10th CD Republicans

At this point in the 2008 race for the Republican nomination for Congress in the PA 10th District between Chris Hackett and Dan Meuser was a slugfest. Both candidates were running TV ads ripping into the other using information that I'm proud to say was first reported on Gort42 in many cases. This time around it's down right tame, even dull. That probably is due to the fact the candidates this time are not millionaires willing to pump a chunk of their fortunes into the campaign.

The conventional wisdom is that a freshman congressman is most vulnerable in the next election. But the national trend combined with the primary bloodbath that left many Meuser supporters resentful saw Congressman Chris Carney reelected by a big margin (56%-44%).

This year the Republicans have convinced themselves that Health Care Reform is so unpopular with people that think like them and live in the same echo chamber that he is a goner. I think the economy will be a bigger issue in the fall as it always is in any federal election.

All 3 GOP hopefuls oppose HCR and rail against deficits yet propose even more tax cuts. I call them the Tax Cut Triplets.

Malcolm Derk will not be on the air anytime soon. He is the first to file a FEC report showing that he only raised $18,000 in the first quarter with just $11,000 cash on hand. A few days ago his campaign sent out a press release that said he will be touring all 14 counties in the district. That sounds nice but it didn't bother to tell us where he will be and when.

Dave Madeira has the best website of the 3 with a full calendar of events plus all his press releases. and much more. He is planning a really neat event on 235th ANNIVERSARY OF PAUL REVERE'S FAMOUS RIDE . He will be riding a motorcycle across the district and tells us where to find him.

The ride will start at 12:30 p.m. in Shamokin and make stops in Muncy, Dushore and Tunkhannock before ending in Honesdale at 5:30 p.m. The 165-mile ride will go through Northumberland, Snyder, Union, Lycoming, Sullivan, Wyoming, Lackawanna and Wayne counties.

I hope he wears a helmet or at least a tri corn hat. This is kind of like teabaggers meet the Hell's Angels.

Tom Marino made a typo on his financial dislosure report. Louis DeNaples paid him a quarter of million dollars not $25,000. He defends writing a reference for DeNaples when he was applying for a slots license saying



"Mr. DeNaples has been a friend of mine for a long time," Marino said. "He's been very good to this state. He's created thousands and thousands of jobs, and I'm not throwing Mr. DeNaples under the bus for vote."

DeNaples was later indicted for lying on his application but the charges were dismissed. Marino also claims he started the investigation into the Juvie Brothers corruption scandal in Luzerne County when he was the US Attorney.

Conservative website REDSTATE is not a fan of Marino.


Meet Tom Marino, who will certainly be in the DCCC’s crosshairs if he wins the GOP primary in Pennsylvania’s 10th to go up against Rep. Chris Carney (proud member of the Stupak Sellout crowd instrumental in voting ObamaCare into law last week). Marino, a former US Attorney, has his own shady dealings which will make for good campaign fodder in the general.

During Marino’s tenure as US Attorney, local businessman Louis DeNaples was under investigation by the US Attorney’s Office for his ties to William D’Elia, head of the Bufalino crime family. It seems DeNaples lied about his relationship with D’Elia to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board when applying for a licence for the Mount Airy Casino. Listed as a personal reference on that same application was none other than US Attorney Tom Marino, the very man running the office investigating DeNaples’ organized crime ties.

The Department of Justice got wind of the conflict of interest and ordered Marino off the investigation, and shortly after the media broke the story he resigned his post… and went to work for Louis DeNaples. (The charges were eventually dropped when DeNaples agreed to place the casino project in the name of a family member.)

The reality is just as bad as–if not worse than–the optics of this scandal. Do we really want someone like Marino representing the GOP in what will be a battleground district this fall? Rep. Carney, the Pelosi-enabling, abortion-funding “Blue Dog” Democrat from a conservative district in northeastern Pennsylvania will have a hay day with Marino’s record. I’ve spoken with people in the district who feel uneasy about Marino and will likely just stay at home rather than having to choose between him and Carney.

One of the keys to a Republican resurgence is not only ensuring we have credibly conservative candidates running for office, but also candidates with a personal and professional record we can be proud of and defend. Tom Marino doesn’t fit the bill.