at best on the part of the national party.

Same thing, Maryland Senate Races. Well--let's see what happens in the races and perhaps I will have some words to eat.

Submitted by Karen L

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