The LuLac Edition #1831, November 10th, 2011

CLARIFICATION ON REDISTRICTING STORY

In your blog today under the section for redistricting, you stated that "the first day to circulated nominating petitions is February 15 and the deadline to file them is March 8." This information is incorrect. I have attached the Election Calendar for 2012 which states that the first day to circulate nominating petitions is January 24 with the deadline to file them being February 14 and I have confirmed these dates with the PA Dept. of State. The Associated Press as well as Roll Call have had the incorrect dates in articles this week. Kyle Donahue, Vinsko for Congress.



The Selling of the President, 1968 book cover.


Joe Paterno in happier media times.


Our 1972 logo.

PATERNO GONE

Boy that was quick. Already on research sites Joe Paterno is being called the Former Head Coach of Penn State. The end came quickly today for Paterno when the Board of Trustees fired him after 46 seasons. Losses, old age, physical injuries did not do him in. Rather it was something out of his control, the heinous actions of a long time partner on the field. This was not only a failure on the part of Paterno but an institutional failure. After Jerry Sandusky was allowed to resign in 1999, he still had a pass to go anywhere on campus. You had to know Paterno was at least aware of that. This will be his legacy now instead of the Penn State program of producing Student Athletes. The once proud Penn State tradition had a bad case of hubris in thinking it could solve its own problems. It has been said that State College was a big town population wise but a small town in terms of interactions with one another. This series of incidents was not handled like a huge billion dollar educational institution but rather like a small town clique that believed it could solve the situation from within. They could not and Paterno paid the price. His contributions to the school should not be dismissed in the wake of this scandal but unfortunately that will happen. Even though quick changes were made, the fall out will continue for at least the next decade. And that’s a shame since the actions of one person who should have been dealt with ten years ago brought down a whole program. Joe Paterno for all of his faults in this situation deserved better. And the kids who were scarred, it goes without saying that they did too. Penn State Proud, thanks to the nefarious Jerry Sanduskey and the small town handling of a big time situation…..not so much these days.

POLITICAL CONSULTANTS

The name of Bob Harper was bandied about in this election cycle. Harper is an advertising guru that came up with those Stefanie Salavantis commercials. As a matter of fact, unlike other consultants, Harper used his vocal talents to record the commercials himself. When Harper lived in the Lac, he voiced spots for Sarno and Son as well as campaigns against and for various County Commissioner candidates. Political consultants are a part of life. Many on the national stage make names for themselves. James Carville and Paul Begala launched their careers on the 1986 election of Robert P. Casey Senior as Governor of Pennsylvania. Known in political circles as “the three time loss from Holy Cross” (having lost races for Governor in ’66, 70 and 78) Casey eked out a win over Bill Scranton Junior by some 70 ,000 votes by running an ad that had Scranton morph back and forth into a hippies. Scranton had said he was not opposed to Transcendental Meditation. Well that didn’t play well in the middle part of the state and the boys went to town.
Political consults get a lump sum but that money is used to buy the advertising. So when you hear an Ed Mitchell, a Jim McNulty or someone else involved is getting a check for 50 grand, that’s not all theirs. As a matter of fact, I got an e mail from Ed Mitchell who had this to say:
One of my biggest frustrations over the years is in getting clarity in reporting on the sometimes large sums of money paid my firm in election campaigns.
I do not make the total amount of the funds disclosed. For example, Jackie Musto Carroll paid me $50,000 in her D.A.'s race. Most of that money did not go into my pockets. It went to TV stations to buy advertising. I netted a small commission on it. Still, most of the time this is reported as if it all is a fee paid totally to me.
I don't know if sending this memo out will make a difference in future reporting, but it's worth a try. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Mitchell is one of the most respected consultants in the country. And as I pointed out on WYLN TV, like a good barber or beautician, there is only so much a consultant can do with a candidate. A consultant can suggest a way to fight or not fight. The final arbiter in any campaign is ultimately the candidate. Notice in the Salanvantis campaign that Bob Harper’s candidate did very little talking, a story, a narrative was developed for her. Musto Carroll responded to the attack ads but there are some who feel it might have been too late. In 1960 Richard Nixon was in effect his own campaign manager. He insisted on visiting all 50 states and ran himself ragged on the campaign trail. In 1968 he had a few handlers, relied on tightly scripted meetings and took daily naps to appear rested and ready. The consultants handled the game plan in ’68. Unlike 1960, he listened and won.
Political consultants rarely get the praise when the candidate wins, they usually get dissed when their person loses. Perhaps the man who beat Nixon in 1960 John Kennedy said it best, Success has many fathers, but failure is an orphan."

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT


HOME RULE COUNCIL

As we mentioned yesterday, look for alliances on the new Home Rule Council to see who will be its first Chairperson. One also has to wonder if Steve Urban Senior who switched last year from being a Republican to a Democrat might switch back in order to bolster a GOP majority on the board. The Urban family have always been unorthodox in their approach to politics in the County, running for multiple offices is a prime example of their innovation. Switching party labels with the new Council might not be such a great departure given the way the current election results shook out.

GOP DISAPPOINTMENT

When I was a guest on Sue Henry’s radio program on Wednesday for our annual post Election Day wrap up, we received a few calls from disappointed people from Wilkes Barre who wanted to see a revolution against the Democratic hierarchy. I can understand their feelings of loss, God knows I supported candidates and worked like a dog for them only to have them come up short. The key thing to remember is that in Wilkes Barre, there hasn’t been a Republican Mayor since before 1975. The democratic power structure in Wilkes Barre has always been in place. If the GOP in the County is serious (and I’m not convinced they are) about rebuilding their party in the city of Wilkes Barre, they will need a ton of money, an incredible field organization and a concerted effort that may take 10 years. But it has to be a commitment. Believe it or not, Luzerne county throughout the 40s and 50s was straight Republican. The Democrats kept on chipping away at them until they gained power in 1967. The Young Republicans sent out a press release crowing about the Salavantis victory and the election of their County Council candidates. Fair enough, they have a right to chest thump all they want. But the last sentence made a reference to 2012, indicating they were going to continue inroads And hard work. I hope they mean slating candidates for local state representative races and not riding the wave of a national party win. Too many times in this county, the GOP took the national success of a Reagan or Bush and legitimately worked hard for that ticket. But unfortunately that hard work did not translate into a revamping of the party on a local level. Us political junkies would like to see nothing more than a competitive GOP in state representative races in 2012.

REDISTRICTING

The uncertainty created by the once-a-decade exercise of redrawing the boundaries of Pennsylvania’s congressional districts is helping shape the races for U.S. Senate and House — or not helping shape them, as the case may be.
Drawing the maps is at an early stage, and there is no shortage of ideas circulating the Capitol over how Republicans who control Harrisburg should redraw the boundaries to give their party’s GOP candidates the best chance to win the most U.S. House seats possible in the 2012 election and beyond.
Senate Republicans intend to take up the matter in earnest in coming days, with the goal of approving a map by the end of this year, said a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, R-Delaware.
At stake are new two-year terms in 18 seats for Pennsylvania in the U.S. House, and Republican efforts to defeat Democratic Sen. Bob Casey’s bid for a second six-year term.
The first day for candidates to circulate nomination petitions is Feb. 15, and the deadline to file them with the state is March 8.
But until a new map is approved by the Legislature, Democrats who want to challenge a Republican U.S. House member may opt to stay on the sidelines. For one thing, they need to find out which district they live in — even though the law doesn’t require a U.S. House member to live in their district. Plus, they’ll want to see how the political party registration of the district breaks down to get a better sense of whether they can actually win, say party officials, analysts and strategists.
The problem for would-be Republican challengers is a bit more complicated. In addition to the fluid congressional boundaries, two-thirds of Pennsylvania’s U.S. House seats are already held by Republicans, thus limiting opportunities to unseat a Democrat.
In Wilkes Barre, Bill Vinsko seems committed to running a race against Lou Barletta for the 11th Congressional District.
Statewide, the proposed new districts for the House and Senate have been released. The separation of Tarah Toohill’s district where West Hazleton goes into Nanticoke’s Gerry Mullery’s district will certainly be challenged. The one thing the map drawers did do right was create a State Senate District for the growing Pocono region. More on this.

GIL HODGES

Gil Hodges has been placed on the ballot to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Let's get the word out and write some letters/petitions to make this happen. It is long overdue. The voting will take place the first week in December. The Golden Era Hall of Fame Committee are the ones who will vote. I have included some stats on Gil. I also have info on the committee if you want to see it.
Spoke to Craig Muder from the Baseball Hall of Fame reg. a letter writing campaign to have Gil Hodges elected. Craig suggested letters be addressed as follows and the Hall of Fame will forward to the voting committee:
Please address letters to the following:
Golden Era Hall of Fame Committee
National Baseball Hall of Fame
25 Main Street
Cooperstown, NY 13326
Doesn't have to be long - just has to be.

MEDIA MATTERS

SUNDAY MAGAZINE

This Week on Sunday Magazine
An encore of Brian Hughes’ interview with Ed Raineri from the Union Township
Board of Supervisors about the Big Benefit Dance Party for Wyoming Valley flood victims coming up Friday, November 18th at 7:30pm at Genetti’s in downtown Wilkes Barre. And Brian speaks with Dr. Wallace Akerly and lung cancer survivors Ken Lourie and John Casterline about Lung Cancer, the deadliest form of cancer. November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month.
Sunday Magazine, Sunday morning at 5:30am on JR 93.7 & BHT, 6am on 97.9X, 6:30am on Magic 93, and 9:30am on WARM 590 AM.

ECTV

ECTV Live hosts Tom Munley and David ;DeCosmo will will welcome guests Kathleen Munley and Jack Carling to the program during the week of November 14an class to discuss underground mine fires in the Anthracite Coal fields. Dr, Munley has written a new book dealing with the West side Carbondale Mine Fire. Mr Carling will discuss the mine fire that forced nearly every every resident from the Columbia County Community of Centralia.
The program can be seen on Comast Ch19 each day at Noon and Midnight.

STORM POLITICS

This week Tiffany Cloud presents -a special episode of Storm Politics on WYLN TV--PTSD and our military. Storm Politics can be seen on WYLN TV 35. Check your TV listings for times.

PCN AND VETS

The Pennsylvania Cable Network (PCN) will pay tribute to those men and women that have bravely served our country with the second installment of the network’s special “Voices of Veterans” series. PCN will premiere new interviews beginning Friday, November 11 at 10:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. The network will then continue the series throughout the weekend with airings on Saturday, November 12 at 3:00 p.m. and Sunday, November 13 at 2:00 p.m.
While the network’s award-winning series, “World War: In Their Own Words” concentrated on the personal wartime experiences of veterans serving during World War II, “Voices of Veterans” expands the oral histories to include those from World War II, Korean and Vietnam wars as well as those who served during the Cold War.
Since 2002, PCN has gathered almost 300 interviews with veterans from all branches of service. For historic preservation and education use, the network has donated a majority of those veteran discussions to the National Veterans’ History Project in Washington, D.C.

1972

Vietnam War – Vietnamization: The United States Army turns over the massive Long Binh military base to South Vietnam.....The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 1,000 (1,003.16) for the first time….Joe Paterno, the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions prepares the team for its upcoming Cotton Bowl appearance at New Year’s……………………in Wilkes Barre, General Frank Townend leads the annual veteran;s day celebrations in the ravaged downtown. The event was somewhat scaled down. Special recognition was given to the National Guard for their help in the ’72 Flood…and 39 years ago the number 1 song in Amerca and LuLac land was Rick Nelson's "Garden Party".