Republicans are hoping other Democrats will follow the example of Parker Griffith (AL-05), who switched parties this week. According to the Politico,

Democratic Rep. Chris Carney received a phone call Wednesday from Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) asking him to consider becoming a Republican, a top GOP official told POLITICO.

A spokesman for Carney declined to say if the congressman was considering such a switch.

"No further comment at this time," said Carney spokesman Josh Drobnyk, who would only confirm that the call took place.

In a brief interview, McCain declined to offer details about the conversation.

"I just said, `Whatever you do, I know that you'll make the right decision for the country,'" said the Arizonan.

Carney defeated Republican incumbent Don Sherwood in 2006. Pennsylvania's 10th district has a PVI of R+8. Carney voted for the stimulus bill and the House version of health care reform, so I doubt he could survive a GOP primary, even though he did vote against the climate change bill.

In any event, Carney has "no plans to change parties," according to a statement he released today.

Meanwhile, conservative Democrats Walt Minnick (ID-01) and Bobby Bright (AL-02) also confirmed that they not switching. Like Griffith, Minnick and Bright have opposed key items of the Democratic agenda.

Update [2009-12-23 21:47:11 by Jonathan Singer]: This story gives me the opportunity to post one of the most memorable political ads of all time, one that really helped seal the deal for Carney in 2006. An ad by his opponent.

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All any of us are interested in right now are cold hard results, I know, but I hope you won't mind me jumping in before things really heat up with the view from Pennsylvania. CNN, NPR and others have just called the Pennsylvania seat for Bob Casey over Rick Santorum. Senator Bob Casey. I certainly like the sound of that. (And Governor Rendell has kept his job -- no surprise there.)

I have to say after working for five years on a dysfunctional Capitol Hill, it is amazing for me to think about how dramatically the state of things has changed there in the last several months. For a long while, things felt a bit hopeless. As of this minute:

• There is no more Rep. Tom Delay to corrupt the soul of the U.S. House of Representatives;
• There's no more Rep. Bob Ney to obstruct much needed election reform;
• And thanks to the fine people of Pennsylvania, there's no more Senator Rick Santorum to exploit our worst weaknesses and fears.

And that list is only going to get longer as the night goes on. (Feel free to add 'em in the comments.) Tonight could end in a few different ways. But right now, I feel happy. That's it. Just damn happy.

We're waiting to hear about what will become of Lois Murphy, Jason Altmire, Joe Sestak, Patrick Murphy, Chris Carney, and a handful of statehouse races that will tell us a lot about the political future of Pennsylvania. (The PA Secretary of State has unofficial returns here.) I'll be back later with a summary of the PA results and a wrap-up of my time on the ground here, but lemme just say now that it has been a real honor and pleasure to have the opportunity to post at MyDD this Election 2006.

On the flip, some highlights from election day in southeastern Pennsylvania.

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Pennsylvania Democrats are in a strong position to claim not only a new Senate seat but also five additional congressional seats on Tuesday -- a full third of what's needed to win a majority in the House. In addition to Bob Casey running for the Senate seat, there's Jason Altmire in the 4th District on the Ohio border, Philadelphia-area candidates Joe Sestak (7th), Patrick Murphy (8th), and Lois Murphy (6th), and Chris Carney in the 10 District in the state's northeast corner -- all real pickup possibilities five days out from the election.

I'm touring Pennsylvania now through election day, as part of the AFL-CIO's Labor 2006 Program. The AFL-CIO is active in these races, no doubt. They report that union members under their direction have made 550,000 phone calls and knocked on 185,000 doors already this election cycle, particulary targeting the state's 1.4 million union members (out of a total population of about 12 million). My Pennsylvania tour started at 8:30 yesterday morning in the Lehigh Valley, with a Bob Casey "Meet the Candidate" coffee hour before a crowd of about 60 International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) members at the Local 375 hall in Allentown.

At the event, Casey was introduced by Bill George, the charismatic president of the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO. George knows how to rally this crowd. "Your neighbors have the same problems you have, whether they're union or not -- they're your neighbors!" More of what I've taken to calling George-isms:

"They don't have just their hand in the cookie jar. They've got their whole arm in the cookie jar."
- On the current crop of Republicans in Washington and their corporate allies

"Do we have to wait until 700,000 Iraqis have died?"
- On when Americans can question U.S. leaders on the war in Iraq (and after discussing U.S. troops)

"Because unions negotiated it."
- On why members of the House and Senate have good health care coverage

George talks about how when the Bush Administration fumbled the football, the American labor movement was there to pick it up. And Bob Casey, George says, is part of that movement, coming from the part of Pennsylvania that understands the importance of "Molly McGuire and the Lattimer Massacre."

I jumped at the chance to travel to PA as part of the AFL-CIO's Labor 2006 program precisely because I have no idea what George is talking about here. (For the record, Ms. McGuire was a perhaps fictional Irish woman who agitated for tenant's rights in the 1840s; the Lattimer Massacre was an 1897 incident in eastern PA where 19 miners were killed by police during a demonstration.) I'm well versed in the civil rights struggle but my knowledge of the American labor movement is limited to A. Philip Randolph's organization of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. Progressives need to be educated in both histories. With that in mind, can anyone recommend any good books to get up to speed on the labor movement? (Post-election reading, of course.)

Back to the campaign trail.

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The Republican's plan to conclude September with a flourish of legislative activity was almost comical to behold.  Both unable and unwilling to do anything meaningful on immigration, they passed another 700-mile fence to nowhere and never had the Conference Committee meet, despite the fact that both the House and the Senate had approved their separate immigration bills months ago.  

Their proposal to be tough on terrorism continues to allow the President to torture and exempt people who violated our laws - giving them a "get out of jail free card." Allowing some people, who's only crime was being in the wrong place at the wrong time in Afghanistan or Pakistan, to languish in prison for years.  Any "credit" that the Republicans could have hoped to achieve evaporated with the press surrounding Bob Woodward's new book on the Bush Administration disarray in Iraq, not to mention the revelations about former GOP Congressman Mark Foley that drowned out everything else.

As I started a swing of four Congressional districts over four days in four different states in the Northeast, it was hard to imagine a worse set of circumstances for the Republicans.  These four candidates I was traveling to support, all non-incumbents, exemplified why there is an excellent chance to change the control of Congress in the next session.  

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Two very endangered Republican Congressmen, Tom Reynolds (NY-26) and Don Sherwood (PA-10) -- both of whose races the Cook Political Report downgraded to "toss-up" status yesterday -- have come out with ads apologizing for letting down their constituents.

It's an interesting strategy, partially owning up to part of a scandal to help deflect attention away from the remainder of the scandal (in the case of Sherwood the abuse allegations, in the case of Reynolds the allegation that he didn't do enough to confront Mark Foley with the information he had months ago). And while it's far from certain that these ads will produce their desired effects -- it could be that they seem too little, too late and actually end up reminding voters why they are unhappy with their Congressman -- given the fact that both Reynolds and Sherwood are currently trailing in the polls, it could be that they have no other option outside of admitting some guilt and hoping that voters will be in a forgiving mood.

Update [2006-10-7 19:13:17 by Jonathan Singer]: Apparently, Reynolds will holding a fundraiser for Sherwood this Thursday night. Nice.

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