This is hilarious.  

So, I was on the NRCC's website to see what they are up to, and I see this video called "Nancy Pelosi's Swamp Problem."  Sounds like a hard-hitting piece of oppo, cleverly put into video format for the interweb, right?

So, I go ahead and click on it, hoping for something amusing, and get this:

If it weren't for those darn laws!

Democratic Judge Ron Folino is running for Superior Court in Pennsylvania, where judges from the county-level all the way up to the Supreme Court are elected positions.  

Judge Folino has been on the Allegheny Court of Common Pleas for the past 14 years and is running for the statewide Superior Court.

Please note: I am not an uninterested party, I am running Judge Folino's campaign and co-produced his first TV Spot.

However, I wanted to share Judge Ron Folino's first TV spot, which went up on statewide TV this week.  Here it is on Brightcove ( link ) and YouTube ( link ).  (Is there a trick to getting these to embed in a diary?)

Official press release below the fold

It looks like at least one Democrat, Sam Bennett, is seriously considering running against Charlie Dent next year. From the Morning Call:

City Democratic Party Chairwoman Siobhan [Sam] Bennett, taking a page from the new presidential campaign playbook, will announce today that she is ''seriously'' considering a run for Congress.

The ''pre-announcement'' will come during an afternoon news conference at Bennett's Allentown home, where she intends to criticize Republican Rep. Charlie Dent's position on the Iraq war, Bennett said in a brief interview Wednesday.

Bennett said she'll discuss her interest in seeking the Democratic nomination for the 15th District seat that Dent now holds and plans to set a date for making a final decision on whether she'll run. She declined to talk further about a potential run.

''I am seriously looking at the seat,'' Bennett said.

Asked why she's considering a run and what makes her think she can win the nomination, Bennett said, ''Those are all questions I'll be answering [today].''

Bennett, 49, has been politically active for years and twice ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination in the Allentown mayoral race, first in 2001 and again in 2005. She is the statewide director and chief executive officer of Properties of Merit of Pennsylvania Inc., a community and economic revitalization program she founded 25 years ago. She worked as a regional sales manager at The Morning Call from 2005 to 2006.

Bennett's early push for the nomination, more than a year before the Democratic primary, comes with Democrats nationwide still feeling giddy about their drubbing of Republicans in the November elections. In Pennsylvania alone, the party picked up four House seats.

But it was the party's narrower-than-expected loss in the 15th District -- which includes Lehigh and Northampton counties and parts of Berks and Montgomery counties -- that has Democrats buzzing about their prospects to unseat Dent in 2008.

Charles Dertinger, a Northampton County councilman who ran as the Democratic nominee against Dent in 2006, was ignored by the national party and spent $89,000 on the campaign. He still nabbed 43 percent of the vote. Dent spent $1.3 million and won 53 percent of the vote.

More below.

Our first TV ad, "Pennsylvania Values," is up on the air today in Pennsylvania's 10th CD.  Check it out on YouTube.

Here is our release on the buy, which includes the ad's transcript:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 16th, 2006    

Contact:  
Andrew Eldredge-Martin, drew@carneyforcongress.com, 570-587-4723    

CHRIS CARNEY BEATS SHERWOOD TO TELEVISION
Challenger puts up first TV ad in 10th District race

Clarks Summit, PA-Today, Chris Carney put his first television ad, "Pennsylvania Values" on the air. This is a huge victory because Don Sherwood has already started a campaign of negative attacks that the Towanda Daily Review called "ugly," "irresponsible," and a "low blow."  

"Chris Carney beat Don Sherwood to television so he can tell the truth about himself, his family, and the values he will take to Washington," said Carney campaign manager Andrew Eldredge-Martin. "Beating Sherwood to television is a huge victory for all the Democrats, Republicans, and Independents who support our campaign to take our values back to Congress. In fact, this first ad includes both Republican and Democratic supporters who are all ready for a change in Washington."

Link to ad:

http://www.carneyforcongress.com/2006/08 16/our-first-tv-ad-pennsylvania-values

Chris Carney is a veteran of multiple foreign military operations, a Lt. Commander in the Navy Reserve, and an Associate Professor at Penn State, focusing on U.S. security policy. Carney also served as a senior advisor on counter-terrorism and intelligence at the Pentagon from 2003 to 2005.

Chris lives in Dimock, Pa. with his wife Jennifer and their five children.

"PENNSYLVANIA VALUES" AD TRANSCRIPT

Pennsylvania values means living up to your word...

Making sure you take care of your family and your community.

In the wake of 9/11, I was called up to serve, something I was very proud to do.

Currently, I'm a Lieutenant Commander in the Navy Reserve.

We have a simple code of honor: do not lie, cheat or steal or tolerate those that do.

Those are the kind of values that we in Pennsylvania want to instill in our
children.

And yes, when I'm your representative, I will fight for them.

I'm Chris Carney and I approve this message. Send me to Congress and I'll
make you proud.

###

Yesterday Chris Carney received a huge boost when Congressman John Murtha came to the 10th district and endorsed him.  Murtha also had a message to deliver to 10th District voters: "We are going to put Chris Carney on the Appropriations Committee."

Then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich had delivered the same message on behalf of Don Sherwood in 1998, when Sherwood faced Pat Casey in a race that was decided by 500 votes.  Many have speculated that this swung the election for Sherwood.

Chris Carney was honored by Murtha's endorsement and pledge saying, "Congressman Murtha has made Pennsylvania and our veterans proud in Congress. If you send me to Congress, I will make Pennsylvania proud."

Don Sherwood, fearing for his political life, released this statement in response:

http://www.politicspa.com/pressreleasede tailed.asp?id=4989

FRIENDS OF DON SHERWOOD
81 Warren Street
Tunkhannock, PA 18657
570-836-3117

August 3, 2006 Contact: Jake O'Donnell

STATEMENT OF CONGRESSMAN DON SHERWOOD

On Murtha Fundraising Luncheon

TUNKHANNOCK -- "Jack Murtha and I have served together on the Appropriations Committee for six years, and in the House for eight years. Until recently, we've been on the same page and voted the same way on defense and terrorism issues. But today Jack Murtha is sounding more and more like Howard Dean.

"I don't know what has caused Jack Murtha's 180-degree shift, but it looks like a severe case of ambition. Jack Murtha is making campaign appearances for Chris Carney and 40 other Democrats because he'd like to be in power again. Jack Murtha would like to be defense subcommittee chairman, or as he's implied, the majority leader.

"The criticism of our mission and our troops coming from Jack Murtha, Chris Carney and Howard Dean gives hope to terrorists and their allies. The terrorists want us to walk away from the fight, and believe we will, before the Iraqi government can provide its own security.

"I am proud of the work done by our military in securing Iraq, and I remain confident they will continue to make progress in achieving the mission. The message of despair voiced by Jack Murtha is not the message I've heard from Pennsylvanians who have fought in Iraq. The defeatist message of Carney and company will only lead to their defeat at the polls in November."

WHA?!?!?! Don Sherwood attacking others on military and veterans issues?  

If Don Sherwood had stood up and fought for the best body armor and vehicles for our troops, the Pentagon's own study says that almost 300 lives would have been saved in Iraq alone.

This is the same Don Sherwood who just this week said this in response to a question about his failure to support our troops and our veterans: "1000 WWII veterans are dying every day so we have fewer veterans."

We need your help to fight back:

1. Call or fax Don Sherwood's campaign office and tell them this type of dishonorable attack is unbecoming of a public official:

Friends of Don Sherwood
570.836.3117
570.836.6916 (fax)

2. Contribute to one of the many netroots communities that is supporting Chris Carney: Eschaton, WesPAC, FightingDems, SecureUS, KYDem, AdamsList, and many more. There are more attacks coming and we need your help to fight back.  Thank you.

Over the past few months, Carney for Congress has really taken off.   Our polling is great, our fundraising has taken off, and we are looking for a top-notch Field Director.  If you are interested in the position, see the job description below the jump.  Some race details:

1. In late April we released our polling, which showed a statistical dead heat without leaners (DS-41, CC-39, Und-20), and a single-digit race with leaners. Poll internals are available here.

2. On May 16th, Don Sherwood received only 56% of the R vote in his primary race against an unknown (12% name rec) challenger, Kathy Scott.  Sherwood spent over $360,000 in the primary and got robocalls from President Bush and Rick Santorum.  Scott send one mail piece and spent $12,000 total. She got 44%.

3. Our June 30th filing will show a cash on hand over $300,000, which is a 333% increase since the pre-primary filing on April 26th.  Sherwood's filing will report $479,000, which is only a 1% increase.

This is a race that many people discounted from day one (even though Sherwood's re-elect is 21%).  We believed as many of you did that there was a chance.  Now we know we can win.  We need your help to do it.

See below for the job description.

Former Virginia Governor Mark Warner's Forward Together PAC is giving $5,000 to five candidates from the East and five candidates from the West.  The best part is that you get to vote for five candidates in both the East and the West!

Chris Carney (PA-10) is in the running for the prize in the East, as are three other great candidates from Pennsylvania: Phil Avillo, Lois Murphy, and Patrick Murphy.  Also, Chris Carney's neighbor to the north, Eric Massa, who is running for Congress in the NY-29th, is in the running in our bracket.

http://www.forwardtogetherpac.com/mapcha ngers

We have a huge opportunity to make Pennsylvania (and NY-29, too!) true blue this November.  The PA Senate race, these House races, the Sestak race, and many state-level races are big pick-up possibilities.  A $5,000 check from Forward Together before June 30th would be a huge help.

Please take a minute and support this great slate of candidates from the Eastern bracket:

Chris Carney (Don't forget to watch "PA-10" our new video)
Patrick Murphy
Lois Murphy
Phil Avillo
Eric Massa

On the Western side, it would be great if you could help out our friends Bill Winter and Jon Tester.

http://www.forwardtogetherpac.com/mapcha ngers

You can help each campaign raise $5,000 before the June 30th deadline.  Each campaign that moves on to the next round also get the chance to bring Mark Warner to their District for an event.

Thanks for helping make PA true blue!

--Drew, Carney Campaign Manager

Don Sherwood's re-elect of 21% is the lowest in America according to a new study of all public polling this year.

PA-10 is a great opportunity for a pick-up in November.  Sherwood got ony 56% of Republican voters in the primary when he spent over $360,000 and had robocalls from Bush and Santorum to R's in the District.  His opponent had a name rec of 12%, spent only $12,000, and got 44% of the R vote.

PA-10 is one of the cheapest markets in the nation.  $120,000 here is the same as $1 million in the Philadelphia market.

Chris Carney is a great democratic candidate who will not lie, cheat, or steal, nor ever tolerate those who do.  Washington DC needs a scrubbing.

How can you help retire Mr. Sherwood? Vote for my boss, Chris Carney:

1. At DFA

2. At Forward Together

You can download the entire powerpoint presentation here.