Dan Meuser for Congress

Dan Meuser with Lisa Baker at the Fall 2010 Blogfest

Here we go go again. Former PA Revenue Secretary and failed 2008 PA 10th CD Republican primary candidate Dan Meuser is running to succeed Lou Barletta. He was flirting with a run for PA Lt. Governor but a better opportunity arose. His announcement has already knocked Tarah Toohil out of the race.  He is tying himself to Barletta and Trump.

To refresh you memory Dan Meuser and Chris Hackett had a knock down, drag out primary fight to oppose Chris Carney. They both spent over $1 million and Hackett won only to lose the general election. There was a lot of bad blood after that election and many Meuser supporters told me they couldn't support Hackett.

His campaign slogan seemed to be Pride Mobility for Congress. So every problem the company had in the past became  fair game for his opponent

Some of the controversies:

EXETER: A woman formerly employed at Pride Mobility Products Corp. has filed a wage discrimination lawsuit against the company, alleging she was paid less than male counterparts who performed the same job. She also is alleging sexual harassment and retaliation for complaining about it.


 TPM Cafe: Meuser's company has settled a contentious lawsuit over the death of an elderly man using their wheelchair, in which plaintiffs alleged that a defective battery caused a fire. From the Monterey County Herald, January 9, 2007: "Had the case gone to trial, according to court records and statements in court, jurors may have heard evidence that Pride Mobility was aware of at least 18 other fires in its wheelchairs and scooters with identical battery packs since 2002. Ten of those fires destroyed dwellings and five were fatal." (From Nexis).

 The Medicare OIG fined Pride $80,000 for a kickback scheme.

And his past political contributions: 

 On behalf of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, I wanted to thank you for your kind, past contributions to strong Democrats such as Congressman Paul Kanjorski, Senator Hillary Clinton, Congressman Charlie Rangel and many others. Your contributions have helped Democrats to take back the House and Senate in 2006 and potentially take the White House in 2008.

I have a big basket of this stuff if any other campaign is interested.


 Many thanks to Tiffany Cloud for sending this:

Dan Meuser To Run For 11th Congressional District Seat

Businessman and Former Revenue Secretary To Continue Barletta’s Work

Luzerne County Businessman and former Secretary of the Department of Revenue Dan Meuser announced today that he was entering the race to represent the 11th District in the United States Congress. Congressman Lou Barletta announced days ago that he would run for the United States Senate.

“I have always supported Lou Barletta and I plan to continue to support him in his run for the United States Senate,” Dan Meuser said. “Both Lou and I will fight for an agenda that puts America’s interests first and rebuilds the middle class so the economy works for everyone.”

Dan has lived in the area that makes up the 11th District for over 25 years, he and his wife of 27 years raising their family in the district. Dan joined Pride Healthcare, based in Luzerne County and now called Pride Mobility Products, in 1988. Dan became President of Pride Mobility, USA in 2001. Pride has become the leading manufacturer of power mobility and complex rehabdevices in the country, and employs over 800 people in Northeast Pennsylvania.

"I've spent 25 years in the private sector helping create thousands of jobs. During this time my wife and I supported many important causes including the YMCA, local colleges, the Back Mountain Recreation Association and the Wyoming County Children's Association,” Meuser said.

In 2010, Dan was appointed and unanimously confirmed Secretary of the Dept. of Revenue. Dan and his team worked to reform the department, implement customer-first policies, and treat taxpayers like customers. Under Dan’s leadership, the Department was named the most improved Department of Revenue in the country and received a grade improvement from a D+ to an A- from the Council on State Taxation.

“We worked day in and day out to make sure that everyone knew that it was taxpayers who came first at the Department of Revenue,” Meuser said. “Our team reformed the department and turned it into a taxpayer advocacy agency, rather than a mere collector of taxes.”

Dan Meuser is running first and foremost because he loves his country and wants to continue to serve his community. Dan will be a consistent conservative voice in Washington, making sure that he takes the values of the 11th District to Washington every day. Dan will be an advocate for an economy that works for everyone, a healthcare system that provides access and affordability without the heavy handed federal mandates of Obamacare, and a strong military ready to defeat ISIS and any other threat to our nation, and to secure our borders.

“I’m a constitutional conservative who will always put the needs of America first,” Meuser said. “I want to restore our broken political system by always working on behalf of the people of the 11th District.”

Dan also believes that the next Congressman must be accessible to the people he serves.

“I will be very engaged and constituent focused, making sure that I am accessible and transparent,” Meuser said. “That means being involved in resolving issues, large and small, throughout the district.”

Dan will be traveling the 11th District visiting each county over the next 2 weeks.

PA to collect sales tax for online purchases

First they went after the smokers
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Online cigarette buyers hit with taxes

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As if your tax returns weren't complicated enough. Now the PA Dept of Revenue added a line on the PA40 so you can declare what you bought online last year and pay the 6% sales tax.
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State to put hammer down on online sales taxes
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There's a new line on that form for the 2011 tax year, for consumers to self-report -- and pay -- the state's sales tax on online purchases...It's called the use tax, and although it's been on the books since 1953, the state is making a new push to collect it, starting with purchases made in 2011. The reason? As the popularity of online and mail-order retail services grow, the state wants to protect its brick-and-mortar retailers. It also wants to make sure it gets its share of the pie..."It's a matter of fairness," state Department of Revenue Secretary Dan Meuser said in a statement.


Call me cynic but I think this has less to do with protecting local retailers than pulling in more tax revenue for the state. If I have to pay the sales tax on things I buy online that's life but don't expect me and you to retroactively produce receipts and figure out how much we owe.

In instances when they find consumers haven't paid the tax, revenue officials will pursue the tax owed, plus penalties and interest. And they'll identify those not reporting the tax through audits, complaints, investigations and checks of purchase lists made with out-of-state companies.

The onus should be on the companies that sold us the products to do the accounting. If I owe the the tax I'll pay it but not penalties and interest. Although the law has been on the books for a long time the enforcement smells of ex post facto.

Readers of this blog will remember Dan Mueser from his 2008 run for the Republican nomination in the PA 10th Congressional District that he lost to Chris Hackett who then was bested by Democrat Chris Carney in the General Election. Too bad they didn't hold their powder until the 2010 wave election so the people of the 10th CD would have a House member that really represents them instead of Louis DeNaples.

Radio Dave

My friend David Madeira has the first local based show on the new conservative talk radio station 94.3 FM. He describes himself as a recovering politician that wants to save the country from liberalism. That hasn't worked out well so far and I'm of the opinion that many people are rhetorically conservative but functionally liberal. More on that in a future post.

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Madeira recently lost the Republican nomination for Congress in the PA 10th Congressional District to Tom Marino. In 2008 he was instrumental in helping Chris Hackett go down in flames against Congressman Chris Carney and before that he came in 2nd in the 2006 GOP primary for the 20th PA State Senate seat, losing to Lisa Baker.

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I talked with Madeira yesterday on the telephone and asked him how he got this gig and he explained that he pitched it to WILK first but they blew him off but the people at The Talker decided to give him a chance. Talk radio is a natural forum for David as anybody who has ever been in the same room as Dave knows the most dangerous place to be is between him and a microphone.

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The interview:

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Let me ask a question off the record

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I don't have to do that anymore so ask me me anything you want. I'm having more fun being a talk show host than being a candidate. I no longer have to worry about offending anyone. I can be like you pajama clad bloggers.

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You have great website for the show, who put it together?

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My 14 year old son

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You got such a great time slot. There must be dozens of people listening at 8AM on a Saturday

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It's just a reflection of the owners confidence in my ability.

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Can Marino win

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I do. I think that the anti-incumbent and anti-Democratic mood has been underestimated. It will be a tough race because Carney will try to eviscerate Marino as he did to Hackett over the flat tax issue.

A podcast of his show is available at this link

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David Madeira show

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Dave told me he is hoping to move on to a bigger audience and I wish him well. The right wing airwaves are just about saturated so I will give him some unsolicited advice. Talk about local issues, build an audience and get a better time slot.

Another bogus attack from Marino about abortion

A week ago Tom Marino's campaign sent out a press release that piggybacked on a press release from the National Right to Life Committee that was debunked by FactCheck.org and others.


“I am deeply troubled to hear that taxpayer dollars will be used to fund abortions in Pennsylvania. This is only further evidence that the Executive Order that was signed by President Obama, and supported by liberals in Congress like Chris Carney, is a total sham” said Tom Marino, the Republican candidate for Congress in the 10th District."

From FactCheck.org


Q: Will all legal abortions be covered by federally subsidized health insurance policies in state "high-risk pools"?

A: No. The Department of Health and Human Services says the only abortions covered will be those in cases of rape, incest or when the mother’s life is endangered.

That is consistent with the Hyde Amendment

TL: Carney said Marino released his comments out of desperation as Marino shows his true character.

"It’s not what the people of the 10th District deserve,” Carney said. “As every independent fact checker has confirmed, there is a strict prohibition on public funding for abortion. Tom Marino knows this and yet lies anyway. He should be ashamed of this kind of deceptive and misleading attack.”


Yesterday Marino sent out another press release on this issue.

Williamsport, PA – One week after it was revealed that federal dollars would be used to pay for abortions in Pennsylvania, Congressman Chris Carney has still refused to sign on as a cosponsor of legislation which would ban Congress from using taxpayer funds for abortion.

HR 5939, sponsored by Congressman Chris Smith (Republican – New Jersey), would codify the pro-life Hyde Amendment. As of this morning, the legislation was cosponsored by 18 Democrats, including 3 from Pennsylvania; Carney was not one of them.

I asked Carney's ace press flack Josh Drobnyk about it and he said he will sign on as a cosponsor when Congress reconvenes after the August recess.

TL: House Resolution 5939 was introduced last Thursday and listed a bipartisan lineup of cosponsors, including U.S. Rep. Paul E. Kanjorski, D-Nanticoke, and two other Pennsylvania Democrats.

The reason Carney didn't sign on to it Thursday night when it was introduced was because he was on his way back to PA to be with his wife as she underwent surgery. I'm sure the Marino camp didn't know anything about Jennifer's illness so I'm not going to beat them up about the timing of their latest attack.

Since Marino is just about broke I can't blame him for trying to get all the free media he can on a wedge issue. But I have to ask when are these Republican candidates going to start talking about solutions to our problems instead of trying to reignite the culture wars of the last 40 years ?

Marino has help on the way to help him raise money.

House Minority Leader John Boehner will be in the area August 14th for a fundraiser for Marino according to pa2010.com. I don't have the details yet so help me out people. The last time he was in NEPA it was a private affair to support Chris Hackett.

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.

Mother's milk PA 10th CD

The Democrat


Congressman Chris Carney took in $153,000 during the 4th quarter of 2009,
$121,000 from PACs and only $25,000 from individuals and has $483,746 cash on hand.

Carney campaign spokesman Josh Drobnyk told the TL:

“Congressman Carney is grateful for the support he receives from Democrats, Republicans and Independents alike and is working hard to protect our families and improve our region’s economy during these tough times.”


The Republicans


The 4 GOP candidates got a late start and didn't report raising any money in the 4th quarter of 2009. That's zilch, nada, zero, goose egg. By this time last cycle Dan Meuser and Chris Hackett had campaign organizations in place with healthy bank balances. So far only Malcolm Derk even has a website up. I asked 3 of the 4 Republican candidates for comment on Carney's fundraising, I don't have contact info for Marino yet. Ted Yale didn't respond which is not surprising since I spent a week playing email/telephone tag with him without success.

I did get a response from Malcolm Derk:


"Chris Carney's numbers are much lower than the other vulnerable PA Democrats. I'm sure he'll be quick to call on his friends next quarter, including Jack Murtha, Charles Rangel, and the former members of the PMA lobbying firm. One troubling aspect of his most recent report is the fact that only 16% came from individual donors, while 84% of his contributions came from inside the beltway lobbyists, PACS, and other sources. His votes, like his contributions, are clearly aligned with the Washington, DC establishment. Chris Carney should be more concerned about protecting the citizens of Northeastern and Central Pennsylvania than the special interests in Washington, DC."

And Dave Madeira:

I'm not surprised that Congressman Carney has a big pile of special interest money. Washington politicians trade money for favors all the time. The recent races in NJ, VA and MA show that the people's voices will be heard no matter how much money lobbyists lavish on their wards. I'm looking forward to providing a positive alternative to government bailouts for Wall Street and big business.

Dan Meuser for Congress-the sequel?

"I have been thinking about it and strongly assessing the situation." -Dan Meuser


Borys has a rundown of the possible Republican candidates that may take on Congressman Chris Carney (PA-10) next year. They are:

-Malcolm Derk, of Freeburg, a Snyder County commissioner.

- Leonard Modzelesky, of South Abington Township, former operations manager at WNEP-TV.

-Dan Naylor, of Benton Township, a Lackawanna Trail school director and unsuccessful candidate for state representative in 2002.

-Leslie Sheridan, of Towanda in Bradford County, a retired educator.

-Steven Solieri, of Salem Township in Wayne County, an accounting professor at Queens College in New York City.



And Dan Meuser, of Harveys Lake and other places, the former president of Pride Mobility Products, who dropped $2.5 million in an unsuccessful run for the nomination last year. If Meuser decides to run again I hope he learned from his mistakes in the last campaign. The biggest one in my opinion was clearing the field and making it an insider/outsider race with Chris Hackett and framing his campaign as Pride Mobility for Congress. His selling point was the he was the head of very successful company, Pride Mobility, that grew over the years and created some good jobs with the implication he would be able to replicate that throughout the district. That opened him up to answering for everything that Pride had ever done wrong by design or circumstance whether or not he had anything to do with the situation. If he does run again I hope we can look forward to a spirited discussion from Zen, KAR, Sassy, PJ and the rest of our regulars.

Other than Meuser and Derk I don't know much about the other names dropped in the article but our newest local political blogger, NEPArtisan, has taken a look at them.
Naylor has campaign experience and political experience as a School Director at Lackawanna Trail. That’ll help. Modzelesky has media experience, which will help if he’s got the money to do big media buys. Sheridan and Solieri have education backgrounds, which is respectable, but not nearly enough to give them an edge.

Challenger for Carney

Dan Hirschorn of pa2010.com is reporting that Synder County Republican Commissioner Malcolm Derk is looking to take on Congressman Chris Carney in the PA 10th Congressional District next year and will make a decision next month.

It's surprising that the GOP is having trouble finding a candidate to run against Carney because the conventional wisdom is it's a Republican district that he won in 2006 because Don ''the Tunkhannock Strangler" Sherwood was caught playing house with a girl that was younger than his daughters then Carney won reelection by 13 points against solid Republican candidate Chris Hackett in a Democratic year. The latest registration figures I've seen from the district is 49% Republican to 40% Democratic with 11% Independent/Other. Some other names that I've heard that may make the race are Republican Pike County Commissioner Richard Caridi who helped organize a tea bagger ambush of one of Carney's staffers and WNEP newsreader Marisa Burke. 2008 GOP primary runner up Dan Meuser still remains a possibility.

Derk said that "The area is hungry for a candidate” and “The largest challenge for any candidate in a tough economic climate is raising funds." He said Carney’s votes for President Obama’s stimulus package and for the recent House health care legislation had troubled him. “It really hurts to see more and more debt piled onto generations to come.”

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Derk looks to be a young man in a hurry. He is a graduate of Susquehanna University with a degree in both Political Science and Religion and at 27 is the youngest person ever elected Snyder County Commissioner. He won his first election when he was 20 serving on the Freeburg Borough Council between 2002 and 2007. My pals in the SU College Republicans must be proud. His Wiki page touts his opposition to the bailout of Boscov's Department Store and his campaign site stresses his commitment to fiscal responsibility.

Carney and Kanjo have some bucks

The 2nd quarter campaign finance reports for Federal candidates are now available on the FEC website.

In the PA 10th CD Sophomore Chris Carney(D) has $300,000 cash on hand pulling in $228K from PACS and $124K from individuals. No Republican challenger has emerged yet. I hope they find a couple of a couple of candidates soon so we can have as much fun as the 2008 primary between Hackett and Meuser. Maybe this guy will take a stab at it.


Paul Kanjorski (D) has better than $600,000 in the bank with a big chunk of his latest take coming from banks, insurance companies and labor unions. His prospective opponent is Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta who reports $4,000 cash on hand and $263,000 in debt from his last 2 failed campaigns to become the Congressman from the 11th CD. Barletta only raised about $3500 and loaned his campaign $48,500.

The Mother's Milk of Politics

The TL has a rundown of the money raised by the Row Officer candidates so far for the May Primary Election. The Luzerne County election website doesn't have the full reports available online yet but I'm sure Leonard will make sure that they are posted soon.

Relatively speaking the candidates have raised modest amounts of money with large chunks coming from the hopefuls themselves.

One of the fat wallets that is a little lighter that I spotted in the article is Dan Meuser, of West Pittston, Harveys Lake and other places. Meuser is the former president of Pride Mobility and lost the 2008 10th CD GOP Primary to Chris Hackett. He dropped a thousand bucks on Walter Mitchell and Nanda Palissery each.

In the Controller's race Luzerne County Republican Party endorsed candidate Nanda Palissery has the most bucks.

Total: $7,460
From the candidate: $4,255
Spent: $4,109
Cash on hand: $3,350
Big donors: Dan Meuser $1000

The other candidates

Edd Brominski

Total: $3,775
Candidate: $2500
Spent: $2,762
Cash on hand: $1,013
Big donors: ?


Alice Coffman

Total: $4,479
Candidate: ?
Spent: $3,550
Cash on hand: $928
Big donors: ?

Walter Griffith

Total: $1,680
Candidate: $1,145
Spent: $2,825
Cash: 0
Big donors: ?

Bob Sypniewski

No information available

There is only one Democratic candidate in the race for Controller which disappoints me. I hate unopposed elections.

Bob Morgan

Total: $6,840
Candidate: $263
Spent: $4,772
Cash: $2,067
Big donors: Arlene Pasonick $1,000, Robert Stella $900

The thing to remember is that money can flow into this race at the last minute and we will not know about it for months.

Kanjo welcomes Specter

WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Paul E. Kanjorski (PA-11) issued the following statement regarding Senator Arlen Specter’s (D-PA) announcement to join the Democratic Party.

“As a Pennsylvanian and a Democrat, I welcome Senator Specter to the Democratic Party. I greatly respect the Senator for his independent voice and I hope that he will feel more at home in a political party which I believe is more accepting of the kind of thoughtful representation that he has provided for Pennsylvania for so many years. Senator Specter and I have a long history of working together in the interest of Pennsylvanians and I hope that relationship will only continue to grow as he joins the Democratic Party.”


A friend tonight reminded me of this blast from the recent past when Specter warned against one party rule in Washington.

TV Ad: Hackett-Specter





I have also asked Conressman Chris Carney for a statement.

Chris Hackett is against earmarks

My friend Chis Hackett had a letter to the editor (LTE) published in the Times-Leader today. Just to refresh your memory Hackett was the runner up in the recent (2008) 10th Congressional District election losing to Democratic Freshman Chris Carney in what some people say is an overwhelmingly Republican District. I beg to differ on that. Even the people out in Honesdale, Sunbury and Carbondale saw the light. Carney did a good job in his first 2 years and we have a habit of reelecting incumbents unless they do something stupid like strangling their mistress.

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I'll will always be grateful to Chris Hackett for giving me an interview after he announced he was running for Congress. I also requested one with Meuser but his people kept jerking me around. I think Hackett's downfall was his reluctance to give me another interview as we approached the General Election. Just goes to show that you that we can disagree without being disagreeable.

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Some people give me the credit (blame) for the split in Republican party after the hard fought primary between Hackett and Dan Meuser because of the often spirited exchanges that went on in the comments on Gort42. I'm too modest to take credit for that.

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Back to the letter.

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Like most Americans, I want our president to be successful in leading our country. While it is unrealistic to believe that we would all agree on most or even many policy directions, I think it important that we maintain an open mind and focus on the possibilities that lie ahead.

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During the recent presidential campaign, as a country, we chose “change.” And make no mistake, I agree our country needs change in how Washington, D.C., functions. As I listened closely to the various campaign promises, I hoped that John McCain or Barack Obama would do what they said while trying to win our votes and focus the actions of the government on serving the people, not the special interests.

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But as we’ve seen in the past, words are easy; actions take courage and conviction. And rarely is the easy action or decision the right path. Further, accountability is a bedrock principle of our nation; and I firmly believe we need to hold politicians accountable. When they make a campaign promise or pledge, we must demand they stand by it.

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President Obama said during the campaign: “Absolutely, we need earmark reform. And when I’m president, I will go line by line to make sure that we are not spending money unwisely.” This promise was made when he was debating Sen. McCain, who has a long and consistent record of not requesting earmarks. Candidate Obama told us he would take this fiscally conservative approach, which is very unpopular with the special interest groups that permeate our nation’s capital.

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This would require him to stand up to the House and Senate leadership by saying: It’s not going to be business as usual. If you send me that $410 billion spending bill, I will veto it and I will bring light and attention to those who brazenly requested these outrageous pet projects.
He could use his great communication skills in this way to further the cause of accountable and legitimate government spending.

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But sadly, instead, he has chosen the easy path, one that uses the same tired game of blaming prior administrations. President Obama says this spending bill is the last administration’s business, therefore his campaign promises don’t apply. “I’ll submit an earmarks-free budget next year.” What a complete cop-out and an example of why most Americans find it difficult to believe anything a politician says.

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Remember, President Obama, we signed on for change in Washington, not more political double speak. We need to fix our system now. We can’t afford (and I do mean afford) any more wasteful spending or political word twisting.

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Change is hard; but it is far better to make these changes now while we can decide, rather than having the decisions made for us when the Chinese or sovereign oil nations stop buying our Treasury bonds to finance these expenditures, and our “financial diet” is forced upon us.

Luzerne County Republicans

Some of us were hoping that new Luzerne County Republican Chairman Terry Casey wouldn't try to mimic the the local Democrats by trying to force candidates out of the primary. The reports I have been getting points to the opposite and this story in the TL confirms it:

County GOP endorsements likely

I have nothing against Attorney Nanda Pallisary but Casey is not doing him any favors by trying to force Walter Griffith and Bob Sypnewski out of the race. Yes, a primary race cost money that could be spent in the general election but a primary raises the name recognition of the eventual winner. I think it would be beneficial for our local GOP to have a contest as long as it doesn't turn into a bloodbath like the Mueser/Hackett race in the the 10th CD last year.

Former Democratic Commissioner Edd Brominski (what's with 2 D's ?) has also announced his intention to run for Controller as a Republican. More on Bromo to come.

Dan Meuser speaks

Unsuccessful Republican PA 10th CD candidate Dan Meuser was interviewed by Chris Freind of The Bulletin.

Meuser: Reform The State GOP

He said that the Republicans got blown out in the last 2 elections because "We did a terrible job telling the average voter what we were going to do for them and poorly articulated how our policies would affect people's everyday lives." He claims that PA voters are "center right" and reminds us that Nancy Pelosi is a liberal bogeyman. He repeats the Republican mantra that tax cuts are the best solution to every problem that we face and he likes Mitt Romney for President.

He does have a good idea for party building "We need to immediately start organizing our party and reaching out to perspective voters as they turn 18, invite College Republicans to our events and have strong local party leadership. We can work together with the County organizations and committee people to set and exceed voter registration goals."

Some of the comments at GrassrootsPA about this article are surprising. One poster even accuses Meuser of undermining Republican nominee Chris Hackett.

Smile, You're on Macaca camera

In 2006 Virginia Senator George Allen reacted to a guy from the Democratic campaign that was following him around with a video camera by calling him a name (slur) that I had never heard before. The resulting storm sunk his reelection.


George Allen introduces Macaca

Since that happened just about every campaign in the country has employed people to follow around the other candidate with a video camera hoping to come up with a similar pot of gold. The TL reports that the Paul Kanjorski camp paid a guy $10,000 to follow around Lou Barletta hoping to catch Mayor Lou saying something stupid.

The videographer, identified as Joe Van Wie of Agapic Films of Scranton, was observed taping Barletta at campaign rallies and fundraisers...Van Wie may have been able to track Barletta because he signed up to be a Barletta campaign volunteer.

This has become an common campaign tactic so there was no need for subterfuge. If a candidate is speaking at a public event it's fair game to videotape it. Chris Carney's camp also had a videographer following around Chris Hackett.

Sights on Pennsylvania has much more about how this affected the Barletta campaign even to the point of refusing to give me Lou's schedule because they didn't want to give a heads up to the video guy. Bad move. I've had various candidates tell me that people showed up at an event because they read it on my blog. The video guy would have found him anyway.

Carney's big win

The challenger didn't lose the incumbent won. And boy did he ever win. In 2006 Chris Carney topped Don Sherwood by 6 points with approx. 110,000 votes to 98,000.

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The incumbent lost that election after his dirty laundry was aired and many people thought it was a fluke expecting the Republicans to take back the seat in 2008. But Congressman Carney had other ideas. He has been a relentless campaigner holding town hall meetings in every part of the district. His part time job as a Lt. Commander (soon to be full Commander) in the US Navel reserve and focus on veterans issues resonated with people I have talked to in the district. He has been a reliable vote for the Administration (urgh) on the Iraq War making it hard for Chris Hackett to run to his right on national security issues. And he brought home the bacon that Hackett derided. With just about every county and municipal government in the district has tapped out on the property tax that barely pays the bills. The only way to build a new fire house or even pave a street is to get a piece of pork. While I agree with Chris Hackett that there should be earmark reform we like our pork, just ask Joe McDade or Don Sherwood.

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After being number one on the hit list of the NRCC it wasn't even close.

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CARNEY, CHRISTOPHER P. (DEM) 159,072 56.4%
HACKETT, CHRIS (REP) 123,06 43.6%

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The thing that really surprised me is that Carney won 12 of the 13 counties that are part of the district. Local Values has a breakdown with percentages but not raw numbers.

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My friends Zen and Joe will argue that Hackett's scorched earth campaign against Dan Muesser in the primary was responsible for his defeat but I don't think that is the case. It was just too big of a win.

Pennsylvania results

The readers of Gort 42 called them right.


President

OBAMA, BARACK (DEM)
2,988,522 55.4%

MCCAIN, JOHN (REP)
2,345,058 43.5%



10th Congressional District


CARNEY, CHRISTOPHER P. (DEM)
135,614 56.6%

HACKETT, CHRIS (REP)
103,998 43.4%


11th Congressional District


KANJORSKI, PAUL E. (DEM)
142,720 51.7%

BARLETTA, LOU (REP)
133,365 48.3%


117th Legislative District


BIGUS, RUSS (DEM)
7,718 29.1%

BOBACK, KAREN (REP)
18,780 70.9%

Pa 10th Congressional Distirct prediction

I want to preface this by saying I personally like both gentlemen. They are young, telegenic and successful in their chosen professions with beautiful families. It's like we have 2 congressional candidates from central casting.
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Both campaigns have been very responsive to this lowly blogger and I'm grateful for that. It's too late now but I think that Hackett's refusing my request for a 2nd interview was a mistake. I agree with the Hackett camp that there should have been more debates but if he won't debate Gort.....
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I have interviewed both of them and asked some questions that weren't in the news at the time but were important to me. You can read the interviews here:


Congressman Chris Carney-the interview


Chris Hackett for Congress, the interview


A common question I asked was about the Military Commissions Act that says the government can declare a United States citizen an enemy combatant and hold them without habeas corpus.


The exchange with Hackett:


Specifically, do you favor holding an American citizen without access to the courts?

Correct me if I’m wrong but they are not holding American citizens, are they?

Jose Padilla

That’s true he was held, but has since been convicted and is awaiting sentencing. The reality is we have to hold enemy combatants. The Military Commissions Act gave broad authority to the President to designate someone is an illegal enemy combatant, which was the designation issued to Jose Padilla.

Even they are a United States citizen arrested in the United States?

Yes.
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And with Carney:

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There is a provision of the Military Commissions Act that says the government can declare a United States citizen an enemy combatant and hold them without habeas corpus.


When you suspend the constitution you have to be little bit nervous about that. I swore a couple of times to protect and defend the constitution both as a military officer and as a member of Congress. You can hold people in this country by charging them under the 5th amendment and charge them with a crime and they get due process. American citizens should not be deprived due process.

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So do you favor repealing that provision of the act?
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As long as there is a legal way to cover them if they are an American citizen they get full rights as an American citizen.

Is that a yes?
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That’s a yes. When we ignore our own rules we hurt ourselves as a nation. We hurt our ethic, we hurt what we stand for in the eyes of our people and the eyes of the world.

The response to that question made up my mind. The United States is not some tin horn dictatorship that can lock up people without giving them an opportunity to plead their case in court. What has happened to the Republican Party that I grew up with? You remember them, balanced budgets and keeping the government out of your life. The rule of law.

Hackett scored some points in the debate about earmarks and even got away with calling Carney a crook and a liar over his campaign contributions from companies that got some pork and his vote over the fence which has turned out to be a boondoggle. It's probably too little to late. The Hackett camp is highlighting this spot about Nancy Pelosi's salmon earmark and his 80% remark.
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I go back to the old rule of politics; Challengers don't win the election, incumbents lose them. And Carney hasn't done anything to lose.

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He stated his case in our interview: The far left attacked me, I’m not liberal. They ran newspaper, radio and television ads against me. So frankly if the far left and the far right are attacking you- you are probably in the right spot actually.



Carney won by 6 points in 2006, expect a similar result.

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The Really Pissed Off Republican has his predictions.

And That's How I See It has some Election Night Predictions.


Highlights from the PA 10th Congressional debate








My blog buddies have great write ups of the debate;


The Lu Lac Political Letter


Local Values


The Really Pissed Off Republican


The whole thing is on WVIA's website.


Vote on the sidebar. Next up, President.

The fact of the matter is ...Nancy Pelosi is a liberal

I should have run a drinking contest for people who watched the 10th CD debate tonight. Every time Chris Hackett mentioned liberal or Nancy Pelosi you take a slug and every time you heard Carney say 'the fact of the matter is'... take another belt. The problem is Hackett mentioned liberal/ Pelosi at least 18 times and Carney said the "fact of the matter is"...at least 24 times and I'm sure I under counted. So if you took my advice you would have been under the table after a half hour.


I will have a serious write up of the 10th CD debate and a prediction tomorrow.

10th CD debate tonight

WVIA:


Thursday, Oct. 30 at 8 p.m . 10th District of Pa. Incumbent Congressman Chris Carney will take part in his only debate against Chris Hackett. The debate panel will include: Andrea Mulrine, the President of the Pennsylvania League of Women Voters; Brian Lockman, the President of PCN; and Coulter Jones, a staff writer for the Citizens Voice. The debate will be moderated by WVIA President and CEO Bill Kelly.


Since the World Series is over my evening is free I was able to score a ticket. See you there.