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LEFTOVERS: Vets in the 10th, JoePa in the 11th, Tea Party (again) on the 7th

It was a day for veterans to speak out in the 10th Congressional District Tuesday.

First, incumbent Democrat Chris Carney rolled out his military-guy-supporters to speak out against Republican opponent Tom Marino. You might remember that Carney was peeved that Marino attacked him for not signing on to an anti-abortion bill while he was tending to his cancer-stricken wife, and then twisting the knife while Carney was on active duty and couldn’t respond. So Carney, a Navy reservist, trotted out some of his fellow men in uniform to make the case that Marino’s attack “questions military directives” and “disparages veterans.”

“If this week has taught us nothing else, it is that Mr. Marino is a politician willing to disrespect the sacrifice our troops make everyday in an effort to win a news cycle,” former Army Sgt. Matt Kramer said in a campaign statement, one of several vets the Carney folks quoted. “As a veteran of combat in two overseas operations, I find it disgusting that Congressman Carney’s service to his country would be used as a political issue, and that Mr. Marino would do so in a way that so-obviously conveyed not only his lack of respect for Reservists and others who serve our country admirably, but demonstrated a true lack of knowledge of the Uniformed Code of Military Conduct.”

Marino essentially responded to all this by saying “hey, military guys like me, too.” His campaign, naturally, rolled out its own set of veteran supporters, who set Carney was politicizing his service.

“As a retired general I am disappointed that Chris Carney is playing politics with his military service,” Army Major General Dan O’Neill said. “As a citizen I am disappointed that Chris Carney says one thing in the district and does another when he gets to Washington D.C. Chris Carney should campaign on the issues and stop playing politics by making false accusations against Tom Marino.”

Anyone still remember how this started?

Elsewhere in northeast Pennsylvania, we saw the always-enjoyable intersection of sports and politics. It started when Congressman Glenn Thompson (R-5) circulated a letter among his Pennsylvania colleagues asking President Obama to give Penn State football coach Joe Paterno the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Of the 19 members of the state’s delegation, 17 signed it. Only Congressmen Chaka Fattah (D-2) and Paul Kanjorski (D-11) didn’t.

Naturally, this rubbed Kanjorski’s opponent the wrong way. So Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta’s campaign called “off-sides” on Kanjorski. Clearly the third contest between these two is only getting more bitter.

“Joe Paterno is a living legend in Pennsylvania,” Barletta campaign spokesman Shawn Kelly said. “His list of accomplishments and achievements—both on and off the field—is pages long. Paterno is more than a football coach. He is a very gracious and generous man, supporting many worthwhile university and community projects. It’s extremely hard to comprehend why Kanjorski did not sign this nomination letter for JoePa. Even the most die-hard fans of other teams recognize Joe Paterno’s place in the history of college sports. By failing to sign this letter, Kanjorski shows once again how out of touch he is.”

Kanjorski’s countered that Congress should be focusing on jobs, and not “politicizing football.”

“Joe Paterno is a hero of Pennsylvania,” Kanjorski said in a statement. “His dedicated work and leadership both on and off the football field is of great service to both Penn State and the Commonwealth. In addition to his many feats on the field, he has encouraged one of the highest graduation rates among college football players showing his dedication to both academics and football. He also creates an atmosphere that fosters emerging talent, as can be seen with Matt McGloin, a West Scranton graduate and former walk-on, who may become the team’s starting quarterback. Joe Paterno has fostered great pride in Penn State from all Pennsylvanians. At this time, Congress should focus its efforts on creating jobs in our communities and reviving the economy, rather than politicizing football. This is where my focus has been and where it will continue to be.”

And finally, we’re still hearing from Tea Party folks peeved about how things are going in the 7th Congressional District. Last week they asked independent Jim Schneller to get out of the race since he’s emerged as Democrat Bryan Lentz’s spoiler candidate. This week they’re peeved at Lentz for continually referring to Schneller as the “Tea Party candidate.” Schneller has alternately described himself as a Tea Party candidate or not a Tea Party candidate, depending on the day he’s asked.

Regardless, he’s running on the American Congress Party ticket, and the local Tea Party group in Philly has endorsed Republican Pat Meehan. That group, the Independence Hall Tea Party, told Lentz Tuesday to stop referring to Schneller as one of their own.

“The Lentz campaign is using Schneller as a pawn to divide the Tea Party vote,” the Tea Party PAC’s president Don Adams said in a statement. “Mr. Lentz and his campaign staff have deliberately attempted to manipulate the Tea Party vote by repeatedly referring to Schneller as the Tea Party candidate—knowing full well that Schneller labels himself as a candidate of the American Congress Party. … Someone should send a memo to Bryan Lentz: ‘The Tea Party movement will not back a spoiler named Schneller. We have endorsed Pat Meehan, and, on November 2, we will fire Nancy Pelosi.’”

August 10, 2010 at 11:55 pm

--Dan Hirschhorn

Tags: Bryan Lentz, Chris Carney, Jim Schneller, Lou Barletta, PA-10, PA-11, PA-7, Pat Meehan, Paul Kanjorski, Tom Marino

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