T.J. Rooney

LOWER PAXTON -- Democratic state Senate candidate Judy Hirsh said Thursday that she will sue the state Republican Party and Sen. Jeff Piccola (R-Dauphin County) for libel if they do not immediately remove their latest TV ad and apologize for what she calls its inaccuracies.

The ad, airing on local TV stations, accuses the "wealthy" Hirsh of not repaying a nearly $200,000 loan until a court ordered her to do so. The accusation is an outright lie, Hirsh said at a press conference outsider her campaign office.

She and the state Democratic Party have asked the TV stations to remove the ad. They have replied they won't.

Josh Wilson, Piccola's campaign manager, said the ads were funded entirely by the Republican Party. He declined to comment, saying the senator had nothing to do with them.

Calls from the state Republican Party were not immediately returned.

Pennsylvania Democrats on Tuesday argued that John McCain and Sarah Palin have twisted facts to help construct their "maverick" image.

The statement released by Democrats, issued in response to the GOP ticket's visit to Lancaster, took aim at Palin's claim she has a history of refusing earmarks and McCain's maverick image, which the statement said can't be true when "he voted with George W. Bush 90 percent of the time."

State party Chairman T.J. Rooney said Republicans are "lying" about McCain and Palin's record.

"No matter how many times they tell a lie, it won't make it true," Rooney said.

His remarks echo ones made Monday by Gov. Ed Rendell, who called the Republican National Convention "one big lie."

DENVER--Democrats in Pennsylvania are hoping that U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) could be vulnerable when he comes up for reelection in two years. But state Democratic Party Chairman T.J. Rooney this morning cautioned that unseating the longtime moderate Republican in 2010 will be very difficult.

"Arlen Specter is a very, very formidable opponent," Rooney told PolitickerPa.com during the state delegation's breakfast here.

Rooney gave Specter credit for "staying grounded" as other elements of his party have moved further to the right.

Beating Specter, Rooney said, will take "a candidate with a compelling story and a hell of a lot of money."

DENVER--With Pennsylvnia long law having restricted governors to two consecutive terms, it's been years since one party was able to stay in the governor's office for longer than that.

But with the Democratic Party continuing to expand its registration advantage over the GOP, state Democratic Party Chairman T.J. Rooney thinks the time has come for that pattern to break.

"I think in 2010 we'll break that cycle and elect a Democrat," Rooney told PolitickerPa.com during a luncheon for the state delegation here Tuesday afternoon. "That's something that'll keep us juiced."

A deep field of potential candidates to replace Gov. Ed Rendell has already lined up on both sides of the aisle.

"There's no doubt that our party is replete with really talented men and women," Rooney said.

With the Democratic voters in the state currently outnumbering Republicans by about one million voters, Rooney said it was critical for the party to turn out the growing number of Democrats.

"There comes a point in time where, when you have this great plurality, that you have to get these people out to vote, and that can be more arduous."