The LuLac Edition #77, Oct. 31, 2006

PICTURE INDEX: CONGRESSMAN DUNCAN HUNTER, CONGRESSMAN HUNTER AT THE DEDICATION OF THE SONNY BONO WILDLIFE PRESERVE, SENATOR RICK SANTORUM, ME AND RUDY GIULIANI IN THE EARLY 90s, FORMER PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER, AND FORMER SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE NEWT GINGRICH.


COUNTDOWN 8

DAYS TO ELECTION DAY

SANTORUM BRINGS IN A BIG GUN

Big news from the Rick Santorum camp, this Friday the Senator will be bringing a guest to Wilkes Barre Twp. Here are the details:
Join U.S. Senator Rick Santorum and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani for a rally Friday evening.
When:
Friday, November 3, 20067:00 pmDoors open at 6:15 pm
Where:
Wilkes-Barre Township Volunteer Fire Company152 Watson StreetWilkes-Barre, PA 18702
Directions
RSVP:
Space is limited and is on a first-come, first serve basis. To ensure your spot, please RSVP (with name, address, telephone number and e-mail address) to Jeff Becker at jeff@ricksantorum.com or 717-635-7185.
There is no charge for this event.
The former ex Mayor of New York city has been in overdrive supporting Senator Santorum. Giuliani is scheduled to appear at Wilkes College on Sunday Nov. 14th at Wilkes College for $35.00 a pop. This would be a perfect opportunity to meet and greet the Mayor and of course our junior Senator.

NEWT IS ALSO HUSTLING

Former House Speaker and the architect of the 1994 Contract with America is also dusting off the boxing gloves. Take a look at this letter that I got on line this weekend from the Newster, addressed to the Yonkstur!
Dear David,
Real reform in America doesn't come from the top. It comes from the people. The common-sense values of the American people are what twice elected Ronald Reagan and in 1994 elected the first Republican Congress in forty years. Your commitment to these American values has given us a continued Republican majority under the leadership of President Bush, who has led with unwavering determination in the global war for the survival of freedom.
In 9 days, these values will be put to the test like never before. The choice we make on November 7th will write the history books for generations to come. Will everything you've worked so hard to accomplish be lost to the San Francisco values of would-be Speaker Nancy Pelosi?
If you agree with me that the future of our country is too important to be left to Democrats who represent an attitude of appeasement, surrender, and weakness, I hope you'll join me in supporting the Republican National Committee in retaining our hard-won majorities with your contribution of $250, $100, $50, or even $25.
http://www.GOP.com/Newt/
A House under Speaker Pelosi and a Senate under Majority Leader Harry Reid would be a disaster for America. The key Democrat leaders who would be in control of how much you pay in taxes, defense funding, and investigations against the President and the War on Terror are some of the most liberal, out-of-the-mainstream members of their party. They haven't changed. In fact, they've become even more liberal and beholden to the special interests who bankroll them.
http://www.GOP.com/Newt/
The question facing Americans in this election is this: will America go forward or back - back to a Democrat majority determined to raise taxes, cut defense spending and fight with President Bush over the next two years rather than fighting the War on Terror.
Or will we win in 2006... rededicating our majorities and our commitment to the American values that have secured our liberty and freedom for over 230 years?
http://www.GOP.com/Newt/
David, as a steadfast supporter of the Republican Party, I know how committed you are to conservative principles... from winning the War on Terror, to keeping taxes and spending under control, to securing our borders. Nothing would be more disastrous for these principles than allowing Democrats to take control of the U.S. House and Senate.
http://www.GOP.com/Newt/
We would not have won the majority in Congress in 1994 without the support of the Republican National Committee, which provided the resources and know-how that enabled our candidates to unseat vulnerable Democrat incumbents.
Once again, our candidates are depending on the RNC to provide the field staff, absentee ballot mailings and get-out-the-vote phone calls they need to win. Republican candidates from every region of our country need this support to continue fighting for the values we share -- we can't fail them now. Show your support for these vital efforts today by making a special Campaign 2006 contribution at GOP.com/Newt.
Thank you for your continued commitment to our movement. With your support we will stun the political pundits and show once again that the real power in America comes from the people, not from Washington.
Sincerely,Newt Gingrich
P.S. There is a very real chance that San Francisco liberal Nancy Pelosi could pound the Speaker's gavel next January -- the same Nancy Pelosi who said "I don't really consider ourselves to be at war." Take a stand for the principles we hold dear by supporting the Republican Party in this fight with your contribution of $250, $100, $50, or even $25. Thank you.
The GOP is pulling out all the star power to raise money and advance the cause. It's crossing ideological party lines too, from the moderate Giuliani to the conservative Gingrich. Both by the way are prospective candidates for the Presidential race in 2008.

SPEAKING OF 2008

The very first candidate to announce an exploratory committee for the 2008 race is Congressman Duncan Hunter, Republican from the 52nd District in California. Who is Duncan Hunter? Well, in 1973 we all were asking Who is Jimmy Carter? He was the peanut farmer who quietly went to Iowa and New Hampshire and for three solid years did retail campaigning. The little known Georgia Democrat went on to win the Democratic nomination in 1976 steamrolling political heavyweights like Hubert Humphrey, Henry Jackson, Jerry Brown and Frank Church. (Humphrey, Jackson and Church were powerful, long standing Senators and Jerry Brown was Governor of California). Carter went on to defeat sitting President Gerald Ford in the 1976 election by a close margin in the Electoral College.
So who is Duncan Hunter? Here's a brief bio:
Congressman Duncan Hunter represents California's 52nd Congressional District consisting of eastern and northern San Diego County. He is a Vietnam veteran, who served in the 173rd Airborne and 75th Army Rangers">75th Army Rangers. In 1973, Hunter attended Western State University Law School in San Diego on the G.I. Bill, while also working at farming and construction. Opening a law office in Barrio Logan San Diego, Hunter assisted many in the Hispanic community free of charge and without government compensation. In 1980, he was asked to run against Congressman Lionel Van Deerlin, an 18-year incumbent, where, in a 2-to-1 Democrat district, Hunter won the Congressional seat.
Hunter's first assignment in Congress was to the House Armed Services Committee, where he continues to serve today as its Chairman. Responsible for a defense budget totaling more than $445 billion, Hunter focuses his national security efforts on providing the President the resources he needs to win the nation's military conflicts, modernization initiatives that quickly move new and effective technologies into the field, making the Department of Defense more efficient by moving resources from redundant and unnecessary bureaucracy to warfighting capabilities, and strongly supporting our nation's military personnel and their families by ensuring that they are well-compensated and well-equipped with safe and effective weapons and equipment. Prior to his current position as Chairman of the full committee, Hunter served as Chairman of the House Military Research & Development Subcommittee from 2001-2002, where he was responsible for overseeing the development and testing of key military systems, weapons programs, and technologies that fulfill military needs. Hunter also served as Chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Procurement from 1995-2000 where he presided over $60 billion for the acquisition of military weapon systems and components.
Having a district located in the California-Mexico border region, Hunter has made border enforcement a major priority. In 1988, Hunter authored legislation making the military the lead agency in illegal drug interdiction and was successful in obtaining military units for building roads and fencing along the U.S. border with Mexico. Over 40 miles of fencing and border infrastructure have been constructed to date. Additionally, Hunter passed legislation in 1995 to authorize an additional 5,000 Border Patrol agents in response to the Clinton Administration's budget which attempted to cut agency resources. Hunter remains committed to sealing the U.S. border to illegal alien and drug trafficking, ensuring that the region remains safe for communities on both sides of the international boundary.
Hunter's other legislative priorities include fulfilling promises to our nation's veterans, providing tax relief to America's working families, and continuing cleanup efforts at the New River and Salton Sea in Imperial County, which he previously represented for 20 years.
Congressman Hunter and his wife, Lynne, live in Alpine, California. They have two sons, Duncan Duane and Sam, and two grandchildren.
Duncan's son Duane was deployed to Iraq in 2003. The GOP congressman has decided to stake out his territory for the Presidential race. The last California Congressman to run for President was Pete McCloskey against Richard Nixon in 1972. The last Congressman elected in real life to the Presidency was James Garfield of Ohio, our 20th President in 1880. In TV land, Texas Congressman Matthew Santos was elected President on the West Wing series.

LONGEVITY IS FOR THE BYRD

Hardly noticed is the fact that Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia is up for reelection again. Leaning on two canes, Sen. Robert C. Byrd hardly looks like a billion-dollar industry - or "Big Daddy," as the 88-year-old Democrat calls himself. No matter: Voters once again are looking beyond Byrd's age to his political guile - and the truckloads of federal dollars he's steered to West Virginia - as they consider whether to give him a record ninth term in the Senate.
"It's not that we deserve more money than other states, but if he wasn't there, we probably wouldn't get as much as we should," said Ally Hagsett, a Marshall University sophomore and Republican. "While he's alive, we'd better get as much as we can."This summer, the longest-serving senator in U.S. history played up that role when he dedicated the Robert C. Byrd Biotechnology Science Center at Marshall.
"I rolled up my sleeves to do the work in Congress, to secure the federal funding," Byrd told the crowd. "Yeah, man, you're looking at Big Daddy!"
Democrats and Republicans alike see the powerful member of the Senate Appropriations Committee as the state's Santa Claus. And they shrug off any suggestion that Byrd's age is a handicap: Byrd's longevity puts him in line to become committee chairman, if Democrats win control of the Senate.
The age issue"It's like he's been in there 100 years, but that's all right by me. He does his job. He's done a lot for the state," said Lou Feazell, a Fayetteville grandmother.
John Raese, the Republican challenging Byrd, recently made an issue of the senator's age. Raese, a 56-year-old Morgantown media owner and heir to an industrial fortune, said he wouldn't hire the senator because of his physical appearance.
In addition to using canes, Byrd's hands tremble - a condition he dismisses as a "cosmetic malady."
"I was alarmed at his physical and mental appearance when I talked to him," Raese told the Charleston Daily Mail. "The business I'm in, I can't have that. Nobody can have that."
In West Virginia, however, Byrd's age puts him in good stead. The state ranks behind only Florida and Pennsylvania with the highest percentage of residents 65 and older.
"He's getting a little old, and I do start to worry about his decision-making," said Susan Michener, 43, of Shepherdstown, who supports Byrd but otherwise votes Republican. "But my dad's in his 80s and he's sharper than I am."
Opposition effortsThe National Republican Senatorial Committee tapped Raese to run after other top state Republicans, including Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, declined to do so. Raese has spent more than $2.2 million on the race.
The Republican, who in the 1980s made failed bids for Senate and governor, has tried several tacks against Byrd, including making an issue of his age. Raese also has criticized Byrd's opposition to the war in Iraq, his votes on taxes and his pork-barrel politicking. His campaign maintains Byrd is vulnerable.
"Senator Byrd understands that he's facing a formidable opponent, and we see that by how actively he has been campaigning," said Gary Abernathy, a Raese campaign consultant.
But Robert Rupp, a political science professor at West Virginia Wesleyan College, said Raese largely has served to solidify Byrd's base.
"Byrd's proved that he can be a campaigner," Rupp said. "He made himself visible when his opponents probably hoped he could not run an effective race."
Campaign tacticsThe race took a nasty turn in September, when Byrd suggested in an interview that Raese's late father would have supported him over his son. Raese replied with an ad that featured Byrd's use of a racial epithet on a 2001 television news show.
The ad helped revive memories of Byrd's 1940s membership in the Ku Klux Klan, and similar episodes that have marred Byrd's political career. Byrd opposed integrating the military, and filibustered the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
Byrd has repeatedly apologized for his prior acts of racial intolerance. In memoirs published last year, he called his time in the Klan "an extraordinarily foolish mistake." Supporters say they believe him.
"I think his views on race have changed over time," said James Butcher, a Fairmont State University staffer.
Byrd has served for 48 years, first being elected in 1958. He is going for his 9th term in the U.S. Senate. Byrd is a youngster in comparison to the late Strom Thurmond who served until his death at the age of 100. If Byrd is elected and finishes his 9th term, he will be 94 years of age when the seat is up again in 2012.

MEDIA MATTERS

Sue Henry hosted Christine Katsock, candidate for State Representative in the 121rst District on the Republican ticket and Robert MacNamera, Democratic candidate for State Senator in the 20th District. Henry hosted them on WILK Radio. Meantime, a fired up Robert Casey, Junior appeared on the WILK Morning News program with Nancy Kman and Kevin Lynn. A busy day at the WILK Talk Studios Monday.
Congressman Kanjorski's TV ads started this week. In the meantime, many local candidates are utilizing the popularity of cable TV to get their message out.