"Now this is a campaign," Upper Darby Democratic leader Ed Bradley said as Gov. Rendell hopped off his touring bus and squeezed into the back room to rally the troops in Delaware County's 7th Congressional District. He urged Democrats to stand up to a "Republican tidal wave" that could give the GOP control of Congress after tomorrow's election.
"There's something frightening happening," Rendell said on the eve of Halloween. "The Republican Party is being taken over by extremists and wackos and nutjobs."
Lentz is trying to hold on to the seat being vacated by Democratic U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak, who is running for Senate, by countering the GOP's national momentum with a strong get-out-the-vote operation. Hundreds of campaign volunteers knocked on 20,000 doors on Saturday alone, he said.
"We're kicking ass on the ground," said Lentz, a former Army Ranger.
Yesterday, Republican Pat Meehan's campaign was running phone banks at his Upper Darby headquarters and several satellite offices around the 7th District. Meehan, a former U.S. attorney and Delaware County district attorney, said he's been feeding off the energy of his volunteers in the closing days of his campaign.
"I come in here and I see the sense of commitment and enthusiasm, and it fills me with a sense of inspiration," Meehan said. And if supporters needed any Halloween inspiration, he promised to slay their bogeywoman, saying his first vote in Washington would be to "repeal Nancy Pelosi," the House speaker from San Francisco. That got a lot of applause.
"Government doesn't create jobs. The private sector does, and the overwhelming debt is going to cripple us into the future," Meehan said, echoing the small-government message that national Republicans say will enable them to regain a majority in the House.
