StopLouBarletta.com

If you’re Mayor Lou Barletta, the last thing you want people talking about is Hazleton. Yes, Hazleton is the city that Mayor Barletta has run since 1999. However, with the city’s finances in tatters, tax rates sky rocketing, and the highest unemployment rate in the state, Lou Barletta would much prefer if you just turned a blind eye to his city and how he’s been running it. Lou Barletta is embarrassed by Hazleton and he’s doing everything he can to not talk about the city.

Instead, Mayor Lou would much rather talk about other things. Like the current immigration debate raging in Arizona. Bareltta is sending out messages across Facebook and Twitter bragging about, “Before Arizona, there was Lou Barletta & Hazleton.” He’s also produced a new video, in which he claims to be the first local official, ever, in the history of mankind, to stand up against illegal immigration. Barletta loves talking about illegal immigration because it keeps people’s minds off of Hazleton, and how horribly he’s managed the city.

But I think it’s critical to look at how Barletta has run the city of Hazleton. The man is running for Congress. I think it’s important to look at the decisions he’s made as the elected leader of the city that he’s been running for over a decade, now. If you owned a business and someone came to you looking for a job, wouldn’t you find it odd if they said they had eleven years experience, but didn’t want to talk about it? Shouldn’t that be a red flag that, hey, maybe this guy is a bumbling idiot? If you’ve been an elected official for over ten years, and your performance during that time is so embarrassing that you’d rather talk about something happening in another state, across the country, I find it difficult to put very much trust in you.

Here are some of the things that Mayor Lou Barletta has done (or not done) as mayor of Hazleton…

• This year, he’s raised property taxes in Hazleton by 70%
• One of his first actions as mayor was to slash the police force in half
• He’s illegally taken money from the Hazleton City Pension Fund for purposes other than for what it was intended
• He’s run businesses out of town, Hazleton now has the highest unemployment rate in the state of Pennsylvania
• He’s allowed the city streets to rot and fall apart.  I get emails every day from people blasting the mayor over the condition of Hazleton roads and his refusal to fix them.
• He’s accepted political donations from convicted drug dealers, and then defended these scumbags as “hard working citizens.”

So considering all of this, why in the hell would you want to vote for him?  As far as I can tell, he’s done about as bad of a job as humanly possible while working as Mayor of Hazleton.  If running a single city is too daunting of a task for this man, how can he be trusted to represent an entire Congressional District?  These are the things that Mayor Lou needs to be talking about.  He needs to explain why we should trust him not to screw the entire 11th Congressional District in the same way that he’s screwed the city of Hazleton.  He needs to explain why we should trust him to help rebuild our economy when the economy of Hazleton has imploded during his time as mayor.  And he needs to explain how he can keep jobs for residents of the District, even though his policies of mayor have sent businesses fleeing the city he governs.  He needs to explain why we should trust him to not do us what he’s already done to Hazleton.

The immigration debate is a debate worth having.  It’s an important issue that needs to be addressed.  However, when you’re unemployed and struggling with property taxes that you couldn’t afford even if you did have a job, the immigration debate is not the most important issue at hand.  As mayor of Hazleton, Lou Barletta has systematically lowered the quality of living for the residents of the city.  Taxes are high, jobs are scarce, and the city’s budget is on life support.  Mayor Barletta needs to spend less time talking about Arizona and more time fixing the mess that he’s made in Hazleton, Pennsylvania.  For the sake of everyone, Lou Barletta should not be elected to Congress.

-Dan Cheek
StopLouBarletta.com
StopLouBarletta@gmail.com
Twitter.com/StopLouBarletta

Local blogger Gort42 has invited local politicians to provide statements on Marcellus Shale gas drilling.  This is a pretty hot topic for the area, with a story about gas drilling showing up on an almost daily basis in local newspapers.  Many residents and local governments are concerned about the environmental impact of the drilling.  Others are hopeful that the gas reserves can provide a much-needed boost to the economy.  As someone seeking to represent the 11th Congressional District, which is directly impacted by this debate, Lou Barletta’s stance on this issue is obviously of high importance to many people.  This is why I was eager to read Barletta’s statement on gas drilling, which was posted to Gort’s blog.

After reading the statement, however, it became clear that Mayor Barletta was doing his best to offer a non-answer answer.  Here’s an excerpt from the statement (the full statement can be found HERE)….

“The government and energy companies need to put all the cards on the table and proceed with full transparency. Residents and landowners should continue to express their concerns.

“Our region and our nation have been blessed with an abundance of natural resources. We should not turn our back on these blessings. We need to harness these gifts while continuing to be stewards of our land.

“If we can do this, if we can have the transparency and rational dialogue, we can move forward in a way that benefits the community, the nation and the world.”

As you can see, with this statement, Barletta is attempting to be all things to all people.  The statement could have just read, “If government, land owners, and drilling companies all get together for a group hug and promise to be best friends for ever and ever, we can make this world a better place.”  Barletta’s statement is so full of fluff and happy talk that he might as well have just submitted a crayon drawing of a smiley face to Gort.  It would have been just as informative.

After reading the statement a few times over, and doing my best to read into what Barletta was trying to say, I think he’s trying to say he’s in favor of the drilling.  Maybe.  In his closing statement, I think Barletta says that he supports the gas drilling, although he does use the word “if” twice in that single sentence.  So, does that mean that he supports the drilling but only if certain conditions are met?  And if those conditions (transparency, rational dialogue, and being stewards of our land) are not met, does that mean that he would oppose the drilling?  And is he saying that these conditions have already been met or is he saying that they haven’t yet?

I also find it interesting that Mayor Barletta is giving so much lip-service to being “stewards of our land” considering he’s the same guy who has championed shipping sludge into his city of Hazleton in exchange for cash and who has defended BP in the Gulf oil spill disaster.  Considering his actions and past statements, it can be safely assumed that Barletta doesn’t give a damn about the environment.  If he thought there was a way he could make money off of it, I could honestly see Barletta selling Bald Eagle beaks and Panda Bear coats out of the back of a van.  But, still, I guess it’s nice that with this most recent statement, Lou Barletta is at least trying to pretend that he thinks being environmentally responsible is important.

Does Lou Barletta support Marcellus Shale gas drilling?  Probably, but it can’t be determined one way or the other based on the statement that he released.  If you are in support of gas drilling, you can not safely cast a vote for Lou Barletta and think that, as a Congressman, he’ll use his influence to support it.  Likewise, if you are opposed to the drilling, you can not cast a vote for Barletta and think that he’ll stand up against the drilling companies.  Based on Lou Barletta’s statement about his thoughts on Marcellus Shale gas drilling, no one can safely assume they know where he stands on the issue.  And that is exactly what Barletta wanted.  Mayor Barletta’s intentional ambiguity on this important issue is just one more reason why voters can not trust him and why he should not be elected to the United States Congress.

-Dan Cheek
www.StopLouBarletta.com
StopLouBarletta@gmail.com

The latest campaign finance numbers have been released, and as expected, Lou Barletta continues to under perform.  The latest report by the FEC shows that the Barletta Campaign is operating with a massive debt and has more debt than cash on hand.  This shouldn’t be news to anyone, though, because Lou Barletta has always been a horrible fund raiser and his previous Congressional campaigns (all of which ended in loss) all amassed huge debt.  If these numbers are a sign of things to come for Barletta, he’s in trouble.

According to the FEC, Mayor Barletta has $236,807 in cash on hand.  He’s already spent $340,748 and now has a debt of $263,170.  If you are Lou Barletta, or one of his supporters, these numbers should really concern you.  What these numbers show is that 1.) Barletta is burning through cash at a rate that he simply can’t maintain and 2.) The Barletta Campaign cash/debt ratio is bad and getting worse.  But wait, it gets worse.  Once you factor in the finances of Barletta’s opponent, Rep. Paul Kanjorski, it becomes clear that Barletta has big problems.

For his part, Congressman Kanjorski has $1,058,311 in cash on hand.  He’s spent $638,923 already and his campaign has $0 in debt.  Simply put, Kanjorski is burying Barletta in terms of cash.  Clearly, Kanjorski has a massive competitive advantage.  He can afford to run more ads and keep them up longer than Barletta.  Barletta, on the other hand, has to keep his spending tightly controlled.  If he spends too much too fast, he will run out of money before November.  Also, he will struggle to respond to any negative advertising that Kanjorski can, and probably will, throw his way.  Forget remaining competitive, against these numbers, and with the limited resources he has available, Mayor Barletta and his Congressional Campaign will struggle to remain relevant.

With this in mind, I find it mind boggling that Lou Barletta is actually trying to spin these numbers, trying to imply he has some sort of financial edge over Paul Kanjorski.  In a press release, which can be found on Barletta’s website, Mayor Lou brags about the fact that his fund raising “out paced” Kanjorski’s this past quarter.  The obvious response to this is that Kanjorski doesn’t really need to spend much time on fund raising.  He already has over a million dollars in cash and zero campaign debt.  Barletta then tries to further spin the numbers, again trying to imply that he has Kanjorski against the ropes, by pointing out that Kanjorski is “$1 million behind where he was in 2008.”  Um, so what?  Considering what he’s up against, I’d say that Kanjorski is in great shape.  As the saying goes, he could buy and sell Barletta’s Campaign multiple times over.  Barletta will be lucky to get his cash on hand up to what Kanjorski has already spent.

Mayor Barletta can release all the press releases he wants, spinning the numbers however he likes.  The truth of the matter is, however, that the Barletta Campaign is operating with a huge and growing debt and is burning through money faster than they can raise it.  This isn’t spin.  This is what the numbers, as reported by the Barletta Campaign to the FEC, indicate.  Lou Barletta’s Congressional Campaign, like the city that he has run for over a decade, is in serious financial trouble and no amount of wishful thinking or rose-colored press releases can fix that.  Lou Barletta should not be elected to the United States Congress.  We can’t afford it and, apparently, neither can he.

See also: Barletta Accepts Money from Extremist Groups and Why Does Barletta Still Support BP?

-Dan Cheek
StopLouBarletta.com
StopLouBarletta@gmail.com

Good morning and happy Weekend, everyone!  I don’t have a full blown blog post for you this weekend (I normally don’t post during the weekend at all, actually), but thought I would provide some links to some stuff that may be worth a read, if you have some free time.  The below is a collection of links to other blog posts (not written by me), news articles, and some other stuff that I found interesting.  Read at your leisure and have a great weekend!

Big win for Kanjo and the country (Gort42)

Tea Party Racistly Defends Itself Against Racism Charges (NEPArtisan)

GOP Fights Immigration Lawsuit (Politico)

Ed Mitchell’s WILK Rant (Sights on Pennsylvania)

Which Republican ‘Young Gun’ Candidate Will be the First to Be Abandoned? (DCCC.org)

Federal Government is Never Going to Regulate Anything Ever Again Because John Boehner Says So (Wonkette)

Is $412 Million Enough? (Zen’s Political Rants)

Double Rainbow Video (YouTube)

And there you have it, folks.  I have a busy weekend lined up.  I’ll be attending a family reunion today and the birthday party for one of my friend’s kids tomorrow.  And in between that stuff, I’ll be catching up on some work related stuff and trying to find some time to maybe watch a baseball game or three.  I hope all of you have a great weekend and I’ll be back with more reasons to not vote for Lou Barletta on Monday!

-Dan Cheek
www.StopLouBarletta.com
StopLouBarletta@gmail.com

Every day, this site gets lots of hits from people who are looking for more information on Mayor Lou Barletta.  Believe it or not, there are still lots and lots of people who have no idea who he is, what he does, or why he’s so controversial.  For people who don’t follow local and State politics all that closely (of which there are many), Lou Barletta isn’t a name that they are familiar with.  For those of you who may not know who Lou Barletta is, or for those of you who are just beginning to follow this political race, this post is for you.

Lou Barletta is the mayor of Hazleton, PA.  He was first elected in 1999 and has held the position ever since.  In 2002, Barletta ran for Congress, seeking to unseat Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D) in the 11th Congressional District of PA.  Barletta lost that race by a large margin.  It didn’t help that during this election, Barletta was strongly in favor of privatizing Social Security and putting it at the mercy of the stock market.  Paul Kanjorski kept his seat in the US House of Representatives and Mayor Barletta, much to his dismay, kept his seat as Mayor of Hazleton.  While Kanjorski got to go work in Washington D.C. and rub shoulders with the US political elite, Barletta had to go back to his hometown of Hazleton, which was struggling with massive debt and a sagging economy.

In 2006, Barletta was still mayor of Hazleton.  He liked the job well enough, but Barletta wanted more.  He wanted to be famous.  He wanted all of the cable news shows to be talking about him and how awesome he was.  This would be hard, Barletta knew, because he was 1.) Mayor of a run down, debt straddled city and 2.) Was not awesome.  Barletta had a plan though.  Knowing that everyone loves a good publicity stunt (especially those cable news shows that Barletta loved so much), he decided to pass a law making English the official language of Hazleton.  Additionally, this law would also require anyone renting or working in Hazleton to register with the local courthouse, showing multiple forms of identification.  Barletta called this publicity stunt the “Illegal Immigration Relief Act.”

As Barletta predicted, the cable news shows tripped over themselves to get interviews with Lou Barletta, the whack-job mayor of some small PA city.  Barletta claimed that his “Illegal Immigration Relief Act” was a response to an “illegal immigrant crime wave” that was sweeping over his city.  Problem was, though, that there was no crime wave.  Barletta soon found himself sitting in court, where he forced to answer questions about his little publicity stunt.  No, Barletta was forced to admit under oath, there really was no “crime wave”.  In fact, less than one percent (.25%) of all crime committed in Hazleton over a five year period was attributed to illegal immigrants.  And that data came straight from the Hazleton Police Department.  Very quickly, as expected, Lou Barletta’s “Illegal Immigration Relief Act” was deemed unconstitutional by a Federal judge.  Once again, Lou Barletta had to shuffle back to Hazleton, defeated and humiliated.

In 2008, Barletta was still mayor of Hazleton, much to his dismay, and decided that once again, he would seek the bright lights of Washington.  Again, Barletta ran against Paul Kanjorski.  This time, however, Barletta believed he had an advantage over the long-time incumbent.  Due in large part to his fifteen minutes of fame on those always-classy cable news shows, Barletta believed that he could fashion himself as a political rock star.  In Barletta’s mind, he was the Lady Gaga of politics.  “Mayor Lou”, as he was calling himself now, was indeed a minor celebrity.  Loving the concept of the “Illegal Immigration Relief Act”, Barletta was being endorsed for Congress by David Duke, one of the nation’s leading racists and long-time member of the KKK’s senior leadership.  With that kind of backing, Barletta figured, it would be impossible to lose this election.  NEXT STOP: VICTORY, FAME, GLORY, AND A CONGESSMAN’S PAYCHECK!!!!!!

Barletta lost that election, too.  Despite the backing of his Ku Klux Klan friends, and all of the face time he was getting on the cable news channels, Barletta still came up short.  Back in the Mayor’s Mansion in Hazleton (which Barletta had now, out of boredom, fashioned into a Batcave), Barletta sat brooding.  Is this all Barletta would ever amount to?  The bumbling mayor of some near-bankrupt town?  Lou Barletta was meant to be Lady Gaga, not some crack-pot, joke of a mayor.  But what to do, what to do?  Clearly, if Lou was going to hit the big time, he would have to try something new.  Something different.  SOMETHING BOLD!

So now, again, Mayor Lou Barletta is running for Congress, seeking to unseat Paul Kanjorski.  Because this has worked so well for him before, I guess.  So this is where we are now.  Lou Barletta is running for Congress.  At this point, it’s gotten really awkward, watching Lou Barletta run around, telling people how awesome he is, and why he should be elected to Congress.  If there was any sense of humanity or mercy in politics, Barletta would have been put down by now.  However, like a crazed, fame-seeking reality TV show star, Barletta continues to dance his dance and sing his song, hoping that this time he won’t get voted off the Island and will become the next American Idol.  Or become a Congressman.  Whichever comes first.

Obviously, I don’t think Lou Barletta should be elected to Congress.  In my mind, someone who has run a city into the dirt and who has been endorsed the the KKK is not someone who we want sitting in the halls of Congress, voting on things that affect all of us.  That’s why I set up this website over two years ago.  The United States Congress is not a reality show.  Barletta is highly unqualified for the position and, actually, his resume screams “DON’T ELECT ME!  I’LL SCREW ALL OF YOU!”  Lou Barletta is a failure of a mayor and a joke of a candidate.  Lou Barletta should not be elected to the United States Congress.

See also: Barletta Campaign Finances Still a Disaster

-Dan Cheek
www.StopLouBarletta.com
StopLouBarletta@gmail.com

It’s been over a month since Lou Barletta posted a blog on his website, demanding that the US Government drop its criminal probe of BP.  He also called for the end of government oversight of BP as it works to stop the massive oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico.  To date, Barletta has yet to speak further on the matter, either to apologize for his outlandish remarks or to clarify them.  The only reasonable explanation for this is that Mayor Barletta still believes that standing with BP, and against the United States of America, is the right thing to do.  This begs the question, “Why?”

There are those that would say that Barletta’s statement doesn’t really support BP.  Really?  The title of the blog post is, “Gulf Needs Relief, Not Government”.  In the post, Barletta wonders aloud how the US Government could be so “woefully inept” at dealing with this crisis (right before he states that the US Government’s first priority should be dealing with this crisis).  And then Barletta ends the post by calling for an end to the criminal investigation of BP and calls for the US Government to leave it’s “political scheming” at “water’s edge.”  If I’m a BP executive, I’m sitting there going, “YOU TELL THEM, LOU!”

Also, if Barletta wasn’t supporting BP with this post, then what is the point of it, exactly?  Why, if you aren’t siding with BP, would you post something that blasts the US Government for its response to the oil disaster, calls for an end to any criminal investigation of BP, and calls for the government to stay at waters edge, forty miles away from the gushing oil leak?  If someone were NOT defending BP, they would NOT have posted something like that.  Barletta and his cronies can try and spin this post all they want, but I can read what Barletta wrote and I think it’s pretty clear that Barletta is, with this blog post, standing up for BP.

So I go back to my original question, “Why?”  Why would any intelligent politician want to stand up in support of BP, a company that has caused so much harm, ruined so many lives, and wreaked so much havoc?  The simple answer is that Lou Barletta is not intelligent.  And while I will be the last person to stand up in defense of Lou Barletta’s intelligence, I think that Lou Barletta wrote that blog post as a calculated gamble.  Barletta decided to write that post, hope that not too many people saw it (it wasn’t referred to in any press release or linked to on either his Facebook or Twitter accounts), and that he could then use it to get some cash from the oil industry.  He could quietly reach out to them, point them to his blog, and imply that if elected, he would be their guy.  And, if some moron with a StopLouBarletta website stumbled upon it and called him out on it, Barletta ensured that the post was still vague enough that he could try and say it wasn’t what it appeared to be.

So is that why Mayor Barletta wrote that post?  Obviously, I haven’t discussed it with him but it makes enough sense to me that I can’t help but think that the answer is, “Yes.”  I do believe that Lou Barletta is trying to make nice with the oil industry in the hopes that they throw him some support as he seeks to get elected to Congress.  I believe that Lou Barletta is willing to stoop that low.  He’s already accepted money from convicted drug dealers and from an organization that believes women have no place in the work force, so it’s really not a stretch to think that he’d also pander to BP and the oil industry.  Lou Barletta is desperate for cash and he has made it clear that he will take it from anyone, from any organization, no questions asked.  Is that the kind of politician that we should be sending to Congress?

I don’t think so.  And, in two previous elections, the majority of voters have agreed.  When Lou Barletta starts speaking up against the US Government, and in support of BP, it’s clear that he doesn’t want to go to Congress to stand up for any of us.  He wants to go to Congress to stand up for whomever gives him money.  Lou Barletta, in my opinion, is a slimeball and a spineless political hack.  Clearly, Lou Barletta should not be elected to Congress.

-Dan Cheek
www.StopLouBarletta.com
StopLouBarletta@gmail.com

What could be better that StopLouBarletta.com, you ask?  “NOTHING!”, I respond.  But do you know what is just as good?  The StopLouBarletta.com Facebook and Twitter pages!  If you use any of these social platforms, please take a few moments to become followers.  I guarantee that it will be worth you time.

StopLouBarletta.com on Facebook (click HERE to go to the page)
The StopLouBarletta Facebook page allows users of Facebook to come together for some intelligent discussion and debate about Lou Barletta and all that he does, and does not, represent.  Current members include popular local bloggers, residents of Hazleton, constituents of the 11th Congressional District (which Barletta is seeking to represent in Congress) and people who are just concerned/interested in the issues surrounding Lou Barletta and his campaign for Congress.  The group is open to everyone and it provides a good opportunity for people to express their opinions, ask questions of myself and others, and post links to other interesting content (websites, blogs, videos, news articles, etc.).

In addition to all of that, I also use the Facebook group to post links to updates to this site.  This allows users the benefit of being able to keep up to date with StopLouBarletta right from their Facebook page.  It’s also allows all of you an easy way to share all of this information with your friends on Facebook.  Once you’re a member of the group, it’s really easy to invite your Facebook friends to join the group and to post links right to your own Facebook profile.

If you would like to join the StopLouBarletta Facebook Group, click HERE.

StopLouBarletta.com on Twitter (click HERE to go to the page)
The StopLouBarletta Twitter account is where I can send quick thoughts about Barletta, the campaign, and anything else that I want to get out to the masses.  Twitter is one of the fastest growing social networks in the world and the features that the service provides are really great.  From the Twitter account, I post links to new posts on this site, provide additional thoughts on Barletta and his campaign, and interact with other Twitter users.

But what’s the best reason to follow StopLouBarletta on Twitter?  Because even Mayor Lou Barletta is a follower of the site!  Yup, my biggest fan, Lou Barletta, has his very own Twitter account (which can be found HERE) and he uses it to, among other things, keep up to date on all the exciting stuff that’s going on with this site.  So, hey, if Lou Barletta follows StopLouBarletta on Twitter, you should, too.

If you would like to follow StopLouBarletta on Twitter, click HERE.

So there you have it, friends.  That’s my little plug for the Twitter and Facebook profiles, both of which I hope you will consider following.  For over two years, now, StopLouBarletta.com has stood up in opposition to Mayor Barletta and his efforts to obtain higher office.  Facebook and Twitter allow me to reach new audiences and provide a way for me to interact with people that this site simply doesn’t allow.  Please take the time to consider following us on Facebook and Twitter, and encourage all your friends to do the same.

-Dan Cheek
www.StopLouBarletta.com
StopLouBarletta@gmail.com

One of the reasons I love writing a blog about Mayor Lou Barletta, or “America’s Mayor” as his PR people like to say, is that I never run out of stuff to write about.  I can always count on Mayor Barletta to come along and say and/or do something stupid and provide me with enough material to fill several blog posts.  This past week was no exception.  Once again, “America’s Mayor” has figured out how to continue to embarrass both himself and the Republican Party that he represents.  On June 17th, Barletta posted an article on his website that basically demanded that the US Government leave poor old BP alone and just trust them to fix the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico.  Seriously, people, I can’t make this stuff up.  Lou Barletta is now sticking up for BP.

I understand that Lou Barletta is having trouble raising cash for his faltering Congressional campaign.  He has amassed a mountain of debt and his fund raising efforts are on life support, at best.  So I guess it should be no surprise that, apparently, Lou Barletta is now trying to make nice with the oil industry.  Because, hey, who has more money that Big Oil, right?  Barletta’s little rant, which blasts the Federal Government and calls for them to end their criminal investigation probe of BP, sounds as if it were really a BP press release.  But don’t take my word for it, allow me to quote directly from Mayor Barletta’s op-ed…

“This oil spill has exposed serious flaws in our government, just as Hurricane Katrina did in August 2006.

In this case, private industries clearly made serious mistakes. But our government has failed us – and continues to fail us in this area on a daily basis.

It pains me to say that the president failed to lead during this crisis. His response and that of his administration has been too slow, too disorganized, and too scattered. The Obama administration is so concerned about playing the Washington Blame Game that plugging the leaking well seems to be a secondary concern.

BP and other private firms should be held accountable for whatever damages they caused.

But the federal government’s first priority should be stopping the leak and cleaning up the damage. Next, it should determine what went wrong and make sure a similar tragedy never happens again.

There will be time for criminal investigations and federal probes. For now, the Obama administration should keep political scheming at the water’s edge.”

Get that?  Essentially, Lou Barletta is saying that yeah, maybe BP made a little mistake, but it’s really the Federal Government’s response that we should be pissed about.  And, really, why should we even be conducting criminal investigations into the oil leak?  These mean people from the government should just get the hell out of BP’s way and let them do what they’re good at.  Fixing massive oil leaks.  God bless America, and God bless BP!

Or something like that.  Honestly, I’m not even sure what the point of Barletta’s article really is.  At one point he says that there’s too much government involvement in the Gulf, a few lines later he says that the Federal Government’s first priority should be plugging the leak, then he ends by adding that the government should halt it’s criminal investigation into BP.  He also, at the very beginning, quotes Ronald Reagan because that’s what all good Republicans do.  At no point in this article, however, does Lou Barletta express outrage at BP or the role that they’ve played in this entire disaster.  In fact, reading this article, you’d think that the Federal Government caused the oil leak and that BP was just an innocent victim.

Lou Barletta just recently released a YouTube video proclaiming that he “Stands with You!”  Supposedly, Lou Barletta wants to go to Congress to look out for all of us.  However, it would seem, from content posted to Barletta’s own website, that he really wants to go to Congress to stand up for BP.  If he had his way, Barletta would halt all government intervention, keeping oversight at “water’s edge”, and allow BP to do whatever the hell it wants to do in the Gulf.  Because, as we all know, BP does amazing things when left to their own devices.  Oh.  Wait…

So, in closing, let’s take a moment to reflect on who Lou Barletta is really standing up for.  He just wrote this little article defending BP and decrying the government’s involvement in the crisis.  He has accepted thousands of dollars and multiple donations from The Eagle Forum, a group of political crazies who wants to keep women shackled in their homes and make it okay for men to rape their wives.  He has, in the past, accepted money from convicted drug dealers and publicly defended these gentlemen as decent and hard working people.  And, he has also been endorsed for Congress by David Duke, a self-proclaimed white supremacist and former member of the Ku Klux Klan’s senior leadership.  So, yeah, how do we get this guy elected to Congress?  He’s a regular Captain America.

The truth of the matter is that, as I’ve pointed out on this blog for over two years now, Lou Barletta is political scum.  If you look at who Lou Barletta supports, and who supports him, it becomes clear that Mayor Barletta is not on our side.  Because, if he was, he wouldn’t be spending his time writing articles that defend BP.  He wouldn’t be accepting money from The Eagle Forum.  And he wouldn’t accept endorsements from members of the KKK.  Lou Barletta should not be elected to the United States Congress.

See also: “False Statements” About Lou Barletta Really Aren’t False and Barletta Disrespects US Military

-Dan Cheek
www.StopLouBarletta.com
StopLouBarletta@gmail.com

According to the FEC’s Campaign Finance website, Lou Barletta has accepted multiple donations and thousands of dollars from the Eagle Forum PAC.  For those that don’t know, the Eagle Forum is one of the most extremist political action groups in the nation.  The belief system that they champion is widely considered to be one of the most dangerous in US politics.  It’s interesting, then, that Mayor Lou Barletta is so cozy with this group of crazies.

The Eagle Forum is a political action committee that was established in 1967 by Phyllis Schlafly, a life-long opponent to the equal rights movement.  I mentioned that the Eagle Forum is one of the most extremist groups in American politics, and I wasn’t exaggerating.  Among other things, the group believes that it should not be illegal for a man to rape his wife, opposes sex education in public schools, believe women should be relegated to “full time homemakers,” as opposed to pursuing careers, and is strongly opposed to vaccinations for infants.  The Eagle Forum has been a long time supporter of Mayor Barletta, donating thousands of dollars to his various political campaigns.

Since December 17th, the Eagle Forum has donated $2,000 to Lou Barletta’s campaign for Congress.  Considering what this group of scary people believe in, I find it troubling that Lou Barletta has not only accepted money from them, but has also accepted multiple donations from the group.  Groups like the Eagle Forum don’t donate money to candidates at random.  They donate money to individuals who they believe will further their cause in the halls of government.  And by continuing to accept their money, Lou Barletta is sending the message that, “Yes, I will support your beliefs in Congress.  You can count on me, guys!”

On his website, Lou Barletta has just released a video claiming that he “stand with you.”  Unless you oppose equal rights for women and feel that infants have no right receiving life-saving vaccinations, I would cast serious doubt on that statement.  The Eagle Forum, one of Barletta’s strongest backers, is working very hard to get Lou Barletta elected to Congress.  Considering the horrific, Taliban-like beliefs that the Eagle Forum endorses, I would be strongly opposed to any candidate that this group thinks is a good idea.  The fact that the Eagle Forum supports Lou Barletta is reason enough for sane people everywhere not to.  Clearly, Lou Barletta does not belong in the United States Congress.

See also: Barletta Palling Around with White Supremacists and Racists

-Dan Cheek
www.StopLouBarletta.com
StopLouBarletta@gmail.com

Hey, everybody!  All of you hate cancer, right?  Well, guess what?  I’ve developed a cure for cancer!  Yup.  It’s a special combination of battery acid, bleach, dog poop, and mercury.  So far, it’s been proven to be 100% effective in killing all cancer growths.  Sadly, however, the FDA won’t let me market this new wonder drug.  They say it “kills people” and that it causes more problems that it cures, but whatever.  Anyway, please vote me into Congress.  I’m Dan Cheek and I cured cancer.

As crazy as the above blurb sounds, that’s essentially what Lou Barletta is doing.  He’s stumbled upon a hot-button issue (illegal immigration), goes around talking about how bad it is, tries to pass laws that he knows won’t hold up in court, and then claims that he’s standing up against illegal immigration.  Really?  To date, despite what many people think, Lou Barletta has done exactly NOTHING to help stop or curb illegal immigration.  NOTHING.  NADDA.

See, when you judge Barletta on his accomplishments, it becomes fairly obvious that he’s a huge failure.  As mayor of Hazleton, he’s ruined the city.  Right now, Hazleton is teeteing on the edge of bankruptcy.  Everyone who can get out of the city is getting out.  Businesses and families are moving out.  The tax rates in Hazleton are among the highest in the State.  Barletta has gone to court to get permission to raise taxes above the legal limit.  He’s illegally tapped into the Hazleton pension fund.  But not a lot of people seem to be talking about all of this.  Why?

ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION IS BAD!  This is Lou Barletta’s smoke screen.  To keep people from paying attention to how bad he’s screwing up as mayor of Hazleton, he runs around shrieking about illegal immigrants.  And, to a degree, this tactic works.  Many people aren’t aware of what goes on in Hazleton.  It’s not that important of a city, due in large part to Barletta chasing out businesses and driving it into the dirt, so people don’t hear much about it.  They do, however, hear all about Lou Barletta and his battle against illegal immigration.  Some people call him “brave” for leading this “fight.”  Nothing could be further from the truth.

Taking a popular stand on a hot issue is not brave.  It’s actually really, really easy.  Just like I can say I’m against cancer, Lou Barletta can say he’s against illegal immigration.  Fine.  I can tout absurd cures for cancer all day long, and Barletta can do the same with illegal immigration.  And, at the end of the day, I’ve done nothing to fight or cure cancer and Lou Barletta has done nothing to fight or cure illegal immigration.  We’ve both just spent a lot of time talking about it and trying to convince people that we should be elected to Congress.  Lou Barletta is a political hack and nothing more.  Clearly, Lou Barletta should not be elected to the US Congress.

-Dan Cheek
www.StopLouBarletta.com
StopLouBarletta@gmail.com