By Dan Murphy
Let me start by saying one of my morning “must listens” is The Michael Smerconish show on Sirius/XM Radio. As an independent voter fed up with our two major parties, Smerconish provides millions of Americans with a fair and balanced view of our nation’s politics, and is always on the lookout for a way to discuss a third party, or the independent movement.
Smerconish hails from Pennsylvania, and is laser focused on the PA race for US Senate between Dr. Oz and John Fetterman. And he should be, because, as he likes to say frequently on his show, “the outcome of this race could tip the balance in the US Senate.”
But before it was Oz vs. Fetterman, there was a republican and democratic primary for US Senate in PA, with Oz and David McCormick deadlocked until an endorsement from President Trump, and the counting of the paper ballots, gave Oz a narrow, GOP Primary victory.
In the democratic primary, Congressman Conor Lamb ran against Fetterman, the Lt. Governor of the state., with Fetterman winning handily, 59%-27%.
In the weeks before the primary, Smerconish had commented that if both parties elect the extremist candidate, he would consider running as an independent, third party candidate. And clearly, most of us listening to his show agreed that Lamb and McCormick were the two moderate choices within each party.
But the results were what Smerconish had feared, and since the primaries, he has ripped both Fetterman and Oz for their campaign tactics and for Oz’s elitism and Fetterman’s lack of candor about his recent stroke.
He called the Senate race in his home state, “Wrestlemania;” others have called it a circus, and the rest of the country gets to see it on the national cable news show at least once a week becuase of the foolishness of the candidates and their campaigns, not because of the consequences the election could have on the country.
We wonder why Smerconish didn’t get into the race shortly after Oz and Fetterman won their respective primaries? As a loyal listener, I have not heard an answer to why his consideration earlier this year to run didn’t pan out?
More important, I just wish that he had run. I would have tried to support him and volunteer for his campaign. Because, like Smerconish, I am stuck in the middle of our national political rut, and would like to help push the car out of the ditch.
