Election 2008: What’s At Stake?

Over the past two years, towns and suburbs around the country (Hazleton, Pa.; Farmers Branch, Texas) have cracked down on illegal immigration with local ordinances. These laws are usually designed to make it hard for illegal immigrants to find jobs or rent homes, and they have had mixed success. Now, it looks like the Washington, […]

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Yes, if that mayor is Lou Barletta.
Barletta, the Republican mayor of Hazleton, Pa., has built a reputation as an anti-immigration hardliner, and now he is running against Democrat Paul Kanjorski in Pennsylvania’s 11th District. This should be a good year for Democrats, but Kanjorski may have a fight on his hands.
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In Pennsylvania’s 11th district, Congressman Paul Kanjorski (D-Nanticoke) faces a serious challenge from Mayor Lou Barletta (R-Hazleton), who has earned a reputation as a crusader against illegal immigration since the Kanjorski last faced him in 2002.
The map above shows a few points of interest in the 11th, including major cities, historical landmarks […]

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Over the past several years, Hazleton, Pa., has attracted thousands of Hispanic immigrants, most of them from the Dominican Republic. This influx lead to conflict over illegal immigration in 2006 and 2007, thrusting Mayor Lou Barletta into the national news. This year, Barletta is running for Congress, his campaign based largely on that issue. “I […]

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I’m off to Hazleton, Penn., today to follow Mayor Lou Barletta’s run for Congress and look at the impact of illegal immigration on his town and his district. Hazleton is a small city (pop. about 30,000) in Northeast Pennsylvania’s anthracite region. Its economy was once based on coal, but in recent decades the city has […]

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While much media ado is being made about the boost among Latino voters that Barack Obama may have won following his endorsement last week from New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, the bigger payoff could come in the form of diplomatic cover that the onetime Clinton ally now provides for other superdelegates that might follow […]

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