Charlie Dent is a longtime congressman from Allentown, Pa. — the town that Billy Joel sang about. I have done a Q&A podcast with Congressman Dent, and we talk about that song right off the bat. In Allentown, it is both liked and not. Dent is a Republican, first elected to the House in 2004. He is retiring at the end of this term.
We talk many subjects, of course. What’s it like to be a congressman? What’s it like to campaign, door to door? What about House speakers you have known (Hastert, Pelosi, Boehner, Ryan)? What about other colleagues? How has the political landscape changed with the rise of Trump? What about American institutions generally — healthy or un-?
I talked with Charlie Dent last Thursday. I found it both a pleasure and an education. I bet others will, too. Again, here.