$200 a month. Does that mean a lot to you? Maybe it will pay a few bills. Maybe it will pay for groceries or something essential to your living. Do middle-class or rich people depend on $200 to live? No. Would losing $200 a month change your lifestyle? Somewhat, but unless you’re counting your pennies, [...]
President Barack Obama really made a major step forward last week with his endorsement of gay marriage. He was pre-empted by Vice President Joe Biden, who accidentally let slip that he thinks gay people are equal to not gay people. (We should ask Joe Biden his position on legalizing marijuana if we want Obama to [...]
Mitt Romney knows no shame. He’s accepting endorsements from people full of hate. People you wouldn’t want your kids to go trick-or-treating because they’ll comeback scared for life, if at all. The names of some of the worst Americans have backed Romney from Ted “Draft Dodger” Nugent to Newt Gingrich to Rick Santorum. Add now [...]
With North Carolina passing the hate marriage law, where does Pennsylvania stand? Find out here. Of course, the site isn’t American. Why do we have other countries show how backwards we are? When will we let common sense and logic take over where bigotry and hate blind us? Where does PA and other states stand [...]
$200 a month.
Does that mean a lot to you? Maybe it will pay a few bills. Maybe it will pay for groceries or something essential to your living.
Do middle-class or rich people depend on $200 to live? No. Would losing $200 a month change your lifestyle? Somewhat, but unless you’re counting your pennies, you could get by without $200.
Who thinks you, a poor person, probably on food stamps, could get by without a much needed $200 a month – PA Republican Legislators (and a few heartless Democrats.)
What poor people rely on $200 a month? Disabled adults, numbering in the tens of thousands, who are unable to work.
King Corbett and his cronies decided, who needs money more? People at the very bottom of society or “the race horse industry?” People struggling to get by every month on minimal money or the Legislature?
If you think Republicans would pick those in need over race horses or themselves, you don’t know what a Republican is.
Corbett is a no-new-tax guy. If the state doesn’t have the money, it won’t pay for services. If it comes down to helping those in need or giving a corporation unneeded benefits, as a Republican, a corporation wins – it always wins.
$27.7 billion – that’s the PA budget.
Gone is $200 for people who need it. Race horse industry gets money.
“House Majority Leader Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny, suggested that the House..was unlikely to change the elimination of the General Assistance cash benefit when it considers the Senate’s plan.”
“I think that our colleagues have made an important policy statement and many of us feel that … they’re headed in the right direction,” Turzai said. “There’s aspects to the program that are too discretionary and they need (to be) reformed at a minimum.”
“Asked why the state couldn’t keep the program while improving it, Turzai responded: “I think there’s just been a history of abuse that’s been shown there, and it needs further reform and further reduction.”"
Turzai cited an (imaginary) audit by the state’s Auditor General. Why is it an imaginary audit? Because the Auditor General never audited the General Assistance cash benefit program.
But wait there’s fraud! (Remember there was voter fraud (according to Republicans) so let’s make voting harder!)
July 1, 2010, to present, out of tens of thousands of users, “investigations found 86 prosecutions that resulted in guilty pleas or convictions.” So because of a few, everyone relying on the program gets screwed.
Corbett cronies say the program must go because of welfare costs rising. Makes sense does it not? End the program people rely on because the program is being used too much by too many people.
“Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Jake Corman, R-Centre, said senators had other priorities when they were deciding which of Corbett’s proposed cuts to soften.” “We obviously didn’t have enough to fill every hole and we prioritized as best as we could,” Corman said.
When there’s a cut to be made, why not start with programs people rely on? Would you rather cut money from the poor or find a way to make cuts in some other area? You already said you won’t raise revenue because you’re dumb, so lets look on the class scale and see who gets screwed. Do we start with the wealthiest? No, there’s not many of them, we’ll start with the poor.
Don’t worry poor people, there are people looking out for you. The Governor? No. Your elected officials? No. Lobbyist/Special interest groups? No.
Oh wait, there is nobody looking out for you because you’re poor and you don’t contribute to elected officials campaigns. You’re on your own, literally and figuratively, because you have no money and you’ll have even less because, well who cares why?
Mitt Romney knows no shame. He’s accepting endorsements from people full of hate. People you wouldn’t want your kids to go trick-or-treating because they’ll comeback scared for life, if at all.
The names of some of the worst Americans have backed Romney from Ted “Draft Dodger” Nugent to Newt Gingrich to Rick Santorum.
Add now one of the most ruthless dictators in all the world.
Admiral General Aladeen.
Will Romney denounce Aladeen? He hasn’t denounced the others. Is he so desperate, he’ll take an endorsement, even if it means giving away his soul?
Aladeen said Romney “has the makings of a great dictator.”
“I support and I give my full support to Mitchell Romney. He has the makings of a great dictator. He is incredibly wealthy, but pays no taxes, and it’s not much of a leap to go from firing people to firing squads, and from putting pets on top of the car to putting political dissidents on the top of them. He taught me how to do that.”
“Aladeen admitted he would have preferred former candidate Rick Santorum, “despite his liberal views.”"
“In terms of policies, I would have to say the Republicans, if they could only become a little less extreme,” he added. “What people call genocide in my country is just the judicial system in Texas.”
Will Romney make appearances with Aladeen? Will there be fundraisers? How low can Romney go when he’s not denouncing an endorsement from one of the most ruthless dictators in the world? Shameful.
With North Carolina passing the hate marriage law, where does Pennsylvania stand? Find out here.
Of course, the site isn’t American. Why do we have other countries show how backwards we are? When will we let common sense and logic take over where bigotry and hate blind us?
Where does PA and other states stand on: Marriage, Hospital Visits, Adoption, Employment, Housing, Hate Crimes, Schools.
The graph is divided by regions and you’ll notice location influences your neighbors views.
As mentioned in the previous post, it is suggested Scranton go after a commuter tax. As mentioned, if you live there you’re paying for services. If you work, but not live there, you’re not paying for services, technically you’re paying $52 per year.
As someone who worked a few years in Scranton, and living outside of Scranton, I was utilizing services, if needed. A city, town, state, federal government that provides services can not function on an “if needed” basis. It would be like only paying if you used the services.
While I would agree that Scranton needs all the funding it can get since it’s been a financial disaster for decades, I was also contributing to help clean-up.
Since the state enacted “the Emergency Management Services Tax/Fee”, I was paying $52 per year to Scranton. This was a fee that was utilized for being in the city about 1/3 of the week. Was this excessive at $1 a week? No. It assured me that there would be services should I need them.
Is a commuter tax + the EMS tax/fee going to stop people from working in Scranton? No. But how much is enough to satisfy Scranton (out-of-towners shouldn’t be held responsible for the city’s financial disaster) and how much is too much considering one pays their own taxes where they live for full-time protection whether they’re home or not?
While I worked in Scranton, I supported local businesses, they paid taxes to Scranton. Sure it was at my discretion and voluntary, but it was something.
I don’t know how the tax system works, whether bringing in more money, will solve the problem. (Remember Scranton “found” a bunch of money in the bank, but then didn’t use it to restore services, any dent it made to bills, should have been taken care of already.)
When us, out-of-towners, do use places such as “the Mall, the Cultural Center” etc. don’t we get taxed for purchases? Unless you work at those places, and live out-of-town, you do not have to go to those places. I can shop at the Viewmont Mall (or online but that’s for another day’s topic.) Often acts that come to the Cultural Center go to the Kirby Center as well so, I don’t have to go there.
I understand the frustration with a city that has had a financial black hole for too long. I understand that I am getting taxed already, if I worked in the city. I understand that what I’m getting taxed is not equal to what the services would cost. But I also know, that I’m already being taxed where I live for services full-time, while if I worked in the city, it would be on a limited basis (of life not comparing to a full-time/part-time job.)
The question I have is, what is fair? $52 + ? = Scranton happy = me happy.
*I no longer work in Scranton (not my choice), thanks a lot old employer, so I don’t have a personal concern as I once did.
Audubon
The now-official closure of Audubon Elementary School is both sad and tough. I’m all in favor of neighborhood elementaries and smaller schools — it’s better for communities and kids. With the financial situation of the district right now, Directors had two choices: spend money they don’t have (which would probably necessitate a tax increase) or close the school.
The decision to close Audubon means that nearby schools will absorb its population. That will save money in terms of building maintenance and expense. The district also has the option of selling Audubon to a place like, say, Geisinger CMC.
The reality is that Governor Tom Corbett has been absolutely gutting education and the district doesn’t have the money to rennovate or replace Audubon at this time. Scranton Schools have lost $5 million dollars from this anti-education monster. That could’ve been a down payment on a new building, or could’ve covered the cost of fixing the mold issue. But the district doesn’t have that option.
We should mourn the loss of a neighborhood school, but we should make sure to lay blame where it is deserved: Governor Corbett.
Commuter Tax
Scranton is the epicenter of Lackawanna County and, as such, there are a lot of employers in downtown. Many commuters utilize services that residents of Scranton actually pay for. A commuter tax would be completely fair, especially given the exodus from Scranton into the suburbs. It is here that we have the Mall, the Cultural Center, First Friday, Universities in the Downtown, businesses, government offices, and on and on. All of the attractions that Scranton offers will not pick up and leave if people outside this city get taxed for working in it.
It’s fair and it would help keep this city afloat.
Cartwright
PoliticsPA has a great recap of the Holden-Cartwright match-up that, in particular, has a great map showing where the votes went and according to what percentages and regions.
The near-universal caveat with internal polls is that they are not to be trusted, as they are paid for by the campaign releasing them.
I argued right before the Primary Election between Kathleen Kane and Pat Murphy that Kane’s internal poll, which showed her beating Murphy, was accurate because it was rated highly by respected statistician Nate Silver (whom I read religiously). The poll turned out to be correct and Kane won by 6 points.
Well, the Kane camp is out with a new poll, this one showing her up against her Republican opponent, David Freed, 48-27.
I believe this one, no problem. Why? Kane had a very, very public battle with Pat Murphy and, as a result, got her name out to the PA electorate. It paid off in the primary. On top of that, when the General comes around, she’ll share the ballot with Barack Obama and Bob Casey. We can expect that turnout will be higher than normal. There are a LOT more Democrats in PA than Republicans, Dems just tend not to show up.
Kane, I think, is a winner. I’ll even call it now.
“Non-Profits” is in quotes in the title because the University of Scranton, while certainly engaging in non-profit activities like educating the young (and driving them into the dark, inescapable abyss of lifelong debt), parking garages and a Starbucks on campus doesn’t seem all that non-profity.
Cue the PA Supremes.
A ruling by the State Supreme Court may allow cities to challenge the non-profit status of certain entities. Scranton, I say unto thee: Go to town!
The residence halls, which student pay for, operate much like rental properties. Landlords pay property taxes on buildings they rent out. The University does not. Dorms don’t involve education. That’s housing. Slightly different. They should pay taxes on those properties. The businesses that the Unversity puts on campus, like a coffee shop where students pay (and aren’t being educated), should be taxed. They compete with actual taxpaying businesses.
Let’s hope Scranton takes advantage of this opportunity. Lord knows they could use a few extra dollars.
Yes I’m still upset about what the Romneys did to their dog (forcing it on the roof of the car), so that’s where I’m starting.
Romneys: You say, Seamus, liked to go on the roof carrier. He got up there himself. How is that possible? My dog (is small) and can jump maybe 2 feet at an angle. How did your big dog, jump 4-5 feet and over part of the car? Did he walk up? Did you get him a ramp or ladder?
State Rep. Ken Smith: You’ve taken out $100k’s of loans on the people’s dime, how do you intend to pay it back? Soon you’ll be out of a job. You lost the family business. What are the chances he files for bankruptcy? I say it’s over 50-50, maybe 70-30.
Local Congressional Races: Do you think there’s any chance at an upset? Do you see Cartwright, Marino, and Barletta losing?
Senate Race: Do you see Casey losing? Does he have it wrapped up over and done except for voting?
Kathleen Kane: Will her husband’s non-union trucking company make unions who supported Patrick Murphy sit that race out? Is the race hers to lose or is it closer than we think? Does her local ties cloud our judgement?
Corbett: Do those that voted for him regret it? If you voted for him, has he lived up to your expectations? Are you not upset with the program cuts? Are you happy that the frackers are making so much risking little, while the people are making little and risking much?
Electric/Hybrid Cars: Yes they’re better on gas mileage and the environment, but how are the states going to pay for road repair if they’re taking in less money? Gas taxes pay for road funding, have you driven in PA ever, or been in a vehicle? The roads are bad. Less gas used = less money for repairs = less repairs.
Sandusky Trial: Will it be able to get a fair trial? Just the thought of the allegations, most would find him guilty. Can he get a fair trial or has public opinion already locked him up?
Little Yankees Baseball: Do you care at all about this season? Do you care that the team is staying? Would you rather have sold the stadium as well? Will people comeback next year for the ‘new-and-improved-big-cost’ new stadium?
Cable TV: Do we need so many channels that aren’t watched? Picking only the channels you want would cause other channels to end, but if you’re not watching them anyway does it matter? Do we have to get sucked in by certain channels? ESPN family of networks charges something like $3.00 per household per month. Though I watch ESPN, I would rather save the $3.00 per month. Why can’t I pick a certain number of channels (less than you offer) and maybe have a higher price per channel but less channels overall = a lower bill?
Jackie Chan, Juice Commercial: The disclaimer says it’s done by a “professional stunt person.” Is that referring to Jackie? I don’t think so. I think his age caught up with him. Sad, he was one of the best martial art movie masters.
Observation: So Mitt Romney fired accepted the resignation of one of this campaign people for being gay. Christian groups were unhappy about having something so evil (and with such excellent fashion sense) involved in the campaign. Progress!
Observation: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has a REALLY awesome tool that allows you to balance the budget! I got everything taken care of for 2024. I’ll be 43 by then. Here I come, Presidency!
Fracking Observation: It turns out Fracking DOES poison wells! How do we know? An Independent study confirms this. By Independent, I mean not industry-funded and not done by a DEP co-opted and bought by industry.
PA-AG Observation: Republicans must fear Kathleen Kane. They are already attacking her!!
From Ray Nearhood, who will be on the ballot as a Republican in the 112th:
“I would like to thank the hundreds of voters who took the time to write my name in for State Representative. I would also like to thank the many volunteers that helped make our write-in campaign successful. The results of today’s tabulation are incredibly encouraging.
We learn today, dear citizens of Pennsylvania, that after all the cuts to programs people rely on, there is a silver-lining. The PA Legislators have not used $120 million for anything. Why it’s free money!
Why was this money found? It’s not like the legislators have been rolling in money “80 percent of the $300 million spent by the legislative branch went for salaries and benefits for lawmakers and staff.”
And what did we get with that money? Bills such as (the fake made-up reason for having a) voter ID bill, the women getting probed – but King Corbett says, “look the other way!”
The $120 million could run the state for a few months should King Corbett and his cronies leading the Legislature don’t come to an agreement. Do you think they’ll disagree? They’re peas from the same damaged pod.
Do you expect King Corbett’s budget not to get passed? Would you expect King Corbett to make changes to it? The Legislature? Come on, wake up, they’re both out to screw-up as much of the state as possible.
But don’t worry, the state has to spend the money, right? Wrong! You are incorrect sir!
When you have surplus, it’s actually referred to as “a reserve.” Reserve, in case the Governor and Legislators disagree, and the PA government is shut down.
So then, if there is no disagreement, then the surplus can be used for funding programs cut? Common sense says yes, but unfortunately we’re talking about politicians. It’s better (in their eyes) to have money left over and programs cut than to have no money and programs. But having a deficit and programs fully funded can’t happen because we must balance the budget! At least break even. But if we can get money left over, screw everything else!
So dear citizens what can we do? Nothing. If the Legislators don’t want to spend the money, they simply won’t. We just had an election and the next one isn’t for months, you don’t think people will remember this in months do you? Even weeks? Maybe days? At all?
$120 million can be spent, but don’t tell anyone because, that money is “a reserve”, like for rainy days, when the government can’t decide what to cut next, they’ll just cut everything.
Expect the money not to be used. Don’t be shocked when we (eventually) find out there’s a lot more money than was reported.
It’s final. Lackawanna County residents – 0 Big Yankees 1.
What started out 5 years ago when our most corrupt Lackawanna County Commissioner Robert Cordaro told the Big Yankees they could have the Little Yankees if they just come to Lackawanna County.
Today the deal is done and residents of Lackwanna County (after 26 years) no longer own a Triple-A baseball team.
Time to celebrate or be upset?
First off, how did the residents of Lackawanna County lose the control of the team to the Lackawanna County Stadium Authority? Who gave the Authority the power to speak on the residents behalf? Who gave the Authority the power to make decisions?
The Lackawanna Stadium Authority should have no right to speak for the residents. Isn’t the team or wasn’t the team owned by the county aka the residents? Shouldn’t the residents have decided if they wanted to sell the team? Shouldn’t the residents have decided they’re going to spend millions renovating a 26 year old stadium for the few fans that go to games?
Last year, attendance was at an all-time low, shouldn’t those in charge try to build up attendance before throwing millions at what could be another low attendance decade?
And the deal to sell the team, but keep the stadium? Who in their right mind would do that? That makes no sense whatsoever. Can you name any team in any sport anywhere in the world where the team/organization doesn’t own the stadium/arena? Some teams share an arena, example the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers. But does the arena belong to another entity? No.
Lackawanna County residents got screwed when Cordaro made the deal the Big Yankees wanted. Maybe he thought he was doing the right thing – at the time. The biggest franchise in American sports, will have a presence in our little area? Where does he sign?
Well 5 years later we know that the great and powerful Yankees don’t mean as much as Cordaro and others thought. The deal was a bust.
Then to please the Yankees, the Lackawanna County Stadium Authority (again who do they think they are?) bent over all the residents of Lackawanna County and well you can make up your own mind what they did to us.
So the genius’ decide, we won’t own the team, we’ll own the stadium, because…..well….we have to own something.
Who in the heck gave the Stadium Authority the right to speak on my behalf? Who gave the Stadium Authority the right to give away what is mine?
Attendance has been down since the Little Yankees arrived, what makes those in charge think a shiny new stadium will make everyone want to go to a baseball game? The shine doesn’t last long and all you’ve done is spent a lot of money to get the same results.
Please someone tell me how the residents were able to buy something, then have no control over it, and it get sold out from under them? I don’t know how it happened, but I feel like I’ve been robbed by people who were “supposed” to protect me, but had no authority in doing so.
The Little Yankees will be here for 30 years. The stadium only lasted 26 years. Then what happened? We had to sell the team for $14 million to fix the stadium. In 26 years, will we have to sell the stadium to keep the team? Why would the Yankees want a 52 year old stadium? With a guarantee of 2 10 year renewals. 62 years, then 72 years. How much repairs would be needed on a 72 year old stadium? How much repairs are needed on your house? Is it anywhere near 72 years old?
I would have been happy if the stadium was included and the residents just got out of the baseball business, but the genius’ in charge couldn’t be all in (own the team and stadium) or all out (own nothing), we had to keep one foot in the door.
The Lackawanna County Stadium Authority – they have the power to take what is yours and sell it. How they got the power? I don’t know. It’s a sweet job if you can get it. But how do you get it? I don’t know.
NEPA did pretty well in the anti-incumbent category last night.
The biggest shock to me was Frank Farina beating Randy Castellani in the 115th, given Farina’s criminal record and poor defense of it. That race was about 80 votes apart — a sliver of a sliver — when I expected Castellani to run away with it. This shows that I know nothing of Midvalley politics.
Two years from now, the Midvalley (and Farina) will be merged with a chunk of the 112th, which leads us to Kevin Haggerty’s victory over Ken Smith.
Smith appears to be in utter disbelief. He didn’t comment to the paper and he ordered that the ballot boxes be impounded. Does he think there was tampering? Or can he really not believe that he lost by 250ish votes? Who knows? Either way, people weren’t happy with him given his inability to properly explain his financial woes and unwillingness to attempt to pay back taxpayer-backed loans (and bank loans).
I was at Haggerty’s victory party and he gave an eloquent speech which aired on Newswatch 16 (no bears walked on screen, in case you were wondering).
From there, I went down to Matt Cartwright’s victory party at the Hilton. I figured he would win from the get-go and have been saying so quite publicly for quite some time. Holden’s negative campaigning really took a toll on him, particularly given its brand of blatant nastiness and distortion. And lying. In Cartwright we get a progressive from NEPA. I’m happy with that.
I hopped across the street to the Raddison to Kathleen Kane’s victory party. This one had a wider margin than I thought. The internal poll they conducted was dead-on. It was fun to be surrounded by a joyous and proud family (I know her father, Joe and he couldn’t have been beaming mroe). Kathleen will be an absolutely pro-active, pro-consumer, pro-citizen Attorney General, should she beat the Republican in the race (who will simply be pro-whatever-Corbett-says).
Forgive the shortness of the roundup. Most of you out there know the results.
I will say this: The establishment has proven that it really needs to reform itself. Chairman Harry McGrath, after the endorsement of Holden, said that the Party endorsement really doesn’t matter these days. Self-fulfilling prophecy at work? Or just reality? Either way, the Party should be more open and inclusive. Or have open primaries where everybody gets a fair shake. Establishment people back Holden. He lost. They backed Kevin Murphy. He lost. They backed Randy Castellani. He lost. They backed Ken Smith. He lost.
Not good. And the word on the street has been that some of these people have been loyal and generous to the establishment over the years only to get bucked. Hopefully this will be seen as a wake-up call to reform and become more open-minded and inclusive.
Update: WILK’s Corbett show has an interview with Frank Farina. He’s got multiple charges against him over the years, but he doesn’t remember any of them.
http://www.wilknewsradio.com/topic/play_window.php?audioType=Episode&audioId=5807878
(If the link doesn’t work go to http://www.wilknewsradio.com/, then go to recent audio.)
With State Rep. Ed “I only care about gaming (hunting) and fishing” Staback retiring, the 115th will have new representation for the first time in decades. For the Democrats, it’s between Randy Castellani and Frank Farina. A veteran politician vs. a newcomer.
This past Friday, Randy Castellani came by door-knocking, which hasn’t been done in my area for years and was only done by a school board candidate or township non-supervisor position person, I can’t remember which.
Unfortunately, I was not available to interview him for this website. My bad, sorry folks.
This race is really down to 1 question: would you vote for Randy Castellani? He quit being a Lackawanna County Commissioner once he was a minority Commissioner? If he quit before, does he get another chance? If so, why?
Frank Farina is the newcomer, but he’s been advertising on television almost as much as the PA-17th race between Rep. Tim Holden and Matt Cartwright. That race has 4 groups blasting ads: one from each candidate and one from interest groups for each side.
Farina’s been television advertising vs. Castellani at a ratio of (my guesstimate of seeing them) 10 to 1. Farina’s ads have the catchy slogan “if you vote for Frank, he’ll vote for us!” Castellani’s ad features a person with a disability. The image is more memorable, but I don’t remember anything about why or who Randy Castellani is.
Castellani has the experience of office, but also of being a sore loser. He rode his majority Commissioner seat into the most votes, as minority Commissioner at the beginning of the Robert Cordaro-A.J. Munchak reign of corruption. Once he realized the Lackawanna County minority seat is just a figurehead chair, he bailed on Lackawanna County residents.
Randy Castellani was well-liked throughout the county (at least a few years ago he was), but left office rather than have little voice. Now Castellani is back and wants another chance. Should he get it or does the newcomer deserve a shot? Either would be an obvious better choice than a Republican, but if Democrats don’t get back in the majority of the legislature their vote would be as useless as being the minority Commissioner.
There are a lot of competitive races to write about and it’s been a hell of a season in NEPA. I’ve got my predictions and explanations. We’ll see if I know what I’m talking about!
HD-112: The battle between Kevin Haggerty and Ken Smith has been going on for some time. Haggerty challenged Smith in a four-way primary two years ago and came in second. This time, it’s head-to-head. Smith only gets bad press. He took out $150,000 in taxpayer backed loans and didn’t bother paying them back. He then took out a $150,000 unsecured loan from a bank. He didn’t bother paying that back. Aside from the question nobody is asking (where did all that money actually go?), it looks pretty bad when you’re a legislator making over $80,000 a year (plus per diems) and don’t even make an effot. I would’ve lost my house. Most normal people would’ve. But most normal people aren’t state representatives. Bottom line: It’s an integrity issue. Haggerty has been campaigning like a madman for two straight years. Door-to-door, meet and greets, every fundraiser and church picnic you can think of.
Between Haggerty’s hard word and Smith’s never-ending string of bad news, I’m calling it for Kevin Haggerty.
HD-113: This is my home district. I like Kevin Murphy quite a bit and think he’s been a great legislator. Marty Flynn grew up down the street from me and he’s a great guy as well. I would’ve called this for Kevin Murphy a week ago, with Flynn close behind and well set up for a run two years from now. But not anymore.
Murphy claimed he had a degree from the University of Scranton when, in fact, he did not. This is a huge problem and there are a lot of people out there who will take issue with this. Marty Flynn has been going door-to-door Haggerty-style and has plastered this district with his signs and literature. His insert in the Times on Friday was excellent and his commercial hits Murphy while touting himself. It’s tough to unseat an incumbent, but the degree issue, I think, will put Flynn over the top. My prediction: Marty Flynn. But it’ll be close.
HD-115: Frank Farina was on the air the other day with Corbett talking about his vast criminal record. Former Lackawanna County Commissioner Randy Castellani will clean up.
PA-17: Because of the makeup of the district, I figured Matt Cartwright would pull this off for some time now. But Tim Holden released the sleaziest ad of the campaign cycle and, in doing so, alienated even his own supporters (of which there are many in the establishment and few in the general public). Cartwright’s name is well-known from his family’s law firm’s near constant ads over the years. He also had his own show, The Law and You. The majority of the district is in NEPA and that gives him the advantage. Add in Holden’s completely shameful ad, and you’ve got a recipe for victory. Matt Cartwright wins.
PA-AG: The Attorney General’s race is far more interesting this time around than it has been in years past. Kathleen Kane landed the Bill Clinton endorsement and has been blasting an ad featuring him for a few days now. I think people will respond well to that. Additionally, her internal poll just showed her ahead by six points. Normally I take those kinds of polls with a grain of salt, but its methodology was rated very highly by my favorite statistician (yes, I have one) Nate Silver. So I think it’s either legit, or very close to legit. And with endorsement after endorsement, Kane is gaining momentum. As long as turnout is reasonably high, I think it’ll be Kathleen Kane.
Anybody else want to chime in?
I’ve been on the sidelines for the race in the 113th and I’ve been meaning to write about it for some time. With all of the craziness that came out today, that time is now.
Originally, I thought Marty Flynn’s chances were slim. It’s tough to unseat an incumbent, simple as that. Now, I’m not so sure it’s a lock for Kevin Murphy.
Aside from the numerous Flynn signs in West Side (the largest contiguous voting bloc in the district) and the relative few I see in Murphy’s home turf in North Scranton, a lot of insiders have been calling it (privately) for Flynn. My eyebrows were raised with the Scranton Federation of Teachers (SFT) endorsed Flynn over Murphy. Kevin has been a friend of unions and a staunch fighter on their behalf. Flynn got a big boost there, and a lot of buzz.
I’d heard a few days ago that a cop pulled a favor for Murphy and looked up dirt on Flynn. The cop got caught and suspended. This only looks bad for the Murphy camp, whether or not he was involved. He denies it, but was the obvious beneficiary. He’s had every opponent of his kicked off the ballot in the past through Attorney Chris Cullen. Somebody tried to get Flynn kicked off the ballot because he worked for the prison. I say that in past tense because Flynn quit his job to run for this office, which is a gutsy and respectable move.
The fight has gotten bitter and ungentlemanly when dirty games like the cop incident happen, and I don’t like to see that in politics. On top of that, the quote in the paper from Murphy, “I’m going to crush this kid” doesn’t sound like something a statesman would say.
The biggest reason for this update goes back to the post’s title, rather than rehashing what people saw in the paper, one of Flynn’s workers just informed me that he’s going on Television with a major ad buy (the word is $20,000) to drive the point home.
Here is the ad:
The bitter campaign took a bad turn for Murphy yesterday when Corbett (the radio show host) broke that Kevin Murphy didn’t actually graduate from the University of Scranton. Nor did he have a degree from there. A lot of people won’t like this and it damages Murphy bigtime. He’s handled it better than most would (he went straight to the U of S to straighten it out, and he told the paper he’d have the diploma shortly and they can come take a picture of it), but it will still hurt him.
What’ll happen Tuesday? I don’t know, but it’s way closer than races like this normally should be.
Wow. I just watched the press conference in which Matt Cartwright responded to Congressman Tim Holden’s accusations that he basically bribed a judge for a verdict favorable to his client.
A jury actually decided the case, not the judge. The client was misdiagnosed with cancer and nearly died because of harsh treatment. Holden has lost any shred of integrity or even dignity.
I’ve made no secret of my support for Matt Cartwright. I took issue with Holden years before redistricting brought him to NEPA. His voting record is abysmal. Now we know he’ll spread any falsehood, he’ll do anything to keep his political career in tact.
NEPA needs to make sure that he knows that isn’t acceptable.
Tim Holden, who obviously figured out that this kind of thing doesn’t fly up here, actually pulled the ad. The word is he took a lot of heat from his friends who had the sense to notice he went way too far.
Here is the press conference. The client in question speaks out about Holden’s attack. A jurist even comes forward to condemn this attack. It’s about 11 minutes and says all you need to know about the undignified shame that is Congressman Tim Holden.
In the heated campaign for Attorney General of Pennsylvania, a video has surfaced (graciously provided by the Kane campaign) of candidate Pat Murphy admitting that he hasn’t tried cases in Pennsylvania and doesn’t have experience. He even says that “I have not tried criminal cases as a prosecutor or a defense attorney in Pennslyvania.” He’s a tad testy, and understandably so, because that’s embarassing for somebody running for Attorney General. And he’s pretty aware of the implications, because he goes on to say, “Let’s make sure that we’re not the ones that are giving the fodder to the Republicans to use against us.” Ah, so you don’t want the lack of qualifications to get out? Not good.
Watch here:
