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There is at least one Republican in Pennsylvania's 11th Congressional District that is willing to take on Paul Kanjorski that is not named Lou Barletta.
Coulter Jones broke the news in the Citizens Voice a few days ago that Christopher Howard Paige filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission this past week, clearing the way for the 37-year-old Skytop man to run for Congress. Paige, who runs a hedge fund with his wife in Monroe County, was a registered Democrat until 2008, but switched registration to the Republican Party after the Democratic-majority Congress passed the TARP - the Troubled Assets Relief Program, which was part of the bailout of the U.S. financial system.
My first reaction was Who is this guy? So I started asking around.
I contacted long time Kanjorski spokesman Ed Mitchell who replied "Never heard of him. Got balls running as a hedge fund manager these days!"
Our best local researcher McGruff did some digging and found out that Paige graduated from the University of Virginia, has a law degree from Yale University and a master's degree in political science from New York University. He was the Director of The Pace Poll and is now dealing in exotic financial instruments that most of us don't understand and may have contributed to the financial meltdown that happened last fall. He moved to the Poconos in 2006 was a registered Democrat until 2008.
Some choice quotes.
From the CV:
"I'm not some hardcore Republican. What the Democratic Party has been doing with the economy has been disastrous. We cannot let this continue."
He takes a shot at Barletta.
"We've tried that twice. We don't need to try that again. I don't share his approach on immigration at all. I think he would damage the Republican Party's reputation with that approach."
And he took a shot at Kanjo about his oversight of the financial industry and his vote for the TARP program.
"That's like bragging you were on the bridge of the Titanic and in charge of navigation," Paige said. "These bailouts were unbelievably expensive, and obviously ineffective if you look at what has happened to the economy. Just take it the common sense, how does it make sense to take our money to give it to banks so they can lend our money back to us?"
More choice quotes from the Pocono Record.
“I was outraged by the bailouts which I think are unconstitutional. You are throwing societal resources at inefficient companies.”
“The housing bubble was fueled by government policy subsidizing home ownership. We've got to stop trying to subsidize various industries.”
In an interview with pa2010.com he said “I think the public has decided to get rid of Kanjorski, they just saw Barletta as an unacceptable alternative,” Paige said. “Had it been someone else, we would have won last year.”
I had a brief conservation with Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta on Saturday who also had no idea who this guy is and declined to respond to Paige's criticisms. I asked him a few questions.
The last time I talked to you I got the impression you were running for Lt. Governor, what happened to that?
"I want to be in a position to affect change and that is not an office that would let me do that."
Are you going to run for Congress again?
"I haven't ruled it out and I'm very seriously looking at the race."
Has your Congressional campaign committee raised any money this quarter?
"Very little, just trying to retire the debt."
When I talked to you in your office last January it was obvious that you love being the Mayor of Hazelton.
"Staying Mayor is not out of the question."
Mayor Lou will be teaming with Mayor John DeStefano Jr. of New Haven, Conn. to discuss immigration at a forum at Wilkes University on Oct. 22.
One thing that I like about Barletta is that he has a thick skin. I disagree with him on many issues and have beat him up on this blog many times but he always talks to me.
Corey O'Brien didn't return a phone call asking for comment.
Corey O'Brien didn't return a phone call asking for comment.
.
Update: As noted Paige was a Democrat until 2008 and his campaign contributions reflect that. According the the HuffPo he gave $2300 to Hillary Clinton in 2008, $1800 to John Kerry in 2004 and $600 to Howard Dean in 2004. Watchdog.net lists contributions of
$250 to Actblue and $250 to Sestak For Congress in 2006.
$250 to Actblue and $250 to Sestak For Congress in 2006.
14 comments:
Nice to see a new face. I wonder if the Rep party will fuck him over
Looks like another opportunist to me.
Anyone know that this guy's real name is Christopher Martin?, his 'folks' live in Fairfax, VA?
Uhhh...evidently this gentleman is not a student of history, or if he is, he needs to take the blinders off and/or extricate his head. To solely blame the Democratic party for the state of the economy tells me all I need to know. Some platform.
Well just the idea that government subsidies "fueled" the recession. I wonder what he feels caused it.
Being that he is a rich investment broker I would wager that he does not blame the deregulation of the financial markets.
I think this guy is a Democratic plant and is in there to give Barletta trouble before the general election. Nice work McGruff.
Is it just me, or does this guy look like Jared Fogle from the Subway commercials?
Probably looking for R as some stepping stone.
At the end of the day he smells like a democrat.
I'm not sure why the passage of TARP would lead a Democrat to switch to the GOP; Republicans in Congress supported it as well, and it was signed into law by President Bush.
I could understand it if he switched to the Libertarian or some other third party, but his stated reason makes no sense to me.
Since I am the subject of these posts, I believe I should respond.
Dear Anonymous,
Thank you. I intend to be both a new face and a new voice for a party that sorely needs both after losing the 11th District thirteen times in a row. I am puzzled that so many seem so intent on trotting out the same old candidates again and again and again - maybe they just like losing.
Dear Anonymous,
I don't know what you mean when you say I "look like an opportunist." Perhaps you're casting an aspersion on my looks? If so, I agree - I'm not attractive. If not, then I suppose you mean that I'm running because I think I can win, which is true, but I wonder if you mean to imply that you only support candidates who expect to lose? That seems like a strange criteria for selecting candidates, and I doubt you'll find very many candidates who intend to satisfy it. Of course, the GOP has managed to field candidates who went on to lose the 11th District thirteen times in a row, so I may be underestimating my fellow candidates.
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Dear Anonymous,
Yes, I was born Christopher William Martin, and my parents live in Fairfax, VA. I'm not sure what any of this has to do with anything, but you are correct that I legally changed my name.
Dear Don Williams,
I'm not sure that I "solely" blamed the Democratic Party. Obviously, I opposed the bailouts when President Bush supported them. (You can find my contemporaneous ad against the bailouts in the archives of the Pocono Record.) And, as many others including this blog have pointed out, I opposed the Republicans when they pursued these same policies by donating to Democrats. But the fact is that the Democrats run Congress and the White House, and they've been in charge for nine months now, so it's a little much to continue to blame W.
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Dear Austin,
I'm not rich, but I thank you for the implicit confidence in my abilities. I agree that "deregulation" is to blame to the extent that deregulation allowed firms to become "too big to fail," and, thus, led to bailouts. Nevertheless, I utterly fail to understand how "deregulation" could have caused the collapse of highly-regulated banks and broker dealers. If you notice, lightly-regulated hedge funds outperformed their regulated peers. Although correlation is not causation, it is awfully difficult to infer causation from the absence of correlation. By the way, if mis-regulation caused the recession, what does that imply about Cong. Kanjorski, who sits on the Financial Services Committee?
Dear Scranton Guardian,
I suppose your proof for your claim that I'm a Democratic plant is that Corey O'Brien and I may have lived in the Washington, DC metropolitan area at approximately the same time. All I can say is that DC is a pretty big place, and - as best I can tell - I was living in Connecticut when Mr. O'Brien moved to DC. As far as I know, I've never met Mr. O'Brien. If you have any proof of your conspiracy theory, please share it, but I'm afraid the only "trouble" Mr. Barletta is likely to experience is Hazleton's impending bankruptcy. You may not realize it, but Hazleton's last, best choice to avoid bankruptcy is its pending appeal to the Third Circuit, and I, like any other lawyer, can assure you that appeals are dicey propositions at best. Whether you love Mr. Barletta or hate him, the reality is that his immigration policies are likely to cost Hazleton's taxpayers several million dollars - millions that Hazleton doesn't have. Perhaps the federal courts are part of my grand conspiracy too!
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Dear Anonymous,
If you think I'm too much of a Democrat, how do you plan on winning a district that voted for Obama & Kanjorski without converting a few ex-Democrats? Would you prefer to win with an ex-Democrat or lose with a lifelong Republican? (PS I don't think Barletta qualifies as a lifelong Republican, but you need to ask him about that.)
Dear Forrest,
You're right: I'm not very good looking. Of course, this begs the question: if, as my other accusers have claimed, I really have two-faces, why would I wear this one? (Apologies to Mr. Lincoln for stealing his quip.)
Dear Dana,
The decision to cut $500B from Medicare in order to subsidize bankers is patently inconsistent with the Democratic Party's professed interest in protecting the vulnerable and disadvantaged; thus, their betrayal of their core values should be more than enough to drive anyone to the opposition. If the Democrats are just going bailout bankers, then all of us will have to become Republicans or paupers.
I certainly hope that my light-hearted tone has not offended anyone. I truly enjoy discussing public policy, and I look forward to meeting all of you at some time in the near future. Now, I have to go remind the Democratic Party to give me all that money they promised me for running against Barletta. But I have to admit I'm a little worried: they said they were paying me with shares in a little start-up called Cornerstone Technologies. Anyone heard of it?
Sincerely,
Chris Paige
Sorry, I just want to correct a typo:
Dear Dana,
The decision to cut $500B from Medicare in order to subsidize bankers is patently inconsistent with the Democratic Party's professed interest in protecting the vulnerable and disadvantaged; thus, their betrayal of their core values should be more than enough to drive anyone to the opposition. If the Democrats are just going to bailout bankers, then all of us will have to become Republicans or paupers.
I certainly hope that my light-hearted tone has not offended anyone. I truly enjoy discussing public policy, and I look forward to meeting all of you at some time in the near future. Now, I have to go remind the Democratic Party to give me all that money they promised me for running against Barletta. But I have to admit I'm a little worried: they said they were paying me with shares in a little start-up called Cornerstone Technologies. Anyone heard of it?
Sincerely,
Chris Paige
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