Philadelphia Tribune - Index

Philadelphia Tribune - Sunday, September 07 2008 - Index

Kimberly Hefling
WASHINGTON — Here we go
again. Pennsylvania, a key battleground
two years ago in the
Democrats’ successful fight to
gain control of the U.S. House,
is again chock full of House
races to watch.
Two longtime House members
from opposite ends of the
state, Reps. Paul Kanjorski and
Phil English, face formidable
foes for the first time in years.
Four freshmen Democrats are
trying to hang onto their seats.
And the state has its first open
congressional seat since 2004.
Kanjorski, a 12-term
Democrat from the anthracite
coal region in northeastern
Pennsylvania, and English, a
7-term Republican from steel
country in the northwest part
of the state, both represent
largely working class districts.
Kanjorski faces Lou Barletta,
a GOP mayor who became a
staple of talk radio and cable
TV news after cracking down
on illegal immigration in his
hometown of Hazleton.
Barletta lost to Kanjorski by
more than 13 percentage
points in 2002, but
Republicans recruited him to
run this cycle because he’s
now more well known.
The district is heavily
Democratic, and Kanjorski has
raised more than a $1 million
more than Barletta.
Underscoring Democrats’ concern
about Kanjorski’s
chances, the first television ad
by either party in this year’s
battle for Congress was run by
Democrats attacking Barletta.
In the northwest, English
was elected in 1994, when
reform-minded Republicans
gained control of the House.
English, a social conservative
who is a centrist on economic
and trade issues, faces political
newcomer Kathy Dahlkemper.
Dahlkemper, a Democrat who
opposes abortion rights, is
director of the Lake Erie
Arboretum and owns a landscape
design business with her
husband.
The district went for
President Bush in 2000 and
2004, but has slightly more
registered Democrats than
Republicans and is considered
a swing district.
Steven Porter, who received
at least 40 percent of the vote
in 2006 and 2004 when he ran
against English as a Democrat,
had been on the ticket as an
independent candidate. A
judge kicked him off this week
after finding that many of
Porter’s signatures were
invalid.
In 2006, Pennsylvania
proved to be the most fruitful
state for Democrats when the
party gained control of the U.S.
House. Their wins tipped the
state’s 19-member House delegation
in the Democrats’ favor
for the first time since 1998.
Now, Republicans are trying to
win those seats back.
Among the freshmen
Democrats, the GOP is especially
eying the northeastern
Pennsylvania seat held by
Chris Carney.
Carney represents a
Republican district that, before
him, had not been held by a
Democrat in more than four
decades. The former college
professor, who is an officer in
the Naval Reserves, won the
seat in 2006, in part, because
Sunday, September 7, 2008 • Page 5-B
Northeast preps for rain as Hanna hits U.S.
Nancy Rabinowitz
BOSTON — Emergency managers
in southern New England
urged residents Friday to keep
a watchful eye on Hanna, a
tropical storm preparing to
bear down on the mid-Atlantic
then move quickly north along
the coast.
Forecasters said strong wind
gusts between 45 and 55 mph
and 3 to 4 inches of rain would
blow through the region starting
late Saturday. But the
region should be able to absorb
most of the rain without widespread
flooding, they said.
“It’s mainly going to be torrential
rain. And the worst case
scenario is going to be some
splash over or very minor
coastal flooding at the time of
high tide,” said Hayden Frank,
a meteorologist at the National
Weather Service in Taunton.
Still, precautions were being
taken and preparations being
made Friday as the storm
neared the mid-Atlantic coast
with near hurricane-strength
winds of 70 mph.
Ferries between New London,
Conn., and Block Island, R.I.,
were canceled for both
Saturday and Sunday because
of the weather.
In addition, National Grid,
which delivers electricity to
roughly 3.3 million customers
in Massachusetts, New
Hampshire, New York and
Middle Class
From Page 1A
your old earning capacity.
“Don’t get me wrong,” he
added. “I was able to buy a
house, got my daughters
through private school. But it
was still hand to mouth. No
doubt, but I was doing better
than other members of my
family, the folks I grew up with.
That’s not saying much. Now
I’m trying to hold on to my
house. I’m out of work — got
downsized.
“I don’t know if I can say I’ve
lived a better life than my parents,”
he said. “Maybe in some
ways, but not others. With the
way the economy is going, the
direction the country is headed,
I don’t know if my children
will live better lives than me.
“It is sad to say that as a people,
we’ve come all this way
just to have our hearts broken.”
The African-American middle
class has always been a fragile
sector. There have been periods
of growth and hope. The civil
rights and Black power movements,
along with the Johnson
administration’s War on
Poverty, helped grow the
African-American middle class.
Working in jobs similar to
whites in 2005, employed
African Americans earned 65
percent of the wages earned by
their European colleagues.
In 1975 Blacks earned 82
percent of what similarly
employed whites earned.
Although rates of births to
unwed mothers among both
Blacks and whites have risen
since the 1950s, the rate of
such births among African
Americans is three times the
rate of whites.
But the ups and downs of
the U.S. economy have had a
devastating impact. Increased
debt in the 1980s and 1990s
and today’s subprime crises
fueled by the melt-down of the
nation’s finance has drawn
blood in the Black middle
class.
In the very same year a
major political party nominates
an African-American presidential
candidate, a landmark
Beach goers enjoy a sunny day at Wrightsville Beach, N.C., Thursday. Some Southeastern states
declared emergencies and officials urged residents to head inland Thursday as Tropical Storm
Hanna headed toward the Atlantic coast. — AP PHOTO/DAVE MARTIN
Rhode Island, said it was tracking
the storm and putting electric
and natural gas crews on
notice about the possible need
to work extra hours.
Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi
Rell said 200 soldiers and airmen
with the Connecticut
National Guard are on standby
to respond to troubled areas in
Connecticut or other states.
State environmental officials
will be keeping an eye on dams
study conducted by the Demos
Policy Center and Brandeis
University has found that 3 out
of 4 African-American and 4
out of 5 Latino middle-class
families are on shaky financial
ground.
The middle class, depending
on which authority you believe,
ranges from between $30,000
and $75,000 of annual household
income to between
$50,000 and $120,000.
The findings underline the
difficult political and economic
issues that face the nation’s
next president. If Sen. Barack
Obama is elected — an election
made possible by the African-
American struggle for justice —
he will certainly have to grapple
with these issues.
According to the study
released this year, Demos
Policy Center and Brandeis
University painted what most
agree is an accurate picture of
the African-American and
Latino middle classes.
“Financial health eludes the
majority of African-American
and Latino middle class,” said
Thomas M. Shapiro, director of
the Institute on Assets and
Social Policy at Brandies and
one of the co-authors of the
report. “Tremendous middleclass
gains earned in schools,
achieved on the job and seen in
paychecks are eroded by lack
of assets, which seriously
undermines the financial security
of African-American and
Latino middle class families.”
The Middle Class Security
Index pointed out these worrying
trends:
• “African-American and
Latino families have more difficulty
moving into the middle
class and families that do enter
the middle class are less secure
and at higher risk than the
middle class as a whole.
• Only 26 percent of African-
American middle-class families
have the combination of assets,
education, sufficient income
and health insurance to ensure
middle-class financial security.
One in three (33 percent) are at
high risk of falling out of the
middle class.
• Fewer than one in five
Latino families (18 percent) are
securely in the middle class.
and flood-prone areas.
Transportation officials in
many states cleaned out storm
drains on roads to prevent
flooding.
Rell also said the Federal
Emergency Management
Agency was relocating 30
truckloads of water and Meals
Ready to Eat into Hartford and
they will be ready to be
deployed across the state if
needed.
Pennsylvania packed with House races to watch
More than twice as many
Latino (41 percent) families are
in danger of slipping out of the
middle class.
• African-American middleclass
families are less secure
and at greater risk than the
middle class as a whole on four
of the five indicators of security
and vulnerability. Latino middle-class
families are less
secure and at greater risk on
all five indicators.
• The report also shows that
assets and housing costs are
among the key destabilizing
factors Latino and African-
American families face:
• Only 2 percent of African-
American and 8 percent of middle-class
Latino families have
enough net financial assets to
meet three-quarters of their
essential living expenses for
nine months if their source of
income disappeared.
• About 95 percent of
African-American and 87 percent
of Latino middle-class
families do not have enough
net assets to meet three-quarters
of their essential living
expenses for even three
months if their source of
income were to disappear.
• Only 26 percent of African-
American and 37 percent of
Latino middle-class families
spend less than 20 percent of
their after-tax income on housing
— both are below the
national average of 40 percent.”
The average African-
American family has about 60
percent of the income of the
average white family.
But the disparity of wealth is
a lot greater. The average
African-American family has
only 18 percent of the wealth of
the average white family.
In 2004 the richest 1 percent
in the United States held over
$2.5 trillion more in net worth
than the entire bottom 90 percent.
The concentration of wealth
and income reflects a major
shift over the last three
decades in how the United
States shares its earnings. In
1976 the top 1 percent of the
population received 8.83 percent
of national income. In
2005 they grabbed 21.93 percent.
“Flooding conditions over
roadways can create hazardous
driving conditions and I want to
urge special caution to people
traveling on Connecticut highways
during the storm,” Rell
said. “Downed trees combined
with water on our highways
have the potential to cause very
dangerous conditions.”
Many outdoor events also
were put on hold or had their
times pushed up to earlier in
Biden
From Page 1A
about 200 union workers, senior
citizens, politicians and
youth, Biden jabbed back at his
opponents, McCain and
Republican vice presidential
nominee Sarah Palin, for their
blows to the Obama campaign
during the Republican National
Convention on Wednesday and
Thursday night.
Shamelessly admitting to his
friendship with McCain, Biden
emphasized that they have
always had their share of differences
ranging “from Amtrak to
Iraq.”
Biden continued to say that
he and Democratic presidential
candidate Barack Obama focus
on the issues, whereas the
Republican Party pays no
attention to them.
“John’s campaign manager
[Rick Davis] said … ‘There’s one
thing you need to know: This
election is not about issues,’”
Biden said. “Did you hear the
word health care from their vice
presidential candidate? I didn’t
hear it. I didn’t hear anything
about keeping costs down,
which literally kills us. I didn’t
hear anything about how to
strengthen Social Security or
how to solve the mortgage and
housing crisis that exists.
“Sometimes what is not said
is even more powerful than
what is said. That’s what Davis
meant when he said it’s not
about issues.”
Biden went on to criticize
President George W. Bush for
his eight years in the White
House, claiming that Bush’s
notion of ownership is “You’re
on your own.”
“I’ve never seen a time in
the day Saturday, before the
heavy rain was expected to
arrive.
At the Ocean Edge Resort
and Club on Cape Cod in
Brewster, staff were hoping for
the best but bracing for rain as
they prepared for an outdoor
wedding Saturday.
“If things go downhill as
anticipated, we would definitely
move it inside,” said Bryan
Webb, director of sales and
marketing. “Everyone’s going to
be dressed so impeccably. You
don’t want to have someone
ruin a dress or a purse.”
Organizers of the annual
Russian Festival at St. Nicholas
Russian Orthodox Church in
Stratford, Conn., postponed the
event from Saturday to
Sunday.
But the 31st annual Norwalk
Seaport Association Oyster
Festival, scheduled for Friday
night through Sunday night,
had no plans to change the
schedule.
“Rain doesn’t stop us,” said
Marcia Powell, a spokeswoman
for the festival. “The festival
has never been postponed.
We’ve certainly had the festival
with wet fields before, but our
first consideration is always
safety.”
Powell said only a few conditions,
such as hurricane-force
winds or dangerous lightning,
could force festival officials to
cancel Saturday’s activities.
the incumbent was embroiled
in a sex scandal.
Carney faces GOP candidate
Chris Hackett, a wealthy businessman
who owns several
companies, including a staffing
agency and insurance brokerage.
The other Democrat freshman
facing challenges include:
• Rep. Jason Altmire, a former
health care executive, who
surprised insiders in 2006 by
upsetting three-term GOP Rep.
Melissa Hart. Hart is seeking to
win back the seat.
• Rep. Patrick Murphy, the
only Iraq war veteran elected to
Congress. He’s challenged by
Tom Manion, a retired Marine
Reserves colonel and pharmaceutical
executive whose son
died fighting in Iraq.
• Rep. Joe Sestak, a former
Navy vice admiral. Sestak is
challenged by W. Craig
Williams, a former assistant
U.S. attorney and lieutenant
colonel in the Marine Reserves
who served in the Persian Gulf
War.
The state’s only open congressional
seat results from
Rep. John Peterson’s pending
retirement. He represents a
American history where so
many people have been
knocked down and the government
has done nothing to help
them get up,” he said. “My
friends, John and George are
joined at the hip, and we need a
hip replacement.”
Biden is confident that he
and Obama are the cure to
what many Democrats call “the
failed Bush administration”
and deny claims that taxes will
be raised during their tenure.
“You heard Sarah Palin and
John McCain say Barack
Obama is going to raise taxes,”
Biden said, referring to their
speeches at the RNC held in St.
Paul, Minn. “Your taxes are
going to be lower; they’re not
going to be higher.”
The Obama/Biden ticket
promises that families will
receive a $4,000 tax credit for
every child they have in college,
a 50 percent match for every
$1,000 saved for retirement
and no taxes for seniors making
$50,000 or less.
“John’s going to help seniors
by privatizing Social Security,”
Biden said, facetiously. “John
and his running mate are going
to help you by giving the companies
taking your jobs overseas
a tax break. We’re going to
give a tax break to companies
that stay here. Don’t let the
Republicans say, ‘That’s a good
idea, but how are you going to
pay for it?’ We’ll pay for it by
changing our priorities. John
and I have such a different view
on the world.”
Taking note of the troubled
job market, Biden said that he
and Obama will create more
employment opportunities with
affordable pay scales.
“People are working harder
for less money,” Biden said.
“We are hoping that it will
just blow around us,” Powell
said.
In Rhode Island, residents
were being urged to protect
their windows, clear clogged
storm drains, have extra batteries
available for flashlights
and stay out of the ocean during
the storm.
J. David Smith, executive
director of the Rhode Island
Emergency Management
Agency, said he wasn’t expecting
major problems, in part
because of low water levels in
streams and rivers and
because the storm was tracking
farther east than initially
projected.
“We really believe this is
going to be a rain event, but it’s
better to be more prepared,”
Smith said.
David Baptista, manager of
the Narragansett Inn in Block
Island, said his inn was stacking
and securing outdoor furniture
after dinner Friday so it
didn’t blow away. He said he
couldn’t remember the last
time there had been bad
weather on the island the
weekend after Labor Day.
“Traditionally, this is one of
the most excellent weekends of
the season, year after year,” he
said. — (AP)
AP reporters Eric Tucker in
Providence, R.I., and Dave
Collins in Hartford, Conn., contributed
to this report.
sprawling rural district in central
Pennsylvania long dominated
by Republicans, and it is
unlikely to go Democratic.
Peterson’s chosen successor
is Centre County GOP chairman
Glenn Thompson. He
faces Clearfield County
Commissioner Mark
McCracken, a Democrat.
Among the other
Pennsylvania races of interest:
• Rep. John Murtha, a
Democrat and the dean of
Pennsylvania’s congressional
delegation who has been a
high-profile opponent of the
Iraq war, is challenged in western
Pennsylvania by William
Russell, a former Army lieutenant
colonel who relocated to
Murtha’s district to run against
him.
• Rep. Jim Gerlach, a
Republican, who barely survived
challenges in the past
two elections in his suburban
Philadelphia district, faces
Democrat Bob Roggio, a former
business owner.
• GOP Rep. Tim Murphy,
who represents a Pittsburgharea
district, is challenged by
businessman Steve O’Donnell,
a Democrat. — (AP)
“You look at how jobs are disappearing:
605,000 Americans
lost their job this year; 84,000
lost their jobs last month. Is
there anything out there you
might see that says it’s not
going to be a ninth, 10th or
11th month? You need help
right now. People need help
right now.”
One of the reasons Biden
said he joined with Obama is
because he’s never seen an
election this consequential.
Through running for vice presidency,
he hopes to restore
America’s place in the world
and raise up the middle class.
“The fate of the country and
the direction of the world is
going to be decided in the next
60 days,” Biden said. “As
Barack says, this election is not
about us; it’s about you.”
As for McCain and Palin,
Biden quotes President Harry
Truman in saying, “I’m not
going to give them hell. I’m
going to give them the truth,
and they’re going to think
they’re in hell.”
In attendance at the speech
were Gov. Ed Rendell, U.S. Rep.
Bob Brady, Mayor Michael
Nutter, state Rep. Tony Payton
Jr. and Biden’s wife Jill Biden.
“Boy, I gotta tell you something,”
Nutter said. “I sat in my
office and I was astounded by
the repulsive national convention,
the RNC, on Wednesday
night. Insults have replaced
ideas. Personal attacks have
replaced policy plans. What
they showed themselves to be
on Wednesday and Thursday
night, they’re not ready for
prime time. They’re not ready
for any time. The only time we
should be talking about is
Obama/Biden time. There has
never been a better team.”