Get Out of Washington!

For John, BLUF:  Both Parties, hanging out in DC, are drinking their own bathwater.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Dear Abby: A lesson for the midterms

This Washington Examiner article, by Reporter Salena Zito, who lives in the Pennsylvania 18th, is dateline 18 March 2018, Lebanon, PA.

Here is the lede plus three:

One of the biggest advantages Conor Lamb had in his victory last week in the special election for Western Pennsylvania's 18th Congressional District was that his campaign manager lived in his district.

Abby Nassif Murphy did not have an office at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee; she did not hold daily meetings with fellow Democrats in the Beltway who, on average, are fairly progressive both culturally and politically. She understood the heartbeat of the district not because of polls and data, but because she spends the bulk of her time carting her sons to and from their activities.

Untethered from the pressures of Washington consultants, agenda items, and resistance talking points, she was able to respond to what she saw the community wanted.

This was no cookie-cutter operation. The ads were fresh, the message was safe, and there was no evidence of any Beltway residue on anything they did.

Here, however, is the most insightful paragraph:

Last December, Brad Todd, co-author of our upcoming book, "The Great Revolt: Inside the Populist Coalition Reshaping American Politics," wrote for The Federalist that the only thing that will keep the Republican Party a healthy party was to get it the hell out of D.C. and set up headquarters somewhere in Ohio so that they knew what their voters really wanted — not what they want them to want.

If only Ms Hillary Clinton had been reading Reporter Salena Zito's news reports she might well be sitting in the White House today, with Mr Bill Clinton as First Dude.

So, it isn't Democrats who won in the Pennsylvania 18th, but Mr Lamb, and his campaign manager.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff