Meet the candidate

Pennsylvania Republican 10th Congressional District candidate Chris Hackett has 2 events on his schedule this week. Tonight you can find Chris at the Harveys Lake Grotto Pizza from 7 to 9PM. Let's hope that the impending snow storm, that the forecasters are saying will be the worst one since the last one, won't keep people away. On Friday you can find him in the wilds of Snyder County at Penn Valley Airport (New Terminal Building), Selinsgrove, 7-9PM.

James May for State Representative

I met James may last week and we had a brief discussion about his experiences in Iraq and at Walter Reed Army Hospital. He's an impressive guy and tomorrow he kicks off his campaign to unseat Karen Boback in the 117th District.

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He is running hard on the teacher strike issue and has garnered support from some of the heavy hitters in the state.

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From a press release:

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When: Monday, February 11, 5:30 - 6:30

Where: Twin Stack Center, Natona Room, 1100 North Memorial Highway, Dallas

On Monday, February 11, James May will kickoff his campaign for the Pennsylvania State House, with guest of honor David Barton! David Barton is currently the Vice Chairman of the Republican Party of Texas and was named by Time Magazine as "The Lesson Planner" for President George W. Bush's two Presidential victories. As a senior member of the Republican National Committee and a senior executive on the Bush/Cheney Election Team, he has been called "a hero to millions, including some very powerful politicians".

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I have to admit that I don't know who David Barton is but May is excited about having his support. James invited me to the event but I have to work tomorrow night. This work thing sure screws up a lot of stuff.

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I'm not sure if Capitol Ideas has included this race in his A Is Running For B At C series so it's a reminder if you missed it John.

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And what is Russ Bigus up to.

Obama wins more states

Add Maine to Barry's column

Maine

Obama 2,079 59%

Clinton 1,396 40%

He has won every contest this weekend and is poised to sweep the Potomac primaries of VA, MD and DC on Tuesday. Obama has won every contest since super Tuesday. Next week is Wisconsin and the Badger state has a long proud history of deciding the nomination (JFK) but it's starting to look like the deciding contest may be the March 4th Ohio primary. To win the General Election the Democrats have to win Ohio.

Adding to the blogroll

I've already added this one to NEPA Blogs and he returned the favor by adding Gort 42 and NEPA Blogs to his list.


Big Dan's Big Blog


He gives us a roundup of the Big News of the day by providing many links to political stories and provides commentary from a progressive point of view. And he reminds us that


NOBODY EXPECTS THE SPANISH INQUISITION!!!


A site with a conservative point of view has a contributer from just down the turnpike in Jim Thorpe. It's a group effort led by PA resident and commenter on this site Dana Pico.


Common Sense Political Thought


And they have some funny pictures:





I've also deleted a few links because they haven't posted in months. In other intertubes news Gort42 is back in the rankings at number 14.

Barack Obama wins Washington., Nebraska, and Louisiana

Obama wins big in Washington., Nebraska and Louisiana

"Today, voters from the West Coast to the Gulf Coast to the heart of America stood up to say 'yes we can'" Obama said.

If it comes down to PA I'm not optimistic. People that are circulating petitions are being met with the objection about the color of his skin or they got an email saying he he is a muslim. Such bullshit is hard to rebut.

Mike Huckabee for Vice President

The Huckaboom continues as Mike Huckabee wins in Kansas. CNN is projecting that he will win 30+ of the 36 delegates at stake today. To beat McCain he will to keep doing this but the math is not in his favor. After Romney dropping out I think he is either hoping for a miracle (he said he is) or he wants to be the number 2 on the ticket.

YouTube weekend

On Super Tuesday I was looking around for some pictures of the candidates in a less than good light and I found some for every candidate but Mitt Romney. No matter what his hair is always in place just like the $6 Million Dollar Man after he ran 60 mph through a swamp.



And that reminded me of this lyric:

I saw a werewolf drinking a pina colada at Trader Vic's

His hair was perfect

Werewolves of London


There are a few other public figures other than John Edwards that have the perfect hair.

Buddy can you spare a dime

Or $65,000 over ten years at 5.25% but never have to make a payment? That's the deal Lou Barletta got from Legacy Bank of Harrisburg when he last ran for Congress in 2002. I wish I could get a loan with terms like that.

The DCCC is alleging that Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta's Congressional campaign in 2002 took out a loan that was supposed to be paid back by Jan. 25, 2003 but the due date was extended to Dec. 31, 2013 and says that no bank would make a 10 year unsecured loan to dormant committee of a losing candidate. The loan should be part of the $150,000 debt reported to the FEC ever since.

Barletta campaign spokesman David Millner thinks it's a clerical error saying “There was never a bank loan made to the campaign" and “The only loan made to the campaign was made by Lou personally.”

It looks to me like the Democrat's opposition research people have been waiting for Barletta to announce his run and have fired the first broadside with more to come. If this is not a "clerical error" I hope our ace reporters will find out who in the Legacy Bank approved such an arrangement.

Happy Birthday Boys

Humphrey was born Feb. 9, 2002 and by dog standards he is getting to be an old man. His snout has some grey but he has all the energy of a puppy. He is my second dog and he was trained quicker than the last one because I learned from my mistakes. The only behavior problem we have is that he is too friendly with people that come into the house. When we are touring the neighborhood he could care less about people, he checks his p-mail and allows someone passing by to pat him on the head but he want's to get to park.

We also celebrate Ptolomey's birthday today because we don't know when he was born. Ptolomey found us during the baseball playoffs in 2002 and when we took him to the vet he said he was 7 or 8 months old. So we roll it up into one day.

Lou Barletta para el Congreso

Barletta makes it official

Barletta challenges Kanjorski

Someone did a search of my Lou Barletta greatest hits that can be found here. Sitemeter is a great thing and if you read through them you will see that I'm not a fan. I used to like Lou Barletta until 2006 when Rick Santorum needed an issue in his doomed reelection campaign and got Mayor Lou to propose a ridiculous law that tried to make landlords and others into immigration agents.

It didn't take a constitutional law scholar to figure out that a small town in Pennsylvania can't usurp the powers of the Congress of the United States defined in Article I of the Constitution and a federal judge agreed. The case has been appealed but if Hazleton loses the city is on the hook for a big legal bill. Lou said the city may have to float a 20 year bond to pay off the legal fees, maybe he should run for county commissioner. I think it was one of the most reckless things that I've ever heard of a local official doing.

But it had a benefit for Barletta because he is now a regular guest on Lou Dobbs and Fox News blaming all of our problems on immigrants. Now his celebrity has propelled him into another run for Congress against Paul Kanjorski who wiped the floor with him in 2002 and will do so again. One issue candidates usually don't make it to far because it's a complex world with many things to consider.

So what is Barletta running for? Does he want to be a member of Congress or prime time host of a talking head show?

Some reactions.

Ed Mitchell sent me this email:

A campaign will provide an excellent opportunity for the people of Northeastern Pennsylvania to debate issues and to determine the future direction of our area and the country. I look forward to a full and vigorous debate on the issues that matter most to the people of the 11th Congressional District, such as strengthening our economy, reforming health care, ending the war in Iraq, and preserving Social Security and Medicare. But right now I am focused on doing the job I was elected to do in Congress. My top priority for the immediate future is to continue to craft legislation to help stabilize the economy and soften the impact of the collapse of the housing market.

Standard Speaker:

TJ. Rooney, chairman of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, called Barletta “a political opportunist,” adding “his recent publicity stunt highlighting his indecision has been beyond silly.”

“While Congressman Kanjorski has been fighting on behalf of his constituents to bring more than $150 million in additional Medicare payments to area hospitals, Mr. Barletta has been touring the country speaking to Republican fat-cat donors,” Rooney said. “While Congressman Kanjorski has been leading the effort to shore up our economy, Mr. Barletta has been appearing on Republican television and radio shows. While Congressman Kanjorski has been fighting to bring our troops home from Iraq, Mr. Barletta has been staging photo-ops and rallies.”

And just in time Paul Kanjorski reminds us of why we put him in Congress:

KANJORSKI LEADS SUCCESSFUL EFFORT TO EXPAND STIMULUS PACKAGE TO INCLUDE SENIORS

WASHINGTON - Today, Congressman Paul E. Kanjorski (PA-11) helped lead the effort to include cash benefits for senior citizens and disabled veterans in the economic stimulus package in the U.S. House of Representatives. The Congressman was also instrumental in ensuring that the legislation denied tax rebates to illegal immigrants.

Here is Barletta's website.

Thanks to Danny for this shot of the Barletta HQ:

Swiderski out of PA-10 race

Swiderski Drops Out of Congressional Race; Focuses on Rebuilding County GOP

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Given the time constraints of tax season and a growing family, I have made a conscious decision to withdraw from the race for the Republican nomination for Congress in Pennsylvania's 10th Congressional District. Before announcing my candidacy I made a promise to my family and clients that they will take precedence over politics, and in keeping that promise I found it difficult to devote the amount of time necessary to effectively run a congressional campaign.

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A sincere thank you goes out to my wife for supporting my decision to run, to the thousands of wonderful people I have met along the campaign trail, and to the volunteers who worked hard on this grassroots campaign. I met many people who now call me their friend and hope to continue to strengthen the bonds of friendship over the next several years.

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I plan to stay active in the local party, beginning with making an objective and informed decision to support one of the other remaining candidates in this race and with rebuilding the Luzerne County Republican Party.

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I have not made a decision as to whom I will endorse but will do so after I meet with each of the three remaining GOP candidates in this race and discuss their positions on the issues.

The absence of an active Republican Party in Luzerne County has been and will continue to be a contributing factor in the number of unsuccessful races for our candidates on the county, state and federal level. Our current and future Republican candidates need the support of an active and organized county party here in Luzerne County. Our county party needs a leader, and I possess the qualities and character of a transformational leader. A good leader knows when to step up and when to step down.

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My intention of running for Congress is a clear indication that I have a sincere interest in entering public service, and my decision to withdraw from the race to focus on rebuilding the county party best serves the interests of the remaining candidates in the race, the voters of Luzerne County (and the rest of the district), and the Republican Party. My goal is to have the party reorganized by the end of April so that we can help elect and promote quality candidates running in November's election. I welcome your thoughts and anyone who is interested in helping me rebuild the party.

Pennsylvania 10th CD update

Davis Haire was campaigning in Bradford County Tuesday and got some nice press in the Towanda paper. Some choice quotes:

“I’m very concerned about the future of our country...I had it better than my parents, and they had it better than their parents. If we don’t start to turn things around, I’m afraid our children and grandchildren won’t have the same opportunities we had.”

Haire said his campaign “won’t spend a ton of money.”

Haire said he believes in capitalism and small government, but the energy crisis is so important that it needs “national coordination"... “If we determined that 5 percent of our national energy should be from rural-based independent wind energy, the national energy agency would put out bids for research and development of a wind tower.”

There is a “valid sense of urgency” in the United States today about weaning the country off foreign oil “so we can’t succumb to political correctness all the time,” he said.

Dan Meuser's website got a facelift adding a media center that has his 2 TV ads but still doesn't list his schedule.

Chris Hackett added a schedule to his website and I heard a new radio spot touting his recent endorsements on WILK yesterday. When they add it to the site I will provide a link. On Tuesday I dropped by Hackett's HQ for his Petition Party and the place was buzzing with people coming and going with their petitions to get notarized. Chris told me that he expects to have 2 or 3 times the number of the necessary signatures. But it wasn't much of a party because I was expecting some booze, blarring music and dancing girls. Instead they had the Super Tuesday coverage on the TV, some bottled water and Mrs. G was the only dancing girl in the place. Oh, those wild Republicans. On the way there we passed the Meuser HQ, it looked dark.

Lou Barletta will announce for Congress today

Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta will make a “major announcement” at 1 p.m. today at the Markle Building in downtown Hazleton.

Media consultant David Milner e-mailed local media outlets Wednesday to inform them of the scheduling. Milner’s involvement added to the speculation because he produced Barletta’s campaign ads and provided consulting service for Barletta’s 2002 congressional run and his prior mayoral races.

Barletta is also scheduled to be on national TV twice tonight. He’ll be on Lou Dobbs’ CNN show at 7:30 p.m. and is tentatively booked for “Hannity and Colmes” on the Fox News Channel at 9:30 p.m.

According to the latest FEC report he starts $150,000 in the hole while Kanjo has almost $1.5 million in the bank. I think it's interesting that he is going on some of the cable news shows the same day he is announcing his bid for Congress. Is he running to represent the people of the 11th District or a prime time cable spot?

California dreaming

McCain and Clinton take the big prize.

Hillary mops up

Experience counts in Massachusetts, New Jersey and Arizona

Obama wins more states

Alaska, Delaware, North Dakota, Utah, Kansas, Connecticut, Minnesota, Colorado and Missouri have hope.

Huckabee is solid in the south

Arkansas, Alabama and Tennessee like Chuck Norris movies

Romney wins a few

Minnesota, Montana, Utah, North Dakota, Colorado and Alaska

McCain wins a bunch of states

Illinois, Connecticut, New Jersey, Delaware Missouri New York, Oklahoma and Arizona

Hill wins New York and Barry wins Chicago

Obama will win Illinois and Hillary will win New York according to CNN.