Alan Howe for Congress

At Kirby Park

With Lou Barletta deciding to run for Senate there is a lot of speculation about who will run in the PA 11th Congressional District. I'm going to resist getting into all that and cover candidates that have actually announced that they are running.

Alan Howe is a USAF veteran who rose to the top enlisted rank of Chief Master Sergeant. That's E-10 for my friends that are vets of the other services. He lives in Carlisle with his wife and dogs and is an avid fly fisherman.

He entered the race as a Democrat a few months ago before Barletta decided he needs a promotion.

From his website:

We must help our local communities grow

Our nation was founded on the idea of equality for all and the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. To help protect those rights, we formed a Democracy that had as its principle aims: “to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.”
Your Representative to the US House should be working diligently on these tasks. He or she should be making sure that your government does things for you, not to you. You should see, hear from, and talk to your Representative routinely. You should know that your Representative is doing right by you, your community, and your nation.
Twenty-five years ago, the Air Force asked me to internalize the core values of “Integrity first, service before self, and excellence in all we do.” You can expect that as your Representative, I will to the right thing always for our district and for our nation, and I will do it as well as it can be done.
As a candidate, I am hard at work traveling throughout the 11th District to hear from as many of you as I can. As your elected Representative, I will continue to work hard to craft and sponsor policies to see that your government does its best for you—just as it should, so you can enjoy life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness with your family and friends.

Facebook page:  

Alan Howe for Pennsylvania's 11th Congressional District

 

                                                                                          

Lou Barletta for Senate

If the reports are true PA 11th CD Rep Lou Barletta of Hazleton  is running for the US Senate against incumbent Bob Casey of Scranton in 2018. After Rick Santorum flamed out in the 2016 primary Lou endorsed Donald Trump and has been a big supporter ever since. Many people say that Trump has urged him to get into the race.

Barletta getting into the Senate race will probably knock out a few of the minor Republican candidates but I doubt he will have a clear field.

On the other hand the next primary  election in the  Pennsylvania 11th Congressional District will be a donnybrook on both sides.

The only declared candidate in the 11th CD until now was Democrat Alan Howe. 
That will change in the next few days.

The Republicans have a deep bench in a district that stretches from Wyoming County to down past Harrisburg and Carlisle. There are many Republican Legislators and County officials that will be looking for a promotion.

Of course some rich guy/girl  who could self finance might  get in on it.


My archive/oppo research on Barletta

Here

 

End the Tea Party Shutdown

Washington DC (October 9, 2013) – Now nine days into the Tea Party government shutdown, hasn’t the middle class suffered enough?   Not enough for Tea Party Republicans in Congress who continue to throw out absurd ransom demands in exchange for doing their job and keeping the government functioning. Brad Woodhouse, President, Americans United for Change: “Make no mistake: refusing to support clean legislation to keep the government open at the 11^th hour was the act of extortionist Tea Party Republicans plain and simple.  Some Republicans even openly cheered it on.  The anti-government Tea Partiers who are calling the shots in the House demanded a ransom they knew they would never get: killing the Affordable Care Act.

This spot is airing in Harrisburg and I will tune into the local news later today to see if it's on the air in our market. I never really associated Lou with the teabaggers because his claim to fame is the immigration issue. But then again that is a natural fit.

PoliticsPA: “The House passed several bills to keep the government open. The Senate rejected each of them, shutting down the government,” said Barletta campaign spokesman Lance Stange. “Rep. Barletta remains committed to discussing how we can re -open the government and pay our bills whenever the Senate decides to have that conversation.”

Barletta moves the goal post

Rep. Lou Barletta (R) keeps disappointing us. In this whole budget mess he sounded almost reasonable but has reverted to making unreasonable demands for his vote to fund the government and raise the debt ceiling. He voted at first to defund Obamacare and  then to delay the ACA like the rest of the Republicans. When that didn't work out and the government shutdown came along  Lou made a few lists of people willing to vote for a clean continuing resolution but that didn't last long. . Now he wants a repeal of the the tax on medical devices in exchange for his vote to fund the government.

The Republicans complain that the Democrats won't negotiate but there is no need to as the Republicans keep negotiating with themselves. They started off with defunding the ACA , then delay it and now will settle for a repeal of one of the taxes that fund it.

It's a weak position. I suppose the Dems could let them have a vote on the device tax with a promise it will pass the day after they pass a clean CR as way of saving face.

This is more of a worry.

WASHINGTON – Congressman Lou Barletta, PA-11, today called for a Constitutional amendment to require a balanced federal budget as a trade-off for raising the nation’s debt limit as requested by President Obama.

The balanced budget amendment sounds good but it is nonsense. Government finances are somewhat complicated so who decides that the budget is in balance? Will accounting ledgers go to the Supreme Court that will rule on the question 2 years later? The Constitution is about rights and processes not specific policies.

You can argue about the budget but raising the debt ceiling is non-negotiable.  

Tweedledummies

Another Chris Carney tease

PoliticsPA is reporting that the DCCC had  a poll of former 10th CD Congressman Chris Carney vs. 11th CD Congressman Lou Barletta recently without any numbers. We went through this last time. Don't get your hopes up Carney fans as he  is not running for Congress or Lt. Governor which is laughable.. He spent 2 terms in Congress and cashed in becoming as a lobbyist  with a defense contractor in Virginia. Every time one of these stories pops up he can't be reached by reporters or bloggers which tells you something.

in government affairs for BAE systems

in government affairs for BAE systems

Tom Marino needs to read the Constitution

via Think Progress:  Congressman Tom Marino wants to impeach Harry Reid because he is mad about the budget or something.

MARINO: I’ve made a suggestion that we should at least start talking about impeachment. I had my office staff do it. But we cannot find anything that permits the House to bring impeachment proceedings against Harry Reid. There’s nothing in the legislation we can find at this point to force him to vote or come up with a budget or anything like that. His membership in the Senate can call for a vote of “no confidence,” but we can’t even get a Republican senator to do that.

The reason his staff can't find anything is because it doesn't exist. The House can't remove a member of the Senate.  Article I Section 5 of the Constitution says each house makes it own rules:

Each House may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two thirds, expel a member.

Also there is nothing in the Constitution about a "no confidence vote." That can happen in the British Parliament but not the US Congress.

A few months ago 11th CD Congressman Lou Barletta stated that the President could veto a Constitutional amendment. Article V of the US Constitution says that an amendment must be passed by two thirds of the House and Senate then ratified by three fourths of the State Legislatures.

The President can not veto a Constitutional Amendment!

Barletta also wants to deny birthright citizenship guaranteed by the 14th amendment.

Keystone Politics:
H.R.140, the “Birthright Citizenship Act of 2013,” seeks to bar children of non-citizens born in the United States from gaining citizenship rights.

If this was applied retroactively I would not be an an American citizen as my grandparents were not American citizens when they came to the the USA . My Mother and Father would not be American citizens even they were born in this country to foreign born parents.

Poll Closing Times

Here are all the final poll closing times in ET:

7:00 pm: GA, IN, KY, SC, VT, VA
7:30 pm: NC, OH, WV
8:00 pm: AL, CT, DE, DC, FL, IL, ME, MD, MA, MS, MO, NH, NJ, OK, PA, RI, TN
8:30 pm: AR
9:00 pm: AZ, CO, KS, LA, MI, MN, NE, NM, NY, ND, SD, TX, WI, WY
10:00 pm: IA, MT, NV, UT
11:00 pm: CA, HI, ID, OR, WA
1:00 am: AK

Everyone will watching the Presidential results so I'll be live blogging the local races. The Luzerne County website had the final results before 11PM in 2010.

Of particular interest are the 10th, 11th and 17th Congressional Districts.

There a 3 hot races for the PA House in Luzerne county.

2010 results

116th HD

Tarah Toohil (R)  9702  55%

Todd Eachus (D) 7967  45%



119 HD

Gerald Mullery (D)  8631  52%

Rick Arnold (R)  7274  44%

Brian Bergman (L)  741  4%


120th HD

Phyllis Mundy (D)  10153 53%

Bill Goldsworthy (R)  6154  32%

Tim Mullen (L) 2858  15%

Lou Barletta is worried

By all the metrics of a political campaign Lou Barletta (R) is a lock. He is the incumbent that has a million dollar campaign warchest with  a winning issue on immigration that appeals to the fears of people. Gene Stilp (D)  has no money or party support but has an army of supporters and has run an unconventional campaign.

 Like many people I dismissed Gene Stilp's chances in the Democratic primary against Bill Vinsko. He is known as the guy with the big pig and other stunts and I didn't take him seriously. He proved me wrong.

Lou Barletta has noticed. In his 2 TV ads he repeats the lie that Stilp wants to cut Medicare by $716 Billion. Lou's first ad  and second. If he wasn't worried he would be running warm fuzzies instead of attack ads.

Another sign of panic from the Barletta camp is trying to drum up controversy about Tim Holden endorsing Stilp or not.  Like anyone gives a shit about what Tim Holden thinks. Most endorsements are good for a press release and not much else.

This may be the  surprise of the night.

The WVIA debate

Watch 2012 PA 11th Congressional District Debate on PBS. See more from WVIA Special Presentations.

PA 11th Congressional District Poll

I still say this may be the big surprise on election night.

Vote in the poll on the sidebar. Remember the question is who do you think will win not who you are voting for.

Like many people I dismissed Gene Stilp's chances in the Democratic primary against Bill Vinsko. He is known as the guy with the big pig and other stunts and I didn't take him seriously. Then I talked to him for an hour at the Spring Blogfest and found out that he came close to winning a state house seat in the very Republican year of 2010.

From Waynestock:

The conventional wisdom holds that Gene doesn’t have a prayer against Republican incumbent, Lou Barletta, but conventional wisdom may not apply to Gene Stilp.
Gene will be running in the 11th Congressional district, newly configured to ensure Barletta’s reelection. The Republican power brokers who drew that map certainly anticipated that Barletta would be running against a conventional Democrat, but Gene is anything but a conventional Democrat.
Gene appeals to voters across party lines. He has established a solid reputation as a reformer bent on improving government, holding officeholder accountable for their actions and fearlessly exposing corruption....Barletta is practically unknown in the Dauphin/Cumberland/Perry part of the 11th, and many people question his understanding of the politics, the culture or the needs of their communities...
Incidentally, the registered voters in the new 11th are 44% GOP, 43% DEM and 12% IND.
Gene has HUGE appeal with the IND voters, and GOP voters below Luzerne County.

In an interview  Barletta  didn't sound like he likes his new job.


Among the many criticisms leveled by citizens at Congress is that bipartisanship has caused stalemate in the House and Senate. The popular opinion is that much is said and discussed by the legislators but little comes of it.
"I'm just as frustrated as the average citizen with the gridlock," Barletta said.
The first-term congressman said he's sought for and found opportunities to find common ground among both Republicans and Democrats, even bucking party leadership on at least one occasion.
He found a Democrat to co-sponsor transportation legislation and sought Democrats' support to revamp relief funding in the wake of a presidentially declared natural disaster...."For me, that's dysfunctional. It doesn't matter if you're a Democrat or Republican, we still have a responsibility to do the business of the American people," he says. "You can have disagreements with these bills, but I believe all the Senate should have the opportunity to vote on it, debate it, send it back to the House and maybe we could amend it. We could see where there's common ground."

There is more to being a Congressman than yelling about immigration.

Dueling ads from Barletta and Stilp

Lou Barletta has his first spot up.

From the inbox: Dear Gort --

Today we released our latest campaign ad and I wanted to make sure you saw it. It’s called “In Our Corner” and you can watch it here. It highlights my record of fighting for Pennsylvanians, whether it’s their jobs, their Medicare benefits, or their safety. It’s a record I’m proud of and I hope you are too.

It shows a boxing ring and says he is fighting for Pennsylvania seniors. I am the only one sick of the boxing metaphors and the "fighting for us" tag line from politicians on both sides. An election is about who will govern not who can win a brawl in the schoolyard. 

I'm sure you will be shocked that he says he is against illegal immigration. Then he takes a shot at Gene Stilp saying "He’s fighting for a radical agenda." That tells you Lou is worried about Gene.  Barletta attacks his opponent in his first TV spot when the Captains Obvious college professors think he is lock for reelection.  There has not been any public polling in this race but it just might be the surprise of election night.

Stilp responds with his usual good humor.

 

 

From the inbox:

Today, 11th Congressional District Candidate and Democratic Nominee, Gene Stilp, unveiled a campaign advertisement which recounts the difficult fights he has taken on in the past, under intense heat and pressure to do otherwise, and states that he is not afraid of doing the right thing in Congress, no matter how hot it gets.  

The unique 30 second ad cites the longtime activist's prior fights against the 2005 illegal legislative payraise and perpetrators of government waste, fraud and abuse in state government and states that Mr. Stilp can take on "the firestorm of corruption in Washington". 

See the new ad here.

Additionally it cites the misleading comments from his opponent, Congressman Lou Barletta's recent ad.  It states that Mr. Stilp wants to cut over $700 million from Medicare.  

In addressing the false claim, Mr. Stilp said, "Mr. Barletta's ad is completely false.  It's Congressman Barletta that wants to cut Medicare, as he voted for the Ryan Budget, which would turn Medicare into a voucher program and would harm our seniors.  Mr. Barletta has taken hundreds of thousands of dollars from lobbyists and corporations to run this false and misleading ad.  That is what is wrong with Washington and is why I am running.  As you can see in this ad, I am uniquely equipped to take on this fight."

 And I love this one.

Pignelope in a drag race

Barletta staffer may have broke the law

Shawn Kelly was candidate Lou Barletta's spokesperson in the 2010 election campaign and was given a staff job as Congressman Lou Barletta's spox on official business after the election.

I like Shawn and he has always been great about answering my questions in the election in 2010 and since then. I asked him a political question a few months ago and he referred me to the campaign for an answer. He explained that he is now a pointy headed bureaucrat that couldn't comment on the reelection effort.

So I was shocked when I read this

DANVILLE - The absence of Congressman Lou Barletta at a campaign event Tuesday night rankled his election opponent, Gene Stilp, and lead to unanticipated debate over the event's format.
The candidates for the 11th Congressional District were expected to debate each other at the American Legion during a Candidates Night hosted by the Danville Area League of Voters.
Instead, it was Stilp and a congressional aide trading barbs.

Stilp attacked Barletta for skipping the event, while Shawn Kelly, Barletta's communications director, said the congressman was simply keeping a prior commitment....
Kelly took a long pause and followed with an explanation that, as a employee of his congressional office and not his campaign, he did not know what event Barletta was attending Tuesday.
He did, however, say that "He committed to an event over two months ago and he's keeping that commitment.


KP is all over it:

 There’s just one problem: staffer, Shawn Kelly, doesn’t work for Congressman Barletta’s campaign, but is actually his Legislative Communications Director, who draws a taxpayer salary.

 If Kelly in any way charged the taxpayers by using resources issued to him by the United States Congress, that is really bad news for Barletta–especially considering the fact that Gene Stilp is responsible for bringing down this type of behavior in Harrisburg.

KP points to this part of Ethics Committee rules:

 It is permissible for House employees to do campaign work, but only outside of congressional space, without the use of any House resources, and on their own time (as opposed to “official” time for which they are compensated by the House).  Accordingly, any House employee who does campaign work must ensure that the work – including any telephone conversations or other communications concerning campaign business – is performed strictly in compliance with these limitations.

Edit: Executive branch personnel are subject to restrictions on partisan political activity by the Hatch Act (5 U.S.C. § 7321 et seq.), but those restrictions do not apply to congressional employees

Thanks Yuri and McG

  It’s still completely unethical.  He doesn’t know where Barletta is, because he’s not part of the campaign, but he’s debating at a campaign event. Total BS.

Update: You know I try to be Fair and Balanced. Barletta's campaign manager Lance Stange responds 

Gort,

 

Thank you for correcting some of Mr. Stilp’s bogus claims.  Since they were corrected, I won’t go into them but I would like to ask that you correct another:

 

The event in question was not a debate.  We have agreed to the same number of debates as President Obama and Governor Romney.  This has been widely reported throughout the district.  One was at Wilkes University under the sponsorship of the Times Leader; another was in Dauphin County under the sponsorship of WHP580 News Radio which covers Dauphin, Cumberland and Perry counties; the third will be on WVIA  in a week to cover the six northern counties – Carbon, Columbia, Luzerne, Montour, Northumberland, and Wyoming Counties.

 

If Mr. Stilp received the same letter we did inviting us to participate, he is also aware that it was not a debate.  The League doesn’t even describe it as a debate and, as a matter of fact, they clearly identified the event as the “Danville Area League of Voters Candidates Night” in the invitation letter.

 

About two months ago, Congressman Barletta agreed to participate in the Dauphin/Cumberland Fall Dinner.  Invitations that were sent out and the event was publicized shortly after that.  Less than two weeks ago, the campaign received a formal invitation to participate in the Danville Area League of Voters Candidates Night.  At that time, we indicated that we had a scheduling conflict.  The League understood but didn’t want to reschedule the event.  Instead, the League suggested that we send a surrogate so that’s what we did.

 

Mr. Stilp’s attack on the League suggesting they changed the rules at the last minute is also untrue.  The League determined the rules and notified us of them, in writing, on October 15.

 

Instead of making false charges and impugning the character of the League, Mr. Stilp should be explaining his plan for “the long run” to “get this country out of its fiscal dilemma” – something he said he would do over six months ago.

Upcoming events

Today 120th HD Republican candidate Aaron Kaufer is having a meet and greet or cookout depending if you read his PR or Facebook page at the Shavertown Shopping Center parking lot

148 N. Memorial Highway, Shavertown, Pa. 18708 2-4PM

 Free hot dogs and soda will be provided. Republican and Democrat elected officials in support of Aaron will be in attendance to show support for him. All are invited to attend.

I can't wait to see what Democratic elected officials will risk the wrath of Phyllis by showing up for this. 

A big chunk of what passes as the Republican 'establishment' around here will be elsewhere at the same time. Bad move by the Kaufer camp on scheduling. 

It competes with this gathering.

Conservative Voter Rally  

Saturday, October 20, 2012  11:30am until 3:30pm

 

 

Genetti Ballrooms Inn & Suites

1341 N Church St, Hazleton, Pennsylvania

 

Special guest speakers include: Lou Barletta (U.S. Congressman), Sam Rohrer (Pres., PA Pastors Network), Tarah Toohil (PA House of Representatives), David Madeira (The David Madeira Show), Bob Zaruta (Pres., Luzerne Co. Young Republicans), and Laureen Cummings (Candidate for U.S. Congress).

Sunday is

Youth in Politics  at 

The Appletree Terrace

4 Newberry Estate, Dallas, Pennsylvania 18612

 

5-8PM

This year we will present the Young Republican of the Year Award to District Attorney, Stefanie Salavantis. The award will be presented by last year's winner, State Rep. Tarah Toohil.

We will also be presenting the first annual P.J. Stebbins Award. ... This year's award will be given to fellow Young Republican, Aaron Kaufer. 

 

With all the controversy swirling around Tarah Toohil right now we will see if she shows up for these events or catches a cold. I was invited by YR Prez Bob Zaruta  to the dinner and plan to ask her some questions.  

 

On Monday there is the PA Attorney General Date on PCN 

Legislative Correspondents’ Association Candidate Debate for the Attorney General with Democratic candidate Kathleen Kane and Republican candidate David Freed 7-8PM

And a feedbag for Senator Bob Casey

Monday, October 22, 2012
5:30-7:30 PM

Colarusso’s La Palazzo
4500 Birney Avenue
Moosic, PA 18507

 

On Facebook

 

Tuesday there are 2 events I would like to go to but we will be at the Kirby Center for the Australian Pink Floyd show. Mrs. G said that politics is music to my ears but that is not true. 

In the 120th HD the League of Women's voters will host a forum with incumbent Phyllis Mundy (D) and her challenger Aaron Kaufer (R) at 7 p.m. Oct. 23 at Wyoming Seminary's Buckingham Performing Arts Center.

 

 LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY:


Tuesday Oct. 23rd 7pm - 9pm


*111th HD  Representative Sandra Major and her opponent Mr. Jeffrey Dahlander.

WVIA debates set

2012 Congressional Debates to be Broadcast Live on WVIA 


PITTSTON, PA  - The 2012 WVIA Citizens' Voice Times-Tribune Congressional Debates will broadcast live from the Sordoni High-Definition Theater at the WVIA Studios on Tuesday, Oct. 30, Wednesday, Oct. 31, and Thursday, Nov. 1 starting at 7 p.m. each night on WVIA TV. The Debates will also be simulcast live on WVIA FM.

The live debate for the 10th Congressional District between Congressman Tom Marino (R) and Phil Scollo (D) will air on Tuesday, Oct. 30, while the 17th Congressional District live debate between Matt Cartwright (D) and Laureen Cummings (R) will be broadcast Wednesday, Oct. 31. Then on Thursday, Nov. 1 Congressman Lou Barletta (R) and Gene Stilp (D) will debate live for the 11th Congressional District.

The moderator for all 3 debates will be WVIA President Bill Kelly.

11th CD Forum tonight

The Times-Leader is sponsoring a forum with Congressman Lou Barletta (R) and challenger Gene Stilp (D) tonight at Wilkes University in Room 101 of the Stark Learning Center, 150-180 S. River St., Wilkes-Barre. Starting at 7PM

The TL will also be hosting a forum for  17CD hopefuls Laureen Cummings (R) and Matt Cartwright (D) on Wednesday at the same location at 7PM.

Both meeting will be televised live on WYLN. If you don't get WYLN on your cable you can watch it online.

Stilp and Barletta are also set to square off on WVIA on November 1st. Channel 44 will also be hosting the candidates in the 10th and 17th Congressional Districts.

A debate between the 17th District candidates, Republican Laureen Cummings and Democrat Matthew Cartwright, will be broadcast at 8 p.m. Oct. 17. The Morning Call, PBS39 and partners will air the debate.. 

 

 

On October 23rd we will see a couple of meetups between state house candidates.

 

 In the 120th HD the League of Women's voters will host a forum with incumbent Phyllis Mundy (D) and her challenger Aaron Kaufer (R) at 7 p.m. Oct. 23 at Wyoming Seminary's Buckingham Performing Arts Center.

 

 

 The League of Women Voters of Susquehanna County has announced that they will hold a "Candidates Forum" on October 23th at 7-9 pm at the Montrose Theatre, 18 Public Ave, Montrose. 111th candidates Jeffrey Dahlander (D)  and incumbent Sandra Major (R) will attend.

 

 

 

Debating Debates

It's an age old dance. The challenger wants as many debates as possible and the incumbent wants as few as possible. The thinking is you don't want to give the upstart any exposure but usually agree to one encounter close to the election.

In the 120th HD the League of Women's voters will host a forum with incumbent Phyllis Mundy (D) and her challenger Aaron Kaufer (R) at 7 p.m. Oct. 23 at Wyoming Seminary's Buckingham Performing Arts Center. The LVW doesn't actually have a debate but the candidates will read opening and closing statements and answer questions from the moderator and the audience. I don't know how many of these type of things I have attended and they always bore the pants off of me. Any wonder why only 30 or 40 people usually show up.

Kaufer still keeps hitting himself in the head with this. Kaufer also said he wants to have multiple debates because Mundy was a former president of the League of Women Voters a few decades ago and suggested a debate with another moderator.

I don't know anyone that doesn't think the LVW isn't fair. He suggested to me on Facebook that Tiffany Cloud would be a neutral moderator. Stop laughing, I love Tiff but she is hardly neutral as I'm sure she will be the first to tell you. I suggested the Yonk as the moderator of a blogger hosted debate. No response from either campaign.

Gene Stilp wants a a debate in every county of the the 11th CD just like Lou Barletta wanted a debate in every county of the district last time. Not gonna happen but we may get at least 2. WVIA-TV has one already scheduled for Nov. 1, and an announcement is expected next week about plans for a debate in Luzerne County that will be hosted by a news organization. No word if a debate will be held in the Harrisburg area.

A debate between the 17th District candidates, Republican Laureen Cummings and Democrat Matthew Cartwright, will be broadcast at 8 p.m. Oct. 17. The Morning Call, PBS39 and partners will air the debate..

Legislators plan debate 2 weeks before election

 

In the new and sprawling 11th, debates could matter

 

The Morning Call, PBS39 to present face-offs for candidates in 15th, 17th districts.

Another great Blogfest

We had so many people at Blogfest come and go on Friday night  that I lost count.

Like the last one 11th CD candidate Gene Stilp stole the show,  this time  he parked his pink pig bus in front of Rooney's in the afternoon then assembled his 10 foot tall Medicare wheelchair. He got 17th CD candidate Matt Cartwright to join in.

Full report in the morning..

The political bloggers that make Blogfest happen.

Yonk, Joe V and your humble narrator

More photos at this LINK

Even more photos on Joe V's Photobucket

Snarky Blogger time. Some Bigwigs weigh in on Blogfest.

  Joe Biden. "I hear this Blogfest is a big fucking deal."

 Mitt Romney. " I'm sorry I couldn't make it tonight, Blogfest sounds like great sport. I had a crises when my dancing horse got stuck in the car elevator again. 47% of YOU people can't even imagine the problems I have to deal with for Pete's sake.


GOP US Senate candidate Tom Smith responded to my invitation to Blogfest. "Where the hell is Pittston? Do they have coal there?"

 Bob Casey. " I introduced a resolution in the Senate recognizing Blogfest as a great Pennsylvania tradition but the Republicans filibustered it."

 Clint Eastwood. "What do you want me to tell Gort? I can’t tell him to do that. I can’t tell him to do that to himself."

PA 11th CD happenings

Congressman Lou Barletta's disater relief bill was passed by the House of Representatives with a poison pill built into it. We will see if the Senate takes it up next week. The funding offset is “the  lower rate and the refunds will be paid for by eliminating federal funding for political party conventions” Good luck with that.

His opponent Gene Stilp is a master of free media.

 The pig bus covers up 47% of the Romney bus.

This headline from KP is great:

Gene Stilp’s Bus Challenges Mitt Romney’s Bus to a Fight

From Stilp: Where's Mitt Romney? I had some serious questions for him, but he apparently wasn't on his own bus trip.
But then again, where is Lou Barletta? I have a few questions for him also.
I'll debate whichever one of them is willing to step up and defend their lock step positions on Medicare, Social Security, Jobs, etc. Anywhere. Anytime.

Barletta has a duty to constituents to debate Stilp Kevin Blaum In the Arena

Lou poses with the VP Nominee

 Maybe Barletta should bring Paul Ryan to the district to help him get reelected. Ryan is real popular with people that have Medicare.

 

 Update: 

Barletta Spox Shawn Kelly takes issue with my "poison pill" comment.

I noticed in your posting about Rep. Barletta’s Disaster Loan Fairness Act of 2012 that you referred to the eliminating of political party convention funding as a “poison pill built into it” that will doom the bill in the Senate.

I respectfully disagree. You might not be aware that the Senate recently voted for a measure that does just that.

On June 21, 2012, the Senate voted 95-4 for an amendment offered by Sen. Tom Coburn. This amendment, S.AMDT.2214, is “To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to prohibit the use of public funds for political party conventions, and to provide for the return of previously distributed funds for deficit reduction.” You can learn about that amendment here: http://thomas.loc.gov/. Search for S.AMDT.2214.

If the Senate was willing to add that amendment to another bill by such a overwhelming margin, it stands to reason that they would support a bill that includes that language to begin with. Therefore, to call the inclusion of such a provision a “poison pill” is incorrect because the Senate has already shown a willingness to pass a similar measure.

Shawn

 

 

 

Prez O likes football

"The most important thing I have to say is football starts today." --President Barack Obama (via pool report)

(PHOTO CREDIT: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

  House GOP introduces bill to repeal football

 Michelle Bachman calls for investigation of unAmerican activities of NFL players

 NFL owners admit that they didn't build the stadiums, the taxpayers paid for them

 Mitt Romney says he has friends that own NFL teams and will give them a tax cut

 Paul Ryan claims he scored 6 touchdowns in a football game in under 3 hours

 Iowa Rep. Steve King proposes electrified fence and alligator filled moat around fields to keep out foreign born players from kicking FG's and extra points

 Rep. King says Michael Vick is his favorite player 

GOP Rep. Steve King Defends Dog Fighting

 

 Lou Barletta asks "What are the Yankee's doing?"

  Tom Marino placed a bet with Louis DeNaples

 Laureen Cummings prayed about something.

YouTube weekend

Gene Stilp Runs A Unique Campaign 

 

 

Barletta and Marino weigh in on "legitimate rape"

Borys has the story


U.S. Rep. Tom Marino joined the growing Republican chorus Tuesday demanding that Rep. Todd Akin drop out as the party's candidate in the Missouri Senate race because of his comments about rape.

"The wounds that victims of rape and their families suffer never completely heal. Whether he meant it or not, Todd Akin's comments were insensitive and cruel," Marino said in a statement. "It is a shame that over the past days victims of rape have had to contemplate his comments and relive their ordeal....There is no gray area in rape," he said. "In the eyes of the law, the line is rightly drawn at 'no' regardless of the situation."

Rep. Lou Barletta, R-Hazleton, was more subdued in his response.

Renita Fennick, his district director, said Barletta disagreed with Akin's comments, "but believes the decision to stay in the Missouri Senate race is up to Rep. Akin, his family and his supporters."

KP: What was offensive about Todd Akin’s comments wasn’t just the suggestion that women’s bodies have some special secretion that knows how to kill rapists’ sperm. What was offensive was that he was marshalling this fake science in the service of the argument that women who get raped shouldn’t have legal access to abortion. Not all Republicans believe the phony science, but they are all running on the platform that abortion should be illegal in all circumstances, with no rape exception.

TP:  The Republican National Convention Platform has approved the “human life amendment,” which would ban abortion without exception for rape or incest.