Predictions

A Big Fat Slob has reviewed the landscape and tells us what he thinks what will happen on Tuesday in PA and across the country. Now he wants our input, Okay, you're turn, dear readers and fellow bloggers. Musings from Mudville has picks in the state and Lehigh Valley. Bernie has the best idea.

We will start predictions this weekend. In fact I won't wait. I predict Ray Musto and Bob Mellow will be re-elected.

There is a ballot question

There is a question on the ballot Tuesday to give veterans of the first Gulf War a bonus. Sounds good until you look at the details. We are being asked to borrow $20 million plus interest to finance this measure. I'm sure our vets would appreciate a few hundred bucks in addition to our gratitude but I think many would skip it if it meant that the VA was fully funded to take care of our wounded coming back from this war. Plus it's more borrowing. It's just a habit but I always vote against borrowing more money.

VoicePA has an editorial from the Chambersburg Public Opinion that says it better than me.

Rick and Friends

JACK KELLEY / THE CITIZENS' VOICE

Carl Romanelli, left, greets U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, right, while Hazelton Mayor Lou Barletta chats with supporters in downtown Wilkes-Barre on Wednesday. Good to see Carl backing his friend. I hope he picked up a few bucks from Rick and his pals.

Santorum made a stop in Wilkes-Barre and used the Kerry gaffe to attack Bob Casey. You have to hand it to the Republican noise machine for focusing on nonsense and making it the story of the last few days.

Hold your nose and vote for Kanjorski

So says the Times-Leader endorsement of Paul Kanjorski for another term as our represenative in the 11th CD.

AS WE’VE DONE in this space in the past, we give Paul Kanjorski our reluctant endorsement...Yes, we remember that notorious $9 million earmarked to a firm run by Kanjorski’s nephews. And we also remember some of the congressman’s failed pie-in-the-sky ideas.
But, municipal leaders sing his praises and economic development officials laud his work. Here’s hoping he shows more results in this upcoming two-year term.

The Citizens Voice/Times-Tribune also said we should keep him around because he has seniority. They both say good things about his challenger Joe Leonardi but knock him for "never held public office." I'll remind them that Kanjo had never held public office when he was first elected. The latest from Leonardi.

The Difference

I have often been asked; what is the one major difference between Congressman Kanjorski and myself? I have always had several, but on Sunday, October 22, I heard the congressman speak on “The Pulse with Corey O’Brien.” A side note, Corey O’Brien told me on two occasions; once on the phone and once right to my face, at the Latin Festival in Scranton, that he would have me on his show. He had also told the same to one of my campaign staffers at a debate he moderated at Lackawanna College. To date I have not been invited to appear on his televison or radio show. However, Corey did have the Congressman on for the entire half hour Sunday. After the Congressman completed the interview, it hit me; the one major difference between us is this: From “Wall Street West” to the “Mag-Lev Train” he gives the impression it is his goal to make Northeast PA a subsidiary of New York City. I want to make Northeast PA a viable, independent, economic powerhouse. I want to use the resources we have in here in Northeast PA to create jobs, provide opportunity and give our children a place to stay after college.

Unfortunately, because the Congressman does not believe the voters have the right to hear us debate, he and I will never get to discuss this in front of the voters. As I have stated, his refusal to debate is acceptable to me, but it should not be acceptable to you, the voters. The Congressman does not believe he should come off his mountain and debate with me; a mere middle class citizen. He has taken the elitist position that he knows what is best for us all and doesn’t believe voters have the right to make an informed decision.

Congressman Kanjorski can continue to communicate through select members of the media that gleefully cheer him on. I will continue to make myself available to anyone who wants to interview me, whether it is bloggers, talk show hosts, newspaper or television reporters. Most importantly, I welcome you, the voter, to contact me and ask any questions you would like. If after hearing my answers you still do not want to vote for me, I respect that.If you want change, if you want someone who will demonstrate accountability, responsibility and courage to our constituents, then please vote for me.

More good news for Chris Carney

CQ Politics says 10th CD leans Democratic.

CQPolitics.com is changing its rating on the race in Pennsylvania’s 10th District — where scandal-burdened four-term Republican Rep. Don Sherwood is defending his seat — to Leans Democratic from No Clear Favorite.
That ratings change represents CQPolitics.com’s analysis that Sherwood, who has had a tough time living down his admission last year that he had an extramarital affair with a much younger woman, is trailing Democratic challenger Chris Carney, although the contest remains highly competitive.
Carney is a political science professor whose past as a Pentagon adviser on intelligence and terrorism issues has given him added legitimacy in a northeastern Pennsylvania district that has a strong conservative lean, and which votes so regularly Republican that Democrats didn’t even bother to field challengers to Sherwood in 2002 and 2004...

A survey taken Oct. 22-26 by the polling institute at Lycoming College, which is located in the 10th District, showed Carney ahead by 47 percent to 38 percent.
The results were virtually similar to a Keystone Poll taken Oct. 19-23 by Franklin and Marshall College’s Center for Opinion Research in Lancaster, Pa., which had Carney ahead by 50 percent to 38 percent among likely voters.
The Keystone poll showed that 52 percent of respondents had a “not favorable” view of Sherwood — an extremely hazardous level of unpopularity for an incumbent. About one in five voters said Sherwood’s extramarital affair made them more likely to vote against the congressman.
Both surveys were taken after President Bush campaigned for Sherwood in the 10th District on Oct. 19 in an effort to gin up the conservative base vote in a district where 60 percent of voters in 2004 favored Bush’s re-election. But Bush’s numbers are not as robust there as two years ago, in large part because of public skittishness and increasing opposition to the Iraq war.

In the ad wars Carney tells Sherwood to stop lying.

Clarks Summit, PA – Chris Carney called on the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) to pull down a new ad lying about his position on social security. The NRCC has claimed that these lies are based on Carney’s AARP survey answers, yet the AARP stated that the ad “mischaracterizes AARP Voters’ Guide in an effort to mislead voters.”
“With election day less than a week away, Don Sherwood and his Republican cronies continue to lie about my position and scare our seniors. The fact is that I will always keep our promise to our seniors and would never cut Social Security benefits or raise the payroll tax. I also promise to never privatize Social Security, unlike my opponent who is on record saying Social Security should be replaced.”

Latest Senate polls or bye bye Rick

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two independent polls released Wednesday showed Sen. Rick Santorum continuing to trail Democrat Bob Casey among likely voters in the final days of the campaign.
In a Quinnipiac University poll of 933 likely voters, Casey led Santorum by 10 points, 52 percent to 42 percent. The same poll had Casey with a six-point advantage in September... second, smaller Keystone Poll by Franklin & Marshall College showed Casey leading Santorum among voters by 17 points, 56 percent to 39 percent. The same poll showed Casey with a five-point edge in September...Forty-six percent of voters surveyed in the Keystone Poll said they had an unfavorable view of the two-term Santorum.

h/t to A Big Fat Slob who took time out from making breakfast for Santorum.

Barletta loses the first round

Many more to come.

ALLENTOWN, Pa. - A federal judge on Tuesday blocked the city of Hazleton from enforcing a pair of ordinances targeting illegal immigrants, just hours before the measures were to go into effect...U.S. District Judge James Munley ruled that landlords, tenants and businesses that cater to Hispanics faced "irreparable harm" from the laws and issued a temporary restraining order blocking their enforcement.

"We find it in the public interest to protect residents' access to homes, education, jobs and businesses," he wrote...Munley, however, wrote that the city "offers only vague generalizations about the crime allegedly caused by illegal immigrants, but has nothing concrete to back up these claims." The city also failed to provide statistics on the number of illegal immigrants living in Hazleton, he wrote.

Furthermore, Munley wrote, the plaintiffs have a "reasonable probability" of getting the laws declared unconstitutional.

US Constitution Article I sec. 8: The Congress shall have power to...To establish a uniform rule of naturalization.

Some think this will be good news for the force behind this latest attempt to divide people, Rick Santorum. I still predict, as the legal bills mount, that this nonsense will be dropped sometime after the election and Rick migrates back to Virginia.

Happy Halloween - I almost forgot

Carney, Casey and Rendell hold leads

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. - Representative Don Sherwood, the Republican incumbent in the 10th congressional district, has gained no ground on Democratic challenger Christopher Carney over the last month. A new poll released today by Lycoming College shows Sherwood trailing Carney 38 to 47 percent, a deficit statistically indistinguishable from the findings of the College’s September poll. Fifteen percent of respondents remain undecided in the latest survey.

From GrassrootsPA

New Leaked Rasmussen Reports: Casey 55% Santorum 42%. ALSO: Rendell 56% Swann 38%

NOTE: According to Politics1.com, the new Rasmussen Reports Gov and Senate Race surveys show the above figures.

If the polls can believed we are looking at an historic blowout election in PA and across the country. About time people woke up and reject the slash and burn politics of the last 6 years. The Republicans aren't interested in governing but in winning. The thing they don't understand is that if you govern well we all win. All their efforts to divide us have failed. We are better than that. You can't keep playing off blacks against whites, born here or not and get into peoples bedrooms. The only thing they offer is fear. Fear of terrorists, Democrats, people who are different and the future.

The Congress has raided the treasury to benefit the few at the expense of the many. The United States Armed Forces have been put into the impossible position of occupying a country who's people don't want us there and there is no end in sight. The Constitution is "just a goddamn piece of paper." The Congress has given in to every demand of the executive and hasn't fullfilled it's oversight duty. Time to change the Congress.

This country has been involved in a debate on whether torture is a good thing? People are kidnapped on American soil and spririted off to foreign lands because our laws say you can't break their heads open. The prisons like Gitmo and Abu Ghraib that we know about are a disgrace. US citizens can be wiretapped without judicial or congressional oversight. The writ of habes corpus has been suspended in violation of the Constitution.

Is this President Reagan's City on a Hill?

This is funny

Thanks to Susie

CFAV: Second Santorum Political Ad ... Satire...Parody.

What's the most exciting play in sports?

I say it's a triple or inside the park home run in baseball. Others say a run back of a kick for a TD , punt or kickoff.

117th district

In the race to replace that towering figure George Hasay, best know for his knowledge of bats, we have a choice of Karen Boback and Fred Nichols. Fred is a fun guy. He is best known for posing for a picture on a dating site with his gun. Dumb thing to do but he's learned from that. Karen has more degrees than I can count and has been involved in every good cause she has time for. The district includes most of the west side of Luzerne County.

Eachus has an opponent

“I could bump into him on the street and not know who he is,”- state Rep. Todd Eachus, D-Butler Township

More payraise politics.

Challenger accuses incumbent of saying he deserved pay hike. Eachus denies that, calls foe weak on ideas.

I wasn't aware that Todd Eachus even had an opponent and after reading the 2 write-ups in the local papers I doubt if most people did.

Dueling endorsements

Christine Katsock got some good news today by way of the Times-Leader. They endorsed her for the 121st District House seat that is centered on Wilkes-Barre. The Citizens Voice came out for her opponent Eddie Pashinski. It's great having 2 papers.

The Voice said Pashinski is a man on a mission who has passion and intensity and dismissed Katsock without explanation. The TL took a little more critical view of Eddie Day. He wants studies, commissions and task forces to address the issues before he makes up his mind. In other words he's clueless. For all the criticism she takes no one can say that Katsock doesn't know the issues. Agree with her or not she knows what she wants to do.

Weekend Update

Rush, You ignorant slut.

I've been falling behind on the local state house races this week but hope to catch up over the weekend.

In the 20th Senatorial District Luzerne County's version of Princess Sparkle Pony Lisa Baker had a debate with "I'm not that" Bob McNamara. Where's Norton when you need him?

In another debate, this one for the 119th House District, John "Yuddy" Yudichak took time out from his Paul Kanjorski death watch to smack around that old naysayer Ed Sieminski.

More tomorrow.

Support our troops

Video Wiz Ava Lowrey has new one at Peace Takes Courage

The upcoming election in November is crucial to our country and our soldiers overseas. George W. Bush and the GOP claim they support our troops, but are they telling the truth? Watch the ad and then on November 7th elect the candidates that truly support our troops.






BUSH'S 2007 BUDGET BREAKS PROMISES TO VETERANS

Sherwood has deep pockets

WILKES-BARRE – U.S. Rep. Don Sherwood loaned $200,000 to his own re-election bid, recent campaign finance reports show...As of Oct. 18, Chris Carney had $225,942 in campaign cash, while Sherwood had $275,471, including the $200,000 lent to his own campaign on Oct. 18, the cut-off date for recent FEC filings. Without the loan, Sherwood’s campaign would have had only about $75,000 on hand.

Sherwood spent around $400,000 in the primary against an opponent nobody had ever heard of and only got 56% of the vote. His contributions are drying up forcing him to dig into his own pockets and bring Bush in to raise money for him. The latest polls show only 58% of Repuplicans plan to vote for him and he's trailing Carney by 9% overall in a district that went 60%-40% for Bush in 2004. I think he should save his money for his well deserved upcoming retirement.

Carney campaign spokeswoman Kyra Jennings said: “The average annual income in the 10th District is about $36,000, It shows how out of touch Sherwood is with the working families of this district that he has this much of his own money to put into his campaign.”

John Cordora has a website

Just in time for Halloween 120th District Republican candidate John Corora has joined the internet age. He is running hard on the pay raise that Phyllis Mundy voted for.

During my political involvement as a non-paid activist over the years I have never heard the outcry for change as I have in this year's statewide races.

My opponent, incumbent Phyllis Mundy, was one of the state legislators who voted in favor of the largest self-pay raise in state history, a 16-34% increase.

Speaking of Halloween. Does he resemble Vincent Price?

Carney 48%-Sherwood 39%

The new Keystone Poll in the 10th CD has more good news for Chris Carney. After all the negative ads and false charges from the Republicans he maintains his lead over our joke of a congressman Don Sherwood. A visit from Bush may have brought in more cash but hasn't helped the Tunkhannock Strangler. Bush only gets a 36% approval rating in the district and an incredibly low 35% say Sherwood deserves reelection. The only solid backing is from self described Christian Fundamentalist who back him 55%-33%. I guess they never read the 10 Commandments.

Stay the course