Can I continue to support Allyson Schwartz in the PA Governor race? I’m not sure. I’ve wanted to support her from the very beginning, but her recent attack ads were possibly the last straw for me.

Attack ads don’t increase voter turnout nor do they help undecideds pick you as their candidate. If anything the role of attack ads is to erode the possibility that undecideds don’t vote for whomever you are attacking. They  are about squelching voting rather than increasing the knowledge available to voters to assist them at making informed decisions. Attack ads are a part of what’s broken with pour political system, not a part of the solution.

Schwartz was in the lead for the top Democrat spot for some time until December, when it appeared Jack Wagner had taken the lead. In my opinion, a mismanaged campaign has Schwartz trailing Tom Wolf as the safe bet for the Dem selected candidate.  Wolf had seemed like a long shot but he began an effective television campaign early, which introduced him to the Commonwealth and built name recognition for him.

This WTAE post incorrectly says Schwartz hasn’t begun to air any ads, but others are reporting on the negativity.

I actually think Schwartz has a lot to offer, but one wonders why her campaign sees no reason to be communicating it. She wants to support quality Education and she is opposed to the death penalty, two issues that would garner my support. Her ideas on taxing the tracking industry are reasonable and in line with what may be accomplished with a Republican controlled House and Senate.

Her experience in Washington uniquely qualifies her for being able to work in a fractious and partisan Harrisburg.

But attack ads don’t get any of that across.

Our political system isn’t as healthy as it should be, and as much as we might want to blame everything on the Republicans, we can’t. It didn’t get broken overnight, and it isn’t  going to get fixed overnight either. But we need a new kind of politician, one who is solving problems, not seeking to scare undecided voters. We expect, ad indeed must get more from those who expect our vote to lead Pennsylvania forward.

More on where Allyson Schwartz has stood on issues