Oh puke. You might have figured No Labels was in it for the bland, corporatist centrism of pundit fantasy—you know, free trade deals, charter schools, "tax reform," but hey, gay marriage!—yet instead they seem to have migrated all the way toward thuggish white resentment politics: screw immigrants, to hell with reproductive rights, but (some) unions = okay. How else to explain their support for Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli, a xenophobic conservative Democrat who calls himself "pro-life", said the Democratic Party "has become the de facto party for illegal immigration," and even dreamed of serving in the Trump administration?
So far, a No Labels affiliate, United Together, has spent $65,000 on mailers attacking the two most notable mainstream Democrats in the race for Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District, Pastor Greg Edwards and former Allentown city solicitor Susan Wild. Strangely, though, the Washington Post's Dave Weigel reports that No Labels has refused to comment about their involvement in the race, much as they remained quiet about their work earlier this year on behalf of another anti-choice Democrat, Illinois Rep. Dan Lipinski. What, they're not proud to back Morganelli?
Unfortunately, Morganelli remains the best-known candidate in the race, according to a new Muhlenberg College poll. The survey only tested the general election, not the primary, but among all voters, only 37 percent haven't heard of him, while Wild is unknown to 51 percent and Edwards 59 percent. We have to hope that Democratic primary voters like Morganelli less than the overall electorate does.
As for the general election, Democrats dominate. In a generic ballot matchup, Democrats beat Republicans by a resounding 46-35 margin, and when the three main candidates are paired against the two leading Republicans, Marty Nothstein and Dean Browning, they lead by anywhere from 40-33 (Edwards over Nothstein) to 46-28 (Morganelli vs. Browning). Numbers like these show that Pennsylvania's 7th District could readily elect a progressive Democrat, which would make it a true shame if it winds up with the likes of Morganelli instead.