Blair Blue Blog

Tony Barr’s campaign that began as a write in is now catching fire in the PA-09^th.  Endorsements including the PA AFL-CIO keep rolling in and popular support keeps growing.  Last night Tony stopped by the Huntingdon County fair to talk with voters and listen to the needs and concerns of this mostly rural Pennsylvania County.

It’s a fair, rides and horse shows, tractor pulls and cotton candy and all the Americana than you shake a corn dog at.  Instead of merely hanging out at the Democratic table with all the literature on display, waiting for the voters to come to him, Tony Barr takes a walk and goes to the voters.

Right outside the exhibits building is where we stood, Tony giving a very quick, personal talk about who he is and why he’s running.  He’s friendly and genuine and people respond to him.  They respond especially well, if it clicks who Tony’s opponent is, Republican Bill Shuster.  Voters in Huntingdon resent how Shuster got his seat, and they don’t like what he’s done with it and they especially don’t like how little he’s done for Huntingdon County.  So when Tony Says “Hi, My Name is Tony Barr I’m running for Congress….” people smile and try to walk past until Tony adds,”…against Bill Shuster”, then Tony has their undivided attention.  It happens almost everywhere we go.

This happened kind of thing happened a lot but I got to confess my favorite occurrence of the phenomenon happened about 20 minutes into our visit.  These two gentleman, at least in their 60’s,  exited the exhibits building festooned with campaign stickers for Republican candidates, the glaring absence of a Shuster sticker became too much for my smart-aleck nature and my curiosity to bear.

“Hi, Guys, What no Shuster sticker?” I asked

The man leaned over to me and quietly mumbled “Personal preference”.  At which point I offered them a Tony Barr flyer, confidentially replying, “This is the man running against him”.  They both took the flyer and shook mine and Tony’s hand.

About an hour later, an EMT who was on duty at the fair struck up a conversation with Tony about Emergency services.  Most Fire Companies are All-Volunteer affairs here in this part of PA and funding is scarce and a sore subject.  Tony listened and we were both shocked at the way such funds were dispersed and managed in our state.  While such issues are technically the territory of State legislators, Washington does have some influence in such matters, and you can bet that with Tony Barr in Congress, these problems will not go unattended.  The EMT believed that and hopefully the people of Pennsylvania will believe it too.

While Tony was chatting up a couple of union guys, I had the chance to speak with a young Marine on leave who was taking his girlfriend to the fair.  He asked about Tony’s position on the war and He and I discussed National Security.  He was shocked and more than a little pissed off to learn that Bill Shuster voted against expanding Military Healthcare coverage to Guardsmen and Reservists.  As a Marine he expressed his belief in what we are doing in a Iraq, but ya gotta remember it’s part of his job to believe in his mission, no matter how FUBAR that mission is.  Of course, he thinks we need troops in Iraq.  We talked for several minutes, he conceded a few points as I did, but it was a serious substantive, quiet, conversation.  We might not get his vote in November, but his girlfriend, who just wants him home…She’ll vote for Tony!

The afternoon and early evening went fast.  For the most part, we heard the voters desire for a change in their government.  The echoes of Ned Lamont’s victory were heard even here.  Tonight, Tony’s half way across the state, in Indiana County, doing the same thing.  Listening to the voters, shaking hands, talking about his vision for PA and America and winning this election.

To learn more http://www.tonybarr2006.com

Here’s an insider’s view of the freedom’s Bush’s war has brought the Iraqis.

Baghdad20Burning

Ya know I think every male in America has had at one time or another a James Bond fantasy about sneaking into the villan’s lair to hear his plans.  I gotta tell ya the reality is not quite that much fun, lemme tell ya, Halle Berry was nowhere to be found!. but there were a couple of guys who reminded me of Ernst Stavro Blofeld. 
 

I wanted to hear what Bill Shuster (R PA09) was telling the GOP faithful so I went.  In a very small dining room in a restaurant in Bedford, I paid my fee.  Twenty bucks for a tray of scrambled eggs, bacon and sausage and tater tots.  I had expected much more from a republican Breakfast, even the coffee was sour.  Of course, that could have been because I was out numbered 60 to one with no clear path to the door and to be honest I just felt unclean being there.
 

What I noticed first was the parking lot.  I’ve been to many Democratic events and I usually see a plethora of bumper stickers but at this breakfast, they were few and far between.  It makes me wonder just how red is Bedford?  The other attendees were mostly bankers and business people and the talk was the usual chamber of commerce chit chat about this project and that deal.  It was not a political crowd per se.  Just business people who undoubtedly only wanted to be sure that they would get some bacon coming their way, and I don’t mean from breakfast.
 

Going to a political function for the food, is little bit like going to wall mart for clothes, you’ll be able to find something but it won’t be what you might call high quality stuff, to be honest I did expect a little more for my twenty bucks than what I got, even the coffee sucked.  I guess the staff at the restaurant understood what will happen to them if the Republicans get their “Paris Hilton tax relief and oh yeah here’s a crumb to minimum wage workers bill” passed.
 

Mr. Shuster did trumpet the elimination of estate taxes like it was something to be proud of but I didn’t think anyone in that room would care as you have to have what? $5 mil to qualify for the exemption.  Nobody in the room had that kinda bread, believe me.
 

Overall, The Congressman’s tone was defensive and nervous.  He distanced himself from the president as much as he could despite an 84% voting record, but not too far so as not to offend the Bush faithful.  For a guy who, according to all the pundits will win in a walk, he was way too stage managed to seem confident.  I think that maybe the small turnout, the plethora of letters to the editor demanding debate in the newspapers and the other signals of Democratic Challenger Tony Barr’s momentum is getting to him.  (Find out more at http://www.tonybarr2006.com)
 

Mainly, the talk was of the war.  Congressman Shuster repeated the rhetoric of his constituent e-mails to say that Iraqi forces will take over 90% of  security duties by the end of the year.  Shuster’s was contradicting the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Peter Pace’s testimony before the Senate yesterday, stating that Iraq was one  dirty look away from all out civil war.
 

“We’ve gotta go what we’ve gotta do” to make Amerca Safe, Shuster said.  Is the way we’re doing what we gotta do making America safer?  I think not.
 

Playing to the worst instincts in the assembled crowd, Shuster then went on to say that a bio-metric card should issued to legal immigrants so that we can manage the immigration problem more effectively.  Why not just tattoo a number on their forearms?  He then went on to repeat the Republican House’s call for a wall to be built along the Mexican border.  Will we build one on the Canadian border too? Those Canucks can be pretty pesky.  An American iron curtain is just what this country needs, isn’t it? 
 

He also echoed the “No Amnesty!” cry so often heard in the Immigration debate.  Does Bill Shuster really think someone who has worked in this country for ten years is going to go back to Mexico and get in line to apply to get back in?
 

Despite the fact that some 46 million Americans have no health insurance, The Congressman called our health system “the best in the world”.  Congress does have a pretty good health plan, too bad the rest of us are on our own.
At some point Bill Shuster nervously admitted that all was not well with the state of the Federal budget.  For this state of affairs, he mostly blamed the Senate, I guess Rick Santorum isn’t doing his job, either.  Sticking to GOP talking points, he stated that despite The post-Katrina situation on the Gulf Coast, (Which the Government still apparently has no plan for “We still don’t know what to do, he said”) and the War, now costing over  $700 Billion  and the Republican insistence on Tax breaks for the Wealthiest 1% of Americans, that the deficit will be cut in half in just four years.  Hey, weren’t we running at a budget surplus in the year 2000?
 

To achieve this seemingly impossible feat, the Congressman said that controlling discretionary spending and entitlements was the economic tonic that would make us all better again.  He also complained bitterly about the fact that the country rejected the Bush gutting of Social Security in favor of private accounts.  It was all I could to do to keep from puking.
 

There were 5×7 cards and pens on every table and Mr Shuster did take “questions” but I never saw anybody writing anything.  The”questions” themselves were suspiciously worded as if they had been written by staff members.  They made a big show of letting a 16 year old kid ask questions but one look in that kid’s eye and you know that there was NO WAY that kid asked THAT question.  Somehow my question, “It was reported in the Altoona Mirror that you were considering debates with the Democratic candidate, will there be debates?” never quite made it to the podium and I would have asked aloud but I was out numbered 60 to 1 and while my back was to the wall, I had no clear path to the door and, okay, I’ll admit it I pussed out.
 

I drove home, had a shower, I just felt so dirty, and began to blog.
 

Anyway, That’s who were running against.  To find out more:
http://www.tonybarr2006.com

Kevin Drum of Washington Monthly on the Minimum Wage/Estate Tax bill and the contradictions within:

THE ESTATE TAX IN THE BALANCE….According to the Washington Post, the business community has carefully weighed up the pros and cons of the pending Republican legislation that combines an increase in the minimum wage (boo!) with a decrease in the estate tax (hooray!) — and they’re on board:

Business lobbyists said the trade-off between a lower estate tax and a higher minimum wage clearly favors the business community and upper-income Americans….”Every closely held business in America today is either affected by the death tax or could be affected by it,” one top business lobbyist said.

Now this is actually a bit odd. There’s an abstract sense in which every small business “could be” affected by the estate tax, but in reality virtually none of them actually are. The CBO estimates that even under current law a mere 485 small businesses are affected by the estate tax each year — note that that’s not 485 thousand or 485 million, it’s 485 — and if the exemption were raised to $3.5 million, a change that even Democrats endorse, the number would be reduced to 94.

Ninety. Four. The entire business community is practically giving itself whiplash making a U-turn on the hated minimum wage in order to reduce the estate tax on 94 businesses each year. Wow.

POSTSCRIPT: By the way, I see in the fine print here that the Republican legislation would increase the size of the estate tax exemption to $10 million per couple by 2015 and then index it to inflation thereafter. It’s funny how indexing for inflation is out of the question when it comes to something like the minimum wage, but turns out to be an essential safeguard when it comes to making sure that a $10 million estate tax exemption doesn’t dwindle away to nothing due to future congressional inaction.

Think of it: in terms of actual purchasing power, that $10 million exemption could easily decline to $9.5 million, or even $9 million, if future congresses were to dilly dally over passing an increase. Thank God America’s future heirs to great fortunes are being protected from the ravages of inflation by today’s Republican Party.

—Kevin Drum 12:39 AM Permalink |

Here’s how they are gonna come at us.  The GOP can’t talk about the economy, with all the K-Street deals; they damn sure can’t talk about ethics or even the usual “Values” issues because we can bring it back to ethics.  A recent NBC/WSJ poll said that while a majority of Americans don’t like the way Bush and therefore Congress is handling foreign policy, they don’t trust the Democrats to keep America safe.

“Keeping America Safe” is one of those visceral, gut check, voting issues that will swing many a swing voter toward the right, if we don’t make serious changes in how we talk about foreign policy and National defense issues.

Here’s what they are saying (Taken from http://www.pennpatriot.5u.com/ , a conservative blog:)

                It is truly amazing how many people on the left are “wining” like a bunch of spoiled little kids when it comes to defending our country against the very serious threat of Islamic Fascism. All you here about is how we can do this better & we can do that better. They point their finger at Republicans and tell the American people how we shoud have never invaded Iraq. They poke fun of President Bush and tell people that he lied about the WMD’s. I think it’s time for the “spoiled lefties” to get a reality check and start accepting the truth for a change. Islamic Fascism is a serious threat and no one understands the threat better the Senator Santorum. (ack…Ick)
While the line about Santorum made me want to barf, my misguided friend is not all together wrong here.  We do tend to whine about these things.  Whether or not we should have invaded Iraq is not what we should be talking about (at least, until we take back Congress and begin investigations like 53% of Americans want us to do.)  The question isn’t should we have gone? The question is how soon do we get them back.   Rep. Bill Shuster (R PA-09) is telling his constituents that Iraqi troops are handling over 90% of security in Iraq.  If this is true, why not bring our boys home?  None of their answers make any sense.

The real problem with Iraq and for that matter, Iran, Hezbollah, Syria and North Korea, too is that the fundamental philosophy driving US policy is deeply, deeply flawed.  These are complex issues and Democrats have never had a good track record explaining complexity to the voters.  The Republican mantra of “wave the flag and bomb the bastards” while disastrous foreign policy is lot more palatable to the average citizen.  As long as they can holler “Cut and Run!” we are vulnerable to GOP attacks on National Defense ideas and indeed our collective manhood.  We must frame this debate in terms people can understand.
 

In a nut shell, the rest of the world doesn’t believe us and wouldn’t trust us even if they did.  We’ve created enemies where there were none before and we’ve pushed away long time friends. The Bush administration seems to think that if we keep smacking the world around and lying to it, sooner or later, it will love us.  I don’t know about you but that’s not what I call a successful relationship.

My wing nut friend is right about one thing so-called Islamic Fascism is a very serious threat.  We need a serious policy to deal with it.  America doesn’t have one.  The Bush policy is like Johnny Rotten, insubstantial, immature, arrogant, presumptuous, aggravating, and disrespectful to itself and to others, what’s more; over the long term, has no staying power.

What we need is a policy more like Johnny Cash, strong, wise, thoughtful, insightful, and compassionate without being wimpy, oozing gravitas and effective over the long term.  I ask you what red-blooded wing nut wouldn’t rather vote for Johnny Cash over Johnny Rotten.

A while back I wrote this:

                “If we keep our commitment to that which we value and do our best, such as it is, to embody our most noble virtues, we may yet, lift a lance at a windmill and bring down a giant.”

It was about keeping our commitment in the face of seemingly long odds.  Now that I think about it I was wrong to compare being a Democrat to being Don Quixote.  I have to take it back. 

As many of you know, I’ve been working with the Tony Barr for Congress campaign.  I, along with a number of you, have been working very hard to get out a message of hope and investment and choice to the people of the 9^th Pennsylvania Congressional District. 

The more places we go the more I see what’s really going on in our part of the Keystone State and the better I understand how inappropriate the Don Quixote metaphor truly is.  I say to you now that if we continue to do the grunt work of this campaign.  If we continue to slowly and surely do those things that we have learned to do from training and experience, we can win.

I know that many of you who read this are trying to be pragmatic about it.  You look at the numbers, at the history, at the money and you would be content to merely make a good showing and have something to build on for 2008.  I say to you, no, we can win, this year, this election, we can win.

If we are to win there will have to be change, not in the district, not in the national or state party, not in the county but in ourselves.  First, we must see our goal as achievable.  Second, we must commit to it.  Any good football coach will tell you that if a tackler flinches at the point of contact, the ball carrier can get away, we must have 100% commitment to our goals.  It is far better to make a mistake and leave a hole in the wall doing it, than to run at half speed in fear of impact.

Finally, we need to suck it up.  I’ve seen the confusion in the faces of some of you that have been around a while, you don’t understand all the website stuff, you don’t understand the insistence on things like open primaries, you don’t understand the impatience with the way things have been around here for years, well, tough,  suck it up and get with the program! 

But that has to work both ways, younger, newer, Democrats need to suck it up too! (This is a s true for me as it is for anybody)  Impatient with the way things are? Suck it up, we can’t change it, until we win!  We younger Dems must find a way to keep our patience without losing our passion.  Those old guard Dems have been doing it for years, they’re still here and they deserve a certain amount of respect.  If nothing else we can learn  both resolve and commitment, important lessons, if you ask me. So Suck it up!

And now that we’ve all sucked it all up there is still more to do.  It’s not about who’s too “left enough” and who’s too “right” those terms are arbitrary and mean different things to different people can will always be used against you.  “Progressive” and “traditional” are just as bad.  What we should strive for is to be these things:

Effective
Open
Accountable
Responsible
Muscular
Expanding

This is what the Democratic Party must be.  All of these things get us closer to where we need to be.  Our goals should be simple enough: To gain, maintain, and exercise, political power, nothing else can happen until we can do these things, so until we can, nothing else matters.  All the peace in our time, save the earth, flowers for puppies and children stuff, can’t be done unless we gain, maintain, and exercise politcal power, it’s as simple as that.

From time to time the question will arise, “Is the old way of doing this the right way?”  Sometimes that answer will be “Yes” and sometimes that answer will be “No”  We must not quibble over it, we must act.

While I would balk at the notion of becoming lemmings like our opposition, when we act, we must do so in a unified, focused, resolute way.  No other way will be effective over the short term or the long haul.  If we can manage this, if we can mold ourselves to the task at hand, then we will accomplish what ever we set out to do.

This is not an impossible dream

We do not fight an unbeatable foe

We will run, where the brave dare not go

We will fight the right without question or pause

As we march into hell, with a heavenly cause

That star is not unreachable, it’s is with our grasp

Let’s take it!

Hi all….here is a jingle I did for the Blair Dem Picnic…feel free to copy it & use it & pass it around….also, original copies are available from myself; just email me at jnardelli@blairdems.org

 I have a copyright on these & have personalized backing of red/white/blue star paper & can individualize on anything you want; if you would like a particular subject or candidate “jingle” feel free to contact me.  We can discuss details if anyone is interested.

Enjoy the following:

ELECTION 2006
 

November 7^th is an important date
Here are some facts to set you straight
A new direction that we must go
So as a State and Nation, we can grow
 

Honest Leadership is what we need
End Republican corruption—Beware—Take heed
Restore a Government for us to see
As good as the people it serves to be
 

Security – Protection in all our land
We Democrats will fight and take a stand
To develop a plan – without a lie
And NOT forget those who fight and die
 

We will fight terror – but work as One
“One Nation under God” – as we first begun
 

Create jobs - so here we’ll stay
Education for children is a must today
Not only while young, but as we grow old
To retire with dignity – not out in the cold
 

Environment – Energy – Definitely a must
Something needs done – we can adjust
For a Cleaner and Stronger America we need
To help young and old, EVERY race and creed
 

A Healthcare plan made for EVERYONE
A major issue – it needs to be done
We cannot keep up another year
Republicans take note and shed a tear
 

It’s time for a change and a brand new course
Our Right To Vote – we must enforce
Democrats will lead us to a brand new day
Our vision is bright – God Bless the USA!
                                                                                                         

  Jo Ann Nardelli
                                                                                                             Copyright 7/20/06

A successful picnic & “fun” raiser for local democrats at DelGrosso Amusement Park took place on Tuesday, July 25th.  What began as a get-together for the old committee members and the new committee members turned out to be a vivacious turnout of over 150 Democrats in a Republican owned park! We got FRONT PAGE news in the Altoona Mirror with POSITIVE headlines and local coverage on WTAJ news with POSITIVE lead in & pictures & all….so BLAIR COUNTY IS ON THE MAP, REPUBLICANS….TAKE HEED!!!

Local Officials & even a special visit from former Lieutenant Governor Mark Singel made the day even more exciting.  The chicken dinner was excellent; door prizes were great; 50-50 turned out unbelievable; the music, jingles, & just plain social “chat” among Democrats was inspiring.

Yes, we are on a road to change and the FIRST Democratic Get-Together was a HUGE SUCCESS!!!  It is a beginning of many more functions to come…..just keep your eyes open and your ears alert because Dems, this has just begun…..stay tuned………

The local papers have been doing a good job of hiding it.  It may have missed your attention that the FEC recently fined Tom Delay’s ARMPAC a total of $115,000. The fine was imposed upon ARMPAC for failure to properly report its receipts, disbursements and cash on hand; failure to report outstanding debts and obligations; and failure to properly pay for shared federal and non-federal disbursements during the 2001/2002 election cycle
 

Among it’s many other transgressions, ARMPAC failed to report receiving nearly one quarter of a million dollars.
 

Why is this of interest to voters in Blair County?  According to The Center for Responsive Politics A.K.A. opensecrets.org; Congressman Bill Shuster (R PA-09) received $5,000 from ARMPAC during the election cycle in question and has received $10,000 more from ARMPAC in subsequent years.
 

In the interest of the voters of the 9th Pennsylvania Congressional district, why shouldn’t Congressman Bill Shuster be made to answer for taking money from such a crooked source as Tom Delay.

Keep the pressure on, demand that Bill Shuster debate Tony Barr.

On the Doug Herendeen show on a local radio station. Democratic Candidate Tony Barr, took on the predictably conservative host and a plethora of callers willing to debate the issues concerning the Pennsylvania 9^th Congressional District.  The talk ranged from minimum wage concerns, to healthcare, to energy and the environment.  Tony was happy to talk about these issues, while the man who represents this district incumbent Bill Shuster (R PA-09) is still “considering” whether or not to debate.

boy, Bill Shuster sure does “Consider” slow