Charlie had nothing to do with the remapping, that was done at the state lvel and charlie is federal level...

"But Charlie Dent, who I believe could have stopped the Lehigh Valley Massacre by his strong opposition and instead publicly feigned helplessness, is incredibly disappointing." - Bill White morning call http://www.mcall.com/news/local/white/mc-bill-white-lehigh-valley-gerrymander-20111216,0,2558066.column

ignored my parents help request, staff he has is horrible, senator casey helped them out

Legislative smiles do not pay the bills, Growup Saucon. The 'smiley face time factor' is gone. We need real performance now...and most of these guys have shown: no gots.

Jim,
I read your letter to the editor and this posting and I agree with you. I remember speaking with Steve Samuelson about this a while back before the census was taken, and he was trying to get more of a bi-partisan approach to redistricting.

Good point, Jon. But what these 'studies' need to start taking into consideration: the level of frustration of the voters. I am a Republican but will not vote for Dent. We need new blood in office. The world is changing and so must our elected officials. So, take one of the 'calculated' votes away from the Republicans. In asking my neighbors...they are saying the same thing; many are Republicans and will vote for someone other then the presently elected official...no matter what party that new person is from. Science is only so accurate. As time moves on and if this economy is still faltering...I believe their 'calculated' win will prove more inaccurate.

It is irresponsible to just vote for someone just because they are "new"! You have to vote for the person who will advance the country in the direction you want it to go in. Whether they are an incumbent or not. I feel the answer to this dilemma is TERM LIMITS FOR CONGRESS!

Rosemary. Every elected official was 'new' at one time. The problems as I see it today...the elected 'industry' as a whole is corrupt. The rules that use to be in place...those in office over the years have found ways around them. There is no checks and balances anymore except to vote out the elected official and vote someone else in. AND...the way the elected officials have 'bent' the run for office rules in their favor...I need 65,000 signatures in order to even run on the ticket...the choices we voters have as a replacement are also corrupt. It is much easier to stay elected than it is to get elected...which is wrong. The entire election 'industry' has been slide over time to favor the incumbent. Do you think this happened by accident?

Given the performance we have seen the past 4+ years by our elected officials...very few are worth a spit. Many....MANY...are just in it for the money. Congressman Charlie Dent has become a 'tool' for the Republican party. Nothing more. And that is what is wrong with America.

And for those that keep voting these people back in...they are also part of the same problem.

Using Obama's vote totals as indicators is not accurate. He's completely lost the Independent voter who was duped into believing him.

That being said, all incumbents are at risk because Washing is as dysfunctional as ever, and that's a tribute to both parties who are equally to blame.

Jim...it all looks good on paper. But NO ONE can calculate how the voters will vote. Those that vote straight party...I would rather they stay home. As much as our elected officials are the problem...so are these types of voters. You owe NOTHING to the party that is on your voter registration card....NOTHING. Ask yourselves...what have they done for me? Our elected government has become its own industry. Their cost keeps going up and as evidence today shows...they can't keep jockeying funds to cover their costs. And they return nothing to our GDP. They just borrow more to placate and cover their cost to the people...and we pay for it. How much longer can this go on?

Now....they've run out of money...ran the well dry. The unions the Democrats supported...have just about sucked the middle class dry. The rich people the Republicans sided with...hiding their money or sending it overseas. The middle class...now is the time we need to excersize our rights and vote them OUT. Start over. Impress on the new guys mind: we are watching you.

GrowupSaucon. Dent's office has been very helpful for me too when my sick mother had issues with federal offices we just could not get resolved. And for that I am grateful as well. But that does not excuse the poor performance he's shown his constituents over time and his terms. Do you keep a flat tire that got you out of a jam once? No. You replace it when its job is done...just as we need to do with politicians on a regular basis. Our Constitution's design for elected officials was never meant to be a full time job. You get elected, serve your fellow man for a term or two, then you go home and back to your full time job. THAT was the intention of the Constitution. Over time those elected into office thought...hey, this is cool. But...we need to give ourselves raises and car leases and health care and pensions and certain protections that our fellow man does not have like insider trading...all way above our fellow man...and make this a full time job. And here we are today. Over time...maybe another 50 years if this nation makes it that long without a full out revolt that I support...the taxpayers will not be able to afford the salaries, health care, and pensions these elected officials created for themselves. Then what do we do?

Allan is correct. What we, the taxpayers, do see...we do not like. You don't need to be a rocket scientist to know when something is wrong. It is the public's job to judge whether our elected officials are doing their job correctly, for the people, or not. And if it is determined they are not doing their job...the people have the right to replace those in office. All we see right now if political posturing on both sides of the aisle. And it has to stop. Will changing elected officials remedy this? Doubtful. But we will send a message that enough is enough. If a few decent elected officials (if there are any) lose their jobs...hey, it happens. Let them start over and run again and have to wade through the nearly impossible rules for getting on the ticket...which they, themselves, created in an effort to stop competition against an incumbent by a new member.

Agreed. 100%. As stated above, it was not the intention of the Constitution to create a lifetime job for an elected official. In order to have term limits...we need to have a Constitutional Convention to change the rules. And in order to have a Constitutional Convention, this needs to be ok'ed by the elected officials. Chances of that happening: near 0. So...here we sit with one tool in our toolbox: vote them out. They created the system slanted to their side. We have one tool to use no matter how 'ugly' it may sound to some voters. Your vote is a very powerful tool...much more so than any elected official can take away. They may make showing ID a requirement. They may change the hours...even the day...of the election. But they can not strip any American of their vote. Given our vote is what we need to use to enforce a lack of term limits....I am all for it.

That may be so Dana and you make a very good point. More important to me as an avid political watcher and writer to my elected officials...the voters are beginning to pay more attention to the wrongs that are called out. The next step is to put those new watchers to task and to write to their elected officials and put them on notice. And as we see today with the total grid lock out there...we use our votes to get rid of the dead weight and/or corrupt individuals (if the law does not get them first) and replace them with hopes that we can break that grid lock. This is where we are right now. We have too many politicians in office...we are the most expensive state government of all 50...and our federal government is chocked full of useless overcost departments...just bloated and many of those are 'good ole boy' placements. Time to cull the heard and push for a Constitutional Convention. There are a few elected officials that agree that we need a Convention. Just not enough yet. Sooner or later we will reach the point that we can no longer afford this size of a state and federal govt. But before we do get there...the politicians will rob Peter to pay Paul...in other words, they will cut government employees in an effort to save themselves and the taxpayers will suffer.