StopLouBarletta.com

The above video, which was apparently shot by a crack-addled camera man obsessed with the zoom button, is of Mayor Lou Barletta talking about Social Security.  He, flanked by his six supporters, goes on to explain his “plan” for saving Social Security.  Or, rather, he goes on to say a whole lot of nothing.  Which is typicial for this failed leader.

Barletta opens his Social Security sermon by demanding that Congress “give the $4 trillion dollars back” to the Social Security trust fund.  Because, obviously, Lou Barletta thinks it’s just that easy.  The second part of his master plan is to have Congress pass a law, a “lock box law”, which would prevent them from ever touching that money again.  Again, this is the stuff of pipe dreams.

The “Lock Box Law” is no new idea.  It’s been around since the early 90′s and was touted heavily by Republicans when they took control of Congress in the mid-90s.  Democrats talked extesivily about it after the Republicans took control.  And guess what?  There is still no lock box law.  Congressmen, of any party, are simply unwilling to vote for it.  Even if they say they are willing to vote for it.

Also in the video, Lou Barletta talks about how once the War in Iraq is over, all of that money should be used to re-pay the Social Security Trust Fund.  No.  That money is needed, desperatley, for other things.  For starters, as a US Army Veteran, I know first hand that the US military will be needing LOTS of money to reconstitute equipment, restructure itself, and to increase funding and support for the Afghanistan mission.  The money is also needed for things like Federal Highway repair, aid for the victims of floods in the Mid West, helping to rebuild the Gulf Coast, any any number of other, more immidiate needs.

The best part of the video, however, is where he talks about how he is opposed to the privitization of Social Security.  “I don’t support privitizing Social Security and anyone who says I do is lying,” Barletta boldly exclaims.  Yep, they’re lying.  Unless they were talking about the Lou Barletta who was in favor of privitizing Social Security, which he was, only a few months ago.  This sudden flip-flop on Barletta’s part has nothing to do with a change of heart and everything to do with polling numbers suggesting that he should go, instantly and without explanation, from a pro-privitization stance to an anti-privitization one.  Now THAT is leadership, eh?

There is a difference between having a position on Social Security and simply talking about it.  Lou Barletta has no real plan to save Social Security.  His “lock box law” idea, which isn’t even his idea, will come to nothing.  And his naivity about how to help fund Social Security, and of the other massive financial burdens facing this country, are scary.  Lou Barletta should not be elected to the United States Congress.

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

In a recent press release, Mayor Lou Barletta came forward and made the shocking announcement that he supports the American flag. And while Mayor Barletta, who is running for Congress in Pennsylvania’s 11th District against long time incumbent Paul Kanjorski, has come forward and taken a stand on the supporting the American flag issue, he has yet to actually let the voters know where he stands on the Iraq War. This is just another example of Lou Barletta saying nothing about anything while attempting to make it look like he is really taking serious stands on issues.

Announcing that you “support the American flag” is like saying you support world peace and butterflies. It’s meaningless fluff. In his statement, Barletta says;

“Our flag flies over our most treasured monuments. It is the sign of the United States of America in foreign lands. And when an American hero falls in battle, it is the solemn gift given to his or her family on behalf of a grateful nation. Just as we have said certain types of speech are obscene and not granted special protection, we should do the same for the desecration of the American flag.”

I find it interesting that while Lou Barletta goes out of his way to mention fallen soldiers, he fails to mention where he stands on the Iraq War or the War in Afghanistan. This, in my opinion, is shameful. Is this what Lou Barletta thinks “Courage and Leadership”, as his campaign slogan suggests, is? Clearly, Mayor Lou Barletta has no intention of taking a stand on any important issues. If Barletta thought it important to announce his support for the flag on Flag Day, why didn’t he announce his support for the military on Armed Forces Day (May 17th)?

The bottom line is this; Lou Barletta has been an official candidate in this race for several weeks now. To date, he has yet to take an official, on the record stand as to what his position is on the Iraq War and the War in Afghanistan. I believe that this is because 1.) He is afraid that making an official statement on the War would hurt his chances of getting elected 2.) He actually has no position or 3.) His campaign manager hasn’t yet told his what “his” position should be. At any rate, it is unacceptable.

Mayor Lou Barletta is one of the most pathetic examples of a leader one can imagine. He has, repeatedly, refused to take any meaningful stand on any meaningful issues. Instead of letting us know what he intends to do about rising gasoline and home heating oil prices, the Iraq War, and/or the Housing Crisis, he has decided to sign meaningless, toothless pledges of support. Mayor Barletta doesn’t have any positions, he only has cheap beauty pagent answers to non-existent problems.

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

As the economy in our country continues to slow down, and as gas and heating oil prices continue to rise, Mayor Lou Barletta is still refusing to explain how he would address these problems, were he to be elected to the US Congress.  Considering that Barletta’s campaign slogan is “Courage and Leadership for America”, one would think that Lou Barletta would be all over these very serious issues.  However, Mayor Barletta has, for whatever reason, chosen to ignore these problems completely.

I find Lou Barletta’s silence on the economy and gas prices to be shocking, to say the least.  The state of the economy is one of the single biggest issues concerning American voters in this upcoming election.  Unemployment is at 5.5% and has recently increased at the highest rate since 1986.  The national average for gasoline is now at $4 and climbing.  For someone looking to gain entry into the United States Congress, against an incumbent who’s been serving since 1984, addressing these concerns, in detail, should be of the highest priorities.

However, Lou Barletta’s priorities differ vastly from the priorities of the people he is seeking to represent.  Lou Barletta believes the most important thing he can do for the people of North Eastern Pennsylvania is to rant, endlessly, about illegal immigration.  Read his press releases.  Almost every single one of them talks about his stance on illegal immigration.  Even the press release that was supposedly meant to wish Ted Kennedy well, after the discovery of his brain tumor, talks mostly about Lou Barletta and his illegal immigration policies.  This despite the fact that a Federal Court shot down Mayor Lou’s policies as being unconstitutional.

Mayor Lou Barletta is a weak, ineffectual leader.  He has no plan, or even a broad idea, regarding what should be done about the American economy.  Essentially, he wants to get to Congress so he can continue to rant about illegal immigration and get paid a higher salary for doing so.  If elected, Lou Barletta would do nothing to help the people he would be representing.  Lou Barletta should not be elected to the Unites States Congress.

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

A few days ago, Mayor Lou Barletta issued a statement blasting Congressman Paul Kanjorski for comments that he made on Democratic promises to end the war in Iraq.  Lou Barletta, in his statement, said that Kanjorski’s statements were “appalling and disgraceful”.  Considering the fact that Lou Barletta has yet to take a stand, of any sort, on the Iraq War, I find it “appalling and disgraceful” that he would attack Kanjorski for making his comments.

Just so we’re all on the same page, here are the comments that has Mayor Lou Barletta so “appalled”…

“I’ll tell you my impression. We really in this last election – when I say we, the Democrats – I think pushed it as far as we can, the envelope. Didn’t say it, but we implied it – that we, if we won the Congressional elections, we could stop the war. Now anybody who is a good student of government would know that wasn’t true. But you know, the temptation to want to win back the Congress, we sort of stretched the facts – and people ate it up.”

Now let me be clear; I’m not defending or offering an explanation for Kanjorski’s comments.  Personally, I didn’t think there was much to them (just another example of politicians being politicians), but I suppose if you read into them enough, you could probably find something to get worked up over.  I’m also not saying that Barletta has no right to criticize his opponent.  What I am saying, however, is that it is preposterous for Mayor Barletta to criticize Paul Kanjorski for making comments on a subject that Lou Barletta has yet to address himself.

Lou Barletta has yet to announce where he stands on the war in Iraq.  Does he support keeping our troops there to complete the mission?  Does he want to pull them out, and if so, when?  Does he think the War in Iraq was justified?  As a member of Congress, these are all questions that he will have to answer.  However, Mayor Barletta has yet to address any of them.  Instead, he criticizes his opponent for making comments on the issue, while at the same time, refusing to release a statement explaining where he himself stands on the issue.

Lou Barletta is hoping that all he has to do to get elected to Congress is criticize his opponent.  Considering that Paul Kanjorski is one of the most senior members of the House of Representatives and has a vast supply of campaign funds on hand (while Barletta has almost none), this strategy seems weak at best.  Lou Barletta’s mudslinging tactics may have been enough to get him elected mayor of Hazleton, but I seriously doubt that such a strategy will be enough to wage an effective Congressional campaign.  Clearly, Mayor Lou Barletta is not fit to be a United States Congressman.

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

It would appear that after months and months of shying away from taking a stand on any real issue of substance, Lou Barletta is ready to let the people know where he stands on the issues. Just yesterday, Mr. Barletta announced that he is in favor of saving Social Security. Not only that, but Barletta even has a plan to save it, as well.

In order to keep the Social Security payments coming, Mr. Barletta has come up with a brilliant strategy. Congress needs to give back the $4 trillion dollars that it took from the fund and spent on other things. Then, a law needs to be passed by Congress which forbids them from ever touching the money again. If this is done, we can all credit Lou Barletta for saving Social Security. Right.

What Mr. Barletta fails to mention in his master plan, however, is where this $4 trillion dollars is going to come from. Is he going to pass a hat around the halls of Congress and take up a collection? What does he propose be cut from the Federal budget? Will there be an increase in taxes? How long will it take for this $4 trillion to be raised by the government? All very important questions that, I’m guessing, Lou Barletta has no clue how to answer.

This is, perhaps, the most frustrating aspect of Mr. Barletta and his candidacy. Rather than come up with actual solutions to real problems, Mr. Barletta either invents unrealistic solutions to fake problems (the “illegal immigrant crime wave” in Hazleton, for example) or comes up with fake solutions to real problems. Everyone, including Lou Barletta, knows that telling Congress to “give the money back and never touch it again” is not a plan. That’s a pipe dream. It’s a simple minded attempt at dealing with a very serious and complex problem.

What this does demonstrate, however, is that Lou Barletta does not possess any real leadership skills, that he is either unable or unwilling to develop intelligent policy, and that he is unfit to represent Pennsylvania in the United States Congress. Lou Barletta, and his idiotic ideas, should be kept as far away from Washington DC as possible.

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

Lou Barletta came very, very close to actually taking a stand on the issue of rising gasoline prices.  Instead, however, Mr. Barletta got cold feet and ended up falling back on his favorite tactic, using smoke and mirrors.  Mr. Barletta issued a press release criticizing Paul Kanjorski’s (his opponent) stance on how best to deal with rising fuel prices.  However, Barletta did not reveal where he stands on the issue.  Oops.

Let me be clear; I have no problem with Lou Barletta criticizing his opponent’s views on various issues.  I also am not endorsing the ideas proposed by Mr. Kanjorski.  What I am going to take issue with, however, is Lou Barletta’s constant refusal to take any stance on any issue besides illegal immigration.  It is mind boggling, in my mind, to try and run against one of the most senior member of the House of Representatives and not put forth your own, unique view points.

Had Mr. Barletta issued a press release that read, “Here’s why I disagree with my opponent’s position on the issue and here’s what I would do, instead,” I would have been thrilled.  I’m not saying that I would or wouldn’t agree with whatever position Barletta put forward, but at least he would have taken a stance on the issue.  By criticizing Paul Kanjorski’s proposed solution for the problem and then not saying anything about what he would do different, Barletta is basically suggesting that nothing be done.

It’s clear to me that Lou Barletta is, at best, a political hack.  He has no clue on how to run a Congressional race.  That’s why he lost in 2002 when he ran against the same opponent in the same Congressional District.  It’s also why he has been unable to raise any cash for his campaign.  He is a failed candidate.  Clearly, Lou Barletta doesn’t have a shot in Hell at being elected to Congress and should not be considered a serious candidate.

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

Mayor Lou Barletta wants to debate the issues!  A few days ago, Lou Barletta issued a press release blasting Representative Paul Kanjorski for not accepting Barletta’s challenge to hold a series of several debates on various issues.  According to the release, Barletta is upset because it’s been two whole days since Barletta issues the challenge and Kanjorski has yet to respond.

Barletta, fails to mention in his press release, however, that it took him MONTHS to actually take a stand on any issue other than illegal immigration.  Worse, some of his “positions” are actually bold face lies.  Like his, “Anyone who says that I am in favor of privitizing Social Security is a liar,” position.  Truth is, Barletta was, and probably still is, in favor of privitizing Social Security only a few months ago.  In 2002, the last time he ran against Kanjorski, Barletta was heavily in favor of such a move.

My point is this: If Barletta was really serious about these issues, and believe me he’s not, he would have made his positions known months ago, when he first considered running for Congress.  However, typical to his slime ball nature, Barletta and his people managed to vomit up some poorly produced YouTube videos a few days ago, saying that, “Woo-Hoo!  Mayor Barletta has stands on issues.  REAL issues!  Everyon cheer!”.  And now, Barletta is upset because Kanjorski hasn’t gotten back to him?  After two days?

The more of Barletta I see, the less and less I respect him.  He is poisoning the Republican Party with his childish, stupid, and amateurish antics.  His mindless rants about illegal immigration are chasing away intelligent voters and encouraging the knuckle dragging biggots and racists of the party.  His YouTube “ad campaign” is both pathetic and insulting to anyone with intelligence.  And now, his fake outrage over Kanjorski’s refusal to debate him has become annoying.

Lou Barletta is an embarassment to both the Republican Party and to the voters of the 11th Congressional District.  Lou Barletta should NOT be elected to Congress.

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

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7iHuIz3DYA&hl=en]

As I’ve mentioned before on this website, one of my biggest problems with Lou Barletta running for Congress is that he seems to be terrified to take a stand on any issue other than illegal immigration.  It boggled my mind, really, trying to figure out why a Congressional candidate, attempting to take on one of the most senior members of the House of Representatives, would try and run a campaign based on one issue.  The only answer that I can come up with is; Lou Barletta is afraid to take a stand.  He’s a coward.

On his website, Lou Barletta talks at length about…nothing.  The section entitled “About Lou” on the site, which promises to explain “where he stands on KEY ISSUES and what he has PLANNED FOR THE FUTURE” does nothing of the sort.  It’s essentially a short biography of Lou and talks more about his life before politics than anything else.  It mentions absolutely nothing about any issue, even illegal immigration.  And as for the future, it says nothing about that, either.

The sad truth of the matter is that Lou Barletta talks more about Hilary Clinton not joining him for pizza, and how broken hearted that he was when he had to eat it cold and by himself, than he does about the War in Iraq, the housing crisis, the economy, rising gas prices, health care, or education.  None of those issues are even mentioned on the website.  Not one.

How can anyone really consider Lou Barletta a serious candidate?  He refuses to go on record about any issue, other than illegal immigration.  And even on the subject of illegal immigration, Barletta, when confronted with questions about his policy in court, couldn’t provide any details or meaningful answers.  In short, Lou Barletta is a political hack.  He has nothing to offer the constituents of the 11th Congressional District and will, if elected, only end up failing them miserably.  Lou Barletta should not be elected to the US Congress.

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

Apparently, the mayor of Hazelton and current Congressional candidate, Lou Barletta, has some money and staffing problems. In a recent Pocono Record article talking about this site and my challenging Lou Barletta’s lack of a position on any major issue, Barletta’s campaign manager tried to make some excuses. Vince Galko, Barletta’s campaign manager was quoted as saying…

“We are running a grassroots campaign so we do not have our opponent’s extensive staff or large budget,” Galko added. “Nevertheless, in the days and weeks ahead we will continue to update our Web site.”

Galko said Barletta will address a wide range of issues during the campaign.

Really? That article was published on April 7th, three days ago. Since then, the Lou Barletta website has been updated, but only with more news about major politicians giving Lou Barletta the cold shoulder. That, the Lou Barletta campaign thinks, is news. Pathetic.

First off, updating a website does not require an “extensive staff”. I run this website all by my lonesome. It also does not require a large budget. This website costs me almost nothing. So, this excuse of, “We really do have lots of interesting positions but we just can’t find the time or money to tell anybody about them,” is bull. It’s a bold face lie. I know it. They know it. Anyone with any sense of logic knows it.

You don’t need “an extensive” staff or budget to make your position on issues known. You put them in writing and say, “Here’s my positions on these issues.” Call a press conference. Send out some emails. Issue some press releases. Have volunteers hand out flyers. SOMETHING. Hell, if Lou Barletta is in such a bind that he can’t find a way to let people know about where he stands on these issues, he can email me and I’ll post them, unedited, on THIS website. For free!

However, I really doubt that will happen. Lou Barletta has worked people into a frenzy over this whole illegal immigration issue. Many of his supporters consider his words gospel and are sent into a spastic rage if anyone dares question their mighty demigod. Don’t believe me? Look at some of the comments left on this website. However, I know and Barletta knows that should he take positions on other, much more topical and pressing issues, he might loose some of his support. He might, GASP, almost seem mortal to his followers.

Lou Barletta is as shallow as they come. He compensates for his lack of insight and experience by throwing gasoline on a hot button political issue. All of his immigration “policies” have amounted to little more than cheap stunts, all of which have failed miserably. He’s run for Congress before…and lost. He continues to do everything he can to not take a stand on any other issue besides illegal immigration. Lou Barletta should not be elected to the United States Congress.

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