Going into this race, everyone knew it would be close.  Mayor Barletta was, for quite a while, running ahead in most polls.  In September and October, Paul Kanjorski was able to close the gap, some.  Still, Barletta and his supporters all thought that he would be the one Republican candidate that would be able to go against the grain and actually unseat a Democratic congressman.  In the end, that hope evaporated into nothingness.

The way I see it, there were several factors that led to Mayor Barletta loosing a race that many (most?) people thought he should be able to win.  They are:

• Record voter turnout.  All across the nation, voter turnout was at all time highs.  Many of these voters were first time voters and, for the most part, they were not coming out to support the Republican ticket.  I believe that the polls leading up to this election, which showed Barletta slightly ahead, failed to take this into consideration.  The sample sizes they used to generate the results were probably too small.
• Anti-Republican sentiment.  It’s no secret that having a (R) listed next to your name on the ballot was a kiss of death, this election cycle.  While Barletta had been hoping that his popular anti-illegal immigration policies would be enough to counter this, that was simply not the case at all.  Barletta is a Republican (much to my dismay) and that, no doubt, cost him more than a few votes (to my elation).
• Huge financial shortcoming.  According to the Federal Election Commission (FEC), Barletta was always at a huge disadvantage, in terms of money.  According to the FEC: Paul Kanjorski spent over $2 million and still has almost a million dollars in cash and zero debt.  Compare that with Mayor Barletta, who spent less than a million dollars, has just over $100,000 cash and has racked up over $300,000 in debt.  With numbers like that, even in a pro-Republican environment, it would have been hard for Barletta to mount a successful attack on Kanjorski.
• Poor campaign management.  Barletta’s campaign manager was Vince Galko, a Republican operative who has a long history of loosing races for Republican candidates.  Mr. Galko worked on President Bush’s 2004 PA campaign (Bush lost PA that year), Senator Rick Santorum’s last election (Santorum lost to Bob Casey, Jr.), and Rudy Giulliani’s presidential campaign (which was one of the worst run campaigns in the history of American politics).  With help like that, Barletta really didn’t even need to be running against anyone to still pull out a loss.
• Poor understanding of the economy.  Many analysts credit the economic crisis for helping put Barack Obama over the top.  People believed that Obama was better able to deal with the crisis compared with McCain.  Similarly, Lou Barletta did nothing to prove to voters that he knew anything about the economy.  The city that he governs, Hazleton, is wracked with debt (most of which a direct result of Lou Barletta) and Barletta tried to blame the entire financial crisis on Paul Kanjorski, implying that by electing Barletta, the whole situation would simply reverse course.

All of this, I think, resulted in Mayor Barletta loosing the race.  Some of these factors were outside his sphere of control, but many of them were not.  As I’ve said since I put this site online in April, Lou Barletta is a poor candidate.  His flaws are many and his upside is almost non-existent.  If the Republican Party wants to have a shot in Hell at retaking the US Congress, we need to produce candidates who are electable.  In other words, the exact opposite of Mayor Lou Barletta.

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

Post from: StopLouBarletta

Why Lou Barletta Lost

The votes are in and I am very, very pleased to say that Mayor Lou Barletta of Hazleton will be keeping his job as mayor and will NOT be moving on to the halls of the United States Congress.  For months, Mayor Barletta waged a political campaign that has relied upon lies, misinformation, and scare tactics.  He refused to take stands on real, important issues.  In the end, the voters of Pennsylvania’s 11th Congressional District saw Mayor Barletta for what he truly is: A narrow minded politician who lacked any real leadership skills or intelligent ideas for moving this country forward.

As a Republican, I would have liked to see a Republican take Kanjorski’s place, assuming that the person was someone worthy of representing both the people of the 11th Congressional District and the Republican Party in the United States Congress.  Clearly, Lou Barletta was not that type of person.  He has a proven track record of failure and during his tenure as the mayor of Hazleton, has drilled that city so far into the ground that it will take years to recover from his blundered leadership.

According to the Associated Press, Paul Kanjorski won the election by getting 140,119 votes to Mayor Barletta’s 130,649.  This election was one of the most exciting and closest elections in the country.  Lou Barletta came close to obtaining the title of “Congressman”, but, for the second time, came up short.  I can honestly say that both the country and the Republican Party is all the better for it.  Had Mayor Barletta been elevated to the rank of Congressman, he would have almost certainly have embarrassed both.

It’s getting late so I’ll end this post here.  In the coming days, I’ll post some final thoughts on Mayor Barletta and my plans for the future of this site.  I would like to thank everyone who has helped make this site as successful as it has been.  Thank you to all of the bloggers who linked to this site.  Thank you for all of the people who emailed me and left comments.  Regardless of whether or not you agreed with me, I always respected your opinions and was glad to hear from all of you.

Lou Barletta has been stopped and that, I think, is a very good thing indeed.  Good night, all.

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

**Update 5 November 2008 7:10am**
Here is a video of Paul Kanjorski talking about his victory and where both he and Mayor Barletta stand going forward:

Post from: StopLouBarletta

Lou Barletta Has Been Stopped

Since April, I have been posting my opinions on why Mayor Lou Barletta is unfit to represent Pennsylvania’s 11th Congressional District in the US House of Representatives.  During that time, Barletta has done nothing to change my opinions and has, frequently, given me even more reason to doubt his ability to effectively represent his constituents in Congress.  Now, on the eve of election day, I would like to recap the main points of my opposition to Lou Barletta.

• Lou Barletta’s Flawed Immigration Policies.  Mayor Barletta is well known for his attempts to pass one of the nation’s most extreme immigration policies.  His “Illegal Immigration Relief Act” was one of the most heavy-handed approaches to dealing with illegal immigration.  A Federal Court struck down the law as being unconstitutional.  Worse, while attempting to defend his flawed law in court, Barletta managed to rack up over a million dollars in debt for the city of Hazleton, despite the fact that the Hazleton City Council never authorized Barletta to take the matter to court.
• Lou Barletta’s Refusal to Take Stands on Real Issues.  Barletta made his name by ranting and raving about illegal immigration.  However, when it comes to other issues, such as the Economy, the War in Iraq, and US Foreign Policy, Lou Barletta has issued, at best, rambling and ambiguous answers.  On the Iraq War, he has refused say whether or not he is in support of the war and what actions he would take in Congress in regards to the war.  On the Economy, Barletta has actually blamed the entire economic crisis on his opponent, Paul Kanjorski.
• Lou Barletta’s Ties to Crime.  In many of his commercials, Lou Barletta has claimed that he will bring “change” to Washington.  Considering that Barletta’s campaign is, in part, being funded by convicted cocaine dealers and an Senator who has recently been convicted of corruption, the “change” that Barletta wants to bring to the US Government won’t be for the best.  Even when confronted about the fact that his campaign has accepted money from convicted fellons, including drug dealers, Barletta has not only refused to give the money back, but he has actually defended these people as “honorable”, “hard working” citizens.
• Lou Barletta’s Lack of Experience.  Lou Barletta, in terms of real experience dealing with real issues, comes up short.  When confronted with a budget deficit, Mayor Barletta responded by cutting the Hazleton Police force in half and then blaming, falsly, the increase in crime on illegal immigrants.  Showing his complete incompetance in terms of the economy, Barletta has said that the entire US financial crisis in his opponent’s fault.  And, as I mentioned earlier, he has refused to take a stand on the Iraq War.  This is not the type of leadership that we need in the US Congress.

For all of these reasons, and a few more, I am strongly opposed to Lou Barletta representing anyone in the United States Congress.  Even though I am a Republican, I am opposed to Barletta because I feel that he lacks the values, experience, and leadership skills that make him an acceptable congressman.  Lou Barletta is clearly not fit to serve in the United States Congress.

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

Post from: StopLouBarletta

Why Mayor Barletta Should Not Be Elected to Congress

About two weeks ago, I sat down for an interview with a reporter for The New Republic.  She had come to the area to gather research for an article that she was writing about Mayor Lou Barletta and his bid for the United States Congress.  In addition to me, the reporter, Marin Cogan, spoke to several other people who all had some insight into the race.  The article was published yesterday.

If you are interested in reading the article, and Ms. Cognan’s gathered insights on Mayor Lou Barletta’s bid for Congress, you can do so by clicking HERE.

On Tuesday, the nation goes to vote.  Between now and then, I will be posting a few more blog posts here, just summing up my main arguments against Mayor Barletta and why I feel he would be a poor choice to represent the 11th District in Congress.

All for now.

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

Post from: StopLouBarletta

StopLouBarletta.com Featured in The New Republic

Yet again, Mayor Lou Barletta is trying to pretend that he has a position on a major issue, when in fact, it would appear to almost anyone of at least average intelligence that he does not. This time the issue is the War in Iraq. Barletta, questioned about his position on the war, offered up some vague, meaningless statements that contradicted earlier statements that he made. In other words, more of the same from Lou Barletta.

In a Scranton Times article, it becomes clear that Barletta is unwilling to say anything meaningful about his position on the Iraq War. As explained in the article…

“Lou Barletta, Mr. Kanjorski’s Republican challenger in the upcoming election, won’t say now whether he would have voted for the war, even though he supported authorization of the war when he ran against Mr. Kanjorski in 2002. He wants the troops home as swiftly as possible, but favors letting military commanders decide when.

He won’t fault Mr. Kanjorski for voting for the war, although he once implied Mr. Kanjorski’s vote was politically motivated.”

The article goes on to highlight Mayor Barletta’s confusing, contradictory statements on the Iraq War, saying…

“Mr. Barletta declined to characterize the war as a mistake. In at least two interviews this year, he declined to say whether he would have voted for it.

“It would be speculating,” he said. “It might not have been they were justified to go to war in Iraq with what we know now. … Hindsight is 20-20. I’m sure many of the congressmen who voted for it regret their decision. I can’t fault him (Mr. Kanjorski), because they were acting on the information they were given.”

He notes now that he didn’t have the information Mr. Kanjorski had in deciding on what to do about Iraq, but during the 2002 campaign, he unequivocally backed the war.

“I fully support the actions called for in the joint resolution,” he said, according to an Oct. 4, 2002, campaign news release.

The mayor said the shifts in his position show he’s willing to change his mind when new information comes along.”

So Barletta is now bragging about his willingness to shift his position on important issues when “new information” comes along. Clearly, by “new information” he is referring to political opinion polls. Barletta has a history of flip-flopping on major issues in an attempt to get on the more popular side of an issue. Just look at his “position” on privatizing Social Security. He was, the last time he ran for Congress in 2002, in strong support of privatizing Social Security. Now he is saying he is adamantly opposed to it.

I find it highly insulting that Mayor Lou Barletta, who is attempting to get himself elected to the United States Congress, is unwilling to take a stand on an issue as important as the War in Iraq. Mr. Barletta wants to be elected to a position of political leadership, but he is refusing to act like a political leader. If Barletta doesn’t have the courage to even voice his opinion on the Iraq War, what can we expect from him if he actually were to get elected to the Congress? It would be a crap-shoot, at best.

Lou Barletta is political scum. He has a long and well documented track record of telling bold-faced lies. He has waffled on several major political issues facing this nation. And now he is REFUSING to take a position on the War in Iraq, a conflict that has already claimed over three thousand US lives. A vote for Lou Barletta is November is a vote for cowardice, shame, and disgrace. Mayor Barletta does not deserve to be elected to the United States Congress.

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

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Post from: StopLouBarletta

Barletta Offers Confusing Ramblings About Iraq

With the upcoming election getting closer and closer, and the stakes for the American people getting larger and larger, Mayor Lou Barletta is showing less and less intelligence and worse and worse leadership. This is a trend that has come to exemplify Barletta. Rather than take real stands on real issues, Barletta attempts to use clever soundbytes and press releases to trick voters into thinking that he is taking a stand on an issue. In almost every case, on every issue, Lou Barletta has failed to show any real leadership.

That trend continues with the Bailout Package that Congress is considering. Barletta has come out against that package and has offered one of his most idiotic ramblings to date as an explanation for his position. In a recent press release, Barletta explained his opposition to the Bailout Package like this…

“Congress is about to reward financial institutions that think nothing of charging citizens exorbitant penalties for late payments, increasing interest rates for individuals with poor credit, and foreclosing on homes. Those institutions would receive a get-out-of-jail free card with nothing more than a slap on the wrist. These financial institutions are getting far better treatment than they give to their consumers.”

Nothing in that statement means anything. There are many good, logical reasons to be either for or against the Bailout Package. Not wanting to offer financial assistance to banks because they “raise interest rates for individuals with poor credit” or “foreclose on homes” is not one of them. Is Mr. Barletta now supporting the idea that banks begin issuing money to whomever asks for it, in whatever denominations they ask? Or is he suggesting that Congress simply allow the financial crisis to continue to spread, wiping out BILLIONS in investor savings in the process? It’s not exactly clear.

Barletta’s statement goes on to read…

“If we are going to fix this problem, we need to give Wall Street more of a workout than a bailout. Congress needs to do more to hold these companies accountable and to learn why they failed to stop the crisis.”

Again, I’m not exactly sure what Barletta means with this statement. What does “more of a workout than a bailout” mean? How will Congress hold these companies accountable if many of them are days or weeks away from bankruptcy? Barletta offers no insight into these questions. This is, I believe, a result of Lou Barletta suffering from an above average level of stupidity, inexperience, and ignorance. Barletta has no clue about what caused the financial crisis or what needs to be done to correct it.

If Barletta is suggesting that this bill be re-worked so that all it does is point a big, scornful finger at bank executives and blame everything on them, fine. I would just wonder what effect he would think that would have on the continuing financial crisis. If Barletta is suggesting that Congress offer no help to the nation’s financial institutions, I would question him on what impact he would think that would have on the American peoples’ financial future and faith in the economy.

This entire statement issued by Lou Barletta is a bunch of hot air. It accomplishes nothing and adds even less to the debate about what should be done to remedy this financial crisis. Lou Barletta obviously has no intelligent opinions on what needs to be done to correct this financial crisis, even though he is trying very hard to give the impression that he does. In these trouble times, where so much of our future is on the line and in the hands of our political leaders, we simply can not afford to send a man like Lou Barletta to Congress.

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

Post from: StopLouBarletta

Mayor Barletta’s Taking Another Non-Position Position

Mayor Lou Barletta, I have come to realize, is not a very smart man. However, his latest allegations, in which he blames his opponent, Representative Paul Kanjorski, for the collapsing stock market are beyond belief. That Barletta can pin the blame for all of the current stock market turmoil and financial institution failures on one person says a lot about how out of touch and simplistic Lou Barletta really is.

In a statement, Barletta explains why the stock market has done so poorly as of late, saying…

“Stock markets are plunging and financial institutions are collapsing, and it’s Paul Kanjorski’s fault,” said Hazleton Mayor and 11th Congressional District candidate Lou Barletta. “He was greedy and accepted contributions from the institutions he was supposed to regulate and monitor. Now, the hardworking taxpayers of the 11th District and the United States have to pay the price. Mr. Kanjorski’s greed destroyed the American dream for millions of people. Mr. Kanjorski sold us out and got us into this mess, but now he claims to be coming to our rescue. If he had done his job in the first place and held proper oversight of these institutions and industries, we might not be in this situation. Once again, he put his own personal interests ahead of his constituents, and once again, we’re forced to pay for Mr. Kanjorski’s personal blunder.”

Really? “It’s all Paul Kanjorski’s fault?” Clearly, Lou Barletta has absolutely zero understanding of how financial markets work, of the events surrounding the recent collapse of Lehman Brothers and Bear Sterns, or of the stock market in general. One man did not cause the stock market to plunge, yesterday. One man did not cause Freddy Mac and Fanny May to have to be bailed out by the government. And one man did not bring down Lehman Brothers.

And as for taxpayers being “forced to pay for Mr. Kanjorski’s personal blunder,” let’s take a look at what tax payers have had to pay as a result of Mayor Barletta’s personal blunders. The city of Hazleton is currently swamped with debt, over $2 million, as a direct result of Mayor Barletta attempting to defend his “Illegal Immigration Relief Act” in Federal Court. That defense failed, and the act (one of the most oppressive immigration bills ever enacted in this country) was declared unconstitutional. Worse, Barletta went ahead with this costly legal defense without permission from the city council. Hazleton tax payers are now being drilled into the ground as they have to hand over their money to pay for Barletta’s horrible miscalculation.

So what will Lou Barletta attempt to pin on his opponent, next? The assassination of Abraham Lincoln? The Great Depression? Paris Hilton’s music career? Barletta is a rat of a man and will say anything if he thinks it will get him five minutes of media attention or one more vote in November. His reputation is filthy and full of reasons not to trust a word that comes out of his mouth. Clearly, Lou Barletta should not be elected to the United States Congress.

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

Post from: StopLouBarletta

More Stupid Allegations from Mayor Lou Barletta

An article in the Scranton Times today talks about how Mayor Lou Barletta has rolled out two ads criticizing his opponent, Representative Paul Kanjorski, on various issues. Barletta’s ads slam Kanjorski for helping to get Federal funding for a local business (owned by his family), funding for a public parking garage (to be named after him), and for comments he made about Democratic promises to bring American troops home. Considering Barletta’s record (which is filled with possible illegal bank loans and connections to drug dealers), Barletta would be well served to keep his mouth shut.

Consider this: Lou Barletta has accepted campaign donations from convicted cocaine dealers. Worse, he went on to actually defend these drug dealers as “honorable people”. He has also accepted campaign contributions from Senator Ted Stevens, who has been indicted by a Federal grand jury for accepting bribes from oil lobbyists. There is also controversy surrounding a “loan” made to Barletta by a local bank back in 2002 for $65,000. Barletta has yet to pay back ANY of the “loan”.

Let’s also consider Barletta’s record as mayor of Hazleton. One of his first acts as mayor was to slash the police force in half, then blame the resulting increase in crime on a made-up “illegal immigrant crime wave.” To add insult to injury, Barletta then attempted to defend his extremist “Illegal Immigration Relief Act” in Federal Court. To do so, he used millions of dollars of Hazleton tax dollars…without actually receiving authorization from the Hazleton city council. Hazleton is now strapped with debt and has gained a reputation as one of the most ethnically-intolerant cities in America.

Despite all of this, however, Barletta still has the nerve to launch attacks on his opponent’s reputation. Obviously, Lou Barletta can’t run on his own reputation because, quite honestly, his reputation smells worse than week-old garbage. Barletta is a liar and readily accepts money from convicted cocaine dealers. He is clearly in no position to talk poorly of anyone else.

Lou Barletta is an embarrassment to his city, to Pennsylvania, and to all honest Americans. The fact that this creep is trying to run for Congress is sickening. Mayor Barletta, if elected to the United States Congress, would only continue shame his community and disappoint his constituents. Lou Barletta should not be elected to Congress.

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

Post from: StopLouBarletta

Lou Barletta in No Position to Trash Talk

To quote from Barletta’s press release…

“Putting tolls on I-80 will cripple local businesses. It will hurt commuters and tourism. It will hurt local farmers. And it will hurt communities all along the I-80 corridor, because they will not only see the loss of businesses, jobs, and local tax revenue, but they will also see an increase in traffic on municipal roads, jeopardizing public safety and increasing the cost of repairing those roads,” Mayor Barletta added.

So, according to Mayor Barletta, Pennsylvania will collapse into a steaming pile of dog mess if Interstate 80 is turned into a toll road.  Okay, assuming we buy into that logic, what is the brilliant Mayor Lou proposing we do to raise the money for the roads?  Another quote from the press statement….

“So where do we come up with the money we need to fix our roads? First, we need Congress to make fixing our infrastructure a priority. This is a national emergency. Congress needs to adjust its spending priorities. Forget bridges to nowhere. We need bridges right here – like those along Interstate 80 in Monroe County, those on all of our highways here, and around the country. Our elected leaders need to show financial discipline and fix our roads.

Oh, well that clears things up.  Or not.  The truth of the matter is that Pennsylvania, along with every other state, needs millions of dollars right now.  Bridges all around the country are crumbling.  Anyone who’s driven on I-80, or I-81 for that matter, knows that the roads are in horrible shape.  Bottom line: they need to be fixed and soon.  Or things will get much, much worse.

Saying that “Congress needs to make fixing our infrastructure a priority” is meaningless blabber.  It’s fluff.  The problem is hugely complex and too difficult, apparently, for Mayor Barletta to get a handle on.  Where will the BILLIONS of dollars needed to fix these roads and bridges come from?  How much money will come from the state?  Which roads will receive the bulk of the money?  Once the repairs are made, where will the money come from to maintain them?  Barletta has no answers to these questions.

Am I thrilled at the idea of turning I-80 into a toll road?  No.  I’m a full time college student who has to commute to school every day.  Paying to use a road isn’t all that of an exciting idea to me.  However, it is a plan.  It will raise money, quickly, to help repair roads.  Bridges will at least begin to be worked on.  It would help.

If Mayor Barletta is so staunchly opposed to this idea, he needs to present a detailed plan of his own.  Why should we scrap an idea that will help fix the problem and just go back to square one without any hope or promise of an alternative?  ”Just elect me to office and I’ll figure it out later,” is not a sollution.  And it will not fix our roads.

Mayor Barletta has perfected the art of spouting off lots of words and sound bytes while not really saying all that much.  This is more of the same.  Lou Barletta has no plans on how to get the money needed to fix Pennsylvania’s roads.  Lou Barletta will not fix our roads and bridges and neither will his meaningless talk.  Mayor Lou Barletta should remain a mayor and not be elected to the United States Congress.  We can’t afford it.

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

Post from: StopLouBarletta

More Fluffy Talk from Mayor Lou Barletta

Q: Who is Mayor Lou Barletta?
A: Lou Barletta is the current mayor of the city of Hazleton. While serving in this position, Barletta has systematically run the city into the ground. As a direct result of Mayor Barletta’s “leadership”, Hazleton is now struggling with a massive amount of debt, unemployment, and vacant commercial real estate.

Q: I’ve heard that Mayor Barletta has helped “save” his city from an illegal immigrant crime wave. Is this true?
A: No. Barletta engineered this “illegal immigrant crime wave” lie to try and cover up for the fact that as mayor, he cut the city’s police force in half. As a result, crime in Hazleton began to increase. However, crime data, released by the Hazleton Police Department, shows that out of all crimes committed in Hazleton since 2002, LESS THAN 1% of those crimes have been committed by illegal immigrants.

Q: But Lou Barletta says he’ll bring “change” to Washington. That’s a good thing, right?
A: The kind of “change” that Lou Barletta has in mind is probably not what this nation needs. Barletta has several close, personal ties to criminals, including former drug dealers. In addition, there is also a controversy surrounding a “loan” made to Barletta by a local bank due to the fact that Barletta has not been charged any interest on the loan and has not been required to pay any of it back. Worse, Barletta has repeatedly lied about the loan, making up three separate stories about the loan in eleven days.

Q: Is Lou Barletta in favor of privatizing Social Security?
A: It’s hard to say. Barletta has flip-flopped on the issue already and it’s difficult to say where he now stands. He says he is not in favor of privatization and that he never was. However, the last time he ran for Congress, Barletta was a strong supporter of privatization. And history has taught us that a person who has flopped on issues before will probably do it again.

Q: Lou Barletta is a hero for saving his town from illegal immigrants, right?
A: No, because Barletta never did any such thing. Although he does like to tell everyone that he did. The truth is that Barletta’s “Illegal Immigration Relief Act” was struck down by a Federal judge as being unconstitutional, over a year ago. Additionally, Barletta was unable to prove any of his claims that Hazleton was under attack from an “illegal immigrant crime wave”, in fact, just the opposite was proven. Finally, as a result of the legal defense that Barletta mounted, with city money but without city approval, Hazleton is now being suffocated by a huge debt.

To learn more about Mayor Lou Barletta, and why he should not be elected to the United States Congress, please read some more information found on this site.

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

Post from: StopLouBarletta

A Lou Barletta FAQ