Lou Barletta

On Thursday, I participated in a blogger conference with Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA-22) and Mayor Lou Barletta. organized via the NRCC's Young Guns program.

Barletta answered a lot of questions about his race and the district. He indicated that his district appears opposed to the bailout, like most places in the country. In addition, Barletta's opponent, Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D-PA) is actually the chairman of the House Subcommittee which was suppsosed to be overseeing the GSEs. Every time I hear more about this race, the more likely it appears that we are going to win. Go help out Lou Barletta and push this one over the top.

McCarthy then came on and discussed what was happening on the floor. Basically, he talked about the bailout and what the Young Guns will be doing. They will be travelling the country to about 20 targetted races and campaigning for those candidates.

It is really good to see a younger generation of leadership and taking responsibility for adding to our numbers. We hope to hear more about this over the next 6 weeks until the election.

Disclaimer: I am working as an independent contractor with Lou Barletta's campaign, whose campaign I am about to discuss, to provide a website and our Mission Control software suite.  I am in no way directly affiliated with Lou's campaign.  This piece does not reflect the opinions of the campaign or anyone affiliated with the campaign.

Soren has written a number of entries on The Next Right about Lou Barletta's race in Pennsylvania's 11th Congressional District, including "PA-11: Seeing the future in Lou Barletta".  I wrote my own post back in June entitled "A Democratic Seat In Danger? Spotlight on PA's 11th".  Soren and I agree: Lou Barletta can win, and he is representative of the kind of candidate that we need to win over Democratic districts in states like Pennsylvania and Ohio.

Lou's campaign just released an initiative called BBQs for Barletta.  From the e-mail blast they sent to supporters:

It's summertime, and what better way to rally support than a BBQ? Host a BBQ for Barletta! Invite your friends and family to a BBQ in support of Lou Barletta. Lou will do his best to come to your event or we will make sure a personal message from Lou Barletta makes it to your home.

We must do what it takes to compete with our Washington, D.C.-funded opponent. Please help by signing up to host a BBQ and trying to reach a goal of raising $250 at the gathering. This could be 10 people who give $25 each, or 25 people who give $10 each, or whatever works best for your BBQ. Once you register to host a BBQ for Barletta at your home, we will send you additional information and materials to assist in making your BBQ for Barletta a success.

Help bring leadership to Washington by registering to host a BBQ in support of Lou Barletta. This is a fun way to engage your community in the election and rally support for Mayor Barletta.

For more information, click on BBQs for Barletta, visit LouBarletta.com or click here.

Sincerely,

Vince Galko
Campaign Manager

This is a critical race for the Right to win this fall.  Please consider hosting a BBQ for Barletta.

Aaron Marks is President of Three Group, LLC, a Pittsburgh-based new media firm that focuses on providing technology-based solutions for Republican candidates and organizations, and in particular has built Web 2.0 campaign management software called Mission Control.  Aaron also worked in new media and voter outreach on Senator Rick Santorum's 2006 re-election campaign.

Lou Barletta is up over crooked, machine Democrat Paul Kanjorski in a new internal poll that they released.

Paul Kanjorski (D-inc): 41 (42)
Lou Barletta (R): 45 (47)

Normally, we wouldn't discuss internal polls, but it is all we have, and, as the left-leaning Swing State Project notes, it is all that we have:

although the numbers are probably best served with a grain of salt, it's sort of telling that we haven't seen rival numbers from Kanjorski or the DCCC. In fact, Kanjorski's response to the poll doesn't exactly inspire confidence:

A Kanjorski campaign spokesman declined to comment on the poll.

That's the exact same response that Kanjorski's camp gave in June. Weak, sir.

We are going to win this one. As I previously noted, the Dems are runnign scared. So give Lou Barletta some money.

Earlier this week, I sat down with Lou Barletta, the mayor of Hazelton, PA -- just named PA's Mayor of the Year -- and the GOP nominee for Congress in PA-11 against Paul Kanjorski, an old-school, corrupt, machine Democrat. I know a little bit about the region, as my mom spends a bunch of time with her cousin who lives just outside of the district. At the end of June, I spent the better part of the day at the Anthracite Museum, where I learned about the coal mining industry that used to be the economic core of the district.

About 15 seconds into talking to Barletta, I thought "wow. This guy has something special." I am very cynical about politicians, especially Congressmen. They don't have to be very charismatic or, often, smart. Barletta is both. And I was disinclined to like him because I disagree with his hard-core immigration position, which could well put him over the top in this race.

Throughout the conversation, I learned more and more about the district, Barletta, and Kanjorski.  I think that we can win this seat with this guy, even in this environment. His campaign released a poll that shows him up 47-42, which the DCCC believes enough to put up ads against  him.

The upshot is that if you want to the GOP pick up a seat, give Lou Barletta some money. If you want to stop illegal immigration, give Lou Barletta some money. If you to get rid of a corrupt Democrat who gives taxpayer dollars to his campaign staff and family, give Lou Barletta some money. If you want to highlight Democratic use of earmarks, give Lou Barletta some money. if you want to stop a Democrat who admits to lying about the war for political gain,  give Lou Barletta some money. If you want to stop a Democrat who says one thing about our security in Washington and another at home, give Lou Barletta some money,  If you want to send a message to Congress that we need to develop more domestic energy sources, give Lou Barletta some money. Or if you want to support a model of conservative government at the local level, give Lou Barletta some money.

But there is a very deep thing going on here that might be the best reason of all. If you want to send a message that playing along with Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi is no way to represent god-fearing, hard-working, working-class values, then give Lou Barletta some money. Barletta may offer a concrete model of how to win in a district like gave Hillary Clinton 75% of the Democratic primary vote.

I am going to write a lot more on Barletta. I think that he is a model for how we can continue to cut into Democratic districts in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Michigan. But in the mean time, give Lou Barletta some money.

Disclaimer: I am working as an independent contractor with Lou Barletta's campaign, whose campaign I am about to discuss, to provide a website and our Mission Control software suite.  I am in no way directly affiliated with Lou's campaign.  This piece does not reflect the opinions of the campaign or anyone affiliated with the campaign.

2008 presents a year that is increasingly worrisome for Republicans, and for all of the right reasons -- generic Congressional polling shows Democrats with a clear advantage, the incumbent Republican President's approval ratings continue to reach new lows, the economy is being billed by many as in a recession, gas prices have reached record highs, and Republicans in Congress have become associated with pork spending and corruption.  As a result of these and other woes, Republicans recently lost two normally safe Republican seats in the House.  Many out there believe that Republicans will lose a significant number of additional seats in the House and Senate come November.

Following the above logic, a great deal of the political news that we hear these days focuses on traditionally "safe" Republican seats that are competitive or even leaning Democrat this cycle. However, I have been working closely with a House race in Pennsylvania that, although still looking at an incredibly challenging campaign, seems poised to upset a Democratic incumbent this November. The race is Lou Barletta's race in Pennsylvania's 11th district.