Matt Cartwright's lame media

Matt Cartwright(D-PA8)  and John Chrin (NJ) have a lot of money to spend on teevee ads.

 Right out of the box Chrin was kicking Cartwright's teeth in. Sanctuary Cities, higher taxes, welfare and scary photos of the soft spoken grandmother from Sodom on the San Andreas.

That's normal for a challenger to tear down the incumbent because he really doesn't have anything to offer. Read his issue page. But he does have the endorsement of the part-time occupant of the White House and his butler.

In response the Cartwright campaign violated the first rule of political advertising. Never, ever let your candidate respond to an attack ad. Use a narrator, man in the street, etc. But they keep using the same approach.

I have a novel idea for the Cartwright campaign. Remind us why we voted for you in 2012.


Instead we get New Jersey and Social Security

A new job for the Benghazi committee

Since the Speaker to be  Kevin McCarthy confessed that the committee's best work has been hitting Hillary's poll numbers it's time for them to look at a real problem. The soft spoken grandmother from Sodom on the San Andreas has an idea.

Washington, D.C. – Today, Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi sent a letter to Speaker John Boehner calling for the creation of a Select Committee on Gun Violence to confront the crisis of gun violence in America and recommend common sense legislation to help end it.  In addition, Leader Pelosi urged Congressional passage of the bipartisan King-Thompson bill to strengthen background checks that save American lives.
As Leader Pelosi wrote, “The epidemic of gun violence in our country challenges the conscience of our nation.  Mass shootings and gun violence are inflicting daily tragedy on communities across America.  As of today, nearly 10,000 Americans have been killed by guns in 2015 – more than 30 gun violence deaths a day.  Yesterday’s terrible attack at Umpqua Community College in Oregon marked the 45th school shooting this year alone.

Glenn Geissinger for Congress

Northampton County Councilman Glenn Geissinger launched his congressional campaign Tuesday for the PA-17th CD against  U.S. Rep. Matthew Cartwright. He is the first Republican to announce and we can expect more.

His announcement via the Morning Call: "I want Matt Cartwright to understand that solutions come out of the private sector. They come out of people like you and me going to work every day to make America a better place. They don't come out of adding more regulations. They don't come by scaling back on our ability to produce jobs,"....I am going to do what it takes to win in order to bring what these people think government should be to Washington,"....

Sounds good until this;

 The people of northeast Pennsylvania need someone in the nation's capital who would go up against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and protect blue-collar jobs and the coal industry that dominates the northern part of the district. 

The coal industry in PA is just about dead in Pennsylvania and employs less than 9000 people statewide. It seems that it is a tenet of faith for Republicans that the EPA is some sort of  evil organization that people hate. The last time I checked people like clean air and water. 

He also took a shot at the Democratic House Leader  Geissinger painted himself as a better fit for the district than Cartwright, whom he labeled a "Nancy Pelosi Democrat."

This is so 2008. Trying to tie a local candidate to the soft spoken grandmother from Sodom on the San Andreas hasn't worked beyond the people who would never vote for a Democrat anyway. 

I would argue that Pelosi was a more effective Speaker than John Boehner  who can't even keep the government working because he can't  deal with a bunch of anti-government anarchists.

 

Pennsylvania polling

In the Presidential race Republican leaning polling outfit Rasmussen Reports has President Obama leading Mitt Romney 47%-41% and the Democratic leaning pollster Public Policy Polling has a similar result with Obama topping Romney 50%-42%. The PPP crosstabs are interesting with the President's favorables about even but Romney is way underwater with 51% unfavorable to just 37% favorable. Governor Tom Corbett is also not well thought of with 50% disapproving of his job performance vs. 37% in favor.

In the Senate race Bob Casey has a 49% to 33%  lead over Bob Smith.  Smith and Steve Welch attacked each other for voting for Democrats in the past during the primary that probably left a bad taste in the mouth of Welch supporters and the state GOP. Smith's name recognition went up but so did his unfavorables.The more people get to know him the less they like him.

Democratic Attorney General candidate Kathleen Kane has the early lead over David Freed 42%-33% with 25% undecided. The hard fought primary with Patrick Murphy helped her get her name out there and Murphy's endorsement helps to close the the ranks of Democrats.Patrick is always a class act.

“Primaries are never easy. But it’s important to remember that this was a family fight. Now that it’s over, we must come together and rally behind our nominee. That’s why I am endorsing Kathleen Kane for Attorney General. Because in the end, Kathleen is Pennsylvania’s best choice for Attorney General,” Murphy said.

The contests for Auditor General and Treasurer are a wash at this point.

In other political news Nancy Pelosi  will be in town for a wedding and will make a side trip to help out 17th CD Democratic nominee Matt Cartwright raise money at a 10:30 a.m. lunch June 9 at the Radisson at Lackawanna Station hotel in Scranton. That's early for this nocturnal blogger and a bit expensive.

The Republicans are always looking for some sort of  boogeyman and the soft spoken Grandmother from Sodom on the San Andreas fits the bill. Lately Chicago style  Democrats (corrupt)has replaced San Francisco Democrats (gay) in their lexicon.

You Tube weekend

SuperPacs are bad

Poll results

Who will be the next Speaker of the House?

Nancy Pelosi(D) 40 (61%)

John Boehner (R) 25 (39%)

After I made a wager with Joe Valenti of PittstonPolitics.com. I asked you my dear readers of Gort42 to give us your opinion of what would happen in the fall. And you have predicted the soft spoken grandmother from Sodom on the San Andreas will be wielding the gavel for at least 2 more years and the chain smoking guy with the orange skin will still be saying no. That tanning bed tax is a bitch, heyna.



Forbes: Tea partiers confused, taxes ‘lower by every measure’ under Obama

You Tube weekend

I haven't paid much attention to the PA 12th CD special election to succeed John Murtha but this ad caught my eye because it is so stupid, creative and funny all at the same time.

The Republicans keep trying to demonize Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi which probably works in their echo chamber but I don't think it translates to the larger electorate. In this spot the soft spoken grandmother who represents Sodom on the San Andreas is transformed into a giant 50 foot monster. The Tubes and old 50's sci-fi films should get royalties. The puppetering looks like something the South Park/Team America guys would do. All that is missing is Sarah Palin and Michelle Bachmann shooting the flamethrowers at the end.

Kanjo said the CIA lied to him

Speaker Nancy Pelosi recently said about the CIA "They mislead us all the time'' in regards to being briefed on the torture techniques like waterboarding that were being used on prisoners in US custody. The usual Republican suspects were shocked and appalled that that she would accuse an intelligence agency that uses disinformation and has a long track record of lying to Congress and the American people of being less than truthful. Does anyone remember the Church Commission? John Boehner and Newt Gingrich are leading the charge demanding an investigation. Bring it on.

Senator Arlen Specter pointed out that "The CIA has a very bad record when it comes to honesty."
... Specter spoke of the CIA's role in the Iran-Contra affair, "Director Casey appeared and gave perjurious testimony to the Committee." He added that the CIA's deputy director had prepared Casey's testimony and that he, "Came within a hair's breadth of being prosecuted by an independent counsel."


And there is this Walter Brasch article from September 2007 via FDL's Emptywheel


"a god-damned lie"

In a town hall meeting in Bloomsburg, Pa. this week [leading up to September 3, 2007], Rep. Paul Kanjorski, a 12-term congressman, said that shortly before Congress was scheduled to vote on authorizing military force against Iraq, top officials of the CIA showed select members of Congress three photographs it alleged were Iraqi Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), better known as drones. Kanjorski said he was told that the drones were capable of carrying nuclear, biological, or chemical agents, and could strike 1,000 miles inland of east coast or west coast cities.

Kanjorski said he and four or five other congressmen in the room were told UAVs could be on freighters headed to the U.S. Both secretary of state Condoleezza Rice and President Bush wandered into and out of the briefing room, Kanjorski said.

Kanjorski said it was the second time he was called to the White House for a briefing. He had opposed giving the President the powers to go to war, and said that he hadn't changed his mind after a first meeting. Until he saw the pictures, Kanjorski said, "I hadn't thought that Iraq was a threat." That second meeting changed everything. After he left that meeting, said Kanjorski, he was willing to give the President the authorization he wanted since the drones "represented an imminent danger."

[snip]

Several years later, Kanjorski said he learned that the pictures were "a god-damned lie," apparently taken by CIA photographers in the desert in the southwest of the U.S.


Down With Tyranny has more about the CIA