Bush-Era Blues in Bucks County…Where’s A Democrat Who’ll Fight For Medicare For All & Peace In Gaza?

Meet The PA-01 Candidates— If You Can Stay Awake

A moderate?

“The tent is big enough, even for guys like me,” said former Republican Tracy Hunt, in his announcement video (below) as he said he’s a “modern Democrat” and he would try to unseat the GOP’s one congressional quasi-moderate, Brian Fitzpatrick in swingy Bucks County. In 2020, Biden won the district 51.8% to 47.2%. Another of example of why she shouldn’t jump into the race this cycle, Kamala lost to Trump, who won PA-01 with 49.7% to her 49.4%.

Hunt, who said that “Twenty years ago, I think my values and what I believe the Republican Party’s values were, were more aligned” jumped into the PA-01 Democratic primary yesterday. Twenty years ago… that was the George Bush/Dick Cheney Republican Party. You remember their values? Endless war, tax cuts for billionaires, torture memos, surveillance states and letting New Orleans drown. If those were the “aligned values” Tracy Hunt once admired, it says less about how far the GOP has strayed and more about how low the bar was set from the start. That party didn’t just flirt with authoritarianism— they waterboarded it, wrapped it in a flag and called it freedom. So when Hunt says he’s a “modern Democrat,” is that supposed to be comforting? Because if he’s just another Bush-era fiscal conservative in a new blue suit, Democrats in Bucks County shouldn’t fall for it. The last thing the party needs is another Trojan Horse Democrat who talks bipartisanship while dragging in the failed doctrines of the past. After all, he says the GOP changed and doesn’t say, as far as I can find, that he’s changed.

His critique of the GOP is about the increased extremism and divisiveness within the Republican Party, including “the welcoming of white nationalists and things of that nature within the party.” OK, that’s good. But what about the rest of what makes someone a Democrat? He says he’s approaching this from the perspective of “a constituent, not a politician. When I look at things, I look at it from the everyday Bucks County citizens approach to it, not as an elected official that has whatever background that comes with.” He’s contrasting himself to the other Democrat running, Bucks County Commissioner Bob Harvie.

I decided to read both of their campaign websites. That went quickly. If Hunt has one, I couldn’t find it and Harvie’s has no policy page, just a bio, as though thesis just about him not about the people who live in the district. His bio is full of consultant-speak:

Now, Bob Harvie is running for Congress because he believes our country is failing to live up to its promise— and working families are paying the price. While people work longer and harder just to stay afloat, Washington is stuck in chaos, ignoring the struggles of everyday Americans. Bob knows firsthand how bad policies have made things worse, including devastating cuts that have left local nonprofits with fewer resources to help families in need. He is running to change that— to fight for the middle-class and working families, rebuild the American Dream, and ensure everyone who works hard can build a better future. He won’t stand by while Washington prioritizes billionaires like Elon Musk over the people who make this country strong— he’s ready to fight for Bucks County and deliver the leadership we deserve.

There’s also a self-described “just some guy” running, Rob Stickler. He has a website… with an issues page, which sounds like a centrist Democrat: “The deficit spending that’s been going on for the past fifty years (except for three years at the end of Bill Clinton’s presidency) must stop. It’s estimated we will pay $952 billion in INTEREST on our national federal debt in 2025. We are creating a financial debt nightmare which will burden our children and future generations. We MUST put our government on a budget and begin to pay down our debt. It took a long time to build up this debt, and it’s going to take a long time to address it. But we’ve got to make some hard decisions to get this done, including undoing some of the $3 trillion spending in Trump’s Big Billionaire Benefits Bill.”

So what do we have in PA-01? A Bush Republican in a new blue jacket, a bio-driven party man, and a deficit hawk who sounds like he wandered in from a Pete Peterson seminar. Not one of them is calling for Medicare for All. Not one is demanding a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. Not one has made clear how they’d vote on the defining issues of our time: corporate power, fair taxation, climate collapse…

They’re all asking for our support, but not offering much in return, just vague vibes and empty bios. It’s the kind of race that makes you wonder if the Democratic establishment has learned anything from the last decade. If we’re going to beat Republicans like Brian Fitzpatrick, who wears “moderate” like a Halloween costume, we can’t do it with Democrats who don’t stand for anything real. Bucks County deserves a candidate who will fight for something, not just against Trump. The stakes aren’t abstract anymore. They’re about war and peace, health and survival, democracy or authoritarian rule. And none of these guys are showing that they’re really ready for that fight.