Posted on 01/17/2012 7:49:40 PM PST by Clintonfatigued
U.S. Rep. Todd Platts, R-York, announced this afternoon he will not seek a seventh term in office.
During his time in office, Platts developed a reputation as a political moderate, who strongly supported the military and veterans. He routinely advocated more transparent government.
In 2010, Esquire magazine named him one of the top-10 members of Congress.
In the last year, Platts has drawn fire from the York 912 Patriots, a Tea Party group that criticized Platts for supporting the bank bailouts and the stimulus program.
Platts, 49, is stepping away before a new district map for the state goes into effect. Whoever succeeds him will represent Harrisburg, York County, Adams County and eastern Cumberland County.
(Excerpt) Read more at pennlive.com ...
The growing consensus is that Republicans will rally around state Representative Scott Perry, a conservative businessman and military officer who currently is a colonel in the PA National Guard.
Since I’m not from PA, all I can say is “That poor, poor man. WHAT will he do to survive?????”
Did this district go more Conservative in the redistricting? Having Harrisburg as part of the district is a real loser.
“Did this district go more Conservative in the redistricting?”
To be honest, I don’t know. But it’s not a district the Democrats have a chance of winning.
The new district boundaries would have no effect in Todd or any other Republican in getting elected. When the new district boundaries were revealed, I was probably the first person to analyze the impact of having the liberal queers and Negroes of Harrisburg in the district. (Excuse me for being politically incorrect, but both of those vote for Democrats.) The result was that Todd would still win with 60% of the vote.
I was disappointed that Lou Barletta's new district didn't extend into my township (Hampden). I'd rather vote for Mayor Lou than Platts. He is a good man. I spoke with him the night he won his seat (he was with a good friend of mine who passed a cell phone to him in a bar in Hazelton. There is something to that really works for me ... Yeah, I like bars with dirt floors and I like to drink and tell the truth. Disclaimer ... I believe Lou's bar had a floor, but he made up for it by smoking a cigar.)
I can say other great things about Platts, such as in never opposing faggot priests in the Episcopal Church (both he and I are Episcopalians.). It was never in his nature to oppose evil. In that he has been consistent.
I will be calling Glenn Grell tomorrow to see if he will be seeking Todd's seat. Glenn has been a great state rep. and would be a great congressman.
He was mine too; I agree with everything you said. He seems to have no soul, no guiding morals or principles, just doing what he THINKS will please enough people to get him re-elected, regardlesss of how void of conservative principles. I felt there was no socialist policy he wouldn’t support when it came to the elderly, etc., and his blatant photo-ops with the military were clearly just pandering. His newsletters are funny; they are so wishy-washy because he doesn’t want to offend anyone who might vote for him... spineless.
That’s good. As I recall, Platts was one of the GOP folks who championed homosexualizing the miltary. I assume Perry is opposed to that?
“I assume Perry is opposed to that?”
As far as I know. Perry is a veteran who joined in 1980 and still wears a military-style haircut.
I’m pleased to get an local’s perspective, the more we can get on FR, the better. Do you know anything about Scott Perry, the state Representative whom everyone is saying will be a candidate?
Well, that's a killer right there.
I don’t know much about Scott Perry since he is not my state rep. If he runs, I will definitely will learn more about him. I went to his website last night, and was positively impressed. There are a bunch of RINOs that have run against Platts in past primaries. I hope they will not be running.
First of all, I’m glad that Platts is retiring. Such a conservative district did not deserve a moderate such as Platts.
The district (formerly the PA-19, now numbered the PA-04) was made 2%-3% less Republican in redistricting, when they finally placed heavily Dem Harrisburg in the district (had they done so in 2001, Tim Holden would have never beaten George Gekas in the PA-17). It is still comfortably Republican, but is no longer 100% safe.
I don’t know much about Scott Perry, but his résumé is solid and he appears to be a bona fide conservative. He’s from York County, which dominates the district and will surely benefit him in the primary (although there likely will be other York County candidates running).
Another name I thought of is Otto Banks, who is a former Harrisburg councilman who was targeted successfully for defeat by liberal groups because he had the audacity to be a black conservative seeking market-based solutions for Harrisburg’s problems. Banks is now the executive director of a Pennsylvania grassroots coalition for school choice. http://paleadershipconference.org/more/71-bio-otto-banks I have no idea whether he’d be interested in running, but he’d be a great guy to have in Congress (and it would be a great poke in the eye to all those liberals who defeated him a few years ago.
I know very little about Todd Platts. He’s just one of those moderates who flies under the radar screen and goes along to get along. His support of the TARP and porkulus should have sunk him in 2010. By throwing more Democrats into Holden’s district, as the redistricting plan does, Platts should be more conservative and deserves a bona fide conservative rather than a moderate.
York County is very conservative - lots of Amish and Mennonite influence there.
Have you heard any more about Sestak coming back to claim his old district? I read that several Democrats are holding back from jumping in and giving deference to Sestak, who has yet to make a decision.
I believe the redistricting made PA-7 a bit more conservative, so it may not be a gimme for Sestak if he throws in. Democrats have called the proposed PA-7 “Meehan-mandering”.
So is Mike Mullen and he thinks Gay Pride Day at military installations is GREAT!
Obviously, Mike Mullen is not suited to be the next Congressman. Fortunately, he doesn’t appear to be interested in running.
So Todd was a limp-richard in college as well. It’s not surprising really; it always puzzled me why he was appointed to the house armed services committee. In his case, I always got the impression that he was a guy who was handed much of what he had in life.
The big winner in the redistricting is Lou Barletta. Although in this mornings paper, Upper Allen Twp. and Mechanicsburg want the redistricting map redone. I doubt that will happen those. Upper Allen is a huge get for Lou ... very strong Republican area.
McCain got around 55% of the vote in the new PA-04, so I’d call it comfortably Republican, but not 100% safe.
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