As my long time readers know the primary focus of this blog has always been elections. Next year we choose a Governor of the Commonwealth, members of the US House and state House and half the state Senate. In the next few days I will post about these and some races around the country.
PA Gov Tom Cabot Corbett has an uphill climb according to the polls but things can change in the next year and no sitting Guv has lost reelection since they have been allowed to run for a 2nd term. So far there are 8 Dems smelling blood in the water.
The Lt. Governors race is most interesting as I have met most of the Democratic contenders. My early favorite is Brad Koplinski because he sent me a bribe.
Of the 3 local Congressman I keep an eye on only Matt Cartwright has a declared opponent so far. 2 of them in fact. A few people are teasing that they will run against Lou Barletta including Bill Vinsko, Gene Stilp and Chris Carney but I doubt any of them will run. Libetarian Betsy Summers may get into it.
A few weeks ago an old friend called to feel me out about running against Tom Marino in the Republican primary. His rational was Marino is one of the most ethically challenged people to ever hold office. I had to throw cold water on the idea because his family wasn't behind it and he would need to declare right now and raise at least $100K before the end of the year.
On the state scene Sen. John Yudichak has no declared opponent so far. Neither do Mike Carroll, Phyllis Mundy, Eddie Day Pashinski, Tarah Toohil or Gerry Mullery. I heard a rumor that Mullery may get a primary opponent.
Karen Boback however is being challenged by Laura Dickson. I haven't been this excited about a state rep race since James May took her on.
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.
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.
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.
Right now you have to say that the 2 GOP freshman have the upper hand along with the Dem in the open 17th CD.
Democrat Phill Scollo will be taking on Tom Marino in the 10thCD. Scollo has assembled many of the campaign staffers that helped Chris Carney win his 2 improbable victories in 2006 and 2008 but has not done well fundraising. Add in the fact that the district was made more Republican in the latest gerrymander and Mr. Scollo has a big hill to climb. Mr. Marino has had a second bout of cancer recently and some people wanted me to use his illness to score points contrasting his opposition to the Affordable Care Act with the health coverage he receives. I thought that was ghoulish as there will be plenty of time to discuss health care policy before the election. I wish Congressman Marino a full and speedy recovery.
In the 17CD Matt Cartwright will be the overwhelming favorite to defeat Republican Laureen Cummings. Money will be no object for Cartwright in this newly drawn Dem favorable district. Money will also not be a factor in Cummings campaign, she doesn't have any, raising just $305 according to her latest FEC report.Tim Holden ran a terrible campaign that overreached in his attack ads then went back to the Social Security canard when he got called out on it. Cartwright billed himself as the hometown boy and a "Roosevelt Democrat" for those of us who know who FDR was. With Congress polling at a 10% approval rating I think an anti-incumbent sentiment played a part in his win. Holden has been in Washington for 20 years but couldn't point to one piece of significant legislation he authored. A few other incumbents also lost on Tuesday.
Gene Stilp surprised me. He and Bill Vinsko worked hard but Stilp just out hustled him. Neither one had a lot of money but Vinsko pissed his away on consultants. I wasn't too surprised that Stilp won this race but the 10 point margin was a bit of a surprise. His name recognition and the pink pig won the day. The combination of new district lines and the anti-incumbent mood may make this one competitive. Stilp wants Barletta to sign a pledge to run a clean campaign but even if he does plenty of outside groups could still spend all kinds of money if it starts to look close. The recent unwritten rule is that you need about $1 million to run a competitive congressional race. After the Citizens United ruling that should be modified to say you need about a million to be spent on your behalf .
Longtime activist Gene Stilp and W-B asst. city attorney Bill Vinsko are vieing for the Democratic nomination to take on frosh GOP Congressman Lou Barletta in the 11th Congressional District of Pennsylvania. This is the first election since Pennsylvania became a state that Wilkes-Barre won't be in the 11th District thanks to the latest Harrisburg gerrymander. The salon's in HB drew the lines to put Vinsko's house outside the district after he already declared that he was running. So if he wins the primary the Barletta camp can call him a carpetbagger although the US Constitution requires that he/she be "an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen".. A Wall Street Journal story highlighted the stratergy (paywall).
"[Republicans] began to focus on bolstering endangered incumbents...To help Mr. Barletta, GOP leaders shifted two Democratic-leaning cities, Scranton and Wilkes-Barre , out of his district…GOP leaders took one wedge out of Mr. Barletta's 11th congressional district that Democrats say looks drawn specifically to exclude the home of Mr. Barletta's leading challenger, Bill Vinsko."
"State Senate Republican Leader Dominic Pileggi makes no apologies for using redistricting to bolster GOP incumbents in [Pennsylvania]...He added that redistricting doesn't guarantee a winner in the fall. 'A lot depends on the quality of the candidates.’
Vinsko's response:“Republican State Senator Pileggi and I are in complete agreement,” said Bill Vinsko, “Redistricting doesn’t guarantee a win because the quality and character of a candidate matters more to the people and I firmly believe that in this election the integrity of our campaign and the strength of our message will win the day with the people of Northeast and Central Pennsylvania.”
Vinsko and Stilp had a faceoff at Wyoming Seminary in Kingston last Thursday that they agreed to keep it clean and agreed on most issues.
Both Democrats have struggled raising money. After a great start Vinko slowed down gathering only $28K in the first quarter of 2012 with $31,000 cash on hand. Stilp's report isn't on the FECwebsite yet. Barleta's fundraising numbers are not that great for sitting member of Congress but has an advantage. In the 1st Q he gathered $124K with cash on hand of $239K. It sucks that we have to discuss money in an election just like it stinks that we have to discuss the contracts of baseball players. After the recent Supreme Court decisions saying money is speech some people have louder voices than the rest of us.
With all that said will people get past Bill Vinsko being the front man for every controversy in Wilkes-Barre such as the million dollar fire truck or decide that Gene Stilp is about more than a big pink pig?
Bob Caruso counted a crowd of at least 106 people that turned out for the rally hosted by 120th District State RepresentativePhyllis Mundyfor 17th CD candidate Matt Cartwright tonight in West Wyoming. The turnout probably would have been even better if Luzerne County Democratic Chair and W-B Controller Kathy Kane didn't decide to skip the Wilkes-Barre city council meeting instead scheduling a meeting at the Ramada on Public Square that stepped on this event. After all the Luzerne County Democratic Committee made a not so unanimous endorsement in this race. Some people think that the endorsement hurts more than helps. 11th CD Democratic hopefuls Bill Visko and Gene Stilp were also facing off at the same time at the LWV forum in Kingston. Thom Shibula told me that Stilp had the "bigger pig" inflated outside Wyoming Sem. I'm surprise that the LWV would allow that considering all their other stuck up rules. So many things to do on a Thursday, need a towel.
I'm paraphrasing the speeches but certainly would not take them out of context.
Phyllis Mundy kicked off the night saying she doesn't understand why people would equate both political parties. There are differences between the party's " I see it everyday in Harrisburg. " Mundy also cited President Obama. She then gave a rousing intro to Matt Cartwright.
Matt then acknowledged what we all know "Phyllis is a giant in the Democratic Party." He then generously introduced Mornoe County State Rep Democratic candidate in the 176thHDMaureen Madden.The one thing that they all agreed on was that they were thankful that Lou Barletta wasn't representing them in Congress anymore.
Cartwright then delivered one of the best arguments I have ever heard from a local or national Democratic politician. " We are the Democrats, people are counting on us." "I will stand for Democratic principles but my opponent won't."He then reminded the audience of the successes of the Democrats, the SEC was created when FDR was President so was Social Security then along came Medicare. Business is good but you have to have some rules.
He doesn't like Tim Holden's TV ads saying "attacking me and my family as if we are the scum of the earth." He wants to hear this in person from Tim Holden who will not debate him. Holden won't debate Cartwright because he can't defend his votes against the ACA and for the Haliburton loophole.
The League of Women Voters has scheduled a forum with Democratic 11th Congressional District candidates Bill Vinsko and Gene Stilptonight at Wyoming Seminary in Kingston. At first the league said that no person of any kind will be allowed to record anything in any way during the debate, neither audio or video. They have since backed off that somewhat, saying the ban didn't apply to the media but still applied to the campaigns and members of the audience. I don't know how they intend to enforce that rule in this age of smart phones and hand held recorders
“This is done to ensure the nonpartisan reputation of the league and to protect candidates from any information that is shared at the event from being recorded and used for biased or ‘out of context’ purposes.” Susan Ferentino, president of the League of Women Voters, said.
Sorry, but that explanation doesn't hold water. In past elections candidates have used information from LWV forums to attack their opponents. A video of the event would be useful in rebutting anything "out of context."
Service Electric TV was planning to film the forum but the league told them to buzz off. It's unclear if they have reconsidered that decision.
The League of Women Voters has scheduled a forum with Democratic 11th Congressional District candidates Bill Vinsko and Gene Stilp this Thursday at Wyoming Seminary in Kingston. If past performance is any indicator the event will be sparsely attended so it was good to hear that Service Electric TV planned to tape the event and broadcast it on their public service channel.
The LWV says that will not be allowed and furthermore no person of any kind will be allowed to record anything in any way during the debate, neither audio or video. I guess that means the local TV stations won't be able to send a camera crew and print reporters can't use a recorder to ensure the accuracy in quoting the candidates.
I'm not sure how they plan to enforce this rule. If I show up will I be frisked at the door by a league member looking for a contraband recording device? Will they call the cops if I turn it on?
Bill Vinsko says he's OK with this.
Attached are the rules that we were provided to me by the LWV. I will follow their rules. I am looking forward to the debate.
In a letter to the candidates dated April 2nd rule 12 states "No taping or other recording will be permitted at the forum."
On the other hand Gene Stilp is squealing like a pig (sorry, I couldn't resist) over this decision.
In a letter to the LWV he said:
It is time to again correct the League and state that the debate must be fully open to the press. Bring back Service Electric so that the debate can be rebroadcast for all those who are interested but cannot attend. Let the Channel 28,16, 22 and whoever record video and audio. Let the radio stations record the debate. Let the social media record and put it on Facebook and Twitter. Let the written press utilize whatever devices they need (they do audio and video also for their websites) and put it in the morning papers. While I appreciate your efforts to conduct a debate you must remember that this is America. This is Pennsylvania. This is the Wyoming Valley. We still have the First Amendment here and the League should be fighting to enhance the First Amendment not to censor it.
CV: The two Democrats vying to challenge U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta in the 11th Congressional District will debate April 12 at Wyoming Seminary in Kingston, according to the event's sponsor, the League of Women Voters. Gene Stilp, a Wilkes-Barre native known for his work in Harrisburg as a government watchdog, and Bill Vinsko, the Wilkes-Barre city solicitor, are competing for the Democratic nomination in the April 24 primary.The debate is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Buckingham Performing Arts Center on the Wyoming Seminary campus on North Sprague Avenue in Kingston.Questions for the candidates will be collected from the audience and asked by moderator Mischelle Anthony, a member of the League of Women Voters
I love the LWV but if this is like most of their past events it won't be a debate but more of a "forum" that will bore the pants off of you.
The outgrowth of the Saturday OT Committee and Operatic Society scored another feather in the cap with the 5thiteration of Blogfest at Rooney's in Pittston last night. About 200 people came and went throughout the evening who adhered to the spirit of the event. Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians and Pastafarians agreed to disagree but nobody was disagreeable and everybody wore clothes.
.
11th CD Democratic candidate Gene Stilp added some fun to the evening by inflating one of his pink pigs outside Rooney's. The police stopped by to check it out because somebody called 911, the cops laughed it off.
.
Stilp showed up with a posse of supporters and talked my ear off. I asked why he was running for Congress when most of us that pay attention associate him with state issues. He refuted that saying the issues he brings up matter not only to the state but the country. I also found that we have a mutual friend, my gatekeeper Dot. Primary opponent Bill Vinsko worked the room and the Barletta campaign was represented by CM Lance Strange who has great sense of humor and a thick skin like his boss.
.
It was great to see State Rep Gerald Mullery and his opponent Rick Arnold have a nice chat.
.
Young Republican Aaron Kaufer is running in the 120thHD. Regular commenter Forrest seemed to be persuaded by him.
.
Matt Cartwright and Tom Shibula came after they were done with the meet and greet down the street from my house. Blogfest had been on the calendar since January so you guy's schedule an event to step on it 2 weeks out? Grrrr as Rusty would say. Tim Holden also had an event scheduled at the same time many miles away. Laureen Cummings is the Republican candidate in the 17thCD and made the rounds at Blogfest. My pal Jim O'Meara is her campaign manager.
.
JJ Murphy represented his brother Patrick who is running for Attorney General but was in Pittsburgh campaigning. Hey Nat you have to get your scheduling priorities straight. I was disapointed that Kathleen Kane or any surrogates didn't make it but that's no surprise as I have been told she hasn't been on the hustings as much as she should. After all the parking was free with no need to worry about getting a ticket.
.
Other politicos in the crowd included Bill Goldsworthy, Harry Haas, Bob Lampman, Bob Zaruta,Mike Szutack, Bob Caruso, JohmLombardo and Casey Evans who recently got engaged. It was good to see both the Young Democrats and Young Republicans, they are our future leaders. I'm sure I left someone out and misspelled some names. .
"Remember when the President promised that Obamacare would reduce health care costs? It was one of his key selling points. Earlier this week the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office issued a report that the cost of Obamacare over the next decade is a staggering $1.76 trillion. That’s almost double the $900 billion price tag President Obama promised the American people."
TMB: The Congressional Budget Office released a new report this morning on the costs of the Affordable Care Act, and ever since, Fox News, congressional Republicans, the conservative Washington Times, and a variety of conservative blogs have been pretty worked up about the CBO findings. They may want to take another look at it...
TPM:CBO’s actual revised estimate is that the “gross costs of the coverage provisions,” — the money used to provide people Medicaid or private insurance — has risen by about $50 billion over the 2012-2021 period since its previous estimate, from $1.445 trillion to $1.496 trillion. That’s the only relevant change to spending projections in the report.
So where are conservatives getting the idea that the cost of the law doubled? When it passed in 2010, CBO said its 10-year outlays would be about $940 billion. But because the law isn’t set to be fully implemented until 2014, when the coverage expansion takes effect, that initial estimate included several years in which the law cost very little. Now that it’s 2012, CBO’s 10-year outlook captures more years during which the law will be in full effect. The law’s price tag appears higher, but its costs in no way doubled.
WONKBLOG: This analysis shows the net cost of the coverage provisions will be about $50 billion less than previously estimated. That implies the law will cut more, not less, from the deficit than previous estimates suggested. In other words, this estimate says the bill is more, not less, fiscally responsible than was previously reported. One other thing that’s confused some people is that this estimate is looking at a different timeframe than the original estimates. The CBO’s first pass at the bill looked at 2010-2019. But years have passed, and so now they’re looking at 2012-2021. That means they have two fewer years of implementation, when the bill costs almost nothing, and two more years of operation, when it costs substantially more.
Republicans said that they wanted to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. I see that they are big on repeal but I haven't heard much about the replace part.
More from Lou: And make no mistake, I am on the record opposing it. I have fought it at every turn. I supported a full repeal as well as systematically taking it apart piece by piece. I even signed on to an “amicus brief” against Obamacare which the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear in the coming weeks.
The White House sent an email reminding me of some the benefits of the new law and I have to ask Lou if he really want's to kick young adults off their parents health insurance? Should seniors have to pay more for prescription drugs? Is holding Insurance companies feet to the fire socialism? Does he want to outlaw coverage for pre-existing conditions or let insurance companies set a lifetime limit of coverage that would result in a death sentence for some people?
Health reform is already making a difference for the people of Pennsylvania by:
Providing new coverage options for young adults Health plans are now required to allow parents to keep their children under age 26 without job-based coverage on their family’s coverage, and, thanks to this provision, 2.5 million young people have gained coverage nationwide. As of June 2011, 64,798 young adults in Pennsylvania gained insurance coverage as a result of the new health care law.
Making prescription drugs affordable for seniors Thanks to the new health care law, 247,686 people with Medicare in Pennsylvania received a $250 rebate to help cover the cost of their prescription drugs when they hit the donut hole in 2010. In 2011, 235,820 people with Medicare received a 50 percent discount on their covered brand-name prescription drugs when they hit the donut hole. This discount resulted in an average savings of $662 per person, and a total savings of $156,108,903 in Pennsylvania. By 2020, the law will close the donut hole.
Providing better value for your premium dollar through the 80/20 Rule Under the new health care law, insurance companies must provide consumers greater value by spending generally at least 80 percent of premium dollars on health care and quality improvements instead of overhead, executive salaries or marketing. If they don’t, they must provide consumers a rebate or reduce premiums. This means that 3,421,000 Pennsylvania residents with private insurance coverage will receive greater value for their premium dollars.
Scrutinizing unreasonable premium increases In every State and for the first time under Federal law, insurance companies are required to publicly justify their actions if they want to raise rates by 10 percent or more. Pennsylvania has received $5.3 million under the new law to help fight unreasonable premium increases.
Removing lifetime limits on health benefits The law bans insurance companies from imposing lifetime dollar limits on health benefits – freeing cancer patients and individuals suffering from other chronic diseases from having to worry about going without treatment because of their lifetime limits. Already, 4,582,000 residents, including 1,769,000 women and 1,136,000 children, are free from worrying about lifetime limits on coverage. The law also restricts the use of annual limits and bans them completely in 2014.
Creating new coverage options for individuals with pre-existing conditions As of the end of 2011, 4,567 previously uninsured residents of Pennsylvania who were locked out of the coverage system because of a pre-existing condition are now insured through a new Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan that was created under the new health reform law. To learn more about the plan available in Pennsylvania, check here.
I have asked Democratic challengers Gene Stilp and Bill Vinsko for their thoughts on the Affordable Care Act and will publish them when I get them.
No surprise that Bill Vinsko got the nod over Gene Stilp in their contest to take on Freshman Republican Lou Barletta in the 11th CD. Vinsko is the Assistant City Attorney for Wilkes-Barre and has many friends in the county although being the front man trying to explain the million dollar fire truck gift and other recent controversies doesn't help him. My advice to Bill is to leave the employ of the city. He also needs to do better in fundraising.
The news out of the meeting is some contoversy over the vote of the exectutive committee in the 17th CD race. The original headline was the Luzerne County Democrats unanimously endorse Tim Holden but that was not was not the case. The whole county committee didn't vote on this issue just the executive committee. 2nd District Chairman Casey Evans sets the record straight
"It was not a unanimous endorsement. As a voting member of the Luzerne County Democratic Executive Committee, I and many others voted for Matt Cartwright. However, the vote was merely recorded as unanimous because another Committee member and Holden supporter made a motion that it be recorded as such, citing some “past precedent” that no Cartwright supporter seemed to recall ever being used before."
I would have liked to attend this meeting but I was informed after the fact.
We had a Luzerne County Democratic Committee Meeting tonight. Gort, sorry I wasn't able to get in touch with you about it sooner, but when I talked to Kathy Kane last night she seemed apprehensive about letting bloggers cover the meeting.
The last few press releases I got from Congressman Lou Barletta have me confused. He votes for a Balanced Budget Amendment that would gut what is called discretionary spending ending just about every social program that the federal government funds.
In his response to President Obama's State of the Union address he decried that "Since the president took office, a record number of Americans are receiving food stamps."
Barletta brags that the Federal Emergency Management Agency has approved the buyouts of residential properties in Plymouth Township, Shickshinny and Benton Township. He proudly announced that local fire companies are recipients of DOH grants.He took credit for $40 million in highway repair funds to fix our roads that were damaged by the summer hurricanes. He announced that the Delaware Water Gap will get 1/2 mil to study traffic. Farmers will get help according to this Barlettapress release.
If the Balanced Budget Amendment was passed none of these projects would have happened.
WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta, PA-11, again called on President Obama to increase or at least continue at the current level the funding for home heating assistance for veterans and seniors through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). “Many veterans who might be eligible for LIHEAP don’t know they can take advantage of the program, but they absolutely can. We need to help our veterans and seniors stay warm in the winter. We can’t let them slip through the cracks. We need to fund LIHEAP,” Rep. Barletta said. “Many in Northeastern Pennsylvania struggle to pay for their heat. They have to make the difficult choice between paying for food and keeping warm, and that just isn’t acceptable. More and more Americans are hurting, so it’s incredibly important that President Obama keep LIHEAP funded at current levels, if not increase that funding.” A January 26 letter coauthored by Rep. Barletta and Rep. Edward Markey (D, MA-7) calls on the president to request at least $4.7 billion for LIHEAP in Fiscal Year 2013 (FY13). More than 100 House members – Republicans and Democrats – signed the letter. Because of the efforts of Rep. Barletta and others in Congress, LIHEAP funding this fiscal year topped $3.4 billion – almost $1 billion more than President Obama had requested for FY12. Of that, almost $210 million is allocated for the Pennsylvania program. [Source: Campaign for Home Energy Assistance] LIHEAP helps low-income families pay their heating bills through a cash grant sent directly to the utility company or as a crisis grant for households in immediate danger of being without heat. The number of households with at least one military veteran receiving LIHEAP assistance swelled from 700,000 in FY 2008 to 1.78 million in FY 2011. This is an increase of over 150 percent during the past four years, according to a survey by the National Energy Assistance Directors’ Association (NEADA). The bulk of energy aid recipients who served in the military are over 60. Almost half are disabled. Of the veterans who received help, 12 percent served in Iraq and Afghanistan; about seven percent are on active duty. LIHEAP provided vital heating assistance to 8.9 million households in 2011 – an increase of 54 percent since 2008.
I like Gene Stilp who has been a pain in the ass of the state legislature over the 2005 pay raise and Luzerne County politicians. I met him at the reassesment rally in 2008 when he brought his big pig. He has run for office before losing a bid for Lt. Governor and State Represenative.
In a typical appeal for more participation he called for more candidates "We have a lot of talent in the 11th congressional district,” he said, “so I’m encouraging other people, Democrats, Republicans and even Independents, to go out an apply for this job. Have confidence in yourself and if you need a job and you’re very talented, apply for this job. Apply to the people of the 11th district.”
Barletta campaign manager Lance Strange can barely contain his glee: "Anyone who meets both the ballot access requirements and the minimum qualifications spelled out in the United States Constitution is able to seek the office of representative." Take that Bill Vinsko.
Happy New Year! I hope you are doing well. I am very proud of the support I have received from across the 11th Congressional District even after Mr. Barletta and Governor Corbett made my house the boundary line. I am excited about our future and working for the people.
Please see the Press Release Attached.
The PR:
Bill Vinsko publicly thanks I.B.E.W. for their generous contribution to the Vinsko for Congress Campaign in the 11th Congressional District of Pennsylvania
Bill Vinsko, Democratic Candidate for the 11th Congressional District of Pennsylvania, would like to publicly thank the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (I.B.E.W.) and the Local Union 163 for their generous donation to Vinsko for Congress, and their support in his bid for the United States House of Representatives.
From Bill Vinsko:
“I am very proud to receive such great support from I.B.E.W. and its outstanding membership. Their workers exemplify the hard-working Americans and Pennsylvanians that I will represent when elected to Congress. They need jobs, the 11th District needs jobs, Pennsylvania needs jobs and America needs jobs. It’s time to ensure that the middle class is protected and that we put America back to work. With the help of I.B.E.W., other great organizations, and the people, it can still be done. I want to publicly thank I.B.E.W. and Mike Kwashnik for their faith in my candidacy.”
The IBEW gave him 10 grand. Note to candidate, lose the big check pictures.
I also received a piece of franked mail today from Lou Barletta. It's not as slick and glossy as the one's Kanjo sent out in the last cycle but I think that my fellow goo goos on both the left and right agree this is an abuse of taxpayer money.
Lou tells us that he and his staff has been busy navigating the federal government to help out flood victims, veterans and obtaining a visa for a woman from Togo. (I scanned it but can't get it to load). For a guy that is a member of a party that thinks that the federal government can't do anything right he seems to be trying to do his best to make government work. There may be hope for him yet.
Now that Wilkes-Barre and Plains Twp are now part of the 17th CD my focus will shift. So far no Republican has declared an intention to contest the seat and you can thank the legislature for that for dragging out the process. Not to mention what a devestating effect it had on state rep races. I doubt that any Republican can mount a serious race against the Luzerne County Democratic incumbents in the state house or Boback or Toohill on the Republican side. It was truly an incumbent protection act.
PA-17: It's exactly the sort of thing Blue Dog Dem Tim Holden had to expect would happen in the redrawn 17th, a much bluer district than he's traditionally represented: a potential primary challenge from left. Attorney Matt Cartwright says he is "seriously, seriously considering" doing just that, and to erase any doubt, he invoked Paul Wellstone/Howard Dean language and identified himself as a member of “the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party.” It's a little hard to say how stiff of a fight Cartwright might be able to offer: On the one hand, he sounds like a pretty well-connected attorney; on the other hand, he's never run for office before and he doesn't sound like a self-funder. Then again, liberal activist Sheila Dow-Ford held Holden to just 65% in the primary last year, fueled by unhappiness over Holden's vote against healthcare reform, even though she raised only $30K while Holden spent about half a mil.
I'm not going to do a top 10 list of 2011 stories but highlight some of the things that happened this past year that will carry over into 2012 that interest me. LuLac and Capitol Ideas have great recaps of the year's top stories in numerical order.
In no particular order with omissions that I'm sure you correct me on dear readers they are Luzerne County Government, Redistricting, the latest flood and the local blogosphere.
The 3 Commissioner 3rd class county code form of government with 127 row officers has come to an end. It is being replaced by a system that is used by many county governments across the country. There will be growing pains and squabbles but I hope the news system works better than the old one.
Redistricting
Wilkes-Barre has been the anchor of the 11th Congressional District since Pennsylvania became a state but will now be part of the 17th CD. It looks like incumbent Democrat Tim Holden will face a primary challenge from Matt Cartwight. No Republican has announced a run yet. In the 11th CD the salons in Harrisburg have taken care of Lou Barletta but Bill Vinsko vows to take him on even though they drew the lines right around his house to keep him out of the district. Tom Marino looks safe in the 10th CD. Former Congressman Chris Carney teased that he would run again but that has fizzled out.
Floods
Expect more as the polar ice caps continue to melt putting more moisture in the atmosphere. I roll my eyes at the people who say climate change can't be real because it still snows.
Local Blogosphere
DB Echo has a nice summary of the resurgence of NEPA Blogs. He and Michelle have done a great job of identifying local bloggers and most of them don't have anything to do with politics. Even when I come across a new political blog one of them has it listed before I get the chance. NEPA Blogs has turned into a multimedia operation with a Facebook page, Twitter account and radio and TV appearances. A few local political blogs popped up and withered shortly thereafter although 2 sites devoted to Wilkes-Barre politics have been updated regularly with claims of corruption by city officials.
The local media is starting to notice that political bloggers are not some kids banging away in their mother's basement wearing pajama's eating Cheetos as the early stereotype depicted but are people who have experience in campaigns, government and media. Certainly as well (many times better) informed as the Captains Obvious college professors they so often run to analysis.
Joe Valenti of Pittston Politics punishes himself by going to school board meetings and constantly breaks news in the Wyoming Area and Pittston Area school districts. The CV picked up on his reporting about the solicitor controversy in WA. LuLac Political Letter editor David Yonki was spot on in his prediction in the recent Luzerne County Council race and is a regular on the radio and WYLN's public affairs broadcasts. Even I got in on the electric media recently when Tiffany Cloud invited me to be a guest on her show Storm Politics to talk about the impact of political blogging. And we all owe a debt of gratitude to the Blogfather for his work at Wilkes-Barre Online that broke one story after another that was latter picked up the newspapers often without attribution.
Blogfest was a hit again this year and I expect the spring edition will be the political event of the season like it has been the last 4 times we did it. I was flabbergasted by the turnout for the first one and many people tell me that it is their favorite political gathering. This year the primary is April 24th because of the Presidential election so it presents a scheduling dilemma. We always do it on a Friday but Good Friday is April 6th so that leaves either April 13th only 10 days before the primary election or March 30th. I think March 30th would work but we need to nail down the date. I usually invite all sorts of big shots to Blogfest and some of them even show up. We need to set a date to give a heads up to the statewide candidates for US Senator, PA Attorney General and Auditor General plus the local hopefuls for Congress, State Senate and House.
Up until 2001 Scranton was the anchor of the 11th Congressional District of Pennsylvania for over 100 years then it moved to the 11th to make it safer for Republican Don Sherwood. That worked out well for the GOP. Wilkes -Barre has been the anchor town in the 11th for even longer.
Now reports say both Wilkes-Barre and Scranton will be moved to the 17th in snake like district represenated by Tim Holden.
This goes against history, geography and common sense.
I asked Vinsko and Barletta's press guy for a statement. Vinsko hasn't responded yet and I got the usual mush from Barletta'sspox
Representative Barletta will continue to focus on spurring job creation and economic growth, cutting wasteful overspending and overregulation, fighting systemic fraud and abuse, reforming the government so it is efficient, effective, and affordable because these issues are critically important right now, regardless of where constituents live. Representative Barletta looks forward to serving his new constituents in the United States House of Representatives. Running for Congress three times since 2002 means Representative Barletta has built lifelong friendships in all parts of the existing district, and those friendships will continue long after lines on a map are drawn.
Just after that popped up in my email I got a call from Congressman Barletta. He denied he had anything to do with the redistricting process and wanted to keep Luzerne County whole. Then we had a long conversation about inside baseball.
A Capitolwire (subscription required) story yesterday about the latest plan for the gerrymandering of Congressional Districts got the chattering classes and candidates , well, chattering. The first 2 maps floated here and here will not look like the final version according to this story.
The Republicans want to chop up Luzerne County "Since the weekend the biggest change has been adding Wilkes-Barre and Pittston to the district of U.S. Rep. Tim Holden, D-Schuylkill, along with Scranton and other Democratic areas. Republican advisors to Rep. Lou Barletta, D-Hazleton, did not want those two areas to stay in Barletta’s district, fearing they could help lead to his future defeat." And they want to add Wyoming County to the 11th CD so Barletta can be another voice in Congress for the gas drillers and help his fundraising.
Lou Barletta's press guy Shawn Kelly gives a politically correct answer to this speculation.
“Why wouldn’t Rep. Barletta want Luzerne County whole?” Kelly asked. “He won it twice, handily – by 4.8 points in 2008 and by 13.4 points in 2010. It’s his home county. It’s where he’s best known. Rep. Barletta wants to keep Luzerne County whole. Period.”
Bill Vinsko blasts the Republican creative map making
ONCE AGAIN, CONGRESSMAN BARLETTA AND THE STATE LEGISLATURE ARE TURNING THEIR BACKS ON THE PEOPLE OF NORTHEAST AND CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA.
As has been widely reported over the last few weeks, the Congressional District Boundaries in Pennsylvania are being released this week. First, Lou Barletta got rid of the only county he could not win – Lackawanna County. Then he cut out the only county he won once – Monroe County.
Wilkes-Barre, Pittston, Duryea and Dupont, and several other Luzerne County municipalities, have always been a part of the 11th Congressional District. Interestingly, Congressman Barletta, in an effort to avoid having a strong challenge from Bill Vinsko on November 6, 2012, is supporting a move tonight to surgically remove Wilkes-Barre, Pittston and several other Luzerne County municipalities from the 11th Congressional District. It seems now that he does not even trust the people who actually elected him.
We are calling on Congressman Barletta, the Governor and our state legislators to work to keep Luzerne County intact and put the people ahead of politics now! It is no wonder why people are fed up with Congress. Now, our own Congressional leaders are attempting to steal the election and take away the rights of the people.
The following is a statement from Democratic Candidate Bill Vinsko:
“If Congressman Barletta is afraid to face voters who live in the heart of his own District, then he should work harder to convince them by doing his job. Under this plan it’s downright wrong that Luzerne County will be broken into parts and the voice of our people will be muted in Washington for brazen political reasons. I call on Congressman Barletta to publicly ask the state legislature and Governor to keep all of Luzerne County in the 11th and to keep the voice of Northeast Pennsylvania strong and united in Washington,” said Bill Vinsko.
Capitol Ideas says that the whole thing will be pushed off for a week.
Former 10th CD Congressman Chris Carney is lurking around.
On Friday, Carney met with a dozen Keystone State political fundraisers, former donors and organized labor representatives to discuss a 2012 campaign, according to a source who attended the roundtable discussion at a downtown Philadelphia political consulting shop.
Posts
