Sacrificial Lamb

Ron Holt, who seems to be the GOP-has-no-one-else-to-run candidate in Abington, has been talking with John Prezel about organizing a write-in campaign for the 153rd State House race against Josh Shapiro.

Ron has been candidate for State Senate in each of the last 2 election cycles, only to be trounced by Leanna Washington in a district where he has no legitimate shot at winning.

Prezel is clearly frustrated by the impact of Shapiro. Josh was able to orchestrate Denny O'Brien's ascension to speaker, knowing he'd actually own the position. But Prezel wants to keep Josh busy, never mind what it does to an already-weak GOP brand in southern Montgomery County.

This desperate move by Prezel shows a lack of vision. Holt may think falling on the sword for John is a swell idea, but is also failing to see the big picture here. This move doesn't help improve the GOP brand.

Committeepeople in Abington would be wise not let their frustration force them into a bad idea; write-in campaigns waste energy and time. If Holt does get on the ballot, resources are drawn away from the Marina Kats campaign against Allyson Schwartz; a race that will be tighter than some people think.

John Prezel would be better-suited to find a more savvy way to defeat Josh, but when the best idea you have is to run sacrificial lambs, with write-in campaigns, you've clearly lost your edge.