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  The Gloves Come Off in the 6th District
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ContributorMcCord 2014 
Last EditedMcCord 2014  Dec 03, 2009 06:46am
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CategoryNews
AuthorDan Hirschhorn
News DateThursday, December 3, 2009 12:00:00 PM UTC0:0
DescriptionThe gloves come off in the 6th District

When the sun came up Tuesday morning, the Democratic primary between Doug Pike and Manan Trivedi was just another intra-party contest, competitive but relatively civil.

But by Wednesday afternoon, one op-ed, three press releases later and some negative Google text ads later, the race in the 6th Congressional District had devolved into one of the most contentious primaries in the state, rivaled only by the party’s bitter Senate race. When it was over, arguably little had been learned about the candidates themselves—for the record, both say they are pro-choice and opposed to the Stupak amendment before Congress. But if there was any doubt before, Tuesday’s back-and-forth attacks made it abundantly clear that the fight could end up being an nasty one. And it revealed small snapshots of the strategic decisions to come.

In the end, both campaigns sought to claim the moral high ground, and both looked to paint the other as having gone negative first. All the while, some party insiders were quietly wondering if the veneer of civility would ever be restored.

It started Tuesday morning when Pike, in an op-ed on pa2010.com, claimed that he was the only “publicly” pro-choice candidate in the race, words couched carefully enough to challenge his opponent, even while the implication was clear. But little time went by before Trivedi’s campaign shot back affirming its candidate’s pro-choice views—and also pointing out an article Pike wrote almost 20 years ago. The quick response made clear that Pike’s years as an editorial writer for The Inquirer have provided his opponents with material they feel ready and able to use. Soon, Pike’s campaign was calling for “reasoned discussion,” Trivedi’s was bringing back to life a two-month old incident of negative online comments, and, in seemingly getting the last word Wednesday afternoon, Pike’s campaign was claiming to have stayed “positive in the face of atta
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