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March 27th, 2024 Len’s Political Note #631 Ashley Ehasz Pennsylvania 01
2024 General Election
I was born weeks before the American entry into World War II. We like to think that the US was united about entering the war. Now I live in Yorkville, a section of the Upper East Side of New York City that used to be predominately German. Prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor, Yorkville was a center of opposition to the US being at war with Germany. If you looked for supporters of the United States entering World War II, you would have found the leaders were Democrats, beginning with the top Democrat, Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
When we were young, my wife and I lived for a while in Cambridge, an American city with a foreign policy. When Cambridge had a referendum to oppose the war in Vietnam, I worked one of the precincts. The Vietnam War split the Democratic Party – leading to the election of Republican Richard Nixon.
In January 2009, NPR reported on the transcript and a recording of a speech President-elect Barack Obama had given in 2002 at an anti-war rally telling them that he was not anti-war. “I stand before you as someone who is not opposed to war in all circumstances.” He noted his support of the administration’s goal to hunt down the perpetrators of the September 11and the patriotism of the people in the crowd to which he was speaking.
“What I am opposed to is a dumb war. What I am opposed to is a rash war. What I am opposed to is the cynical attempt ……….to shove…ideological agendas down our throats, irrespective of the costs in lives lost and in hardships borne. What I am opposed to is the attempt by political hacks…to distract us from a rise in the uninsured, a rise in the poverty rate, a drop in the median income – to distract us from corporate scandals and a stock market that has just gone through the worst month since the Great Depression….. I also know that Saddam poses no imminent and direct threat to the United States or to his neighbors…..I know that even a successful war against Iraq will require a US occupation of undetermined length, at undetermined cost, with undetermined consequences…. . I know that an invasion of Iraq …..will only fan the flames of the Middle East, and encourage the worst, rather than best, impulses of the Arab world… .”
In 2018, the Democrats elected to Congress a new group of Members. Among them was a subgroup that had served in the military or related services, people who had “borne hardships” in the wars that the president-to-be had opposed. These newly elected Democrats understood Barack Obama’s civilian goals as well as his disdain for “dumb wars.”
The members of the subgroup were, for the most part, relatively conservative for Democrats. Progressive Democrats should, nevertheless, cherish them. Without them, there is no prospect for a Democratic majority in the House, the Senate, and the country. Their view of military planning resembles the views of Barack Obama and his former Vice President, Joe Biden. A 2022 article celebrated this subgroup, calling them the “CIA Democrats.” It was published on the World Socialist Web Site.
Some of that grouop have been victims of political wars.
- Max Rose of New York was defeated by a Republican.
- Elaine Luria of Virginia was defeated by a Republican
- Conor Lamb of Pennsylvania lost a primary for the US Senate.
Some are leaving the House of Representatives in 2024 to achieve greater ambitions
- Elissa Slotkin of Michigan is running for the US Senate
- Andy Kim of New Jersey is running for the US Senate
- Abigail Spanberger of Virginia will run for governor in 2025
Some are still in Congress
- Jason Crow of Colorado
- Chrissy Houlihan of Pennsylvania
- Mikie Sherill of New Jersey
- Jared Golden of Maine
There were additions to the subgroup in 2020 and 2022
- Jake Auchincloss of Massachusetts
- Sarah Jacobs of California
- Pat Ryan of New York
- Chris Deluzio of Pennsylvania
- Don Davis of North Carolina
- Jeff Jackson of North Carolina – victim of redistricting, he is running to be North Carolina’s Attorney General.
Ashley Ehasz belongs with this distinguished group, She ran for Congress in 2022. She is back for another try in 2024. In her website, she says not a word about national defense, except…. except she discusses her experience in the military and her reasons for having joined the military. “Because of my family struggles ….which made me crave security and hope for a better future, I joined the US Army right after high school as a way to create opportunities for myself and to serve our country following the September 11th terrorist attacks. I always sought stability and structure for myself and my family, but I had a deep passion to bring those same things to the world.”
Republicans may have more veterans of the military in Congress. Nevertheless, they do not appear to bring that same complex understanding that “stability and structure” come through supporting civilians’ lives as well as supporting the military. Furthermore, most Republicans, veterans or not, appear to be prepared to acquiesce to Donald Trump’s leadership of their party, his willingness to follow Putin’s lead in the way some Americans were willing to following Hitler’s lead prior to the Pearl Harbor attack by the Japanese.
After graduating from West Point, Ashley Ehasz was trained as a helicopter pilot. In Kuwait, she served as battalion logistics officer and pilot in command. Later, in Kuwait and Iraq, she commanded two aviation troops including a maintenance troop. After she completed her service, she earned a Master’s Degree at Oxford, worked for local and county governments to implement the CARES Act (the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act of 2020 along with the Coronavirus Responses and Consolidated Act).
Ashley Ehasz has both foreign and domestic “chops.” She urged Congress to fund support for Ukraine. With regard to Israel, she expressed her disdain for the October 7th brutal attack, support for Israel and its right to defend itself. As we;; as its moral obligation to protect civilians while conducting that defense. Ashley Ehaszalso addressed her constituents, noting a five-fold increase in anti-Semitic acts in Bucks County, of which Congressional District 01 is a part.
Ashley Ehasz outlines a set of issues she would address in Congress. First among them is protecting access to abortion. Second is “Protecting our Land,” by which she means addressing climate change. She is running against Brian Fitzpatrick. Formerly in the FBI where he oversaw the national corruption unit and led the election crimes group, he ran to replace his brother Mike in 2016. Wikipedia now says Mike retired because he had promised a four-year term limit. Earlier stories said Mike retired because he had cancer. The latter explanation is supported by Mike’s death from cancer in 2020.
Brian Fitzpatrick condemned the members of his party for a “Never get to yes” mentality”. In their rejection of the Senate compromise that includes military aid for Israel, Taiwan, and Ukraine as well as a tough package regarding the security our southern border. Since the Republican leadership is controlled by that caucus, there is little Fitzpatrick could do but condemn. Will he and other Republicans sign a discharge petition so Congress can vote on aid to these countries as well as the border package?
Here is a half measure by Brian Fitzpatrick. An expert, after all, on election integrity by virtue of his FBI work, rather than vote to impeach Donald Trump for attempting to overturn the 2000 election, he and like-minded colleagues introduced a concurrent resolution to censure Trump for attempting to ‘unlawfully overturn the 2020 election.” Censure instead of impeachment, in Fitzpatrick’s opinion, would heal the country’s “fever pitch tensions.” Since censure did not pass and impeachment did not lead to conviction, Trump is now free to amp those tensions up as he runs for president again. Sadly, this Member of Congress who is an expert on corrupt elections was willing to censure, but not impeach Donald Trump for corrupting the 2020 election.
Brian Fitzpatrick disapproved of the members of his party who voted to oust Kevin McCarthy as Speaker. He equally condemned the Democrats for voting against Kevin McCarthy as Speaker. He did not suggest that Kevin McCarthy and Republicans could have worked with the Democrats to keep McCarthy as Speaker. He lumped the Democrats in with the 8 Republicans who created the chaos in the House.
The issue on which Brian Fitzpatrick will remain in Congress or leave it is abortion. He voted against the Women’s Health Protection Act in 2021. After the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, Fitzpatrick voted against that same Act again in 2022. Back in 2017 he voted for the No Taxpayer Funding Abortion Act as well as for a 20-week abortion ban. He joined the spiteful and voted to defund Planned Parenthood.
Brian Fitzpatrick is more than sufficiently opposed to abortion to be defeated by Ashley Ehasz. He is not opposed enough to abortion for some. The National Right to Life Committee only gave him an 83% rating. Planned Parenthood, on the other hand, gave him the other 17%. As a result of his softness on the issue, he is opposed by an anti-abortion activist Mark Houck in the Republican primary.
One more thing. Does Brian Fitzpatrick, who hoped censuring Trump rather than impeaching him would ease tension in the United States, have anything at all to say about Trump’s promise that if he were to lose the 2024 election, there would be bloodshed on the streets of our country?
Brian Fitzpatrick will be renominated. Will he be reelected? Four terms are enough for him. With your help, the abortion issue will limit him to the four terms he has served. DONATE TO AHSLEY EHASZ. She would be a great Member of Congress.
Other Pennsylvania races
United States Senate
Incumbent Bob Casey is generally considered one of the vulnerable Democratic Senators in 2024. Son of an anti-abortion Pennsylvania governor, he has carved out a position as a moderate. A March 13 poll shows him leading 52-48 David McCormick, a multimillionaire West Point graduate, former CEO and former GW Bush Treasury undersecretary who grew up in Pennsylvania and lived most of his life in Connecticut. On December 31, Bob Casey had $9.4 million for his campaign; McCormick had $4.2 million. Keep Casey ahead in the financial race. DONATE TO BOB CASEY. See Len’s Political Note #581
US House of Representatives
Pennsylvania 01. There are no polls to tell us if recent veteran Ashley Ehasz is close to incumbent Brian Fitzpatrick. At the end of 2023, she was well behind in the financial race – trailing $300,000 to $3.8 million. OATH.vote rates her at 6.4, a moderately effective investment. Help her be competitive. DONATE TO ASHLEY EHASZ
Pennsylvania 07 Incumbent Susan Wild, originally elected in the wake of the integrity she demonstrated in an investigation of corruption in Allentown, is among the more vulnerable Democratic incumbents. There are no polls to demonstrate which of three Republican candidates is her likely opponent. While she entered 2024, with $1.6 million, the Republican with the most funds had $200,000. DONATE TO SUSAN WILD. She needs to stay ahead in the financial race. OATH.vote rates donations to her as high leverage at 9.3 on their 10-point scale. We will know in a month who her opponent will be. See Len’s Political Note #546
Pennsylvania 08 Incumbent Matt Cartwright is a resilient, moderate Democrat who keeps winning in a Republican leaning district that includes Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. He will be facing Businessman Rob Bresnahan. There are no polls in this race. Matt Cartwright led in the financial race with $2 million versus $600,000 at the end of 2023. OATH.vote rates donations to him as high leverage at 9.3. DONATE TO MATT CARTWRIGHT. If he can remain as dominant in the financial race as he is now, he will win the election. See Len’s Political Note #547
Two races that will wait until after Pennsylvania’s primary.
Pennsylvania 10 Republican Incumbent Scott Perry is and ought to be a target. He was one of the most active Congressman in Donald Trump’s illegal effort to overturn the 2020 election. Six Democrats are running in the primary. We will know in a month who the Democratic nominee will be.
Pennsylvania Attorney General
Wait a month for this race as well. Five candidates for the Democratic nomination for attorney general and two Republicans. This will almost certainly be a contest in the general election and the Democratic nominee will deserve a piece.
On to Ohio and Michigan. Focus on the US Senate
United States Senate – Ohio
Incumbent Sherrod Brown is generally considered one of the two most vulnerable Democratic Senators in 2024. Son of a doctor, he has become a popular figure for his blue-collar qualities and empathy. Four polls from March found him leading, One found him behind Bernie Moreno, who is now the nominee, by 2. At the end of February, Sherrod Brown had $13.5 million available. Bernie Moreno had $2.3 million in his campaign funds. DONATE TO SHERROD BROWN See Len’s Political Note #556
US Senate – Michigan
Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin is defending an open Democratic seat. A former CIA officer from a family that once owned one of America’s largest meat companies, she is considered a moderate Democrat. A February poll found her leading former Congressman Mike Rogers 39-38. Rogers, who seems the most likely nominee in the August primary, came out of retirement in Florida to run for the seat, Elissa Slotkin finished 2023 with $6 million. Mike Rogers had just under a million dollars at the same time. Keep Elissa Slotkin ahead in a financial race where no candidate has accumulated enough money for a race in a large industrial state. DONATE TO ELISSA SLOTKIN. See Len’s Political Note #589
We have a presidential race to win
Support Joe Biden and Kamala Harris
As we look toward November, 2024, Help sustain the Joe Biden and Kamala Harris campaign. National polls between March 15 and March 18 include one that is even between Biden and Trum, one with Biden leading by 3, and two Trump leading – one by a point, the other by 7. Every donation, large or small, makes a difference. Larger donations mean more money for the campaign. But large numbers of small donations are a measure of enthusiasm for the candidate. Make a small donation if you cannot afford a large one. DONATE TO JOE BIDEN AND KAMALA HARRIS. See Len’s Political Note #605
#13 in the Stephenson County, IL list of Biden accomplishments: Strengthened the NATO alliance in support of Ukraine after the Russian invasion by endorsing the inclusion of world military powers Sweden and Finland.
