In my home town, Pennsylvania’s 8th congressional district, we are represented by Republican Michael G. Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick’s political career has proved to be an interesting one, after serving on the Bucks County Board of Commissioners- the former Lawyer- was elected to congress in 2004. As an incumbent in 2006, Fitzpatrick faced Democratic candidate Patrick Murphy and lost re-election by only one percent. After a short break Fitzpatrick again ran against Murphy in 2008, although this time he won. After another victory in 2012 Fitzpatrick will now be facing Kevin Stouse in the 2014 election season- which he says will be his last term (Mike).
Strouse who won the Democratic primary, while only a rookie in the political world, would appear to be a strong candidate. A graduate of Columbia with a masters from Georgetown, Strouse went on to serve as an Army Ranger and later in the counter terrorism sector of the CIA (Kevin). These attributes aside, Strouse’s outlook for this election are not strong. When writing about this 2014 race, bipartisan blogger Nathan Gonzales said, “GOP Rep. Michael G. Fitzpatrick is running strong in Pennsylvania’s 8th District, and his race with Democrat Kevin Strouse should barely be considered competitive at this point” (upd8). While I believe this assessment to be a bit strong, most political analysts now call this race “right leaning”, often referring to Strouse’s slim victory in the primary: 50.98%. Although, this race may not be the nail biter that his races against Murphy were, there is still a lot of interest that can be taken out of this.
What I find to be exciting about this race is how we can see the campaign style of the underdog. Strouse moved to a tactic that has become rather common from today’s candidates, internet slander. Right now, if you go to Strouse’s campaign sign you will find a link to a site called Fitz Fibs. This catchy title is used to bring viewers to a page outlining all the instances where Fitzpatrick has gone against his word or hurt the Bucks County electorate. This tactic has not only been taken by Strouse’s campaign, some of the harshest shots taken at Fitzpatrick come from online bloggers, who we can assume to be Strouse supporters. One article even refers to him as a “Tea Party hero” (Thompson). The most common criticism of Fitzpatrick is that he is a staunch supporter of the Tea Party. But, what makes him a Tea Party member and where did he get that title?
The Bio on Mike Fitzpatrick’s supporter website is says, ”Mike has passed common sense legislation in a bipartisan fashion to move our country forward” (About). In another article written about the race it says he is a, “ moderate legislator who aptly reflects the centrist politics of his constituents” (Dillon). There is clearly a difference in opinions here if one group calls him a “Tea Party Hero” and another says he works in a “Bipartisan Fashion”. With such opposing statements it would appear as though one group is blatantly lying. Then we must turn to the facts, a sight which collects non-partisan voting data of candidates has this to say,” Fitzpatrick is a centrist Republican according to GovTrack's own analysis of bill sponsorship” (Govtrack). So, if that is what the empirical data says, then one must assume that the Democrats are lying. In another study conducted to judge how strongly candidates side with the Tea Party on their voting record it showed Fitzpatrick as being loyal 73% of the time (Tea Party Scorecard). This data would then tell us that Fitzpatrick is a Tea Party affiliate and there by that the republicans have been lying.
So, in this race opinions about what Fitzpatrick is differs and data to show what Fitzpatrick is differs. By this logic, he cannot be completely right and that he cannot be completely bipartisan. As we look at the facts this becomes clear, but neither of the parties want us to know this. They do not want us to know this because that means Fitzpatrick does not fit neatly into one of their boxes. Mike Fitzpatrick is not a true moderate and he is not a true Tea Party member and this does not suit the party’s agenda because that makes him an individual. The two parties want it to be a simple choice between one or the other, so when candidates begin to stray from the party’s agenda the parties try to reign them back in.
"Mike Fitzpatrick." Wikipedia. Accessed September 25, 2014.
"Kevin Strouse - Combat Veteran, CIA Officer, Family Man." Kevin Strouse for Congress. Accessed September 25, 2014.
"Upd8: 8th District "Likely Republican," Strouse Launches "Fitz's Fibs"" The Midweek Wire. August 28, 2014. Accessed September 25, 2014.
Thompson, Chuck. "Return to the Dark Ages." Burlington County Times. September 18, 2014. Accessed September 25, 2014.
"About Mike - Fitzpatrick for Congress." Fitzpatrick for Congress. Accessed September 25, 2014.
Dillon, Tim. "A Dedicated, Moderate and Effective Legislator." Bucks County Courier Times. September 25, 2014. Accessed September 26, 2014.
http://www.teapartyscorecard.com/members/pennsylvania/mfitzpatrick/
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