Obama's Effect on GOP Candidates

The following paragraphs discuss races involving John McCain, Melissa Hart, Tom Manion, Toni Gilhooley . . . and Marina Kats.

I'll have a new column up on Tuesday evening (and it will function as the Wed. a.m. column). In the meantime, I have two column on other blogs that may be of interest). The first one is at: http://camp2008victorya.blogspot.com. It deals with "Seven Reasons Obama Will Lose "(nationally). Of course, it's critical for Pennsylvania congressional candidates that John McCain win this state -- and hopefully, win it big. To a large extent, "as McCain goes, so go the congressional challengers."

Another column discusses my political relationships -- over the past three months -- with Hillary Clinton Supporters who will -- or, in some cases -- may support John McCain. In several congressional races -- including Hart-Altmire, Manion-Murphy, and Gilhooley-Holden -- the Democrat basically stabbed Mrs. Clinton in the back. The Republican candidates need to exploit that face -- and even make it part of their advertising campaign. No Democrat in Pennsylvania or elsewhere can support Barack H. Obama without carrying some of the baggage he brings.

Also, I hope Marina Kats keeping asking her opponent, Schwartz, if she supports Obama, including his contempt for Pennsylvanians outside urban areas.

GA's Deborah Honeycutt: Fundraiser Supreme

Dr. Deborah Honeycutt, candidate for Congress in GA's 13th district, teaching kids about health.

Republican challengers like Melissa Hart, Toni Gilhooley, Tom Manion, Marina Kats, Dana Walsh, Steve Sauerberg, and others know that beating an incumbent Democrat is like drilling through a granite mountain. Dr. Deborah Honeycutt, a congressional candidate in GA's 13th district, apparently has a very big drill.

I posted the material below on Sunday, when most people are not in a blog-reading state of mind. I'll leave it up today and add more material late Monday. If any candidtes wish to speak directly to Dr. Deborah Honeycutt, her phone number at the GA campaign office is: 770-714-4781. Her campaign manager, Michael M. Murphy, ihas teh following email address: mmm@honeycuttforcongress.com.

As you'll read below, Dr. Deborah Honeycutt from suburban Atlanta is a formidable Republican candidate for Congress. If you scroll down see material about her opponent -- David Scott -- you will find that one independent (but left-leaning) group has named him one of the most corrupt members of Congress. Deborah is a tremendous fund-raiser, and all candidates, especially challengers -- can learn from the ways she raises money.

Unfortunately, corruption is common among Democratic members of Congress, especially the Black Caucus, but that doesn't make the crooks easy to beat. If anyone can dislodge Scott (before he's lead off in leg irons), it's Deborah Honeycutt, one of the most remarkable women in the U.S. Keep reading to see how she's going about accomplishing her Herculean task.

And here you probably thought the most corrupt members of the House were either Howard Jefferson (with $90,000 of bribe money in his freezer, or Jack Murtha, who has used your tax dollars to enrich his major campaign contributors. But if you scroll down to the italicized section, you'll find the all-time champion of official corruption, GA Democratic Cong. David Scott, who is opposed by Deborah Honeycutt.

This column and those to follow should have great appeal to Republican congressional candidates (in PA and elsewhere) and their supporters around the nation. It focuses on a particular candidate, Deborah Honeycutt, M.D., who is doing everything right, particularly in fundraising. The following columns will describe how she might do the impossible: defeat an entrenched (and corrupt) Black incumbent congressman in a district that's almost 50% Black and Hispanic. I'll post the column Sunday afternoon (about 2:30 p.m. ET) and added to over the next two days. Please visit -- and tell candidates and their supporters across America that it exists. Thanks.

Dr. Deborah Travis ("DAnn") Honeycutt, GOP candidate for Congress in GA's 13th district, caring for a patient. A challenger facing a strong incumbent (David Scott), Dr. Honeycutt is a model for Republican challengers around the country -- particularly in her tremendous performance in fundraising. It's not even July yet, and Honeycutt apparently has raised well in excess of $2 million -- more than twice as much as her opponent. How did she do it? Read below.

Almost every Republican congressional candidate running against a powerful Democrat incumbent has trouble raising enough money to get his or her message across. Dr. Deborah Honeycutt has no such problem. In 2008, she may generate more contributions than any other GOP candidate for the House. How has she done this?

Do I agree with Dr. Honeycutt, a staunch social conservative, on every issue? Nope -- but then again I don't agree with my wife (a supporter of Sen. Clinton) on everything. But Deborah Honeycutt has a clear outstanding of what's currently wrong with our country -- and how to fix those problems. This graduate of Illinois University Medical School is a thoroughly impressive woman.

In 2006, when she ran against David Scott, a totally self-serving man who votes to raise taxes but often "forgets" to pay his own, Honeycutt amazed the world by raising more than $1.3 million. This year she could conceivably raise more than $4 million.

She lost the 2006 race to Scott (a man who doesn't even live in his district!). According to Michael Barone in The Almanac of American Politics, the main reason for Honeycutt's loss was "lack of name recognition." The hard fact is that if people don't know who you are they're not likely to vote for you. This year, however, name recognition is not going to be a problem for Dr. Deb.

If you go to Open Secrets.org, you'll find fundraising information through March 31. You'll note that Scott has raised a little over $500,000 -- 80% of it from PACs. You'll also note that Honeycutt had raised nearly $1.7 million -- NONE OF IT FROM PACS. If she win the election, she would be the least PAC-tarnished candidate to serve in the last 100 years. (No, not all PACs are corrupt, but most of them are.)

Trust me, if the Political Action Committees were making contributions for "good government," the ethically-challenged and robotically Democratic Scott would have received nothing.

(To examine the fund-raising by Honeycutt and Scott please use the following link: http://opensecrets.org/races/summary.php?cycle=2008&id=GA13 )

Aside from the huge amounts of money Honeycutt has received, you'll find similar situations in relation to PACs with Pennsylvania congressional Republicans -- Melissa Hart, Toni Gilhooley, Tom Manion, Marina Kats, Bill Russell, Craig Williams, and Lou Barletta. The PACs now that these people are superior candidates, but hey, the PAC-men will say, "Business is business." The PACs are buying access (a votes), not character and judgment.

Most incumbents -- take a look at Hart's opponent, Jason Altmire, or Gilhooley's opponent, Tim Holden -- get the vast majority of their money from PACs, (Often, they also get a good chunk oftheir donations from individuals associated with companies linked to the PACs -- as happens with Murtha and Altmire in their vast donations from University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.)

But how does Honeycutt raise huge sums of money? She gets it from individuals who believe in her and the causes she represents. Refreshing, huh?

Honeycutt has raised most of her money through mailings to "values voters" -- social conservatives, the kind of people who strongly supported Mike Huckabee. There are roughly 15 million such voters in the country, and Honeycutt is using her own mailing list and the lists of third-party fundraisers. It's obviously working very well. She's appealing to people who have an inclination to donate and a history of doing so. (That's the same reason I receive a lot of mail requests for money from John McCain and [many] others.)

A lot of Republican challengers have a terrible time raising money. One reason is that they're asking the wrong people. For challengers, the "wrong people" include the vast majority of PACs. The "wrong people" also include individuals, including Republicans, who need political favors from incumbent Democrats.

Is there a flip side to Honeycutt's focus on mailings to values voters? Yes, because to raise big money requires the expenditure of significant sums. Third-parties who have "golden" mailing lists don't provide their services for nothing.

You'll see on OpenSecrets.org that Honeycutt had expenditures by April of $1.5 million. I dearly hope a good part of that spending went for ad buys (TV and radio), as well as billboards. (Her opponent, Scott, owns an ad company and is famous for billboard ads; I'll explain later today how Honeycutt can use billboards AGAINST the "billboard-man.") The Scott-Honeycutt material on OpenSecrets is very worth examining.

Luckily for Honeycutt (although not for the country), Scott has heeded Nancy Pelosi's admonition to vote against all forms of domestic oil production. My suggestion to Deborah is that she might use that fact on her own billboards on the highways in suburban Atlanta. In short, she has Scott dead-to-rights on high gasoline prices, which will be the biggest issue in this year's campaigns.

To my candidate friends in PA, as well as those in Illinois, California, and elsewhere, Honeycutt is woth not just knowing about, but also studying. She is very, very good at what she does. And as you'll read later, she is good at many things other than just raising tons of cash.

P.S. What's the downside to using third-parties to raise funds from groups. If you don't have a strong link to the groups -- as Honeycutt does with evangelicals, the "values voters" -- you probably won't generate a lot of cash. Also, you may have spend one dollar for every two you raise. However, in my modest town of Ambridge, PA, if you give somebody a five-dollar bill and he hands you back a ten-spot, we call that a great deal.

Honeycutt's Opponent Rep. David Scott: Scum-of-the-Earth

Those of you who've read the above about Dr. Honeycutt may be wondering, "Gee, Steve, don't you have anything to say about her opponent, David Scott, the 13th district Congressman from Georgia, who actually lives in Washington, DC?" No, I have nothing nice to say about Scott, who is a step or two below being the scum of the earth. He's a persistent tax-evader and a violator of House rules on campaign finance. Below is the report of the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics and Washington, which lists Scott as one of the 22 most members of Congress.

Rep. David Scott (D-GA) is a third-term congressman, representing Georgia’s 13th district. Rep. Scott’s ethics issues stem from allegations of tax evasion and misuse of official resources for political campaign activity.

Tax Evasion

In 2003, Rep. Scott and his wife, Ms. Alfredia Scott, began missing federal income tax payments that now total nearly $154,000 and have failed to pay $23,200 in taxes on their Georgia home. In addition, their company Dayn-Mark Advertising, failed to pay over $4,600 in local and state taxes since 1998. At the same time the Scotts were failing to pay their taxes, they increased their stock holdings from $5,000 to about $67,000 and bought a $702,000 rowhouse in Washington D.C. More than 40 tax liens have been placed against Rep. Scott’s home and business.

Personal, Business and Campaign Finances

Since Rep. Scott’s first congressional bid in 2002, Rep. Scott’s wife, two daughters, his son-in-law and employees of Dayn-Mark have received disbursements from his campaign committee. From 2002 through the July 2007 FEC reporting period, Rep. Scott’s campaign committee paid a total of $124,795.98 to his wife, two daughters and son-in-law, and $491,382.00 to Dayn-Mark Advertising and its employees. Rep. Scott has reimbursed himself $98,952.75 for travel, billboards, and fund-raising expenses. In total, since 2002, Rep. Scott’s committee has disbursed $715,330.17 to his family, business, and himself. The payments to his family and company became larger and more frequent in 2003, around the same time Rep. Scott was falling behind on his taxes.

Rep. Scott, by failing to pay taxes on his home and business and by failing to pay property taxes on his Georgia home may have violated federal and state tax laws.

Misuse of official resources

In July 2007, The Politico reported that a staff member alleged Rep. Scott has misused his federally funded congressional staff and resources to run his political campaigns. The staffer, Robert Merrill, alleged that Rep. Scott had designated certain congressional employees to do only campaign work, that congressional employees often did campaign work on taxpayer time and used government office equipment, that on taxpayer time congressional employees engaged in political work from Rep. Scott’s advertising firm, and that these employees’ absences compromised the productivity of the congressional office.

By using congressional staff to engage in campaign activity on official time and with the use of official resources, Rep. Scott may have violated the prohibition on soliciting political contributions from employees, the prohibition on using appropriated funds for campaign activity, House ethics rules and the regulations of the Committee on House Administration.

Murtha: Set to Retire -- Finally?

Melissa Hart (R) - Jason Altmire (D); Lou Barletta (R) -Paul Kanjorski (D); Tom Manion (R) - Patrick Murphy (D); Toni Gilhooley (R) - Tim Holden (D); William Russell (R) - John Murtha (D). Craig Williams (R) - Joe Sestak (D). Marina Kats (R) - Allyson Schwartz (D).

These are the hottest congressional races in Pennsylvania this year. It doesn't look currently like the GOP will win all of them -- but, surprisingly, it could very well win most of them.

Here's a short piece I wrote today to Katie Hastings O'Malley, a writer for Human Events and other publications:

Hi Katie: I hope you'll write something on our Pennsylvania races, In my own district (4th), Melissa Hart is trying to regain her seat against Jason Altmire, a self-described "conservative" of whom Bob Novak said, "There's nothing conservative about him." Melissa is a slight favorite. She's a wonderful human being -- and Altmire is nothing more than a snake.

Toni Gilhooley (17th) , one of the female pioneers in the PA State Police, is running against Tim Holden, a Superdelegate who announced he was voting "moot" in the Obama-Hillary race. If Toni can raise the money to get her message across, she has a chance for victory.

Tom Manion, a 30-year-Marine who lost a son in Iraq, is running against Nancy Pelosi's political boytoy, Patrick Murphy. Murphy's district voted two-to-one for Hillary, so of course he came out early for Obama. This race is highly competitive, although extreme leftists are pouring in money for Murphy. If McCain does very well in Bucks County, he could help carry Manion into office.

Lou Barletta (of anti-illegals fame) is running very well against Paul Kanjorski, who vies for the coverted title of most Corrupt Member of Congress.

Bill Russell, who served as an Army Lt. Col. in Iraq, is running against John Murtha. There are widespread rumors (which I believe) that this is Murtha's last go-round -- too much alcohol, too much rich food, too much betrayal of his fellow Marines. I've contributed to Bill's campaign and support him strongly, but I've sadly concluded that this race is not winnable. At the same time I acknowledge some strange things (and some good things) happen in politics, and I hope that's the case here. Murtha is a disgusting excuse for a human being -- corrupt and absolutely self-serving.

Murtha does not look well. Beyond that, his notorious big mouth has remained shut, a sure sign that he's not in good health. The probability is that this will be his last go-round. He has raised a huge amount of cash from his favorite special-interests, and he should be able to buy his way to one more victory.

If I had to hazard a guess, I believe the next congresswoman from the 12th district will be Diana Lynn Irey. But that would be in 2010.

Marina Kats, a Russian emigre and entrepreneur-lawyer is running against the truly wretched Allyson Schwartz. As a human being, Marina is one of the best candidates in PA ever to stand for federal office. However, her campaign has gotten off to a slow start, and that's not exactly the way to beat Allyson Schwartz, who raises gazillions of dollars. If the election were based on the qualities of the individuals running, Marina would win in a walk.

I dearly hope her campaign catches fire. Montgomery County and Northeast Philly would be lucky to have a patriot like her in office, rather than someone (Schwartz) who panders relentlessly to the worst elements in our society.

Craig Williams versus Joe Sestak. I don't have a good handle on this race. Sestak is a purely programmatic liberal, and he dearly deserves to lose, but he's ahead now and may remain so. (I'll write more about this contest in coming weeks.

Are we having fun yet?

One of the fascinating developments in PA politics (and nationally) is the semi-frantic effort to get angry Hillary Supporters (MAHHS -- Mad as hell Hillary Supporters) -- on board with GOP candidates, including of course John McCain. As I suggested earlier, when such Hillary Supporters find out the roles of people like Murphy, Altmire, and Holden in torpedoing Mrs. Clinton's campaign, they will be less likely to vote for said Democrats.

Yes, there are a lot of stories here in the Keystone State . . .


On my Hillary Supporters for McCain site, I wrote (Thurs.-Friiday column) about the many strengths of Hillary Clinton -- and contrasted them with the many weaknesses of Barack Obama. The battle for the Hillary Supporters is the highest stake game in contemporary politics.

Cynical Superdelegates & Hillary's Loss

Note to all visitors (Democrats, Republicans, and Independents): Please go now to the above web site -- http://clintons4mccain.com -- and join as a member. The group's goal? "We will vote for Sen. John McCain not out of anger, not out of spite, but because he is an honorable American who may not speak the most eloquent words, or give the greatest speeches, but when he does speak we can believe him. "

To All Candidates and Their Supporters: On my Hillary Supporters for McCain site (http://hillarysuportersformccain.blogspot.com), I repost Jean Avery's (http://moms4mccain.blogspot.com) interview with Randa from Florida, a lifelong Democrat who supported Hillary Clinton and now strongly backs John McCain. Please read Randa's comments, because they illustrate thoughts and feelings that are widespread among Democrats, especially women. You may be surprised to find out that you have a lot more in common with Democrat Randa, a mother of five, than you do many people on the Republican side. It's a must-read interview.

Oops, as one of the administrators at Clintons for McCain pointed out in a "comment," they don't accept contributions (which I discovered personally). I wish they eventually will accept contributions and play a major role -- perhaps as an independent 527 group -- in the coming election. I strongly recommend that everyone who feel sympathetic to the group (Hillary Supporters now backing McCain) would join and support the members.


[Note: I'll add later today to this column, reposted from http://camp2008victorya.blogspot.com/, my national blog. On my http://hillarysupportersformccain.blogspot.com/ I have a separate column.]

I'm hoping many members of Clintons for McCain will support Pennsylvania candidates that include: Melissa Hart (4th district), Toni Gilhooley (17th district), Marina Kats (13th district), and Tom Manion (8th district). These individual's opponents all played significant roles in the shafting of Hillary Clinton, who won the Pennsylvania Primary by a huge majority.

Take as an example Manion's opponent Patrick Murphy, a first-term Democrat and a Superdelegate. Last August (!), Murply became one of the first Superdelegages to endorse Barack Obama. He has remained a staunch Obama backer and did everything in his power to ensure that the Illinois Senator won the nomination.

How effectively did Murphy reflect "the will of the voters?" He certainly didn't mirror the popular sentiment in PA, which Hillary won by 9.2%. But what about his own district, the 8th, centered in Southeastern PA" Bucks County? In the Primary, Mrs. Clinton won the vote by 70,253 to 41,791.

That decisive victory apparently impressed Murphy not-at-all. In essence, his motto was "The public be damned."

What about Melissa Hart's opponent, Democratic Superdelegate Jason Altmire? Again, Hillary carried his 4th district by historic majorities. She won my own county (Beaver) by 28,205 to 12,184. She won neighboring Lawrence by 12,581 to 3,349.

Gee, Altmire must have come out enthusiastically for Hillary, right? Surely you jest. On June 5, with Hillarey ready to concede, he told the RepublicanHerald.com that he remained "undeclared" but that he "supported Obama." Say what???

Rep. Tim Holden in Toni Gilhooley's district has earned a place in weasel-doom. Hillary carried his district (Harrisburg and surrounding counties) by a significant margin, but Holden never endorsed her. He also never endorsed Obama.

He now insists that the question of his vote is "moot." He may be the first elected official in history to vote "moot."Supporters of Hillary Clinton (or of anyone) can interpret for themselves what's going on here.

I'm supporting Melissa Hart, Toni Gilhooley, Marina Kats, and Tom Manion because they're superior candidates and superior -- as human beings -- to their Democrat opponents. I hope the people at Clintons for McCain will do the same.

There's a great deal more going wrong in the Democratic Party than merely the cynicism of people like Barack Obama, Howard Dean, Bob Casey, John Kerry, and Nancy Pelosi. The shafting of Sen. Clinton is reflective of a political party that's rotten to the core.

Huckabee Backers: Support Hart, Gilhooley

I sent the following to Larry Perrault. He's an important political thinker/activist/blogger/social conservative in Houston, Texas. He was a significant and effective supporter of Gov. Mike Huckabee and now endorses John McCain. I'm trying to get him and other Huckabee advocates interested/involved in some of our fascinating races in Pennsylvania (McCain, Melissa Hart, Toni Gilhooley, Marina Kats, Mike Livingston, and others).

Larry, Kathy Morrison is absolutely one of the best people going with Internet politics -- an extremely helpful woman that I'm trying to put in touch with several of my "adopted" congressional candidates. People like Kathy and Sharon Caliendo do not recommend spending a gazillion dollars on TV. Instead, they advocate some low-cost ways of "building the circles" -- making small circles of support into large ones that start "smelling like victory."

Two of the candidates I'm backing (Hart and Gilhooley) are running against incumbent Democrats who masquerade at "moderate-conservative" Democrats. Thus, my candidates need to do the difficult task of "re-branding" their opponents as backers of people like Obama, Pelosi, and Murtha (which in fact they are).

The only things that truly work well in politics are simple things, and "outing" liberals who swear they're conservatives is not a simple task.

Remember (actually, nobody's old enough to) when Harry Truman ran against "the do-nothing Congress." Well, he didn't run for or against very much else, but as Gov. Dewey found in 1948, the "do nothing Congress" was a powerful image/slogan.

I'm delighted that Melissa Hart is running "against" Obama (and her opponent's flirtation with the Illinois Senator) and Nancy Pelosi, whom Jason Altmire backed for Speaker of the House.

Coincidentally (or not), Toni Gilhooley's opponent, Tim Holden, also voted for Ms. Pelosi, from San Francisco (a town that Pennsylvanians place somewhere between Sodom and Gomorrah). Altmire has not been able to make up his mind between Obama and Clinton.

If I were Toni, I would be telling everybody in Harrisburg and parts east that Tim Holden can't make up his mind between Obama and Clinton, both of whom are "totally unacceptable to the people of central Pennsylvania."

Both Altmire and Holden apparently have relatively high "favorables," but that will change if Melissa and Toni can portray them for what their votes truly indicate they are: Nancy Pelosi's "groupies.' Melissa and Toni need to keep the Democrats constantly on the defensive by blasting them for "the company that they keep."

Obama criticized Pennsylvanians for clinging to Christianity, guns, racism, and xenophobia. Does Congressman Altmire agree or disagree? I hope she asks him that face-to-face. I expect Mrs. Gilhooley will do the same with Holden.

John McCain should win Melissa's district by something in the range of 56-57% to 44% to 43%. (Bush won the district by 54-45). Thus, McCain will be an extremely important "shadow figure" in Melissa's campaign.

In 2006, the DNC, Altmire, and 527s tried to tar Melissa by linking her to Bush and Santorum, and they had some success. I assure you Altmire and friends are NOT going to associate her with McCain. I'm currently going around talking about the "McCain-Hart ticket.."

The old saying was, "As Maine goes, so goes the nation." I believe that as McCain goes in western Pennsylvania (and he should go very well), so goes the marvellous Ms. Hart.

John McCain should win Toni Gilhooley's district by perhaps 59% to 60% against 41% or 40%. Bush won in 2004 by 58% to 42% There are early signs that Obama could lay a huge egg in Pennsylvania.

Again, as John McCain goes, so goes Toni Gilhooley. The key is to get across to voters that a vote for Tim Holden is a vote for Barack Obama (the probable nominee). Toni need to drive home the point that it makes no sense to vote John McCain and then to vote for Tim Holden.

Larry (Perrault), you are one of the more articulate pro-life spokesmen in the country. Melissa Hart and Toni Gilhooley are staunchly pro-life and have the moral fortitude to advance that cause in DC.

Altmire claims to be pro-life, but he voted for federal financing of embryonic stem cell research. Holden also claims to be pro-life but he is supporting a Democrat leadership that's relentlessly "pro-death" -- and that won't even allow a vote on any proposal that might in any way advance the cause of life. Altmire and Holden can't continue to have it both ways.

Larry, I hope you and all other Huckabee backers will consider "adopting" these superb candidates. They need support, financial and otherwise, and the key to their gaining such support is that they eminently deserve it. God bless.

Winners: Melissa Hart, Marina Kats

Marina Kats, an attorney, is the Republican candidate for Congress in the 13th District. You can support her by going to her preliminary web site at: http://www.katsforcongress.com/default.aspx. When you get there, put in your e-mail address and click on "Submit."

In its long history, Pennsylvania has elected only two women to Congress. One of them is Melissa Hart, whom I strongly urge Pennsylvanians -- and others -- to support. She is seeking to regain her congressional seat (in the 4th CD), and you can find out more about her at: http://peoplewithhart.com/.

Marina Kats is running against Rep. Allyson Schwartz, the second Pennsylvania woman elected to Congress. Schwartz is a left-wing Democrat who reflects everything that's bad about the House of Represenatives.

Thus, the third woman elected to Congress from Pennsylvania just might be . . . Marina Kats. She has a long road ahead of her, but don't be surprised if she's smiling broadly on Election Eve.

There are some very exciting races going on this year in the Keystone State.