Childhood Classmate Makes Good in Politics

Unfortunately.

John Eichelberger was a classmate of mine in elementary school through high school. We were in the school district's gifted program together, played on the high school tennis team together, entered Penn State early together, were both Political Science majors, but we did not share politics. He stayed behind in Pennsylvania and I believe went into the insurance business. But he also became active in Republican politics, which is the only game in town in central Pennsylvania if you want to be part of the ruling party. A number of years ago he was elected County Commissioner, and he also served on the Altoona Airport authority, where he had some run-ins with my parents whose property abuts the airport (which isn't in Altoona but Martinsburg, my hometown.)

Yesterday he won a primary challenge over the incumbent State Senator, Robert Jubileer, who has been in the Pennsylvania Senate since I was in high school. Jubileer was a moderate Republican in the mold of the late US Senators Hugh Scott and John Heinz. There is nothing moderate about Eichelberger. But he won by capitalizing on anger at the Republican controlled legislature that last year voted itself a 54% pay increase. It was later forced to roll it back after widespread voter anger, but the damage was done to Jubileer and many of his colleagues.

This was in the New York Times this morning:

Mr. Eichelberger, along with three other conservative challengers, created a campaign document, "Promise to Pennsylvania," modeled after the "Contract With America" that the Republicans used in 1994 to capture Congress.

It called for stricter regulation of lobbyists, term limits, tort reform and the vote of three-fifths of the Legislature before raising taxes. Three of the four signers won. The fourth is clinging to a narrow lead.

"People are just tired of Republicans who don't represent the bedrock conservative values of the party," Mr. Eichelberger said. "They're Republican in name only. If you're going to be a Republican, be a Republican."

I'll have to send him a note of qualified congratulations.