Five false claims about Casey: Trump in Wilkes-Barre
Among whoppers: They never met. The senator wants to abolish ICE. He wont debate Barletta.
August 04, 2018
By Chris Brennan
Fact-checking a speech by President Trump that spans more than an hour can be a tough task.
Sometimes the president helps out by raising doubts about his own claims and posting proof that they are false on the White House website, as with one of the first things Trump said about U.S. Sen. Bob Casey Jr., a Pennsylvania […]
Raucous Rally: Trump In Wilkes-Barre
FAMILIAR FOES: Clinton, Mueller, and media attacked.
August 03, 2018
By Chris Brennan
and Kelly Brennan
WILKES-BARRE – President Trump returned to Northeast Pennsylvania on Thursday night to savor his 2016 victory, rehash familiar grievances with the “fake news” that he says refuses to credit his successes, and to stump for U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta, the Hazleton Republican trying to defeat Sen. Bob Casey.
“We are respected again,” Trump told a largely adoring crowd, boasting of a booming […]
Barletta’s balancing act in Senate race
His support of Trump plays well in much of Pa. In the Phila. area, he has to carve a separate identity.
July 24, 2018
By Chris Brennan
Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum had sensed a shift in the political winds recently in favor of Republicans running in November’s midterm election.
That would have been good news for U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta, the Hazleton Republican seeking to unseat Democratic Sen. Bob Casey, who defeated Santorum in 2006.
Then President Trump went […]
How the Barletta brand was born in Pennsylvania
His complaints about immigrants in Hazleton drew attention – but didn’t keep more Hispanics away.
July 18, 2018
By Chris Brennan
U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta slowed his GMC Denali on East Chestnut Street to tell the story of how Derek Kichline died and a law to restrict illegal immigration was born.
It is a story Barletta has been telling for a dozen years, the cornerstone to a political career that has taken him from mayor of Hazleton to the […]
Kamala Harris visits to support Casey
The California senator is third on a Washington Post list of potential 2020 presidential candidates.
July 15, 2018
By Chris Brennan
Was that an electoral echo resounding across West Philly on Friday?
Sen. Kamala Harris, a California Democrat, came to town to court voters with Sen. Bob Casey, a Scranton Democrat seeking a third term this year.
Harris is a much-discussed potential candidate for president in 2020, despite being just 18 months into her first six-year term […]
Brexit leader to appear for Barletta
Nigel Farage will be at a campaign stop in the small town of Harveys Lake.
July 03, 2018
By Chris Brennan
In Harveys Lake, a tiny borough wrapped around its namesake in northern Luzerne County, a transatlantic tiff has erupted around a U.S. Senate seat, claims of anti-Semitism, and – oddly enough – Britain’s “Brexit” from the European Union.
Nigel Farage, the controversial former leader of the nationalist U.K. Independence Party, will be the headline guest at a July […]
No budget, no pay for Pa. lawmakers who miss deadline | Editorial
April 16, 2018
Approving a balanced budget each year is a fundamental responsibility for the governor and members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly. But they have become heedless about meeting the June 30 budget deadline.
State legislators have missed that deadline in all three of Gov. Wolf’s annual budget negotiations so far, part of six blown budget deadlines in the last decade. The state’s last budget became law on Nov. 6, more […]
Four changes we need from Harrisburg lawmakers | Editorial
April 01, 2018
This is the first editorial of The Agenda, an ongoing series examining key issues facing the region and Pennsylvania. In the coming months we will tackle state reforms, the opioid crisis, guns, and more. Talk to us at [email protected].
What exclusive and expensive club in Pennsylvania has just 253 members, an annual budget of $325 million, and a staff of more than 2,220?
Here’s a clue: This bloated bunch spends your money but routinely resists transparency.
If […]
Pa. Legislature needs to shrink | Editorial
March 20, 2018
Some Pennsylvania legislators pulled off a devious little trick last week, appearing to support a governmental reform measure while actually setting back that effort.
The state House voted, 109-80, to reduce its size from 203 members to 151 . That’s a sensible reform, since Pennsylvania has the largest full-time legislature in the country.
But Tuesday’s vote may stall such a reduction for two years, unless the state Senate undoes the House’s cynical maneuver.
Reducing […]
Be a city of winners | Editorial
Feb. 06, 2018
The trophy has been hoisted. The green confetti has fluttered. And the Macy’s mannequins have been liberated from their window displays.
Wait, what?
It’s been a topsy-turvy time in Philadelphia since the Super Bowl LII clock ran down to zero Sunday night and the Eagles secured a 41-33 victory over the New England Patriots. Thousands of fans took to the streets in mostly orderly fashion, though the kidnapping of mannequins and more than […]