I got the opportunity today to speak with a young veteran from the 10th Congressional District, Chris Finan, a former Air Force Captain. We talked about a wide variety of topics, but I wanted to ask him specifically about the race in the 10th district. Here's what he had to say:

I see the point here, but how else to cut back earmarks?

Of the strategies that Chris Hackett might employ to fight “earmarks” that escalate federal spending, unilateral disarmament is the worst option for the region. His vow to not accept any earmarks would have a substantial, severe negative impact on Northeast Pennsylvania.

Earmarks have become the device of choice for members of Congress who want to fund projects in their districts and states. Some of the projects warrant federal involvement; some don’t. The problem is that the system allows for the spending without priorities or comparisons of the relative merits of projects that receive the money.  read more »

As usual, Gort has the scoop:

The Chris Hackett camp sent out a release today pointing out that he is having a big-dollar fundraising breakfast hosted by a Washington, DC lobbying firm whose major clients include the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, which has fought for placing tolls on Interstate I-80. The implication is that Carney is for tolling I-80 even though he is on the record as being opposed to it.
.  read more »

The Supreme Court yesterday ruled in FEC v. Davis that “millionaire’s amendment” of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law was unconstitutional saying it violated free-speech protections.

The Millionaires’ Amendment is a provision of the McCain–Feingold Act that is designed to level the playing field when someone is able to spend large amounts of their own money in a federal election. If someone drops $350,000 of spare change into their own house campaign the contribution limits are tripled for the opponent and the national and state party’s may make unlimited coordinated expenditures on behalf of the candidate.

Why doesn’t this sort of pettiness between these two surprise me?

Luzerne County businessman Chris Hackett may be poised to challenge incumbent Rep. Chris Carney, D-Dimock Township, after apparently capturing the GOP nomination in the 10th Congressional District on Tuesday.

His opponent was far from conceding defeat, however.

As of 12:30, Mr. Hackett was leading opponent Dan Meuser by 2,339 votes, according to an unofficial tally by The Times-Tribune. According to unofficial primary election returns, Mr. Hackett polled 31,046 to Mr. Meuser’s 28,707 votes.  read more »

Alternate headline: Two rich white dudes fight to be Republican nominee.

Republican 10th Congressional candidates Chris Hackett and Dan Meuser have spent more than $1.1 million on local television advertisements since January, paid for largely with their own money.

Between April 1 and this Tuesday, nearly 10 hours — 1,166 30-second spots — of advertisements about the 10th District race will run on Wilkes-Barre/Scranton television stations, according to reports from WBRE-TV, WNEP-TV, WYOU-TV and WOLF-TV.  read more »

So this benefits Chris Carney beginning April 23rd, right?

The Millionaires’ Amendment is a provision of the McCain–Feingold Act that is designed to level the playing field if someone is able to spend large amounts of their own money in a federal election. If someone drops $350,000 of spare change into their own house campaign the contribution limits are tripled for the opponent and the national and state party’s may make unlimited coordinated expenditures on behalf of the candidate. This won’t affect the Republican primary but may impact the General Election.  read more »

Rep. Jason Altmire, D-Pa., said that the moderate vote-ratings scores for him and other freshmen prove that “we could, for the first time, field candidates who could be competitive in these [Republican] districts. These results show where I want to be: working the middle with both sides.” By contrast, Altmire said, he defeated his predecessor, GOP Rep. Melissa Hart, in his suburban Pittsburgh district because “she had moved too far from the center; once her constituents found that out, they kicked her out.” Hart is seeking to regain the seat this year.  read more »