Michael Livingston & John McCain

Michael who?

Michael Livingston is a professor tax law who's running as a Republic for congress in Pennsylvania's 2d district (Philadelphia west of Broad St.) The district is majority Black, and candidates like Michael are often characterized as "sacrificial lambs." However, Michael is campaigning like a lion, and he will do well in the race.

I have asked nearly all Republican congressional candidates in Pennsylvania to do the smart thing -- and the right thing -- which is to endorse completely the campaign of John McCain for President. That's not the conventional wisdom, but it's the intelligent thing to do in a state that McCain can carry. Yes, he will lose some urban areas, but Sen. McCain will carry nearly every non-urban county in the state, including my own Beaver County.

Michael's press release is below. I hope it serves as a model for every Republican congressional candidate in the country. He goes after McCain voters -- and after Hillary Supporters, who are legion in PA. Michael's web site is at: http://livingstonforcongress.com. Please go there and help in any way you can -- and send a copy of his release to your own congressional candidate.

JUNE 4, 2008FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Congressional candidate Michael Livingston today congratulated Barack Obama on his securing of the Democratic presidential nomination, but suggested the nomination created a clear choice between the parties in November.

"As their speeches last night indicated, Barack Obama is a fine orator and an inspiration to millions of Americans, especially in the younger generation,"Livingston explained. "By contrast, John McCain is a doer, who has devoted his life to real, effective reform at times when it was not popular. The choice, in Pennsylvania and elsewhere, could not be clearer.

"In congratulating Obama, Livingston suggested that his campaign, like McCain's,would target Clinton Democrats who may feel disenfranchised as a result of the party's rejection of their candidate. He noted that the district contained a substantial number of such voters, particularly in Cheltenham Township,Roxborough, and the Southwest Philadelphia area.

"Like Obama, Chaka Fattah [current 2d district Congressman] has been an eloquent advocate of social change, but has not always delivered the goods to his constituents. I intent to discuss practical issues like tax and education reform, crime, and improved veterans benefits, and leave the rhetoric to the other side. As any Eagles fan can tell you, people in Philadelphia are less interested in promises than results," he added.

Livingston opposes Fattah in the November election.

Note: This piece was originally posted on McCainNow, the main site on the Web for John McCain comments. I urge you to take a few seconds to join McCainNow. Also, please visit Michael Livingston's web site.

AMERICA'S WORST CONGRESSMAN: CHAKA FATTAH

"Chaka Fattah is to corruption something like Typhoid Mary was to typhoid." (Anonymous)

This will be the subject of Tuesday's column on Chaka Fattah, a Democratic congressman from Philadelphia. He's little more than an errand boy and "wheel-greaser" for super-rich firms and boss-dominated unions. In terms of corruption, he's better than Howard Jefferson -- the congressman with $90,000 in cool cash in his freezer -- but just barely. He may just be the worst congressman in America.

Among Fattah's big contributors this year is the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the teacher's union, which doled out $5,000 to Fattah's waiting hand. Of course, Philadelphia has some of the worst schools this side of Bangladesh. Did the AFT hand him the five grand for keeping his mouth shut? It certainly wasn't for improving the schools, which get worse every term he's in Congress.

Apparently, Fattah is backing for President one Barack Obama, whose slogan is "Change You Can Believe In." With Fattah now completing his seventh undistinguished term in Congress, he stands for "Change That Will Never Happen." A few more terms with Fattah and Philly may no longer even qualify as a city.

On crime, in which Philly is a national "leader," Congressman Fattah is apparently against it. But if so, what was he doing acting as a cheerleader for convicted cop-killer, Mumia Abu-Jamal, the man who murdered Police Officer Daniel Faulkner? The Philly murder rate is on pace to soon surpass that of New York City, which is five times the size of The City of Brotherly Love.

There is a serious candidate running this year against Fattah. His name is Michael (Mike) Livingston, and he's a tax expert and Rutgers University law professor. Since Fattah famously refused to release his income tax returns when he ran his wildly unsuccessful campaign for Mayor of Philly, I am suggesting that he perhaps engage the services of Professor Livingston.

On specifics about highly questionable behavior by Rep. Fattah: When he finds a rule he doesn't like, he violates it. Many of Fattah's ethical lapses trace back to 2006 and 2007 when, after just being elected to Congress, he unexpectedly announced he would run for Mayor of Philadelphia.

Consider the following material from Congresspedia: http://sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Chaka_Fattah


"Fattah opposed Philadelphia's recently implemented limits on campaign contributions during his run for mayor. He, along with [fellow Philadelphia congressman] Brady, contended that they were unfair, for they curb one’s ability to fundraise, but allow individuals to spend unlimited funds on their own campaigns.[7]

"Fattah challenged the law in court, but it was upheld on April 2, 2007. He then appealed the decision to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, asking it to expedite its decision. [8]
Ultimately, the contribution limits were upheld. [10]


On Fattah's refusal to release his income tax returns, Congresspedia says:

"Fattah was widely criticized for refusing to release his income tax returns; a decision he claimed was motivated by the fact that his wife (with whom he filed jointly) was a high-profile local news anchorwoman (Renee Chenault-Fattah) and wished to not release her salary.[9]

Congresspedia continues: "In April 2007, Fattah admitted to using $36,767 from his mayoral exploratory committee to fund his campaign; thus violating Philadelphia campaign finance law. Fattah said he would reimburse the exploratory committee, and eventually the money would go back to the individual donors. The expenses include:

$7,598 for his Web site;
$11,008.88 for his mayoral announcement event;
$14,645.46 for other announcement expenses, videos and photos;
$3,515 for office expenses.[10]"

By the way, Fattah's wife, Renee Chenault-Fattah, reportedly makes an annual salary in the $600,000 range. Which, as they say in Philly, is a nice chunk of change. (More about Fattah's arrangements with the TV station in coming days and weeks.)

A fascinating fact about Fattah's 2008 campaign is contained in the mandatory reports he's filed with the Federal Election Commission (and available on www.OpenSecrets.org.

In his last report (filed April 2, 2008) Fattah's report shows he hasn't exactly raised a princely sum in this election cycle. Amount raised is under 140,00. Here's how it reads on OpenSecrets: Chaka Fattah (D) * Raised: $129,391 Spent: $442,470 Cash on Hand: $139,054.

Let's see: he's rasied $129,000, plus change. But he's spent $442,470! Say what!!!

In one sense, all this means is that he had a lot of money from past campaigns lying around. But where on earth did he spend a sum of money that now probably exceeds a half-million dollars? It's not exactly as his opponent (Republican Michael Livingston) were Barack Obama.

When you find a candidate whose early spending (and the election is a long way off) is huge, it's invariably going to one place: to pay off supporters. Here's how it works: big donors (like the AFT, the Trial Lawyers, and the gargantuan Philly law firms) give Fattah big contributions for services rendered. In turn, Fattah (or his congressional buddy John Murtha) funnel the cash to their supporters. "It goeth in one door and cometh out the other."

In Philadelphia politics, a lot of money traditionally goes to "precinct organizers," who are glorified vote buyers. It's called either "walking around money" or "street money." In the 2006 gubernatorial election, Ed Rendell gave out an average of $7,000 cash money IN EVERY PHILLY PRECINCT. (Source: The Almanac of American Politics (2008), p. 1378. The Pennsylvania media "forgot" to tell us this relevant fact.

But isn't that against the law? Not if you're as skillful as someone like Fattah. How much Chaka gives out in the precincts is not clear yet. Perhaps he'll volunteer the information? And perhaps pigs can fly?

In the coming weeks and months, you're going to read a lot here about Cong. Fattah's spending habits. I hope (against hope?) that the Philadelphia Inquirer, The Bulletin, and other news outlets will do some digging on their own. In the immortal words of Watergate's "Deep Throat": "follow the money."

I don't know for certain if Rep. Fattah deserves to have his own special "perp walk," but if he does, you'll probably read it here first.

Michael Livingston is the Republican candidate against "the human landfill," Chaka Fattah. He is the first serious opponent Fattah has faced, and he knows -- in the immortal words of Ricky Ricardo -- that Chaka "has a heap of 'splaining to do." Go get him, Michael!

Philadelphians: Read This Page

I have a new column on the Pennsylvania Republican candidates available at: http://stevemaloneygop.blogspot.com/. A revised version will appear here on Monday.


NOTE 2: ANY CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE OR SUPPORTER WHO WOULD LIKE TO USE ALL OR PART OF THE MATERIAL ON THIS SITE IS WELCOME TO DO SO. JUST GIVE A LINK TO THE SITE:(HTTP:PENNSYLVANIAFORJOHNMCCAIN.BLOGSPOT.COM).




Rep. Chaka Fattah (born "Arthur Davenport"). Yes, now that you mention it, he does look a little like Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Voted the Congressman "Most Likely to Be Led Off in Leg-Irons" -- okay, I made that part up.


If you've never heard of Chaka Fattah (Shock-uh Fuh-tah), congressman from Pennsylvania's 2d district (city of Philadelphia west of Broad St.) you're like 99.9% of the American people. Lucky you. Lucky them.

In the minds of many people, including yours truly, Fattah represents everything that's wrong with America's big-city politics. He's ideologically hostile to just about every governmental or private action that would help the people of his district.


Fattah is a Democrat version of "Dr. No." If there's ever a good piece of legislation proposed -- say, repealing the death tax or curbing federal spending or extending the Patriot Act -- he votes against it.


The Sunday and Monday column will deal with the congressional race between Democrat Fattah and Republican challenger Michael Livingston.


Fattah is known as the congressman who wouldn't release his tax returns. Livingston, coincidentally, is a law professor at Rutgers-Camden and an expert on taxes. Perhaps Michael could volunteer to help Chaka with those pesky returns?


Governor Ed Rendell used to be Mayor of Philadelphia, and he ran for the state's highest office on the basis of what he called "The Philadelphia Miracle." Unfortunately, the "miracle" turned out to be Philly's role as a national leader in crime, unemployment, poverty, and general misery.


Like Rendell, Fattah, now in his seventh-term and apparently electable unto eternity, is no miracle worker. Philly's troubles continue -- and multiply.


In a district that's more than 60% Black and almost monolithically Democrat, it would be a true miracle if Michael won this year's election. It also would be the best thing that's happened in Philly since the Eagles drafted Donovan McNabb.

Congressman Fattah has been one of the cheerleaders for Mumia Abu-Jamal, who murdered Philadelphia policeman Daniel Faulkner. In a city with a murder rate that sometimes approaches that of Baghdad, Philadelphia really doesn't need politicians doing "huggy-bunny" with killers.

If you have an interest in Mumia Abu-Jamal and, especially, Daniel Faulkner, go to the "Justice for Police Officer Daniel Faulkner" web site. As you'll discover, Fattah didn't exactly cover himself with glory by jumping on Mumia Abu-Jamal's unsavory bandwagon.

(In his murder of Faulkner, Abu-Jamal and his brother, one William Cook, were found at the scene with an emptied gun. They insisted they didn't see who committed the murder -- hint, hint -- or see who did.)

But isn't Fattah extremely popular with his voters in his district, where he generally gets 88% of the vote? Not really. He's just a name on the Democrat ticket. The votes for him are more Pavlovian than reflective.

When Fattah decided to run for Mayor in the Democratic primary, he didn't win. In fact, he got only 15% of the vote, essentially in a tie for last place with Bob Brady, who happens to be the congressman from the other side of Philadelphia. Thus, few people like Fattah. They just vote for him out of habit.

Misery abounds. The poverty rate in the 2d district approaches 30%. It was approximately 30% when Fattah came into office, and it will be about 30% when he leaves. The occasional government handouts Fattah periodically doles out to his constituents don't do anything to deal with the district's fundamental problems.

Chaka Fattah has been on the government payroll for 30 years -- and counting. He has built up one heckuva pension, and he's married to a beautiful local TV anchor. What a country!

Republican Mike Livingston? Oh, he's just a guy who knows about taxes (and the need to keep them low) and economics. He's a person who believes strongly in economic development and personal freedom, both of them great medicine for what ails the district. He doesn't have any sympathy for "celebrity cop-killers" such as Abu-Jamal.


Does Mike Livingston have a chance of winning? To him, I'd say what I recently told another candidate: save any thoughts about winning or losing for, say, November 1. Get your message out the best you can, and then -- win or lose -- you'll have nothing to be ashamed about. Livingston and Philadelphia both have a chance to make a positive statement.

(This will be Sunday's column here. On my national blog on Sunday, I'll have another column.)

Livingston, Hart, Kats, Tom Hritz

The critical point: It is absolutely essential for the nation's future that John McCain win the election on November 4, 2008. However, if the U.S. House and Senate that await him are filled with liberal Democrats, there is no way McCain can be a successful President. It's essential that activists know who the outstanding Republican candidates are -- and support them. I very much want Republicans -- conservative or libertarian -- around the world to "adopt" exemplary congressional candidates, especially the ones I've been writing about.

Mike Livingston, Republican candidate for Congress in PA's 2d congressional district (Philadelphia). There's no truth to the rumor that Mike recently won the national "Brad-Pitt-Lookalike-Contest."

Mike Livingston, the law professor who's running for Congress from PA's 2d congressional district (against Dem. Chaka Fattah) and I have been corresponding regularly. I sent him the following today about his own race, Melissa Hart's race in the 4th district (against Dem. Jason Altmire), and Marina Kats's contest in the 13th (against Dem. Allyson Schwartz):

Dear Mike Livingston:

I think I can bring attention to candidates I support. My "bull-in-a-china shop" approach online works better than I could have imagined.

Melissa Hart, who is running in the 4th District in western PA is a good friend of mine, and I keep trying to get people nationally to "adopt" her -- with some success. One of Melissa's big advantages this time (as compared to the mid-term election of 2006) is that John McCain should win the 4th by a large margin, particularly if Rev. Wright keeps spreading his cheerful message of ignorance and animosity. Altmire has yet to denounce Obama's "bitter" comments -- presumably because he agrees with them.

Mike, when your own campaign is done, maybe you can write a book about it. Running against Chaka Fattah may be in some ways a thankless task. However, there are tens of thousands of people in the 2d CD who will vote for Mike Livingston if you can get your message out.

At the very least, your presence in the race is going to force Fattah to reconsider some of his militantly leftist positions. He's also going to have to explain why his seven terms in Congress have left at least 150,000 people in the district mired in poverty. If Fattah has a clue about economic development, he has fooled me -- and the people he supposedly represents.

If you haven't heard yet from Eric Dondero of BlogTalkRadio/Libertarian, you will soon. When libertarian Republicans learn who you are and what you believe in, many of them will support you -- by "support" I mean send money! I truly believe what I said earlier about how to get voters' support: to ask for it. The process is just that simple.

Many of the Republican candidates for Congress have a lot in common -- although you're not as good looking as Marina Kats (nobody is)! Marina has a great chance to make Allyson Schwartz, a terrible legislator, sweat. Allyson claims she's a powerful defender of the "middle-class." Somehow she thinks raising their taxes, discouraging energy development, and basically rooting for al Qaeda in Iraq constitute defending the country.

On libertarian (freedom loving) Republicans. One notable member of that group was a popular columnist for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Tom Hritz. He liked to smoke and one day a busybody at the P-G asked him if he was going to participate in "The Great American Smokeout." Irritated, Hritz said he was going to promote a new holiday called "National Mind-Your-Own-Business-Day."

Another Hritz-ism: Somebody asked him what he thought about the performance of Robt. Casey, Sr., father of Senator Bob. Hritz said, "Listen, after two terms of Bob Casey as Governor, Pennsylvania is lucky it's still a state."

Tom and his wife (also very funny) have passed away, but they're obviously still here in spirit. They'd have loved the chance to vote for people like Mike Livingston, Melissa Hart, and Marina Kats.

America's Future: Pennsylvania Congressional Races

My hope on this site is eventually to get 500-1000 visitors per day. I hope many of the visitors will get involved in the congressional campaigns I'm covering -- and perhaps even consider running for Congress themselves. There are some remarkable Republicans running for Congress in 2008, and they need -- and deserve -- your support. I'll try to provide some good free advice -- and hope you do the same in comments -- that will help the candidates raise money and generate grassroots activity. You can leave your comments on this site or e-mail me at: TalkTop65@aol.com. Please visit the candidates' web sites! Thanks for honoring me with your visits.


Today, I'm posting about several Republican congressional candidates in the critical state of Pennsylvania. My emphasis will be on Melissa Hart in the 4th district (western PA), who's running to regain her congressional seat, and on "new" candidates. They will include Marina Kats (see column and photo below) in the 13th district (northeast Philly and Montgomery County), Mike Livingston in the 2d district (Philadelphia), Tom Manion in the 8th district (Bucks County) and Toni Gilhooley in the 17th district (Harrisburg area). The focus will be on how these candidates "link up" with John McCain's efforts in the Keystone State. What happens in Pennsylvania in the 2008 election (and, frankly, in the 2010 mid-term election) will help determine the success of the McCain presidency. Yes, it's important that John McCain prevails in November, but it's vital that Republicans regain some of the House (and Senate) seats lost in 2006. No Republican or conservative wants to send John McCain to the White House and have him face a Congress opposed to all his key initiatives. The point is this: If you want to support McCain, please take the additional step of voting to send Republicans to Congress. There are 21 congressional seats in Pennsylvania, and it should be possible for Republicans -- over time -- to win at least 15 of them. When that occurs, Republicans nationally should be able to regain control of the House of Representatives.

Note: This column will differ somewhat from the one on my national blogs: http://stevemaloneygop.blogspot.com/ & http://camp2008victorya.blogspot.com/. As we get into May, this column will deal with subjects related to -- but different from -- the ones on my national sites.

Mike Livingston: Republican in PA's 2d District

Pennsylvania 2d (from The Almanac of American Politics): "[It] takes in much of the city of Philadelphia west of Broad Street, plus Cheltenham Township in suburban Montgomery County. It . . . includes most of the skyscrapers of Center City and well-heeled Rittenhouse Square, the Philadelphia Zoo . . . , the University of Pennsylvania, Drexel University, and lush Fairmount Park . . . [and] climaxes at the grand Philadelphia Museum of Art [where Rocky ran up the steps]."

In Pennsylvania's 2d district, law professor Mike Livingston is running against seven-term congressman Chaka Fattah, ranked by National Journal as one of the most liberal members of the House. Currently (and it kills me to admit this), Fattah is probably unbeatable. However, there are ways Mike can make some serious inroads into Fattah's vote totals.

How? One way is to ask "What has Chaka Fattah done for you lately?" In fact, according to government statistics, one-in-four-reisidents of the 2d is living in poverty. The median income in the district is an anemic $30,600 -- more than $10,000 below the national average.

Of course, it's right of the people in the 2nd to keep sending Chakah Fattah to Congress (and by huge margins). But do they gain any benefit from doing so? It's a political version of the definitin of insanity: "doing the same thing over and over again -- while hoping for different results."

In Fattah's past elections, the vote totals have been well below the Pennsylvania average. That means many people in the 2d have given up on the political process.

Obviously, there are opportunities for Mike Livingston to leverage in his district. If he run a strong, low-cost campaign, he has the opportunity to add tens of thousands of votes to past Republican totals.

One key for Mike is to ask every individual and group he meets to donate to his campaign. That's not something any candidate enjoys doing, but it's essential that he raise enough money to lead Fattah know he's in a fight. At a pizza party like the Manion gathering (below), the candidate should have a "bucket" for donations and give every attendee an envelope to use for contributions. Please go to Mike's site now (http://livingstonforcongress.com/) and give him a small donation.

Tom Manion: Republican in the 8th District -- Pizza Party

Hello All,

Thank you all for signing up on the website’s mailing list. We would like to extend an invitation to a pizza party and a meet and greet with Tom. It will be held at the Bucks County GOP Headquarters 115 N Broad Street Doylestown PA, 18901 on Thursday May 1st from 6:30 to 8:00 pm. This is a chance to bring everyone together to discuss the state of our campaign, our future, and where everyone fits into our plan. Please RSVP to Krista.foy@manionforcongress.com. We look forward to working with you as we make Tom Manion our next Congressman in Pennsylvania’s 8th Congressional District. Thank you and we appreciate your support.

Steve Adds: This kind of get-together is one every Republican congressional candidate should use. In drawing crowds, a Mike Livingston is never going to match a Barack Obama, but small gatherings can be extremely helpful in building electoral coalitions. Good luck, Mike.