Posted on 04/09/2008 2:35:39 PM PDT by CutePuppy
2 in GOP Eye Lost House Seat From Pa.
By MICHAEL RUBINKAM
DALLAS, Pa. (AP) — If U.S. Rep. Chris Carney feels like he has a target on his back, it's for good reason.
Republicans view the freshman Democrat's 2006 election as a fluke — he rolled to victory after his GOP predecessor became embroiled in a sex scandal — and see his House seat as ripe for the taking.
Two wealthy businessmen with similar campaign pitches are vying for the April 22 Republican nomination to challenge Carney in November, dipping into their own personal fortunes as they try to get the attention of voters preoccupied with the presidential primary.
Dan Meuser, 44, and Chris Hackett, 45, say Carney is too liberal for northeastern Pennsylvania's 10th Congressional District, a sprawling, rural, heavily Republican region that President Bush won in 2004 with 60 percent of the vote. The district's most recognizable city is Williamsport, home of the Little League World Series.
Voters "want this district back in the hands of a conservative Republican," said Meuser, president of Pride Mobility Products Inc., which sells motorized scooters, lift chairs and other products for the disabled.
Though he is unopposed in the Democratic primary, Carney is already fighting back, accusing both Republicans of trying to buy their way into Congress.
He calls himself a conservative Democrat, and said the charge that he is out of step with conservative voters won't stick. He has staffed his office with Republicans and said he hasn't been afraid to buck the Democratic leadership, including on the issue of illegal immigration.
"I think those attacks are going to be blunted by the fact that my overall voting record is very, very good and I do vote the values of the district," said Carney, 49, a former Pentagon intelligence analyst and political science professor and a member of the Navy Reserve. "When I came into office, I promised I would govern down the middle and that's exactly what I did."
Carney's election would have been unthinkable a few years ago in a district that had not sent a Democrat to Washington in more than four decades. But Don Sherwood's four-term House career was ruined after a woman 35 years his junior sued him in 2005, alleging the married father of three choked her at his Capitol Hill apartment. Sherwood admitted having an affair with the woman but denied hurting her. The case was settled out of court for about $500,000.
Carney beat Sherwood with 53 percent of the vote in a year that saw Democrats end 12 years of Republican rule in Congress.
Now Hackett and Meuser are trying to use Carney's record against him while trying to differentiate themselves from one another.
The Republican candidates are similar in many ways: They have built successful businesses, they are running as family-values and economic conservatives, and they have opened their wallets to fund their campaigns. Meuser has spent about $1.1 million of his own money and Hackett, whose four companies include a staffing agency and an insurance brokerage, has spent about $740,000.
On the campaign trail and in TV ads, Hackett attacks the explosive growth of earmarks, the pet projects lawmakers insert into funding bills.
"It's a way that leadership shackles new members of Congress and junior members of Congress to get them to do the things that they want them to do," said Hackett, who supports a moratorium on earmarks.
Meuser said he supports "complete elimination of earmarks" for all members of Congress, but that, unlike Hackett, he would not unilaterally forgo them, saying that would do nothing to solve the problem.
Hackett has also criticized Meuser and Meuser's company for contributing money to Democrats such as Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel of New York and U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York.
Both Meuser and Hackett advocate tougher border security and oppose amnesty for illegal immigrants, though Democrats view both GOP candidates as vulnerable to attack.
That's because Meuser's company was fined $41,000 more than a decade ago for employing three illegal immigrants who had provided the company with phony documents. Pride Mobility paid a negotiated settlement of $23,000 in 1997.
Later, word emerged that Hackett, who criticized Meuser over the incident, had employed an illegal immigrant as a housekeeper. He fired the woman last month after learning of her immigration status.
Carney says he also favors get-tough immigration measures.
"My opponent calls himself a conservative, but whoever he is, a vote for him is a vote for Nancy Pelosi and liberal Democrats running the Congress and being in charge of government policies!"
It's that simple, people! It avoids all the name-calling and incivility and gets the point across! And this should be repeated across the country in all strong and marginally conservative disctricts and states - run against Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, not your fake "conservative" opponent - if you want to be "conservative" and be in government, change parties to GOP and help conservatives take back the power in government and take the GOP back to conservatism...
Else, if you stay a Democrat in elective post in government - you help enable socialists like Nancy Pelosy and harry Reid! Force them make the choice and defend the policies of leaders of "their" party, make the election about "their" leaders that their election would keep in power! Simple, effective, and cost-efficient as it can be easily boiler-plated.
ONe of the few competitive districts in PA. Provided the two candiadtes aren’t RINOs, the primary winner should have a shot.
Don’t know much about Meuser, but Hackett is an opportunist of the worst kind.
Hackett owns One Source Staffing and last year One Source Staffing was a sponsor in bringing former Mexican President Vicente Fox in to speak at Wilkes University. Guess who was out there protesting Fox’s appearance during the time Fox was giving the speech. Yep. Chris Hackett.
Hackett’s firm literally helped pay to have Fox come and speak and then had the audacity to protest the very speech his firm helped sponsor. Wouldn’t trust the guy as far as I could throw him.
There are so many of these competitive or outright conservative districts (and states) across the country that have (D) representing them - whether they are faux “blue dog”, “conservative” or “middle of the road” Democrats that are just so ripe for the taking and establishing an almost permanent “conservative GOP”-run majority in Congress - I am just trying to show a simple, effective, economical (”cheap”) template that can be used very effectively across the country in the elections. I argued for that in 2006, but did not see it really implemented - RNC and other GOP National Committees were completely in shambles and disarray, and without a clue on the issues (from “Iraq” to their Congress-critters misdeeds).
Using this simple strategy, this (and every) year it’s a great chance to take back both the Congress (at the very least, House) and put more conservatives in elected GOP ranks - to counter any upcoming President, including McCain.
Don’t know much about Meuser, but Hackett is an opportunist of the worst kind.
Hackett owns One Source Staffing and last year One Source Staffing was a sponsor in bringing former Mexican President Vicente Fox in to speak at Wilkes University. Guess who was out there protesting Fox’s appearance during the time Fox was giving the speech. Yep. Chris Hackett.
Hackett’s firm literally helped pay to have Fox come and speak and then had the audacity to protest the very speech his firm helped sponsor. Wouldn’t trust the guy as far as I could throw him.
Pelosi to Block Vote on Colombia
AP via SFGate | 4/9/8 | Jim Abrams, Associated Press Writer
Posted on Wednesday, April 09, 2008 02:23:48 PM by SmithL
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1999075/posts
You are so right. All you have to do is ask your opponent in a debate a couple simple questions. Who did you vote for to be speaker of the house? Who will you vote for in the future to be speaker of the house? If they lie and say they won’t vote for Pelosi in the future, call them on it. Then why did you vote for her previously? By doing that you will further point out their deceitfullness. Don’t make the argument about their personal policies, but rather that their personal policies do not line up with their party’s policies. A vote for my opponent will be a vote for Nancy Pelosi and John Murtha to move forward with their liberal agenda.
Bingo! It is so simple and effective and avoids all the personal sniping and bickering about political policies and views and debates about their congressional and political record (which often could be simply faked, like hiring “Republican” staffers etc.) Just tie them to Nancy and Reid as “enablers”, even if only in purely “mathematical” sense, i.e. number of (D)’s greater than number of (R)’s makes Nancy Pelosi a Speaker, Harry Reid a Majority Leader and their “loony left” party setting the nation’s agenda. Just make it about “numbers”, and 1+1=2 seats turnover, and a chance to unseat Nancy from the Speaker’s podium and/or Harry from Majority Leader’s seat, and change the “dialogue” and agenda and direction of the country.
Let the Democrat denounce and disagree with the policies of his party leadership, and he’ll only be confirming and furthering his Republican opponent’s “numerical” point.
Democrats do it all the time (Mark Foley becomes the “face of the GOP” and a “sign of poor leadership” etc. etc.) and, masking as “conservatives”, often get the seats they otherwise would have no chance of winning. Republicans can’t even say what is correct and convey the idea of “strength in numbers” in their own “safe” districts or states.
This should be a nationwide strategy in strong and even marginally conservative districts and states. And conservatives should come out in numbers in primaries to get good people (who still want to go or be in politics) in the race.
Awesome idea, CutePuppy, and OTH, your comments are a fne addition.
Thanks for your service and Semper FI, OTH.
Semper Fi brother...
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