Senator Matthews?

PA resident Will Bunch at Attywood, reports that my home state, Pennsylvania, may be, uh, graced by a Senate Run by none other than Chris Matthews. Working from a piece on Huffington Post, Will gives us this:

Can Matthews, a Philadelphia native who lives in the D.C. area, enter the race -- which is seen as a showdown between sagging GOP incumbent Rick Santorum and anemic Democratic rival Bob Casey Jr. -- at this late date? Yes...if he runs as an independent.

While the door is shut on entering the race as a Democrat or Republican -- Matthews is a former Democratic aide on Capitol Hill who has leaned rightward, seemingly, as a TV talking head, we're told that Matthews could have begun circulating petitions to run as an idenpendent on March 9 and has all the way until Aug. 1 to turn them in.

His reasons why it could happen:

1) Matthews may actually think he could get elected to the U.S. Senate as an independent. If the "Hardball" host positioned himself as the lone pro-choice candidate, that would place him in sync with a majority of Pennsylvania voters, something that the stridently anti-abortion Santorum and Casey are not.

Whatever you think of his ability as a TV pundit, Matthews realizes there's a huge bloc of voters -- affluent "soccer mom"-types in Philly's expansive suburbs -- who are conservative on economic issues but liberal on social ones. These voters decide most elections here, and they are clearly alienated by the two leading choices.

2) Matthews' entry in the race would probably help the GOP more than the Democrats -- and that would advance the political career of his own brother. Jim Matthews, now a Republican Montgomery County commissioner, will be Lynn Swann's running mate in November in a neck-and-neck showdown with incumbent Gov. Ed Rendell.

Of course all of this would have the Ross Perot effect but without the whole Clinton Winning thing. He would dilute the Democratic vote, probably delivering the seat to Rick Santorum.

Yes, this sentence could be replaced by wild conspiracy theories, but it won't be.

I think that while Matthews is probably tempted by what he thinks would be a cake-walk run to the U.S. Senate, he won't actually run. First, he knows that he'd be giving up an uber-cushy gig. Well paid and hugely popular. Second, he knows that he'd actually be giving up visibility. As "Chris Matthews" he's got the whole nation. Even as a 'celebrity senator' he'd be limited.

In the end, I don't think he'll run. He's loving the publicity, though, I'm sure. It feeds his ego.

Chris Matthews PA Senate Rick Santorum Bob Casey Jr.