What's up in the 11th CD

Mayor Lou Barletta defended the honor of Hazleton before the students of Temple University last week. Today he is touting his fundraising prowess claiming to have raised $300,000 this cycle. The FEC reports are not online yet so we have to wait to see where the money came from and how much cash he has on hand or if he incurred any more debt. Yesterday another one one of the increasingly frequent raids by federal agents swarmed the offices of a firm involved in one his pet projects. He denies any knowledge of wrongdoing.


Dredge-site firms eyed


“I surely don’t want to speculate on what’s happening. … We need to wait and see if there was any wrongdoing. … I hope the reclamation of the minelands will continue and that the amphitheater project also will continue,” Barletta said.

Congressman Paul Kanjorski has been busy defending his vote for Health Care reform to just about every group that will listen to him. He also came up with one of his big ideas like Wall Street West


Kanjorski: W-B could host energy institute

I think this idea has merit in the long run but the potential damage that gas drilling can do to the area can't wait to be addressed. The gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale will happen no matter how much me and other bloggers rail against it. The challenge is to get the federal and state governments to put in tough regulations to protect the water supply.

Corey O'Brien is making hay out of the rift between Kanjo and neighboring Congressman Chris Carney over the Appropriation Committee seat that came open when Jack Murtha died. The long and short of it is Carney thinks that Kanjorski screwed him over when Kanjo voted for Patrick Murphy instead of him to replace Murtha on the committee.

I got this release from the O'Brien camp:


The fallout from Paul Kanjorski’s betrayal of Northeastern Pennsylvania continues – today, Politico reported that Kanjorski is to blame for igniting “open warfare” on Congressman Carney. According to a chief of staff to a member of the Pennsylvania delegation “The person to blame for this … is Kanjorski.”

Paul Kanjorski voted against Chris Carney for a seat on the powerful House Appropriations Committee, and in doing so, cost our region hundreds of millions of dollars. Despite Congressman Carney’s requests for an explanation, Kanjorski has failed to provide a reason for his betrayal and instead continues to hide behind secret ballots and lame excuses.

Pennsylvania Dems feud over seat

My advice to Kanjo and Carney is to stop it. It doesn't help you or you constituents.

This one is rich.

Kanjo's pollster actually called Corey O'Brien.

via Mark

The first rule of polling is “make sure the pollster doesn’t call your opponent’s house.” To that rule I would add “…especially when the campaign manager is sitting next to the phone.”

But last week, Team Kanjo broke this rule, and in doing so, revealed just how low he will sink in his desperate attempt to keep his seat. Not only did the poll seek to find ways of tearing down Corey O’Brien, it also tested just how angry voters are with Paul Kanjorski.

The set of questions written by Kanjorski’s own team says it all. The pollster asked “if any of the following would be a reason not to vote for someone”:

1. Paul Kanjorski is a professional politician.

2. Paul Kanjorski has voted for pay raise after pay raise after pay raise, while we struggle with unemployment and stagnant job creation.

3. Eleven Democrats, including Paul Kanjorski, voted against the stimulus package. Now Paul Kanjorski is trying to take credit for its success.

4. Paul Kanjorski was the architect of the bailout and defends the bailout. (Campaign manager’s note to pollster -- you should also ask whether taking campaign contributions from bailed out banks only two weeks after the multi-billion dollar bailout would be a reason “not to vote for someone”).

5. Paul Kanjorski was named by a journalist as a corrupt Member of Congress because he funneled $10 million to his daughter and son-in-law’s company, Cornerstone.Team Kanjo: In case the answer wasn’t clear from your poll, please stay tuned for May 18th.

Stop Twisting the Truth

Perhaps a telling omen of what Kanjorski’s smear machine will look like, the pollster also made a series of misleading, negative attacks on Corey O’Brien:

The fact that Corey and his wife have debt was twisted into “a lack of fiscal discipline,” even though the debt is from student loans for law school, Corey’s wife’s small business, and child care expenses.

Corey’s career as a community banking attorney became “representing Wall Street” (those are your donors, Congressman).


There is another candidate in the race for the Democratic nomination. Brian Kelly thinks that the world should be made safe to drink tea and talks to the ghost of Dan Flood.