This special election has not been as pun-oramic as last year's Moore-Strange race, but pun-dits have wisecracked about the seasoned veteran and the young lamb...It'd be funnier if Candidate Lamb were not a veteran, too. He is. Saccone is an Air Force veteran; he also served as a civilian consultant with the Army in 2004-5. Lamb was a Marine as recently as 2013. If this were a competition of strength and speed, all the money would be on 33-year-old Lamb to beat 60-year-old Saccone...but (a) it's not, and (b) many well-preserved baby-boomers are still beating young people in contests of strength.
The special election is being held to replace Congressman Murphy in Pennsylvania's 18th District, which maps to the shape of a ragged shirt, with boundaries separating the sides of residential streets. The 18th District was drawn to include only some parts of Pittsburgh. Recent redrawing of congressional district boundaries was hailed as a boost for the Democratic Party.
Demographically mixed in most ways, 18th District voters are on average older than the rest of their state. They recently elected and reelected Rick Santorum, Michael Doyle, and Tim Murphy. Of the three, Senator Santorum was first to advance to a higher-paying position, Mr. Murphy was reelected most times before his sudden resignation when confronted with accusations of past unethical behavior, and Congressman Doyle, now representing the 14th District (the number currently assigned to the district that currently includes his original base territory), is the Democrat. The Post-Gazette credited Murphy's political success with his generally conservative views and tendency to support labor unions.
This web site is not qualified to represent the electorate of Pittsburgh in any way, nor can we presume to guess which party best represents them, but here's a breakdown of some differences and similarities between the two prospective Congressmen:
Education: Saccone attended college and university in other States (Utah, Oklahoma, California) but earned his Ph.D. at the University of Pittsburgh. Lamb went all the way to his J.D. at U. Penn.
Family: Saccone and his wife, Yong, have two sons, both Air Force officers. Lamb doesn't mention having been married.
Political experience: Saccone is currently the congressional representative of Pennsylvania's 39th District--the part of Allegheny County that's not Pittsburgh. He's been there for more than six years. Lamb is a federal prosecuting attorney.
Job experience: Saccone's field is communications. He was an interrogation specialist at Abu Ghraib and a TV anchor in South Korea. Lamb served as a prosecuting attorney even in the Marines.
Connections: Saccone has apparently built his own connections in Washington. Lamb inherited family connections in Pittsburgh.
Religion: Saccone identifies as Baptist, Lamb as Catholic. In the U.S. you never can tell. Nevertheless, because of his pro-life voting record in Congress, Saccone has the endorsement of Catholic Vote.
Publications: Saccone is the author of nine books. Amazon does not show an author page for Lamb.
Predictable, partisan political differences:
* Saccone is campaigning as pro-Trump, Lamb as not anti-Trump.
* Saccone is for "reducing regulations and taxes," even to the extent of making union membership voluntary. Lamb, having uttered no such heresy, enjoys the backing of the AFL-CIO.
* Saccone expects good results from Trump's proposed tax cuts, and assures voters that he would never support cuts in handout money. (By identifying himself as a typical "squishy Republican" on this issue, Saccone is indirectly promising either to back down when it's time to deliver the promised tax cuts, or scramble frantically to cut other things.) Lamb fears that tax cuts might lead to cuts in handout money.
* Saccone has suggested that abortion, in situations like the one where it was notoriously recommended by Tim Murphy, may not be an absolute "right." Lamb's web site avoids mentioning abortion but stresses the "right" to (an insurance-gambling-based system for) "health care."
* Saccone's party commends his public endorsement of prayer, fasting, "In God We Trust" (replacing "E Pluribus Unum") as National Motto, etc. Lamb has avoided endorsing such things.
* Saccone criticizes government spending, generally, but--like many Republicans--has been accused of overusing his own "legislative expense account." Lamb's party does not demand public speeches about government spending, and he is apparently not making them.
Other political differences:
* Saccone is a solid advocate of "gun rights." In a memo he apparently supported the "right" to carry firearms inside Chuck E. Cheese's (very child-oriented) restaurants. Lamb has not advocated for preserving or expanding "gun rights" and has prosecuted "gun runners" for selling firearms to residents of New York City.
* Saccone's web site, as of this morning, said nothing about student loans except that it contained a tab students could use to apply for them. This tab opens the basic financial aid form, FAFSA, and is on the basic congressional web page. Lamb is campaigning on the idea of helping college graduates "refinance" student loans or pay them off by working in government jobs. (This idea, not unreasonable from the point of view of government officials, is definitely incompatible with tax cuts, budget cuts, or downsizing government.)
* Saccone wants to eliminate penalties for those who choose not to sink their money in medical insurance gambling schemes. Lamb likes Obamacare and wants to preserve all of its original awfulness.
* Saccone has supported efforts to outlaw politicians' "accepting transportation, lodging, or anything of economic value" from lobbyists, and claimed that, at his office, lobbyists speak their pieces and go away. After his public statement to this effect it became a mini-scandal that, per Washington tradition, Saccone still let lobbyists treat him and other elected officials to meals. Lamb seems quiet on this topic.
* Saccone advocates waterboarding and sleep deprivation during interrogation. Lamb is proud of his record of confiscating property after conviction.
Affiliations:
Saccone's:
Elizabeth Emergency Medical Service
Elizabeth Forward School Board
American Association of Christian Counselors
Veterans of Foreign Wars
American Legion
Firearm Owners Against Crime
National Rifle Association
Military Officers Association of America
(From his official congressional web site, http://www.repsaccone.com/bio.aspx .)
Lamb's:
Facebook. Seriously. Public information about Conor Lamb mentions no real-life membership in civic or charitable organizations, but he's on Facebook!
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