I can also announce the acceptance of Tom Manion, the Republican challenging freshman congressman Patrick Murphy in the 8th District. Without delving into detail, I had communicated with a Manion staffer, who apparently did not communicate with his boss, who was horrified to hear himself depicted as someone who turned his back on Variety, the Children's Charity, the beneficiary of the comedy night.
The botched communication was straightened out. Manion is participating in another fundraiser on Aug. 19, so he's sending a surrogate, attorney Marc Collazzo, to stand up for him. (One thing the show is never short of is attorneys.)
In breaking news, joining the show are opponents in the battleground 7th Congressional District. Incumbent Democrat Joe Sestak will take the stage along with Republican Craig Williams.
In other news, Democrat Chaka Fattah will have opposition in the 2nd Congressional District. Fattah's original opponent, Mike Livingston, dropped out, but he's been replaced by Republican Adam Lang, a computer-network engineer. (Get your Larry Mendte jokes ready.)
Fattah stunned some when he took a pass on the show. He's still supporting it by buying a table, but what Fattah - who had done the show a half-dozen times - isn't getting is that it's a candidates comedy night. It's their participation that makes the show unique. (Maybe he'll change his mind.)
