10th CD happenings

I attended the annual Kiss the Blarney for Carney event on Sunday along with a couple of hundred other people. Despite being to subjected to bagpipe music it was a good time. Many local Lackawanna County elected officials and candidates were in attendance along with reps from Senator Specter's office. I chatted with a few including State Rep Jim Wansascz who is running for State Senate to succeed Bob Mellow.

Carney asked me for my assessment of the race and I told him that I think he is in good shape. I'll repeat it again; Challengers don't win elections, Incumbents lose them. He hasn't done anything to lose this thing. Addressing the Health Care Reform bill in his remarks to the crowd he pointed out that we can't continue with the status quo. Something has to be done to get costs under control and insurance companies can't be in charge of who gets health care in this country. I offered my observation that he voted for it once because it was the right thing to do and his Republican opponents will howl about it but if he now voted no on the bill he becomes John Kerry, I voted for it before I voted against it.

He was little iffy on the FRAC ACT but assured the crowd that he was in favor of clean drinking water. He made the national security argument that the US has to off foreign oil. I'll keep bending his ear on this one. There is no reason this should be excluded from the the Clean Water Act and I'm sure that Kayak Dude can make that case.

I asked him about some of the other races this year. I was surprised that he endorsed Manan Trividi in the 6th CD primary against Doug Pike. His 2006 campaign manager is running Pike's campaign but Chris was adamant in his support for fellow military officer Trividi. As far as the Paul Kanjorski-Corey O'Brien race he said "I serve with Congressman Kanjorski" and supports him. 2 years ago O'Brien and fellow Lackawanna Commissioner Mike Washo showed up for the event but were not to be seen this time nor were any of Kanjo's people.

A real treat was meeting the author of NEPArtisan and we plotted another blogger meetup. For some strange reason he really wants to meet the Blogfather. I'll call Mark tomorrow and try to set up a meeting of his fan club and coordinate with the Northeast Blogging Council and the Saturday OT Committee to find an agreeable date.

The Republican candidates had an event in Lewisburg yesterday before 50 people. The tax cut triplets of Tom Marino, Malcolm Derk and Dave Madeira made it but Steven Solieri and young Ted Yale were no shows. Just a guess but I don't think that Yale or Solieri will make the ballot.

The Republican candidates all decry deficit spending but offer no realistic solutions to cutting the federal budget putting large portions of the budget off limits. At the same time they all advocated cutting taxes. Maybe they all need course in remedial mathematics.

I'm not going to pick it all apart so read these press write-ups.


Carney out of touch, Republicans say



Candidates lay out issues at forum

10th CD happenings

Dave Madeira's Magical Mystery tour of the district started in Honesdale yesterday and made it to the Pierce Street Deli in Kingston but cut it short because of the predicted snowstorm skipping his last stop in Lewisburg disappointing tens of people awaiting his arrival. What is it about the Pierce Street Deli and Republicans? Tom Marino also made a stop at the place on his announcement tour. Maybe they like the really rare roast beef sandwiches that I enjoy.

Some choice quotes

He predictably called incumbent Chris Carney a "liberal" that is “deceiving the district into thinking he’s a Blue Dog Democrat.”

His message is simple. “I’m running because I believe the time is right for a businessman and not a professional politician to represent the people of this region in Washington,” he said from his home Tuesday night... “I’m making no personal attacks on him, but it’s his record I strongly disagree with. He likes to wave his Blue Dog credentials, but one year ago, he voted for President Obama’s stimulus plan that not only brought no stimulus, but saw unemployment jump to over 10.1 percent. I’m alarmed at the deficit. And Carney has to take responsibility for his votes. Is this who we want representing us?”

He then talks about being inspired by the Tea Bag Movement " It’s a grass-roots movement comprised of independent thinkers, businessmen, doctors, but the common thread in the group is how people feel disconnected with their congressmen. It doesn’t seem like Congress is listening to us. ”

Nice try Dave but you wanted to run for this seat long before the tea parties started.

The Dems react

DCCC: With the official launch of his campaign, this morning David Madeira became the latest candidate to enter the contest for the Republican nomination in Pennsylvania ’s 10th congressional district. With his announcement, however, he is also bringing a heavy dose of irresponsible rhetoric with him, highlighted by his recent call for the expiration of regulations that protect children from dangerous lead toys.



“Dave Madeira's recent call to sunset regulations that ensure children have safe, lead-free toys speaks volumes about how grossly out of touch he is with northeastern Pennsylvania ,” said Shripal Shah , Northeast Press Secretary for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “Dave Madeira is seriously mistaken if he thinks voters across the 10th district are going to buy in to these kinds of beliefs.”

From his blog Could we please have our country back now?

Yesterday I featured a clip from Stossel's expose' on Crony Capitalism with the other Carney. In todays clip, Stossel says that Salvation Army says it had to dump $100,000,000 worth of second hand toys and another $100,000,000 worth of second hand clothing to comply with new regulations...Congressman Chris Carney proudly touts his support for these new measures on his website. We need to sunset all regulations so Congress has to review them regularly to make sure that they are counting the cost of all these good intentions.

PA Democratic Party Chairman TJ Rooney:


"Dave Madeira offers more canned partisan rhetoric at a time when Washington needs to come together to solve our nation’s problems. Now is the time to bring the parties together, not separate them further. Congressman Carney is a leader who voters in the 10th District can be proud of, having shown the kind of bipartisanship that has twice ranked him among the most independent members in the House. He is a strong advocate for the needs of his community, having fought to fund area projects and pushed for tax cuts for area families and tax credits for small businesses."

Congressman Chris Carney's camp said:

"Congressman Carney is proud to have fought hard to bring investments to our region that boost employment, provide improvements to our region’s hospitals and infrastructure and enable our community’s law enforcement officers to have the equipment they need to keep us safe. He stands up for the needs of our region every day in Congress and will never stop fighting for the many worthy projects throughout our community."

The other GOP candidates are Steven Solieri and young Ted Yale who not eligible for the office according to the Scranton Public Examiner and Malcolm Derk.

Derk sent out a press release today that said this about the stimulus "Malcolm Derk strongly opposes this type of reckless spending . The Daily Item reports that the Snyder County Commissioners will create a job using, you guessed it, stimulus money.

Update: a dissent from the inbox


Hi Gort,I read your blog frequently and I saw this today about Malcolm Derkwho is running for Congress in PA10:"Derk sent out a press release today that said this about the stimulus"Malcolm Derk strongly opposes this type of reckless spending . TheDaily Item reports that the Snyder County Commissioners will create ajob using, you guessed it, stimulus money."

I think the whole premise of the paragraph is misleading. I'm fromSnyder County and have followed the county government issues closely. My understanding on the matter is that the Snyder County Commissionershaven't yet voted on creating the position- and all of the quotes inthe article come from Joe Kantz (the other snyder countycommissioner). The article only mentions Malcolm Derk in passing.

And personally I think it's different if a Congressman votes against legislation and then later claims credit for the bill's benefits-that's being hypocritical. Congressman have a vote on the house floor, therefore they directly have a say in the matter. Chris Carney has voted against Appropriations bills in the House, but then claims credit for the earmarks in those bills- which annoys me. But Governors, Mayors, and Commissioners don't have a vote in Congress- so they can't determine the amount of federal money that is allocated to their constituents. Similarly, Governors, Mayors, and Commissioners don't get to pick and choose which federal laws tofollow- they have to follow all of them.

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.

Ted Yale for Congress

From the inbox:



Yale to Hold Kickoff Event for PA-10th Campaign


Pike County resident Ted Yale will be holding a meet and greet session with voters next week to formally kick off his campaign for U.S. Congress in the 10th district. He will first need to win the Republican primary in May before facing incumbent Democrat Chris Carney in the November election.


While he announced his candidacy in an early December letter to political leaders and activists in the area, this will be the first public event of the campaign. The meeting will be held at the Tom Quick Inn in Milford PA (411 Broad Street) on Wednesday the 27th at 5:00 PM. All are welcome to attend.


Yale is running as a fiscal conservative on a platform of limited federal interference and increased autonomy for state and local governments. He has attacked Carney's support of the congressional stimulus bill and the recent healthcare reform, two topics that could be a major liability for Democrats nationwide in November.


Despite the Republican edge in the district, which went to McCain in 2008, Carney is seen by many as a formidable contender in November's election because of his reputation as a moderate. Yale, however, disagrees: "Carney keeps trying to tell us that he is a 'blue dog' conservative Democrat. The fact is, he votes with Pelosi over 90% of the time, including stimulus and healthcare Carney is as liberal as anyone else in his party: there is simply no such thing as a tax-and spend conservative. Period."


He is also pushing voter contact as a key part of his bid. His Facebook page and campaign literature urge voters to invite him to their political clubs, churches, and community events. "I know I am the underdog here," Yale said, "the Democratic establishment will be throwing millions of dollars at this campaign. The only way to win will be to connect with voters one-on-one and at a community level."


Asked about his prospects, Yale was optimistic. "Pennsylvania voters aren't stupid. Carney got lucky in the past two elections, but when people see an opportunity to send a genuine conservative who really cares about them and their families to represent them in Washington, they'll take it. I know I would."