Uh, is Ryan Costello cracking under the pressure? The sophomore Republican, who represents Pennsylvania’s swingy 6th District in suburban Philadelphia, popped on Facebook the other day to accuse two "associates" of his leading challenger, Democrat Chrissy Houlahan, of trespassing on his property to take photos of his home and "intimidate" his wife. The only problem is that the police investigated and determined there had been "no crime committed," calling the matter "closed."
Apparently, a couple of canvassers for Planned Parenthood did stop by the Costello household and were asked to leave by the congressman's wife, which they did. But when reporter Holly Otterbein explained this non-mystery to Costello, he bizarrely declared, "I think that just makes it all the more weird and creepy, to be honest with you." No, no it doesn't, but it does make him seem all the more weird and creepy.
And it certainly wouldn't be the first time we've seen a politician unused to tough races—Costello skated by against weak opponents in his first two elections for Congress—start to go wobbly when faced with a serious challenge, which Houlahan is poised to provide. In describing his 2004 re-election campaign, then-Kentucky Sen. Jim Bunning infamously accused his Democratic opponent of being responsible for "little green doctors pounding on my back." (Bunning, a Hall of Fame pitcher, barely escaped his chartreuse medical tormenters with a 51-49 win that fall; he died last year.)
A bit closer to Costello's imaginings was a 2012 incident when the late Rep. Bill Young, who represented a seat in the Tampa, Florida area, claimed that he and his wife had been stalked and their home broken into twice. Young, who for the first time in ages had to contend with a credible challenger that cycle, blamed it all on Occupy Wall Street, saying, "The Occupiers are after me." However, police in that case also determined there had been no intrusions, explaining that an alarm had gone off after "a storm blew open a garage door with a faulty lock."
A storm is blowing this year, too, and it looks like Costello's hair is getting a bit mussed. He might want to get himself a hat—and a zipper for his lips.